Ductwork Replacement in Superior Township, Michigan

Some ductwork in Superior Township is past sealing. The trunk in a 1950s–70s ranches in the southwest corner and 1990s–2010s subdivisions along Prospect and Geddes house near Dixboro has rusted through from decades of basement damp, the returns are panned joist bays that cannot be made tight from below, or the whole system was sized for a furnace half the size of what is in the basement now. Temprasure replaces ductwork across Washtenaw County with a designed system, not a copy of what was there: a Manual J load for every room, a Manual D duct design, sheet-metal trunks sealed with mastic, returns on every floor and a filter cabinet that does not choke the blower. Superior Township is about 12 minutes from our shop, and the estimate is free.

Superior Township houses and what that means for duct replacement

The southwest neighborhoods near MacArthur Boulevard are compact 1950s–60s ranches and bungalows on crawlspaces or shallow block basements, with the original duct trunk often running through an uninsulated crawl, so the floors stay cold even with a new furnace. The newer subdivisions along Prospect and Geddes Roads are 1995–2012 colonials and larger two-stories on full basements, generally with original 80 percent furnaces and single-stage condensers that are coming due for replacement. The rural stretch north of Geddes is where things get interesting: 1880s farmhouses with Michigan basements and multiple additions, 1970s–80s custom ranches on five-acre parcels, and newer acreage homes with 90-plus furnaces, some of them on propane and some on well water. Dixboro's older homes are frame two-stories with stone foundations and low basement ceilings. Horse farms and larger estates off Vorhies and Cherry Hill Roads sometimes have two or three furnaces serving one sprawling house.

Finished basements and additions in Superior Township get ducted properly or they get a single run stolen from a bedroom above. The 1950s–70s ranches in the southwest corner and 1990s–2010s subdivisions along Prospect and Geddes houses in Washtenaw County that have been expanded over the years, the family room added off the back, the room built over the garage, the basement finished for a teenager, usually have the second kind. On a Superior Township replacement or extension we calculate the load for the new space, size supply and return for it, and tie it into the trunk at a point that does not rob the rest of the house. Where the main trunk is undersized for the enlarged house, which is common near Prospect Pointe Park, we replace it as part of the job. The DTE Energy bill for the whole house usually drops when the system stops running long cycles to satisfy the one room that could never catch up.

Ductwork in Superior Township tells the story of the house. The 1950s–70s ranches in the southwest corner and 1990s–2010s subdivisions along Prospect and Geddes near Geddes Road corridor and Legacy Park often have original sheet-metal trunks with branch runs added over the decades, panned joist returns that leak into the basement, and flex duct in the newer sections out toward Ford Road and Clark Road area that has sagged or been crushed. We repair, seal and replace ducts across Superior Township, about 12 minutes from our shop, and we start every duct job by measuring static pressure so the fix addresses the actual restriction rather than the one that is easiest to see.

Local details we plan around in Superior Township

• Well water across the rural half is hard and often high in iron, and we see heavy sediment in water heaters and crusted humidifier pads on those homes.
• The 1950s MacArthur Boulevard area homes often have small 60-amp or 100-amp panels, so adding central air usually involves a panel upgrade first.
• The township contracts its building inspections, and mechanical permits for furnace and AC replacements are still required and reviewed.
• Superior Township rises gently away from the Huron River, so the subdivisions along Geddes and Prospect are drier and windier than the Ypsilanti lowlands just south of them. Open fields in the northern half let winter wind run unchecked, and acreage homes with a west-facing wall feel it in January. Frains Lake and the wetlands around LeFurge Woods add humidity in summer to the homes nearest them, and heavy tree cover around Dixboro keeps cooling loads lower there.