To AC or not to AC?
I am looking at a home that doesn't have Central Air. This home is in FL and I know that AC is a very good selling point to a but, is it worth it to have it installed? Right now the place has window AC units.
TIA....
I would highly recommend Central AC. Window units are also a security risk. It all depends on your profit margin though.
One thing I did a number of years back was talk to a friend who worked in commercial refridgeration & he gave me the name of a young man who worked for him that did AC jobs on the side. This man was able to put a new Central AC unit in the house for less than $500.
Not many houses down here in Miami without Central AC these days except in very poor neighborhoods.
It depends on the area. If you are talking an old historic district in Palm Beach then window units are fine. Miami and Fort Laudredale I would do central AC, where are you located?
This is an older home in Tampa. Older meaning 1920's.
spanish style? I would do window units...
Yeah, many older homes aren't well suited to new Central AC. There may not be enough room for ducts/air handlers. I've seen where some owners have put Central AC units in them with the duct work running outside on the roof. Very unsightly. I don't care how hot it gets the value of those homes is negatively affected by outside duct work.
If window units can be properly secured you are probably better off with that.
For older homes you can get "High Velocity" ductwork system installed. This is 2" diameter tubing instead of the normal rectagular ductwork. To make up for the small tubing size the air is pumped out at much higher velocity than with regular ductwork -- hence the name. The tubing is obviously much easier to route than the big metal ducts.
Downside is that there are fewer contractors that install this type of A/C and it is therefore more expensive. I have a 1500 sq ft ranch here in Michigan with a very low pitch roof (no room to run ducts) and hot water baseboard heat. I got an estimate a couple years ago at $7600 to install a HV system. If I lived in FL I would absolutely have pulled the trigger and installed. But we really only need A/C 10-12 days per year up here and I felt $7600 was too much for so little utility. My window units work just fine for those days.
First of all.. Does this home have a heating system of any kind.. Even though you are in the Tampa area, it still gets a might chilly.. If it does have a heating system is it some type of forced air, etc...
Another thing, is the house on a slab or does it have a crawl space underneath it..
If it has a crawl space, you may be able to slide your ductwork underneath the house and then you will have the house modernized with Central AC...
Good Luck and Good Rehabbing..
I'm new to this forum and mainly read over it when I get stumped on a problem so I guess I'll contribute this time around. I'm in my second year of rehabbing and have found that the best idea is to conform to the neighborhood you are working in. If the vast majority of homes have central a/c then go ahead and install it. However if the majority use window units then you should go with that. A major problem that I had in the beginning was that I wasnted to do too much to a home in a bad neighborhood. Don't cut too deep into your profit for something that won't signifigantly increase the value of your project. Just my opinion.