What the work is
Gas or electric, sized to the house rather than to the old label. Venting, combustion air and the condensate on a condensing unit are part of the job, not an extra found on the day.
If the existing cooling coil sits in the airflow, it comes out and goes back in, and we check it is still the right match for the outdoor unit while it is out.
Gas or electric is usually decided for you by what is already there, but not always, and it is worth asking rather than assuming. Where a heat pump is on the table it changes the answer entirely, and that is on its own page.
Two things get checked that are easy to leave out of a quote and expensive to find on the day: whether the flue is the right size and material for the new unit, and whether the return duct is big enough to feed it. A condensing furnace also produces condensate that has to go somewhere with a trap and a drain, and in a garage or an attic that is a real piece of work rather than a footnote.
What is included
- The unit, set, connected and started, with the combustion test recorded
- Venting to the manufacturer's instructions
- Condensate handling on a condensing furnace
- The permit, and the old unit taken away
- The flue sized and specified for the new appliance
- Return duct capacity checked against the new unit
What is not
- Gas line alteration beyond the appliance connection, quoted separately
- Ductwork modification, unless the new cabinet does not fit the old opening and we have quoted it
- Electrical beyond a like-for-like connection
What to ask anyone quoting this, us included
- What did the combustion test read after start-up?
- How was the size decided?
- Is the permit in the price?
- Does the flue need changing for this unit?
- Where does the condensate go, and how?