3 HVAC Ductwork ISSUES Homeowners NEED To Know!

It's not a mystery that ductwork can be installed improperly. In fact, it's commonly known that ductwork in most homes isn't sized correctly. However, aside from the obvious issues such as holes and leaks in the ductwork, what are some things homeowners can watch out for without being an expert and knowing all things HVAC? I've compiled 3 common problems you can watch out for as a homeowner when there seems to be air flow complications in your home.

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---------Chapters------------
0:00 Intro: 3 HVAC Ductwork Issues Homeowners Need To Know!
1:46 Does the trunk ductwork step down?
2:51 All rooms are different sizing and should have different-sized ducts
3:40 Spider duct system problems
4:18 Duct off the end of the trunk
5:41 Return Ducts should be larger than Supply Ducts overall
6:36 Ductwork should meet these guidelines overall
7:10 Griffin Air and New HVAC Guide

#duct #ductissue #ductproblem

[Kyle-]

I have a 1200sqft 3/2 and a 2.5 ton unit that is 3 years old. The air handler is in the attic, and I'm replacing the entire duct system from the 70's by myself. Your video has been the most helpful I have found yet. You even used the same size house/HVAC unit I have as your example. Praise The Lord, Jesus Christ.

[paulaguilar]

I have installed ductwork for 32 years here in Northern California. This guy did a nice job of explaining things correctly. To answer some problems- if you are getting too much air in 1 room and not enough in another room you could add balancing dampers in the ductwork to divert the air into other rooms. Also a big thing he talked about is too small return air to the unit, this causes many problems. 1 is the unit may freeze in a/c mode in summer because the unit is starved of air over the coils. He brought up static pressure. This is an issue with how the system deliveres air evenly. Proper sizing of ductwork helps delivery of air through out the home. Stepping down in size the further you go down the line is key to proper airflow. Hope this helps some of you. This guy is spot on here. Good job

[bobnelson]

👍 as a former Licensed Sheetmetal worker, estimator, business owner, and heating design, this man explains it well without going into excessive detail.

[geoelectro]

A few of years ago I got a new AC. It was supposed to be a 4 ton unit for 2200 sf. Another company came out for a free yearly checkup and I was informed I had a 5 ton unit and my ducts were not adequate. He also suggested a second return air. I had 4 estimates from 4 companies who all pretty much said the same thing. I had the first company do the job. 9k for all new ducts and additional return air. What a difference. It’s very quiet now and the whole house stays cool. Before, the living room for example would not cool down during the day with company over. That ductwork costs more then the AC install. But, I should only have to do it once!

[DoubleJHasManyDoodles]

Always check behind your plenum box and make sure they sealed the area off from the attic if you have a closet mounted blower! Paid $8k and found the installer never sealed the back 4” off so I was pulling dust, dirt, and gross outside air into the closet into the intake and through and out the duct work! I fixed it myself because I’m so sick of being scammed by AC guys.

[sheltdog]

Perfect explanation of HVAC. I’m a plumber of 30 plus years so I’ve seen some duct work. If new homeowners and about 95% of home inspectors would watch this video a lot of new homes would be left sitting! Several years ago my Dad hired in the side a couple of my sisters X buddy’s to install a new furnace and a/c unit which he purchased and of coarse he upped the tonnage which he thought would be better. Well after the install the unit which was a Lennox began having problems. Well of course he had a HVAC contractor come out and they said they couldn’t find any problems. I went and just put my eyes on it and began doing some test just using a thermometer and common sense. After doing some thinking and calling my buddy which is a HVAC company owner and explaining the situation and giving my thought on the problem he told me your exactly right. The unit was starving for return air with the unit being upsized. So I called my dad and told him I’d be over the following weekend and we can address the problem. Thank god I got there when I did because he had already drew out lines on the walls where he wanted the return vents and had started cutting Sheetrock with a razor knife. I stopped him in his tracks from cutting any further and told him we’re not going up into any walls we’re gonna go through the floor! Short story long we finally got the returns in and the unit has worked fine ever since! The contractor world needs more Professional People like you in it!!!

