Furnace replacement

[randy]

Furnace shit the bed--one of those old asbestos beasts that need removing. Been qoted mostly in the $7,000 range for removal and installation. This sound about right?

[Max Murdoc]

And people keep telling me that I need to buy a house......no thank you. I couldn't come up with 7 grand to save my life. It would be a long cold winter in Max's home.

[phillyidol]

That sounds about right with a good honest guy. I must also add if you didn't have gas, now is the time to switch. Get the larger burner for a few more bucks. You won't regret it. I had the same thing when I bought this house and switched everything.

[WolverineSyr]

Good God not in my experience! How many rooms or floors do you have?

I think I paid in the $1600 range for the furnace and installation, and an additional $1000 for central a/c about a year later. I only have one floor to heat and 7 rooms. I did not get a top of the line furnace, but it's not a piece of junk either.

Maybe I'm blocking it all out, but I'm sure it was under 2K.

[coop41]

What's a furnace? Buy a one way ticket to Arizona. I'm not sure how much it costs from where you are at but I'm guessing you'll have $6500 left over to cover hotel costs at a resort until winter is over. Record highs in the high 80's expected this weekend so hurry!
You may even have a little left to buy me a beer!

[randy]

Wolvie--how long ago??

I've got a few quotes so far--all high in my book--from 6,400 to 8,800. A good portion of the cost comes with the asbestos removal--(so I'm told )

[WolverineSyr]

I bought the furnace 4 years ago and the central a/c 2 years ago.

I am absolutely positive that the asbestos removal is what's jacking the price waaaaay up.

Try looking for some state programs that may assist in the removal. I'm not sure if there are any, but it seems like I've heard that there are. Usually the Department of Health can steer you in the right direction.

[scramjet]

$7K seems too high. I just bought a 95% efficient one for my 3000 sq. ft. house for about $3600. I agree that the cost may be justified for the asbestos removal.

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[djcraig]

I just paid 3500 to replace mine. Price included a nice air filter, digital thermostadt and multi stage fan.

Turns out the old one was defective and a fire hazard!




<a href="http://www.djcraig.net/los_angeles_dj">DJ Craig</a>

[phillyidol]

I paid around 5 or 6 grand 10 years ago for the top of the line one. You just get a few quotes (3) and go with the guy you trust. (middle or high end quote)You will be fine.

[randy]

Yeah..my middle quote was 7,300. None of the smaller contractors care to bother with asbestos--only the bigger "name" plumbing companies have responded so far.

Has not been my year for plumbimng issues.
First the dishwasher went--leaked into the basement and destroyed the ceiling in the basement.
Next--The good old shit pipe--the one that takes everything out of the house--was cast iron --and rotting from the inside out. I could see the water drips and rust making their way through the pipe--a quock--ack--2,500 solved that crisis before it blew open.
3 weeks later--basement flooded--hot water heater rusted out--it WAS 10 years old and they DO say they don't last much longer than that.
Lo and behold--2 months later--the furnace.

Shoulda been a plumber...[B)]

[WolverineSyr]

My old one was a fire hazard too. I had no clue. When they replaced it, the guy showed me where flames had shot up one of the ducts. Thank God it died when it did.

I know what you mean Randy. Fortunately, my repairs spaced themselves out so I wasn't dumped on all at once. It seemed like as soon as I had a breather from paying off a huge bill - something else would die - the roof (8 K & almost paid off,) furnace, hot water heater. I know my bathroom needs to be redone, several trees need to be cut & I probably will need some new windows, but I'm holding off on all of that.

I'm also sure that the city will make me redo my sidewalk sometime in the near future. It sucks because they don't let you do it yourself & you either have to hire city workers at 3K or a contractor. Do other cities pull this crap? Personally I wouldn't mind if they dug the whole thing up & left a ditch in it's place.

[Jefe]

Randy, make sure whomever you choose knows what they are doing. When I lived in Pittsburgh my furnace actually caught on fire. We had just bought the house in August and had central air installed. When the furnace overheated for whatever reason the following January, we came home from my wife's parents' to find the house filled with smoke. Whoever originally installed the furnace had mistakenly wired the emergency shut-off for when the furnace overheats to shut off the blower motor instead of the gas supply. So when our furnace overheated, the fan shut off, leaving the gas burning and the interior of the furnace getting hotter and hotter. Eventually the drip pan for the a/c coil melted sending an acrid plastic smoke throughout the house. All this resulted from ONE incorrect wire connection!

[BffloGrl85]

[quote][i]Originally posted by WolverineSyr[/i]
<br>I bought the furnace 4 years ago and the central a/c 2 years ago.

I am absolutely positive that the asbestos removal is what's jacking the price waaaaay up.

Try looking for some state programs that may assist in the removal. I'm not sure if there are any, but it seems like I've heard that there are. Usually the Department of Health can steer you in the right direction.
[/quote]

Randy, Wolvie has a point. Look into State and local programs that might help you with the cost of replacing the old furnace. New York State has several programs that can help homeowners with the cost of replacing a heating system. Some are tied to income eligibility and others like the Home Performance with Energy Star program are open to everyone. Here's my shaneless plug for the information: www.getenergysmart.org

[Frau_Blucher]

I wouldn't worry too much about the fire hazard Randy. Five times as many people die from the carbon monoxide.