New furnace, How much for installation ???

[roscoe]

Hey guys, looking at a new furnace, and was wondering what you all think the installation costs will be.
I am expecting 2-3 estimates in the next couple of days.


Specs

(lp furnace 75-80,000 btu 93-95% $1400 )

All ductwork is in, cold air return will match up within 2"

There will be an approximate 14-18" gap between the top of furnace and the plenum

Switched electric drop is within 6"

Gas line is within 6"

Old furnace will be removed by ME.

So, pretty much boils down to a 3 mile delivery, install, connect 6 wires, connect gas line, and adapt the air return and discharge.

All the shops are 1-4 man shops, non-union.


Give me your guesses please, and I will post the estimates when they arrive.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: New furnace, How much for installation ???

$1800

I paid $3500 for a 125K BTU 80% heater. No exhaust ducting needed to be changed since it wasn't a condensing heater. Is yours a condensing heater?

This assumes you are supplying the furnace.

 

[aspeck]

Re: New furnace, How much for installation ???

$675

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: New furnace, How much for installation ???

$750

 

[Tim Frank]

Re: New furnace, How much for installation ???

Are you supplying the furnace?

 

[Eric 3.7LX Alpha 1]

Re: New furnace, How much for installation ???

$3,500 total job +/-, 95% AFUE furnace included, including making any necessary duct to connect to the existing supply and return. Prices will vary depending on efficiency, size and make of furnace. Many high efficency furnaces have ECM blower motors, and 2 stage gas valves. The furnace will start in lo-fire for X-minutes, could be 45-50,000 btu's, and if the system doesn't satify, hi-fire will kick in. Good if you have a programmable thermostat.

 

[colbyt]

Re: New furnace, How much for installation ???

$2500 total if you are real lucky. 3K is more realistic.

 

[roscoe]

Re: New furnace, How much for installation ???

Ok, Yes it is a condensing furnace, same as the old one.
Contractor is supplying the furnace, and they are working up the instal portion of the proposal.


Well, the first proposal came in.

$1900 Which includes the LP conversion kit and a new filter rack. So, $3300+tax for a total.

Really?

A labor rate of $250+/hr ?

I can't imagine what it would be if I was in Chicago.


Anyway, I kind of expected a high bid from this guy, but did not expect an install date of November 7th.


2 more bids to come.

I may end up doing this myself.

 

[roscoe]

Re: New furnace, How much for installation ???

Well, been waiting 9 days for a call back from one contractor, I have called him 3 times.
Another guy didn't show, or call for an appointment today.
A third guy has not returned calls for 5 days.

I'm done.

I just ordered an 88,000/66,000 btu furnace with 2 stage burner and 4 speed fan,
95% efficiency, 10 year parts warranty, lifetime heat exchanger warranty,
including a "custom" plenum size adaptor, the LP conversion kit,
a sealed filter box, and a water manometer, delivered to my driveway for ..... $1215.95.

All done on the internet, with a follow up call to verify the facts.

It should be delivered on Friday, Monday am at the latest.

I will need to buy 10' of 2" pvc and 3 90* elbows, and approximately 2' of gas line.
Heck, I might even splurge and run new wires for the thermostat.


So, no fall walleye fishing for me this weekend.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: New furnace, How much for installation ???

Well, been waiting 9 days for a call back from one contractor, I have called him 3 times.
Another guy didn't show, or call for an appointment today.
A third guy has not returned calls for 5 days.

I am sure this is the busy time of the year for them in your area. I had my tahoe house one installed in May.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: New furnace, How much for installation ???

Well, been waiting 9 days for a call back from one contractor, I have called him 3 times.
Another guy didn't show, or call for an appointment today.
A third guy has not returned calls for 5 days.

My mom just had a furnace installed up in your neck of the woods, or should I say it's getting installed next week. She bought it about a month ago.... Sounds like it's the busy time of the year for furnace installs.

Your $1200 is a LOT less than what she paid for the furnace + install, so I say you were wise to go that route.

 

[roscoe]

Re: New furnace, How much for installation ???

Sure it is a busy time, but that is no excuse to make promises and appointments you have no intention to keep.
I guess they really think the consumer has no alternative.

But with 10 competitors in a 15 mile radius, you think they would want to lock down a customer with a deposit and a contract.

I have made it very clear that they could call me 24/7, and if I didn't answer, I would call them back within an hour.

I would have had this done months ago, but the furnace was working fine a month ago. Then it went haywire, cycling on and off, even though the thermostat was turned off. After further review.... the transformer appears to be ok, but the circuit board is fried.

The old adage of "make hay when the sun shines" clearly doesn't apply to them either, as none of them work on Saturday or Sunday. Obviously they are not hurting in this economy. Must be nice.

I'll let you all know how this project works out, and update you all on the company I am buying from.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: New furnace, How much for installation ???

Sure it is a busy time, but that is no excuse to make promises and appointments you have no intention to keep.

Welcome to the world of dealing with contractors.

The furnace I just had installed is in a home in freezing temps and I am not there a lot of the time. I went with a standard 80% furnace because the high efficiency ones are just not reliable enough according to my contractor. He says the gas valves have been troublesome in them and if it fails when I am not there, my pipes freeze.

