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re: Brand new AC and vents in living room are leaking badly
Posted on 6/11/26 at 9:52 am to CrawDude
Posted on 6/11/26 at 9:52 am to CrawDude
I have been rounding...its actually a little less than 2,000. We really feel four should be enough.
Additionally, the closed cell insulation should start either this afternoon or tomorrow. We are next in line.
Finally, what do you guys think about shades for these doors? I am being told no don't do that for an old door, but they allow a lot of thermal energy in...maybe even some shades from Lowe's would help.
Additionally, the closed cell insulation should start either this afternoon or tomorrow. We are next in line.
Finally, what do you guys think about shades for these doors? I am being told no don't do that for an old door, but they allow a lot of thermal energy in...maybe even some shades from Lowe's would help.
This post was edited on 6/11/26 at 9:53 am
2
Posted on 6/11/26 at 11:53 am to rpg37
quote:
I have been rounding...its actually a little less than 2,000. We really feel four should be enough.
Very well may be sized correctly with your insulation and window improvements but “feeling” and calculating heat load are two different things. Here’s a free on-line manual J calculator you can use to see if your HVAC is appropriately sized. I used it before I changed out my HVAC in 2023 and found my original HVAC, and ducts, were sized correctly. In my case, it was 1 ton per 625 sq ft - 1993 build.
HVAC Load Calculator
One thing I learned from using the manual J calculator to determine heat-cool load for my house was how much heat is gained and loss through windows - it was much higher than I would have ever thought - seems like it was 40% heat gain during summer load calculation. The calculator breaks down heat loss-gains by major category - attic, floors, walls, windows…..
My front door is almost identical to yours - door, side and transom windows and. I haven’t put shades - thought I’ve thought about it - but my interior decorator (I renovated the interior a couple years ago) talked me out of it for aesthetics….lol. Mine is a northern exposure and I have a front porch (seems like you do as well) so that helps reduce heat gain during the summer. That’s a personal decision you have to make. Will it help with heat load? sure, but how much, don’t know but you could likely off set that making heat load improvements elsewhere that don’t affect aesthetics.
This post was edited on 6/11/26 at 12:07 pm
Posted on 6/11/26 at 12:41 pm to rpg37
quote:
Yeah, 100% same boat. My front door faces east so it is heat bearing on this side of house. I did pull the trigger on these: LINK
Thanks for link - I’m thinking I might do the same, more so for privacy issues in the evening.
When that shade is “rolled up” it looks as it does now from the outside now?
My interior decorator and I discussed it and she if really wanted it, that type of shade you posted would be a good solution for privacy, while preserving aesthetics when not in use. Sadly, she moved out of state as my reno was being finished - she was really good and had an answer/solution for just about everything and her fees were more than reasonable. Window shades were one we talked about but didn’t address before she moved.
I assume you are doing 1 shade that will cover the front door & side transom windows? Post a photo when you get it installed.
Posted on 6/11/26 at 1:07 pm to rpg37
quote:
Yeah, 100% same boat. My front door faces east so it is heat bearing on this side of house. I did pull the trigger on these: LINK
I was about to suggest something like. At least temporarily to see if it helps and you can find a more permanent option later on if you don't like the aesthetics.
First step is to test if it helps the heat in the house.
Posted on 6/11/26 at 2:19 pm to CatfishJohn
Probably impossible to measure a singular variable. Insulation is being done tomorrow, dehumidifiers should be shipped next week and the blinds will be after that. Combination of everything hopefully saves this AC from having to overwork.
This post was edited on 6/11/26 at 2:23 pm
Posted on 6/11/26 at 9:27 pm to rpg37
quote:
its actually a little less than 2,000. We really feel four should be enough.
Question…is the unit cycling off in the hottest part of the day?
Posted on 6/12/26 at 7:56 am to Spankum
quote:
Question…is the unit cycling off in the hottest part of the day?
Ha. That thing never turns off. It is on non-stop from 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Yesterday in two interior rooms it was 66 degrees while the living room room was 78 degrees. All while set for 72.
Posted on 6/12/26 at 8:40 am to CrawDude
quote:
Thanks for link - I’m thinking I might do the same, more so for privacy issues in the evening.
I had to cancel this order this morning. These blinds require 1 1/4 depth from the window pane to fit and mine do not. The only ones they sell of that depth are the LEVOLOR Roman Shades which are about triple the price.
Posted on 6/12/26 at 9:15 am to rpg37
You could tint the window. We ordered shades from home depot
Posted on 6/12/26 at 10:42 am to rpg37
quote:
I had to cancel this order this morning. These blinds require 1 1/4 depth from the window pane to fit and mine do not. The only ones they sell of that depth are the LEVOLOR Roman Shades which are about triple the price.
You could use an outside mount that would be mounted on the horizontal “header” board above the door and side transom windows, and below the upper horizontal transom window. It would be hidden when the blind is retracted - and when extended it would cover the door window and the 2 side transom vertical window panes. My interior decorator said that is the approach she would take if I was insistent on placing blinds on the front door windows.
