Before you replace your DeWitt furnace, boiler or air conditioner

The Town of DeWitt has about 11,000 housing units, and the median home dates from 1963. Three in four were built before 1980. A smaller share, 18.7 percent, predates 1940, and 8.7 percent was built in 2000 or later. If your house has been improved since it was built, the old equipment may no longer match it.

Start with the size. Many quotes copy the label on the old furnace. After new windows, an insulated attic or a finished basement, the house may need less than that unit delivers. NYSERDA's advice is that a contractor should run the numbers again before putting in a unit of the old size. Ask each bidder for the worksheet, and compare every price against the same sheet.

Then ask about the chimney. A gas water heater may share a flue with the old furnace. Once a condensing furnace moves its exhaust to a side wall, the water heater stays in a chimney meant for two. Oak Ridge National Laboratory says each remedy adds cost, so ask whether the quote includes venting the water heater, with a liner or a new vent, and get the answer in writing.

Gas from the utility warms 79.3 percent of occupied homes in town, and electricity warms 16.1 percent. Fuel oil, kerosene or bottled gas covers the other 3.4 percent. Gas households mostly face the furnace and chimney questions. Electric households can ask about a heat pump, and the few on oil or bottled gas can ask what a change of fuel would involve and who pays for it.

Owners occupy 73.6 percent of the occupied homes, while 69.5 percent of housing units stand alone as single-family houses. If you own, the decision is yours. If you rent, send the owner these questions.

The town's Planning and Zoning office takes permit applications. The town says upgrades and installed improvements need a permit, minor repairs excepted, and anyone unsure should contact the office. A complete application includes a survey, a signed estimate, two sets of plans, proof of workers' compensation and disability coverage, and the fee. Ask the office whether your job counts, and ask your contractor who gathers each item.

One more point: the Village of East Syracuse sits inside the town and runs its own code office. If your address is in the village, that office answers the permit question, not the town.

Send us your address and what you are replacing. Your questions come first from us, and a local contractor follows. Pricing and the work itself belong to that contractor.