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Greetings,
I am interested in putting Hydronic Heat and Ductless AC (such as the Mr. Slim products) into my 1500 square foot house. I dont want to do the 756 square foot basement until I finish it next year. Basically the point is to replace the forced air heating and cooling systems with something that can have heating zones, quiet usage and is more amenable to changes in fueling strategies (such as electric vs natural gas). I will likely keep the ductwork so that I can install a whole house air purifying system in the house but in the short term it will become unused.
When I contacted a few contractors on this, they wanted $30,000 to do the hydronic system alone. This is a stupid high price that I estimate is about 80% labor. Since I am quite handy around the house I thought about doing it myself. I have put in sprinkler systems, built a greenhouse with water and power (including splicing into the house water and a GFCI circuit breaker) and a dozen other projects.
So here is my plan Im hoping to get comments on:
1) Have an HVAC guy design the system on paper with a parts list. My budget for that is no more than $500. I want the plans to have parts list with the right fittings, insulation for pipes, and other essential safety parts.
2) Get a building permit for the install.
3) Go shopping for my parts and pieces.
4) Route all the pipes in the house myself. Make connections and so on. Do any under the floor work needed, attach radiators to walls, install under-floor heating in my hardwood areas if it can be done from the basement up and so on.
5) Have a HVAC guy make the final connections to GAS and Electric for me and give it the once-over for inspection.
Is this a viable plan in your opinion? Also I would like to know if anyone has preference for Hydronic radiator or Mini-Split AC manufacturers and why. Also does anyone know if there are companies that do the entire design of the system for you?
I am interested in putting Hydronic Heat and Ductless AC (such as the Mr. Slim products) into my 1500 square foot house. I dont want to do the 756 square foot basement until I finish it next year. Basically the point is to replace the forced air heating and cooling systems with something that can have heating zones, quiet usage and is more amenable to changes in fueling strategies (such as electric vs natural gas). I will likely keep the ductwork so that I can install a whole house air purifying system in the house but in the short term it will become unused.
When I contacted a few contractors on this, they wanted $30,000 to do the hydronic system alone. This is a stupid high price that I estimate is about 80% labor. Since I am quite handy around the house I thought about doing it myself. I have put in sprinkler systems, built a greenhouse with water and power (including splicing into the house water and a GFCI circuit breaker) and a dozen other projects.
So here is my plan Im hoping to get comments on:
1) Have an HVAC guy design the system on paper with a parts list. My budget for that is no more than $500. I want the plans to have parts list with the right fittings, insulation for pipes, and other essential safety parts.
2) Get a building permit for the install.
3) Go shopping for my parts and pieces.
4) Route all the pipes in the house myself. Make connections and so on. Do any under the floor work needed, attach radiators to walls, install under-floor heating in my hardwood areas if it can be done from the basement up and so on.
5) Have a HVAC guy make the final connections to GAS and Electric for me and give it the once-over for inspection.
Is this a viable plan in your opinion? Also I would like to know if anyone has preference for Hydronic radiator or Mini-Split AC manufacturers and why. Also does anyone know if there are companies that do the entire design of the system for you?
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