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Posted to alt.home.repair,alt.hvac,alt.building.construction
Harry Muscle
 
Posts: n/a
Default Cost comparison of DIY radiant heat vs professional gas furnace installation

I'm going to have to replace my furnace and hot water heater next year
so I'm exploring some options. One of the biggest things I have to
consider is up front cost and on going cost. Currently I have a forced
air gas furnace and gas water heater.

I'm curious to know if replacing the furance with a radiant floor
heating setup would be cheaper. I'm bascially looking for some
ballpark, rough estimate answers that would tell me which of the
following would be cheaper to install:

Option 1:

DIY radian heating where I run the pipes and do all other plumbing, but
have a pro install the gas water heater that would heat both the house
water and the floors. DIY installation of a blower unit for the air
conditioner. (since there's no more furnace blower)

Option 2:

Have a pro install a new forced air gas furnace and a gas water heater.
Connect the air conditioner to the new furnance blower.

I know prices vary depending on which modles, etc. I choose and provide
different efficiency levels, but let's assume a mid
quality/price/efficiency point for both systems. If the comments I
receive point to the DIY radian floor heating installation being way
cheaper I would do more research. If both options are pretty much on
par, then I would probably just have a new furnace installed since I
don't have to do as much work.

Btw, I'm located in Ontario, Canada.

Thanks for all the comments,
Harry