The only thing that “brothers me” as in my case, is both my door lock and door knob are placed on the vertical stile above the door window (from your photo only your door lock is) so the blind when extended would sit flush with the door for the upper part of the door window but would be slightly extended away from the door window when the blinds extends over the door lock & door knob to completely cover the window, if all that makes sense…..lol. I just don’t know how that might look from an aesthetic viewpoint when looking outside in….but I’m probably overthing it.
Posted on 6/12/26 at 11:32 am to rpg37
quote:
Ha. That thing never turns off. It is on non-stop from 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Yesterday in two interior rooms it was 66 degrees while the living room room was 78 degrees. All while set for 72.
Not sure anyone asked, but how many supply ducts does your living room have? As it’s usually largest room, usually with the most windows, in the house it will usually have at least 2, maybe more. First thing I’d do place a thermometer inside the ducts supplying the living room to see what the air temperature is - if the duct runs from the supply plenum are not excessively long air exiting should be in the mid to high 50 F. Compare that to the temperature exiting the supply ducts in the smaller rooms.
Second I’d be measuring air flow velocity and estimated air volume exiting all supply ducts in the house - that can done with a little hand held vane anemometer (I have testo 410i I used to check my house) and that is to determine if air flow is balanced for each room throughout the house. The HVAC tech(s) should have done all that for you, particularly in light of the issues you are having.
Sure seems like with the information you just provided on early morning room temperature in this post, you have an HVAC air supply-air volume imbalance in the house meaning more air flow needs to be supplied to the living room, and less to bedrooms getting to 66 F when the thermostat is set to 72F. The cold temperatures in the bedrooms does provide some confirmation that the cooling, and likely heating, components of the equipment is working properly. That leaves airflow. Ducts should have dampers inside the attic ductwork near the supply plenum and branches off to each room to adjust and balance air flow to each room. Hard to believe your HVAC company has not looked into all that with the problems you are having. They should be, hopefully have, looking for kinked, crushed, and restricted air supply & air return ducts.
Posted on 6/12/26 at 12:35 pm to rpg37
Who's your electric company?
CLECO has a free program not many know about. It's call Weatherization Assessment.
LINK
They will seal duct work, spray insulation in attic, weatherstrip doors, etc etc all for FREE. If you already have spray foam, you're disqualified as well as brand new homes under 2 yrs old, and couple other things.
I've heard lots of companies do this free (Entergy, etc).
CLECO has a free program not many know about. It's call Weatherization Assessment.
LINK
They will seal duct work, spray insulation in attic, weatherstrip doors, etc etc all for FREE. If you already have spray foam, you're disqualified as well as brand new homes under 2 yrs old, and couple other things.
I've heard lots of companies do this free (Entergy, etc).
Posted on 6/12/26 at 1:54 pm to rpg37
I haven’t read through the entire thread, so maybe someone already suggested this. Your vent cover condensing could be a simple issue of poor sealing between the attic and home. Take off the vent cover and see if you can feel any warm air coming from the attic. You can also see if there are any visible gaps. If there are, seal the perimeter with spray foam. You can also go into the attic, pull back any insulation and foam the entire perimeter of the register where it meets the ceiling drywall. Any hot, wet air that escapes from the attic will meet up with that vent cover, which is cool and dry and condense.
Posted on 6/12/26 at 2:09 pm to The Mick
quote:
CLECO has a free program not many know about. It's call Weatherization Assessment.
LINK
They will seal duct work, spray insulation in attic, weatherstrip doors, etc etc all for FREE. If you already have spray foam, you're disqualified as well as brand new homes under 2 yrs old, and couple other things.
I've heard lots of companies do this free (Entergy, etc).
Damn I just checked and my part of the country does not have this. That's wild it's free. Regardless of income? All the ones in East TN are income based and it's a really low threshold, like 80k combined HH income
Posted on 6/12/26 at 4:15 pm to CatfishJohn
I just started looking at it. No income limits but I think they prioritize low income… not sure what that means tbh.
Posted on 6/12/26 at 4:43 pm to The Mick
quote:window units have no ducks
I just started looking at it. No income limits but I think they prioritize low income… not sure what that means tbh.
Posted on 6/12/26 at 5:06 pm to rpg37
A couple of dumb questions since this is the living room…is your fireplace damper open, and are you sure all your windows in that room are closed? Certain people in my house are known for not locking windows properly, and since they are double hung, the top pane will sometimes drop down a little and end up with hot air getting sucked in. With blinds and drapes and stuff that can go unnoticed for a long time.
This post was edited on 6/12/26 at 5:06 pm
Posted on 6/13/26 at 10:06 am to Shorts Guy
No, all five of the fireplaces in the home are sealed shut. They are for show only now. Windows and all as closed as can be, though, they're 125 years old so I know there is some limitation there.
Posted on 6/13/26 at 12:12 pm to CrawDude
Yep, they sent me some options and should be here Tuesday....I really hate the wall mount exposed, however, but without going into the most expensive model, it seems like that will be the only option. Fortunately, by then the insulation should be done so I have another variable completed by then to gauge future decisions.
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