 

[The_Kid]

Re: New furnace, How much for installation ???

I may end up doing this myself.

Go for it. I put a new furnace and central air unit in at the lake house a couple of years ago that was a lot more complicated that yours looks to be. I only had window units for cooling so it was new everything.

I had to shorten the plenum and modify the return duct work so I could add a filter box that I built. I also had to lengthen one of the main supply ducts and shorten the other one. Did the propane conversion, replaced about 5 foot of gas line, ran new power to the furnace and AC compressor, and new wiring to the new thermostat.

The hardest part was running the two lines from the A coil to the compressor. The only labor cost was to have someone come out and hard solder the lines to the units and check the freon level.



Did I mention that I had to replace the electrical panel because there was no way to add any circuits to it and it was a little scary looking anyhow.

 

[sirmumbles]

Re: New furnace, How much for installation ???

I'm about to get started on a job in lower NY state, where everything costs at least twice as much as in the real world. They're replacing a system with two oil-fired furnaces, two central AC units, and an oil-fired hot water heater, with a propane-fired boiler, hot water heater, hydronic air handlers, new central air. The old 1000-gallon oil tank has to come out of the ground and a 1000-gallon propane tank will take its place. The whole job is $25K. Then there will be the cost of the propane. This was the only quote that came in under $30K. Doing some portion of the work myself is not an option. Around here, you can't pick up a screwdriver without a license and a permit.

Common wisdom says that all HVAC stuff is the same. The only variable is how well it's installed. The big names get better quality ratings because they require installers to have extensive training. So it's best to go with someone who knows what they're doing even if they cost a little more.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: New furnace, How much for installation ???

Sure it is a busy time, but that is no excuse to make promises and appointments you have no intention to keep.

I'm with you on that, pretty surprising they are not beating down your door to sell you something. Our AC went on the fritz (it's like a heater in the cold country ) and everyone I called wanted to come over to work on it. Problem with that was separating the wheat from the chaff, quotes from $5-10K to replace our AC when all it needed was freon... $250.

The only thing that might not be in your favor is that you have done half their work and they would rather have a whole job. I think my mom's system was $6K or something like that, but that included a lot of duct work.

The bright side, at least you can do your own install. Our combo unit is roof mounted and there's no practical way for me to replace it, unless I went out and bought a crane...

Let us know how it turns out.

 

[roscoe]

Re: New furnace, How much for installation ???

Go for it. I put a new furnace and central air unit in at the lake house a couple of years ago that was a lot more complicated that yours looks to be. I only had window units for cooling so it was new everything.

I had to shorten the plenum and modify the return duct work so I could add a filter box that I built. I also had to lengthen one of the main supply ducts and shorten the other one. Did the propane conversion, replaced about 5 foot of gas line, ran new power to the furnace and AC compressor, and new wiring to the new thermostat.

The hardest part was running the two lines from the A coil to the compressor. The only labor cost was to have someone come out and hard solder the lines to the units and check the freon level.

View attachment 170756View attachment 170757View attachment 170758

Did I mention that I had to replace the electrical panel because there was no way to add any circuits to it and it was a little scary looking anyhow.

View attachment 170759View attachment 170760

good job, look nice.

 

[roscoe]

Re: New furnace, How much for installation ???

I'm with you on that, pretty surprising they are not beating down your door to sell you something. Our AC went on the fritz (it's like a heater in the cold country ) and everyone I called wanted to come over to work on it. Problem with that was separating the wheat from the chaff, quotes from $5-10K to replace our AC when all it needed was freon... $250.

The only thing that might not be in your favor is that you have done half their work and they would rather have a whole job. I think my mom's system was $6K or something like that, but that included a lot of duct work.

The bright side, at least you can do your own install. Our combo unit is roof mounted and there's no practical way for me to replace it, unless I went out and bought a crane...

Let us know how it turns out.

I haven't done anything yet, except determine that the old one was not worth fixing.

It's about as easy as a swap out as you could imagine. Going to start removal in about 30 minutes.


I actually got a call from the freight company today, they wanted to deliver tomorrow, just 48 hours from the time I placed the order.
Had to push it back to Friday, as I have a doctor appointment tomorrow.

 

[roscoe]

Re: New furnace, How much for installation ???

Ok, forgot to post back with the update.

I did finally hear from the other 2 pros, sorry, too late.


Ordered the furnace and parts from http://www.alpinehomeair.com
a 95% AFUE 2 stage burner unit, and had it at my home 3 days later.

1 hour to rip out the old furnace.

1 trip to the hardware store, $71.
$1215.96 for the furnace and parts.
So $1287 total.

Not counting my instruction reading time, it took me 9.5-10 hours.

Modifying the cold air return took longer than it should have, as did adjusting the gas pressures and checking the temp rise, etc. But I was learning as I went.

I'm guessing the pro could have easily done it in 7 hours, or less.

Does it look perfect? No.

Does it look good and work well? So far.

Saved myself $2100.

 

[aspeck]

Re: New furnace, How much for installation ???

And $2100 is a lot of gas! Can look at it as free heat! Yeah!