Ductwork
The upstairs bedroom is cold, and a bigger furnace will not fix it
Book your duct job through us and $100 off your first job is credited once it is booked.
If one room runs cold in winter and hot in July and a contractor suggests a bigger unit, ask what your ducts can carry before anyone prices equipment, and ask for the load worksheet that room-by-room sizing starts from. Tell us which rooms misbehave, and we will pass you the questions and introduce one local contractor.
Three questions
Three questions to ask before anyone prices your system
Ducts and pipes Decides this job
What can my existing ducts or pipes carry?
The load worksheet
Will you do a load calculation and give me the worksheet?
Chimney and water heater
What happens to my chimney and my gas water heater?
The worksheet
What any quote should show
| Ask on every quote | Quote A | Quote B | Quote C |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1A load worksheet for your house | Quote A answer | Quote B answer | Quote C answer |
| 2How the new unit will vent | Quote A answer | Quote B answer | Quote C answer |
| 3What happens to the water heater | Quote A answer | Quote B answer | Quote C answer |
| 4Duct or pipe changes, listed one by one | Quote A answer | Quote B answer | Quote C answer |
| 5Who pulls the permit | Quote A answer | Quote B answer | Quote C answer |
| 6What is removed and hauled away | Quote A answer | Quote B answer | Quote C answer |
| 7A start date and a payment schedule | Quote A answer | Quote B answer | Quote C answer |
We tell you what to ask before anyone prices a new system, then introduce a local contractor who does the work.
Start your worksheet
Tell us about the house and the system. You get the three questions, and a local contractor only if you say yes.
Credit: $100 off your first job
The $100 comes off once your installation is booked through us.
- We fund the $100; the contractor's quote is unchanged.
- One credit per customer at each property.
- Book the job by December 31, 2026.
- Mention the credit when you book.
This fits when
When ductwork is the next decision
- A room never matches the thermostat If one bedroom is always off, ask whether the duct to that room is too small, too long or leaking.
- Vents whistle or the system sounds strained Noise often points to air squeezing through too little duct. Ask the contractor to measure before replacing anything.
- You are changing furnaces or adding air A new blower pushes a different volume of air, so the ducts have to be checked for it.
- You finished a basement or added a room A room added to an old system may have been connected without anyone checking the trunk.
- The ducts run through cold spaces Ducts in an unheated attic or crawl space lose heat on the way. Ask whether they can be sealed or moved.
Where it sits
Inside the house: ductwork
- Supply trunkAsk how big it is and how much air the new equipment will push through it.
- Branch to the far roomAsk how long it runs and whether it can be shortened or enlarged.
- Return grilleAsk where the air goes back, and whether upstairs rooms have their own path.
- Ducts in cold spacesAsk whether they are sealed and wrapped, and what that adds to the price.
Basis: Air Source Heat Pumps: Don't Oversize, NYSERDA fact sheet Residential Code of New York State, Chapter 14
Spec FAQ
Questions before you ask for quotes
| You ask | Short answer |
|---|---|
| F1 Do I need new ducts or a new furnace? | Possibly neither. Ask the contractor to measure the ducts first and to explain what is wrong in each room. |
| F2 Why is one room always colder than the rest? | The duct may be too small or too long, the return may be missing, or the room may lose more heat than the system was built for. Ask the contractor which it is and how they know. |
| F3 Can I add central air to my existing ducts? | Sometimes. Ducts built for heat may not carry enough air for cooling. Ask the contractor to check the trunk and returns and put the result in writing. |
| F4 Is sealing and insulating ducts worth asking about? | Ask where the ducts run. Runs through unheated attics and crawl spaces lose the most heat, so ask the contractor which runs, if any, need it. |
| F5 What does a duct quote need to list? | Each run that changes, with its new size, plus the returns, the sealing and how the work will be tested at the end. |
| F6 Does a boiler house have ducts? | Usually it has pipes and radiators instead. The same question applies to them, so ask what the piping can carry. |
| F7 Who pulls the permit for duct work? | Your town or village decides whether duct work needs one. Ask the contractor who applies and when you will see it, and check with your code office if the answer is unclear. |
What the job covers
What a ductwork job covers
- Measuring what you have The contractor checks trunk sizes, branch lengths and returns, and records them.
- Resizing or replacing trunks and branches The quote should list which runs change and to what size.
