Moving A/C supply vents - cost savings?
SoonerDave
11 years ago
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brickeyee
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agoenergy_rater_la
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRelated Discussions
attic cold air leak from a/c vents
Comments (5)This has the potential to be one or both of two messes. If the ducts are not well-insulated, warm, moist air from the living space will enter the ducts and water will condense and might drip into the house. The best solution will be to better insulate the ducts because it will also cost less to cool the house in the summer. If the ducts actually leak air and that is where the cold drafts are coming from, the air leaks should be sealed for the Summer economy as well....See MoreRe-ducting - moving floor vents to ceilings?
Comments (9)Jackfre, thanks for the suggestion to have the system pressure tested for leakage. I'm confused about what you are saying. You said the cost to seal the upstairs and re-pipe the first floor, but that is not what would be done. The first floor vents would be completely sealed and would not be re-piped. There is existing duct work running across the ceiling of the first floor which now supplies the second floor. That would then become the first floor vents, so they would be ceiling vents in the existing ducting for first floor. Had a hvac guy come yesterday who said that because of the way the existing ducting is he could actually just add a little ducting in the living room and created two duct lines from what exists in the ceiling so that the second floor vents would remain as is in the floor and the first floor vents would be in the existing ceiling ducting. I plan to get at least 2 more hvac guys to come and if all agree that that is the best way and most effective than it would be far easier than what we previously thought of having to run ducting through the attic for the second floor....See MoreDo stairwells need a/c vents and/or returns? Mine has MOLD!
Comments (17)the foam is on the roofline, and has been redone due to being sprayed on fiberglass batts...right? were the fg batts on attic floor...I know we don't put batts on roofline. IF the batts were on the floor..when roofline was re-sprayed...did they move the batts? was the roof to attic floor seal made??..seems I asked this in your other thread. pics of eaves/soffit where roof meets attic floor from inside the attic would help. (again) as for the skylights..was the foam installed around them at the roofline & did they continue the foam on the back side of the sheetrock? a simple blower door test would show how much air leakage wasn't sealed in the attic. testing first with attic hatch closed to determine a baseline, and then with hatch opened. the difference would be attic leakage. the blower door test depressurizes the house to show how much air leakage the house has. it is a good idea to air seal the house..you won't get it too tight. it will also cut down on those Entergy bills, if you do the air sealing. call entergy, there is a giveaway program for n.o. get your free audit...and while they are testing open the attic hatch & find out how much the attic leaks. don't expect much from the person doing the test... they get paid by your utility provider. I test foam jobs often. instead of just measuring the leakage, I mark the leakage spots with spray paint for foam co to come back & actually make the seal they claim to achieve. once you've addressed the moisture issues, then getting RH to 50% will be the next goal. you may be able to with a stand alone dehumidifier... what size is the hvac system..a/c with gas furnace? and what size is the house? you have bigger issues than return air at this point. answers are needed. best of luck....See MoreReplacing lead drains with ABS, moving vents
Comments (2)Good Morning Jeremy, I received your drawing via email and have reviewed it thoroughly. Before we begin, let me take a moment to commend you on both your code research and the proper use of fitting nomenclature. This is the type of description I would expect to receive from a 2nd year Apprentice; you have done your homework well. You are correct in your assessment that the original installers made this project far too complex. Not only can you combine the lavatory and shower or tub drains as you suggest as we go deeper into your project you will see that there is a distinct advantage in doing it in that manner. If I am understanding your description correctly on your main CI stack you have a 4" CI Double Tee (Sanitary cross) with a 4" closet bend to the closet flange on either side of the stack, then directly above that you have a second 4x4x2x1-1/2 Double Tee for the shower, tub and lavatory drains. We can simplify this but I would be hesitant to remove any fitting from that 4" vertical stack because cutting into a CI stack can be a very dangerous undertaking. CI stacks are extremely heavy and in most cases they were originally installed to be self-supporting or at best a couple strap-hangers that have by now rusted through or perhaps a couple pieces of wood blocking, which was crudely fastened in place. If you cut a section out you have the risk of the remaining stack above the cut falling down, causing serious structural damage as it rips waste arms out of the walls, possibly ripping a large opening in your roof and not to mention the risk that it would fall on you, causing serious personal injury or even death. I would begin at the 4" sani-cross where the