are they upsizing the unit? what size do you currently have? hard pipe ducts won't condensate if they are air sealed & insulated. granted old hard pipe ducts weren't often sealed, but minimizing leakage at take off at plenum & at cut in ceiling to install the supply boxes does a lot to minimize leakage. if they haven't rusted out in 20 years... unless they have visible rust..it sounds like bs to me. but I haven't seen the duct system. if the ducts are in bad shape..then $2500 isn't a bad price, but I'd want it to include replacing supply plenum. and mastic seal of all duct collars, equipment to plenum joints, and supply box to ceilings. both new and existing R/A should also be mastic sealed for this price. it isn't that the material is expensive...it is the labor... I like the 15-17 SEER range for heat pumps. kind of the sweet spot for performance & efficiency without all the added costs to go 18-20 SEER. with this unit you'll have a decent return on investment. houses built in the 1970's usually have minimal insulation & are very leaky. sealing air leakage & insulating the attic would also be a good investment. and may lower size of hvac. staging the heat strip so that it isn't all used at once is a money saver. investing in a variable speed air handler is also a good choice. best of luck.

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).

The pipe relining sounds like a good thing to look into, I've often wondered how effective it would be for drainpipes, but for hvac it ought to be ok, the stresses and issues if they leak shouldn't be such a big deal. You might even be able to slide some aluminium flex ducting in there I suppose, just to cover where it's slipped. I'd be more concerned about what's happening under the slab to cause it. You may want to test for mould overall. If there's no insulation under the slab ( assume there isn't since you mention pea gravel, the air going through those 'ducts' will be attempting to heat all the ground underneath. Nice for warm feet I suppose. Are you seeing the disconnected duct from the register? Interesting concept, anyway. Certainly stuff can be rerouted through the attic, not cheaply, but in some cases there may be fire issues to address.

I like Summer Sky. Maybe I just like the name : ) But also, have not seen that one out and about and believe me I am out and about looking for granite...The second one reminds me so much of the Giallo ornamentals that are everywhere but they are pretty and that is probably why, versatile, too. The third one reminds me of the Kashmirs such as the white and gold Kashmirs that are relatively common as well. But it really depends on which one looks the best with all that you have in your kitchen. It's really too bad they won't let you bring a piece home but I am running into that as well. The granite yards say they don't knock corners anymore because then they can't sell the slabs to other companies at full price they have to be perfect. With suppliers always trading around with each other at the yards I guess this is why this new policy. Now that the economy is down the rules have changed. You could probably sell anything a few years ago but not so much now. I went to a yard today and the place was all locked up and abandoned, eerie. Anyway, Summer Sky for my vote.