- Return air Air needs a path back to the equipment. Ask whether returns are added or enlarged.
- Sealing and insulating Joints and runs through cold spaces can be sealed and wrapped. Ask for a list of where.
- Registers and balancing The contractor sets dampers and checks airflow room by room when the work ends.
A bigger machine cannot push air through a small trunk
Equipment and ducts work as a pair. If the ducts are too small for the air the new unit delivers, you hear it, and the farthest rooms get the least.
Before you buy more capacity, ask the contractor to measure the trunk and the branches and to tell you what they can carry. If the answer is that nobody checked, ask for the check to be done and written up.
Ready to compare quotes?
The same rule holds for radiators and piping in a boiler house. What the pipes can carry limits what the boiler can deliver.
Basis: Air Source Heat Pumps: Don't Oversize, NYSERDA fact sheet Residential Code of New York State, Chapter 14
Sizing room by room starts with the load
NYSERDA describes a real load calculation as measuring walls, windows, roof and floor, noting which way each surface faces, and in some cases testing the house for air leakage. That is the information a duct plan needs.
Ask the contractor whether the duct work was designed from the room by room load. If the contractor used a rule of thumb, ask what the rule is and why it fits your house.
Ready to compare quotes?
The Department of Energy's Building America team says rules of thumb tend to produce oversized systems. Oversizing can also leave air temperatures uneven, which is the complaint that sent you here.
What a duct fix should list on the quote
A duct quote that says only new ducts has told you little. Look for a list: which runs are replaced, their new sizes, which returns are added or enlarged, and where sealing and insulation go.
Look also for a test at the end. The contractor should check airflow in the rooms that were the problem and tell you what they found. If a room still misbehaves, you want that written down while the contractor is still on site.
Ready to compare quotes?
If the quote comes with new equipment, ask whether the duct changes were sized for the new unit. Equipment and ducts have to be chosen as a pair, so ask for one plan that covers both.
When the ducts are fine and the problem is elsewhere
Not every cold room is a duct problem. A leaky window, a missing return or an oversized unit can each cause the same trouble.
Ask the contractor to explain how they ruled each cause in or out. You are paying for a diagnosis of the house, and a good answer is one you can repeat to someone else.
Why summer shows up the problem first
Syracuse has a short cooling season, with most hot days landing in June, July and August. The first hot week can show which rooms the ducts barely reach.
If you plan to add central air, tell the contractor, because the coil will use the same trunk and returns, so any shortfall carries over.
Pipe run
How a ductwork job runs
- 01
Name the rooms that do not work
Tell us which rooms run hot or cold, and in which season.
- 02
Ask for a duct check before equipment
A duct check first keeps you from paying for a unit your ducts cannot serve.
- 03
Read the room by room plan
Look for sizes on each run you are paying to change.
- 04
Book the plan you can read
Choose the bid that explains each change in plain words and puts it in writing.
On paper
What to hold before you sign
The room by room load
It shows what each room needs, which is how a contractor decides what each duct must carry.
The duct check notes
Measured sizes of the trunk, branches and returns as they are today.
The list of changes
Each run that is replaced, resized, sealed or added, in plain words.
The permit line
Whether your town or village wants a permit for the work, and who files it.
Bring the register count and the airflow question.
What moves the price
What changes a ductwork quote
- How many runs change and how long each one is.
- Whether the trunk can stay or has to be replaced.
- Access: ducts behind finished ceilings cost more to reach than ducts in an open basement.
- New returns, which may mean opening walls.
- Sealing and insulation in cold spaces.
- Whether the work happens with a new furnace or a new cooling system.
- Permit fees set by your town or village.
The Heating and Cooling Syracuse pledge
- Asking us is free, and so is the introduction.
- You get the three questions before anyone quotes.
- You decide whether a contractor visits.
- Your $100 comes off the way our Terms set out.
The contractor you choose answers for the installation itself.
Heating and Cooling Syracuse, (315) 640-3590 Full start-up terms
Credit: $100 off your first job
The $100 comes off once your installation is booked through us.
- We fund the $100; the contractor's quote is unchanged.
- One credit per customer at each property.
- Book the job by December 31, 2026.
- Mention the credit when you book.
Where
Ductwork in your town
Median home built before 1940
Median home built 1940 to 1969
Median home built 1970 or later
Guides
Read before you decide
Get the worksheet before the price.