Ductwork · Replacement
When the runs in the attic are torn, collapsed or coming apart in more places than one, patching stops paying off. A replacement rebuilds the supply and return system so every room gets its share of air again.
A duct system is the part of your air conditioning you almost never see. In most Broward homes the air handler sits in a closet, garage or attic, and the ductwork that carries its air to each room runs through an attic that can get far hotter than the rooms below. When that ductwork fails, the AC can be working perfectly and the house still won't cool evenly.
Replacement is the right call when the problems are spread across the system rather than concentrated in one run. Typical signs:
If only one or two runs are damaged, duct repair is usually the better use of money. The attic inspection tells you which situation you're in. We show you what we found, with photos when they help, and you decide.
A replacement is more than new flex in the same places. The supply and return runs are sized for the airflow each room needs, connected to sound plenums at the air handler, routed with gentle bends, and supported so they can't sag. Every connection is mechanically fastened and sealed with mastic rather than relying on tape alone. The boots behind the ceiling registers are sealed to the drywall and insulated, because that is where humid attic air most often finds a cold surface. Return air gets the same attention as supply: a system that can't pull enough air back to the air handler is loud, weak and inefficient no matter how good the supply side looks.
A proper replacement ends with measurements, not just a walk-through. Static pressure at the air handler and temperatures at the registers are checked against the readings taken before the work, so you can see what changed.
When the outdoor unit and air handler are being replaced anyway, it is worth checking the ductwork at the same time. New equipment is rated for a certain amount of airflow, and old ducts that are undersized or leaking can keep it from delivering its rated capacity. If the ducts are sound, they stay. If they aren't, it's far easier to correct them while the system is already apart than to come back later. See AC replacement and installation.
Most replacements follow years of crushed, separated and leaking runs. Pick a condition to see its effect.
A run pinched under attic storage or bent sharply at a takeoff delivers a fraction of its air. The rest of the house is fine, and one room never catches up.
When one room won't coolBlower effort
Normal
What you notice
Cooled air pours into the attic instead of the room. The room stays warm, the attic gets cold and damp, and the system runs longer to make up for it.
Duct repairBlower effort
Lower than it should be
What you notice
Supply air reaches every room through sealed, supported runs, and enough air returns to the air handler to keep the blower in its comfortable range.
How airflow gets measuredBlower effort
Normal
What you notice
The decision follows what the attic inspection finds, not just the age of the house.
| What the inspection finds | Usually points to | Why |
|---|---|---|
| One or two runs crushed or disconnected | Repair | The rest of the system is sound, so fixing the damaged runs restores airflow. |
| Brittle, torn or flattened jackets on many runs | Replacement | Flex that has aged in attic heat keeps failing at new spots after each patch. |
| Leaking or loose connections throughout | Replacement | When most joints have let go, patching them one at a time never really ends. Rebuilding the connections is the fix. |
| Ducts, boots or plenum sweating in many places | Replacement | Insulation that has broken down across the system lets water form everywhere the air is cold. |
| Rooms that never cooled, even when the ducts were new | Redesign | The layout or sizing was wrong from the start, and new ducts in the same layout repeat the problem. |
| Air handler or outdoor unit also being replaced | Check the ducts first | New equipment needs ductwork that can carry its airflow, and a changeout is the easiest time to correct it. |
Attic inspection and measurements
Each run is traced from the plenum to its register, and static pressure and room temperatures are recorded so the new system can be checked against them.
Sizing the layout
Run sizes follow the airflow each room needs and what the air handler can move. The method is laid out in ACCA Manual D, the residential duct design standard.
Removing the old ductwork
Old flex, collars and failed fittings come out of the attic rather than being left on the joists.
New plenum connections, trunk, runs and boots
Runs are routed with gentle bends and supported along their length. Every connection is mechanically fastened and sealed with mastic, and the boots are sealed to the ceiling and insulated so the registers don't sweat.
Checking the result
Static pressure and room-by-room temperatures are measured again with the system running, so the improvement is a number, not a feeling.
Planning a duct replacement?
Answer a few questions and get a rough range in a couple of minutes. It's not a quote. The final price follows the attic inspection and your actual layout.
The on-site duct evaluation is free.
Attic ductwork in Broward lives in a harsh place. Summer attics run far hotter than the living space, and the air around the ducts is humid most of the year. That combination works on a duct system from the outside in:
None of this happens overnight, which is why duct problems tend to show up as a slow change: a room that used to be comfortable and now isn't, a system that runs longer every summer, or a ceiling stain under a run.
It depends on how much of the system has failed. If one or two runs are crushed, kinked or disconnected and the rest are in good shape, repairing those runs is the better value. If the attic shows the same failures across many runs, with brittle or torn jackets, connections letting go everywhere and insulation breaking down, replacement usually costs less over time than repairing one run after another.
In most single-story Broward homes the ductwork runs through the attic, so the work happens there and at the registers in each room. Ducts that run inside walls, between floors or above finished ceilings in condos are different, and how they are reached is part of the on-site inspection.
Not automatically. If the ducts are sound, sealed and sized for the new system's airflow, they can stay. But a replacement is the best time to check: new equipment can only deliver its rated capacity if the ductwork can carry its air, and correcting undersized or leaking ducts is much easier while the system is already apart.
Tell us which rooms struggle and how old the system is. The estimate starts in the attic.
The on-site duct evaluation is free.
Florida license CAC1821225