closet bends are attached. Using a CI snap cutter cut the CI about 3" from the face of the hub leaving enough so that you can attach a rubber 4x3 reducing Fernco coupling NOTE: when your house was built the WCs had a 3.5 or 5gpm flush rate and required a 4" drain. When 1.6gpf WCÂs were first introduced they had serious problems with clogging. It was later determined that a 1.6gpf WC should be on a 3" line to reduce clogging. From the 4x3 Fernco you can connect an ABS "3x3x2 side inlet closet bend to a 3" closet flange, then run a 2" line to both the tub and the shower. The reason for enlarging the tub drain will be apparent in a moment. (Note: Code standard for a tub drain is 1-1/2" however there is an exception in the code which allows us to increase the size of a trap or drain line by one nominal trade size of pipe.) Next install an 1-1/2" riser in the wall behind the lavatory, with an 1-1/2" Tee for the lavatory waste arm to the lavatory trap and connecting the top of the riser to the existing steel vent with an 1-1/2" Fernco rubber coupling in the manner that you described. At the base of the riser you can install an 1-1/2" 1/4bend, however, given that the connection will be in the stud bay in the basement, and in an accessible location, I would prefer to install an 1-1/2" Wye & 1/8bend or a Combo, with the side opening connected to the riser. On the upstream end of the Wye or Combo I would then install an 1-1/2" female thread adapter and an 1-1/2" screw in plug to form a cleanout for the horizontal drain line. For each lavatory drain I would then run a 1-1/2 line straight from the base of the riser to the point where it will intersect with the tub or shower drain line at a right angle. Connect the lavatory drain to the tub or shower drain line by means of a 2x2x1-1/2 Wye & 1-1/2 1/8 bend or a 2x2x1-1/2 combo. (If you canÂt find a reducing Wye or Reducing Combo you may use a straight 2"Wye & 2" 1/8bend with a 2"x1/2" reducer but be careful here, a Tee would be prohibited.) In this configuration the tub and shower drains are wet vented from the lavatory drain thus all the tub and shower drain line on the downstream side of the Wye & 1/8bend is defined as a "vented branch" and the remaining short run on the upstream side of that Wye or Combo to the tub or shower trap is well within the 5Â maximum length limit for a 2" waste arm. The reason that we increased the tub drain line from 1-1/2" to 2" is because under the UPC an 1-1/2" horizontal branch line is limited to 1dfu, which is not sufficient for a tub drain, which is 3dfuÂs, however by increasing to 2" the line is rated for a maximum of 4dfuÂs, which is enough for both the tub(3dfu) and the lavatory (1dfu). If you have the second sanitary cross on the main stack as was mentioned before you can now cut the lines on the side inlets about 3" from the hubs and cap the lines with rubber Fernco caps. Note: for cutting the CI I would strongly recommend you rent a "CI snap cutter". Most tool rentals will rent a snap cutter for about $15 a day, and with the snap cutter you can make a good cut in about a minute. CI can be cut with a reciprocating saw but in my experience it will take about 20 minutes per cut and you will burn up so many blades that it will end up costing more than the rental cost of the snap cutter. CI can also be cut by means of a circular saw or side grinder with a metal cutting abrasive wheel, but using an abrasive wheel is never a good idea. Keep in mind that sewer gas is highly flammable and potentially explosive, not to mention the shower of sparks and debris you have from the wheel, and here again, if you figure in the labor time and cost of the cutting wheels it is still more economical to rent a snap cutter....See Moreionized_gw
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agoclocert
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agoEdbishop868
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRobbZee
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agoSoonerDave
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agoionized_gw
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agoenergy_rater_la
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agoEdbishop868
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agoSoonerDave
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agoionized_gw
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agoionized_gw
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agoenergy_rater_la
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agoSoonerDave
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agoSoonerDave
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agoSoonerDave
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agoenergy_rater_la
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agoSoonerDave
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agoenergy_rater_la
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agomike_home
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agobrickeyee
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agoSoonerDave
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agoenergy_rater_la
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agoSoonerDave
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agoionized_gw
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agoSoonerDave
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agobarbq403
7 years agoVith
7 years agolast modified: 7 years ago
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