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Message
HVAC replacement cost
Posted on 6/4/25 at 4:34 pm
Posted on 6/4/25 at 4:34 pm
Backstory: bought a recently built (2019) house in 2021. 2700'. Has a single Trane 4 ton single speed compressor with 3 zones (living, master and upstairs). It's struggled ever since we moved in. It break at least once a year and we're on coil number 2 (which i had to pay out of pocket due to a warranty transfer issue that Trane told me to EAD on). I'm done with this POS.
I've had a couple companies come out and give me a quote, including the original installer who acknowledged this is one of the stupidest designs they've ever seen but is happy to take money form me to get it working right. It might not even be their fault because the people who built the house were weirdos.
Consensus seems to be that i need a 5 ton variable or at least 2 speed unit. Prices i'm getting from the big local guys is in the 35-37k range. That seems bonkers. Are they really that expensive now?
Also, getting an 18k minisplit put in the garage. They're quoting ~6700ish for those.
I don't mind paying good shops for good work but i don't want to get HVAC sales bro'd into a bad deal. Anyone have any pricing insight? Bonus points if you know an HVAC company in Houston that won't rape me.
I've had a couple companies come out and give me a quote, including the original installer who acknowledged this is one of the stupidest designs they've ever seen but is happy to take money form me to get it working right. It might not even be their fault because the people who built the house were weirdos.
Consensus seems to be that i need a 5 ton variable or at least 2 speed unit. Prices i'm getting from the big local guys is in the 35-37k range. That seems bonkers. Are they really that expensive now?
Also, getting an 18k minisplit put in the garage. They're quoting ~6700ish for those.
I don't mind paying good shops for good work but i don't want to get HVAC sales bro'd into a bad deal. Anyone have any pricing insight? Bonus points if you know an HVAC company in Houston that won't rape me.
9
Posted on 6/4/25 at 5:17 pm to billjamin
Are you going back with a 3 zone system, or just one zone this time?
We were in a very similar situation, 4 zones, 4 ton carrier. Broke a lot.
Just got a new system. Scrapped the zone for whole house instead. 5 ton, 2 speed. Works great, cools down the house just as fast as the zone did one room, and electric bills have gone down a hair. Cost somewhere between $11-12k.
We were in a very similar situation, 4 zones, 4 ton carrier. Broke a lot.
Just got a new system. Scrapped the zone for whole house instead. 5 ton, 2 speed. Works great, cools down the house just as fast as the zone did one room, and electric bills have gone down a hair. Cost somewhere between $11-12k.
Posted on 6/4/25 at 6:13 pm to indytiger
I'd prefer to stick to zoned because upstairs is rarely used and i like to keep the master at 68 over night. It seems to only break when we are keeping all three zones cold which makes sense since thats when it's most stressed.
Even the 2 speed is 23k
Even the 2 speed is 23k
Posted on 6/4/25 at 6:34 pm to billjamin
Just get 2 units. 1 or 2 ton upstairs and 3-4 ton downstairs.
Posted on 6/4/25 at 7:19 pm to bbvdd
quote:
Just get 2 units. 1 or 2 ton upstairs and 3-4 ton downstairs.
That was my first idea but everyone who comes out seems to think that’s the worst option given attic space and configuration.
Posted on 6/4/25 at 8:32 pm to billjamin
Equipment is probably $11-12k for the unit, half a day for a crew, and whatever markup they want this time of year, apparently 200%.
VS would be the way to go for zoning out one large unit but single speed is fine if split
I’d get a pair of 2.5 tons or even a trio of 2.0s if you’re stuck to those zones. It’s nice at least having some relief when it’s 100 outside and a unit goes down. Down the road, that’ll allow you to actually plan a repair instead get screwed on an emergency call. If we have something break, I just let the wife have whatever office is still cold until I get the part. I can handle 75-80 for a couple days but not 90-100.
It’s hard to fine wholesale prices for American units except Goodman and they don’t sell any VS units on the open market. Single stage 2-3 ton units including heat pump or furnace are in the $4-4.5k range. You can get Chinese VS units a lot cheaper than that.
VS would be the way to go for zoning out one large unit but single speed is fine if split
I’d get a pair of 2.5 tons or even a trio of 2.0s if you’re stuck to those zones. It’s nice at least having some relief when it’s 100 outside and a unit goes down. Down the road, that’ll allow you to actually plan a repair instead get screwed on an emergency call. If we have something break, I just let the wife have whatever office is still cold until I get the part. I can handle 75-80 for a couple days but not 90-100.
It’s hard to fine wholesale prices for American units except Goodman and they don’t sell any VS units on the open market. Single stage 2-3 ton units including heat pump or furnace are in the $4-4.5k range. You can get Chinese VS units a lot cheaper than that.
Posted on 6/4/25 at 8:52 pm to Dallaswho
quote:
markup they want this time of year, apparently 200%.
This is a good point. I probably picked the worst time of year to look. Also to clarify it hasn’t broken yet this year but it’ll happen like always. Maybe I suck it up this year and wait until the winter when they’re slower.
Posted on 6/5/25 at 12:21 am to billjamin
My house is 2880 sf and is considerably older than yours. Several years back, the evaporator coil started leaking so rather than continue to crutch that piece of shite along, I decided to replace it.
Due to my house loosening up I replaced the existing 4-ton unit with a 5-ton and couldn’t be happier. Current unit cycles at 70 degrees on a 100 degree day. There is no way your house should cost $35K to condition.
Yours sounds like some HVAC engineer gone berserk. I would uncoil all of that bullshite and see if you can put a new, adequately sized single unit in.
Due to my house loosening up I replaced the existing 4-ton unit with a 5-ton and couldn’t be happier. Current unit cycles at 70 degrees on a 100 degree day. There is no way your house should cost $35K to condition.
Yours sounds like some HVAC engineer gone berserk. I would uncoil all of that bullshite and see if you can put a new, adequately sized single unit in.
Posted on 6/5/25 at 10:38 am to billjamin
I have a similar situation. All the HVAC guys hate the zone systems. My guy is proposing that we keep the unit we have, convert it to one zone downstairs and add an aditional 2 ton unit dedicated to upstairs. Get rid of the zone system. $17,500 is the quote.
Posted on 6/5/25 at 7:56 pm to Motorboat
I work in HVAC and this is definitely the best route to go, two systems. Zoning is the cheap way
Posted on 6/5/25 at 7:57 pm to rd9820
And $35,000 is extremely too high
Posted on 6/5/25 at 8:01 pm to billjamin
Forgot to mention in my previous post, when I was getting quotes, I did get one quote for a complete replacement of my zone system with a 5k variable speed, with 4 zones, and it was $21k, for comparison to the quotes you got.
Posted on 6/5/25 at 8:03 pm to rd9820
And go with a single stage, a two stage is going to run on high 75% or more anyway. You’ll never recoup the cost difference from the energy savings
Posted on 6/5/25 at 9:54 pm to billjamin
Look for smaller HVAC contractors that are trying to make a name for themselves.
Posted on 6/6/25 at 4:45 pm to billjamin
5 ton one zone system should be less than $15k. Trane, Carriers, Ruud, etc ... are all about same quality. Most have 10 year parts, one year labor warranty.
Posted on 6/8/25 at 1:35 pm to billjamin
Does this price include any ductwork upgrades for the additional CFM?
Posted on 6/9/25 at 8:34 pm to billjamin
quote:
Prices i'm getting from the big local guys is in the 35-37k range.
That’s code for “it’s summer time and we have plenty of work already”
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