24-hour emergency service. No heat or no cooling? Someone answers, whatever time it is.

Call (803) 920-3771
AAA Heating & Air Columbia · Lexington · West Columbia

Ductwork

A new system
cannot fix bad ducts.

Up to 30% of the air you pay to heat and cool can be lost before it reaches a room. It is the most common reason a brand new system still disappoints — and the cheapest thing on this site to put right.

15-year parts and labour warranty on a full duct replacement

The half of the system nobody sees

Ductwork is the lungs of the house. It is also in a crawl space or an attic, out of sight, which is why it goes twenty years without anyone looking at it while the equipment it feeds gets replaced twice.

Most Midlands duct systems we open up have the same faults: flex that was undersized when it went in, runs crushed or sagging between joists, tape that gave up a decade ago, and R-4 insulation sweating in a 140-degree attic. Every one of those costs you air you already paid to condition.

The upside is that this is measurable work. We pressure test before and after, so the improvement is a number rather than a feeling.

Signs the ducts are the problem

  • One room hot and the next one cold
  • Dust settling again days after cleaning
  • Weak airflow from the vents furthest from the unit
  • The system runs constantly and still misses the setpoint
  • Bills climbing while the equipment is still fairly new
  • A whistle, rumble or bang when the blower starts
  • Visible tears, kinks or sagging in the crawl space
  • A musty smell when the system first kicks on
Any of these? Book a technician

Step by step

How duct replacement goes

  1. Inspect and test

    Every joint, hanger and connection looked at, and static pressure measured, so the diagnosis is evidence rather than opinion.

  2. Design the system

    Runs sized for the rooms they serve and the equipment feeding them, rather than copying what was there.

  3. Remove the old

    Everything out, connection points at the air handler relevelled and rebuilt, built-in returns and boots cleaned.

  4. Install and seal

    R-8 insulated trunk and flex branches, every joint mastic sealed, all grilles and registers replaced.

  5. Test again

    Static pressure and airflow measured across the finished system and left with you in writing.

True Transparency Pricing

Priced by the ton

Duct work is priced per ton of system capacity, so a 2.5-ton house pays two and a half times the per-ton rate. That is the whole formula, and it is the same one we use at the kitchen table.

Ductwork

  • Ductwork tune-up

    Every joint checked and resealed, sagging runs rehung, and the seal back to the air handler put right. On a 1,500 sq ft home it can take up to 15% off a power bill.

    $499.00

    per ton

  • Duct cleaning with flex upgrade

    Every flex branch replaced with higher-R material, the trunk line machine-cleaned and resealed, and a system service included. Worth doing at ten years and older.

    $1,299.00

    per ton

  • Full ductwork replacement

    Old system out, connection points relevelled, a newly designed R-8 system in, every grille and register replaced, and built-in return boxes and boots cleaned. Fifteen-year parts and labour.

    $2,499.00

    per ton

Prices include professional installation. Financing is available on all of it, and nobody gets turned down.

Questions

What people ask us about this

Do I need new ductwork if I replace my system?

Sometimes. We pressure test the existing ducts before we commit to a system size, because a new unit pushing air through a leaking or undersized duct system inherits the old problem and you feel like you wasted the money.

Where a repair is the smarter answer, we say so. We do not sell duct replacement to a house that needs sealing.

Can ductwork be repaired instead of replaced?

Often, yes. A tune-up reseals every joint, rehangs sagging runs and puts the connection back to the air handler right — at a fraction of replacement cost. Replacement earns its keep when the runs are undersized, badly designed, or the insulation has given up.

Replacing your system this year?

Have the ducts pressure tested first. It is a short check, and it is the difference between a new system that fixes the problem and a new system that inherits it.

Also from AAA

The rest of what we do

Call (803) 920-377124-hour emergency service