New Ductwork in a Tight Crawl Space: The Movie Set House, Part 2

Last time, the crew ripped out every piece of the original ductwork under this Gonzales County home, a house that once sat on a Hollywood set. This time, Daniel, Brody and Fabian crawled back under to install brand new ducts from start to finish. Tight space, hot work, and a crew that takes pride in doing it right where nobody will ever see it.

This series: Part 1: Ripping out the old ductwork · Part 2: New ducts (this post) · Part 3: The package unit install

What goes into a duct install done right

1. Layout. Runs are planned so each room gets the airflow it needs, with the shortest, straightest path from the plenum. Long, kinked flex duct is the number one reason the back bedroom never cools.
2. Connections. Every takeoff and boot is mechanically fastened and sealed with mastic, not just taped. Tape dries out in a Texas crawl space in a few summers; mastic does not.
3. Sealing. Leaky joints are the most common duct problem we find. A typical older home loses a meaningful share of its conditioned air into the attic or crawl space before it ever reaches a register.
4. Support. Flex duct is hung at regular intervals so it cannot sag, kink or sit on the ground where moisture and pests get to it.
5. Insulation. Properly rated insulated duct keeps cold air cold through an uninsulated crawl space and stops the sweating that rots old duct from the outside in.

Why it matters

Ductwork is half the system. New, properly sealed ducts deliver the air you are paying for to every room, keep dust and moisture out, and let the equipment run the way it was designed to instead of working overtime. That is why we inspect ducts before any new system installation, and why on this house the ducts came first and the new unit came after.

The quick version from under the house:

Clean, seal or replace?

Most homes do not need what this one needed. Leaky ducts can usually be sealed and dirty ducts can be cleaned. Replacement is for ducts that are physically damaged, badly designed or so old the materials are breaking down. Our duct cleaning and sealing page covers how we decide, and Part 1 shows what ducts past saving look like.

Quick questions

How do I know if my ducts leak? Rooms that never cool evenly, high bills and dust that returns right after cleaning. A duct inspection confirms it. Book one here.

Do you work in Gonzales County? Yes. We are based in Seguin and serve Gonzales, Luling, New Braunfels and homes within about 50 miles. See every town we serve.