[khalmaj]

Thanks for arming us with information. We are also grateful for all of the helpful comments of your viewers.

[stevenskonieczny]

Thank you. You earned my support. I’m pretty sure you solved my house heating issue. I probably have a 30 foot trunk with a 90 degree angle all the same diameter. The two rooms in the end are freezing.

[Engnrguy]

Thank you for this video! Wow, my home has all of those issues…trunk not stepped down, rooms warmer than others, same size (6”) duct going to every room regardless of size, supply coming off the end of a trunk.
I’ll be calling for someone to review it this month!!

[davidhoover]

The biggest issue for indoor air quality and occupant health is actually duct leakage. Even brand new duct systems leak quite a bit. Our brand new, pretty well done duct system actually had 120 cfm of total leakage. We had aeroseal seal it all up for us. Everyone is breathing contaminated air, pressurizing, or depressurizing their home with poorly sealed duct work. No good. Contractors building building's envelopes and mechanical systems are directly affecting the health of the occupants. In my new house, I needed to add ventilation because VOC's were too high making me not sleep well and our house prior to sealing the ducts was pulling in attic air and pressurizing the house. There's a lot of data now showing indoor air causes lots of chronic health problems. It's time for A/C guys to start paying attention instead of just throwing in a single speed A/C with a fiberglass filter, no ventilation, no dedicated dehumidification for mild months, and etc. Into homes and not thinking anything of it.

[patrickbullock]

As a retired engineer (BSEE) I have to say that the duct work IS the weakest link, and although the airflow dynamics can become quit complex Mr. Griffin provided an excellent, easily to understand explanation. Einstein quote: “If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.” This is who I would want to do all my duct work service.

[LIBERTYRDEATH]

Well you just disappointed about 75% of home owners. Unfortunately builders and many home owners use cheap mechanical contractors for residential the majority of time. Therefore you get low skill labor at a a good price. Get multiple estimates from reputable companies and ask to see their work. If they can’t show you photos they don’t take pride in what they do. Doesn’t matter if you spent 20k on your new system if it isn’t installed correctly. Do your research on companies. Ask to see their work. If it doesn’t look good, it’s probably not. People that do good work take pride in their craft. It should look clean, not like a rats nest, or bomb went off. It should be sealed. Trash shouldn’t be left in the attic or basement etc. quality mechanical contractors are definitely out there but it’s up to the home owner to do their research on the companies they hire.

[struckync]

I rented a 5000sq ft building for my restaurant, was having trouble with the air flow. I was shocked when i went in the attic and see what the previous rented had done. 2 4 ton units main duct work was about 8 foot long, each unit had 12 vents. but they used 12 flex to all the vents and tapered down to 6'' about 3 foot before the vent. this caused NO AIR FLOW. not to mention the power bill was 1200 a month. i fixed all the ducts. and air flow is good and power bill is down to 550.

[TheJBanks]

You can put dampers on the “spider” systems and balance out the air flow in each room.

[phillipm]

I’ve got an addition I’m running duct to and I’ve gotta run 4 more vents. About 30ft away for all of them. Might scrap that idea and do a mini split for it

[fobypawz]

This is such a critical video. I think I'm going tour some new open houses in my area and see if the ductwork is up to par like the points you made in this video, and then find out who the HVAC installer is for those properties!

[sheepdog]

Our 3 y.o. house has been half hot half cold on day one.
In 50 years, 5 houses never had this issue.
The lennox dealer twlls me no problem.
Told our builder if it does not get corrected I'll be calling the customer experience number.
Right now i have a window unit in back bed room.
And it's a spray foam insulared house!.Arrgh...

[MrL]

I made 2 million dollars this year!!!😁 but this video is amazing 💪🏾💯💯

[GlennJ]

usually you can adjust the air flow by closing or opening vents in the room. i have 31 apartments and homes. that always done it for me.

[potentialhvac]

Plenums with duct work off the sides work good as long as you keep your take offs towards the cap and use volume dampers at wys for each supply to vent. And alway as Mr Griffin said step down size at transitions Great video 👍🏽