Gas and Oil Home Heating Furnaces - Duct Work in New Home

I'm not a doityourselfer but I do have a question that I could use your expertise.

I'm currently having a house built for me (Two-Story w walk out basement) and the heat runs have just been installed. On the main floor the ductwork is in the floor however, the 2nd floor (bedrooms) it appears that the ducts will be installed in the ceiling.

Is this a good plan or should I have it changed to have heat and A/C on upstairs floor come from floor vents/ducts?

I've read some of the forum and I live in a cold climate area where one individual stated this was the determing factor.

Any assistance would be appreciated.

In the Ceiling? Ask your installer why they are doing it in the ceiling. All the new homes I used to do, we put it on the floor joist and have the vents blow from the floor. If your floor joist are tight, and small that they can not make any duct run. then maybe that's why they are doing that. Are you have just one furnace in the basement to do the whole house?

Yes....One Furnace in the basement to service both floors. 2 Zones as well.

According to my heating expert, there has been a code change (Aug 2001) where you cannot run heat ducts up outside walls. Therefore the challenge was to get the heat upstairs. It could be that the joists are to small, however, it looks like alot of cold air returns are being used, where heat ducts could be run (to me).

They've taken a large (Round duct) run it though my 1st Floor Closet to the 2nd Floor closet and finally to the Attic. Doesn't impact the closet space, big closets. In the attic is where they break down this big pipe of heat (and or A/C) to each bedroom/bathroom instead of bending it around the floor joists.

Is this efficient? New way to do this instead of in the Floor Joist?

I personal don't care for the vents in my ceiling but if this is new and more efficient, I suppose I can learn to live with it.

Couple more Quest:

1. Cold air returns. Is there a duct that is supposed to run all the way down to the basement? Looks like they plan on using the walls?

2. If I end up using this attic heating (for lack of a better term), should the attic ductwork be metal sealed with mastic? It looks like they want to use this NASA looking ductwork that looks like insulated cardboard. Iasked about it but they said this duct has been used for 30 years.

I'm getting irritated with these guys (or frustrated in my lack of knowledge on this subject to give them the right answers).

Thanks

fist off, have seen the type of systems that you are describing. work very well actually, if in fact yours is a dual zone with t stats both up and down, and a bypass damper and duct. do not worry about the registers in the cieling, here in hot and humid georgia they are ALL that way on the upper floor, although they are usually 2 unit homes. your question about the ductwork is an interesting one as i have a definate opinion on that, one that may be countered by other knowledgble posters on this site. I DO NOT RECOMMEND METAL DUCTWORK IN THE ATTIC. the off cycle time allows the sheetmetal to absorb heat from the 120 degree plus attic in the summer time therefore causing part of the cooling cycle to cool it back down.......very simply put. i recommend flexible duct in the attic, stretched tight with a minimum of bends, then covered by blown in insullation, giving the ductwork that much more insulation. also shoulod be trunk line for return also going up the chase, if done correctly. the contractor may have a plan you are not aware of, ask him for details. insulated cardboard.......ductboard? even better tyhan flex, if done right. give theses guys a break, talk to them......have they done any other houses where you can talk to the owners?

They could of ran the main duct up to the second floor joist, and branch off like they do in the basement, and return air. I honestly don't like the duct in the acttic unless it's an older home that didn't have ductwork upstairs. I was in a model home last fall, and looks like that company did it in the attic, and I sure did not like the looks of the vents in the ceiling!

Ductboard are good, and nothing wrong with them. We never used them. but we just glued down an inch thick black fiberglass on the duct before we bend them. Hope they are not using flex pipe! I had a call to a home that had poor air flow. well, sad to say the whole house had flex pipe! We end up chaning out evertying that that we could get to! There was almost no air flow up stairs befre we changed it all to hard pipe.

Answer to your questions. Yes they can use the wall cavity to run the return air down to the main duct work.

I appreciate your insight. To bring some closure to this thread...I'm going with the Heating experts Plan A. I was shown the other possibility and it didn't seem to fit.

Being in shoulda, woulda, coulda mode now...I would ask for ductwork plans in the specs of a new home (probably plumbing, and gas runs aren't a bad idea either).

I will update this thread after we get our first Artic Blast this Winter on how the "Attic Plan" works. My fingers are crossed..lol