I have a two story 9500 sq. feet home with cathedral ceilings built in 1999. Considering the avg. summer temperatures in West Texas of 95 degrees would it be wiser to install a split system where the cooler air will have to be forced to the second story or would a rooftop unit would work better by blowing colder air from the top to the bottom floors? Considering the laws of gravity where cooler air is heavier therefore flows from top to bottom which system would cool more efficiently? I have been told that a 5 ton unit would be sufficient to cool the entire home regardless of it's location. Ideas, comments, suggestions? Thanks for your advise, Sapperone

Thank you for the information. I think you are right about the home warranty company. We have not had good experiences so far, and the companies that have come out always find something to charge for that isn't covered under the warranty. For example, one company came out to see why the air conditioner wasn't working, added Freon (not covered by warranty), and the system didn't improve at all. We are located in Northern Virginia, and so far it is the heat that has bothered us most. The duct work is between the slab and the floor, so it is pretty inaccessible. It looks dirty when we open up the registers, and it is quite possible there might be minor blockages along the way because of root damage etc. I am open to installing new ducts in the attic, but I thought that given that the attic is quite hot in the summer, this might create some other inefficiences. However, if there is a problem with the existing floor duct work, there is almost no way to fix it without tearing up the floors. I was hoping to salvage the Trane furnace, but would it work ok if it were paired with the new Carrier air conditioner(#24ACC624) and the coil (#CNPVP2417) (the company that gave us this estimate doesn't deal in Trane), or would it be better to pay a couple of thousand more and just get the new 80% gas furnace too (16 SEER rating we are told with the new furnace, 14 seer, with just the air conditioning and coil).

Are you kidding me !!!! Did they do this for FREE? If not get them back out and as OP said make them fix it .. I'm no expert ..but there has to be some blow by meaning some of the heat generated is going some where else other then where it should. Stuff like this make me fume ... some, not all contractors just take your money and run .. get them BACK and have them do it right ... I would think the sheet metal should at least come as close to the upper floor as possible. Sorry about rant but this is just not right!

As a buyer, I wouldn't pay more, but I might go away from the deal if asbestos was found. Unfortunately I wasn't always that informed. As a buyer in the similar situation we did end up buying the house:) The sellers removed the ducts where asbestos was initially found (asbestos wasn't intact) at their expense. Just to get a peace of mind, we went with a full asbestos inspection. We didn't get a peace of mind though-there was asbestos everywhere, walls, floors, and we knew we were going to mess with the house, remodel etc. Why we still bought the house escapes me..:) We know we would have to disclose it if we buy then sell..unlike our sellers who presumably didn't know. The moment we got the results from the lab, the city got them too. We almost went out of the escrow. At the last moment, we didn't. There was something special about this house. And I obviously wasn't thinking right..it was a sad and crazy year for us, we were in a hurry due to family circumstances, we were looking for a very specific location, etc, etc.. (Little did I know. Now I can safely say that even if we were looking for a house for another year-we'd still find ourselves in a new place faster.) After long and painful consideration we went for a full abatement. In our case-meaning we had to gut the house. There's been a year and a half for us paying two mortgages in Southern CA, tending to and financing the remodel, and whatnot. Sometimes it seems to me I am still alive and sane just to tell this story LOL Get rid of whatever you have to and can afford. Asbestos and remodel are not going together very well. If it's covered, fine; I wouldn't take the risks if it is going to be disturbed, whether is going to be me personally remodeling, or somebody else. Now, I'll say something a bit contradictory, but: If you feel uncomfortable with all the asbestos removal, maybe it's better not to check deeper into it. We take different decisions based on information we have; and while it's usually important to know things, sometimes ignorance is a bliss. But even in this case I'd take all the extra precautions when remodeling-wet the surfaces, work in a mask, etc. And if you have kids-keep them away from the work zone as much as possible. I must add that we did have recent death from asbestosis in the family, and it couldn't but influence us. Maybe other buyers will be less fussy than we were, not giving much significance to the fact, coming with different experiences or lack thereof. I wouldn't pay more for a new furnace, but it definitely would make my inclination to buy a house stronger, if I had such inclination in the first place. PS I just read the commentary to the end and saw it's an old discussion with a new question, albeit similar. Sorry! Hope my long rant might still be useful though