Hello,
We are buying an old house to use for our business and will need to replace
all of the mechanicals. I can't get someone in to give me an estimate right
now, but would like to have some rough estimate of the costs so I can try to
budget for it. The building was previously used as a restaurant, is
approximately 5500 sq ft, and will now be used for office space.

We will need to replace the current furnace and heat pumps (~17 years old).
As the building is in the upper Midwest, I am thinking that a heat pump is
not the best solution, so we will likely go with a separate furnace and A/C
unit (unless someone convinces me that a heat pump is good in Chicago-type
climate). I would like to have the system divided in to at least two zones
(approximately 1500 sq ft will be leased to another tenant) so perhaps two
cooling units, maybe even two heating units? there are some baseboard
heaters that I am hopeful are still in good working order however I will
budget for the "worst case".

The water heater is an old commercial unit that has rusted through the outer
core. I'll have to check with the commercial code about what has to be used
for replacement but let's assume that a ~100 gallon commercial unit or
tankless equivalent (for renter) will be needed.

Many thanks for any help.

-Randy
Hoping to avoid a money pit!

"Me" wrote in message
m...
Hello,
We are buying an old house to use for our business and will need to
replace
all of the mechanicals. I can't get someone in to give me an estimate
right
now, but would like to have some rough estimate of the costs so I can try
to
budget for it. The building was previously used as a restaurant, is
approximately 5500 sq ft, and will now be used for office space.

We will need to replace the current furnace and heat pumps (~17 years
old).
As the building is in the upper Midwest, I am thinking that a heat pump is
not the best solution, so we will likely go with a separate furnace and
A/C
unit (unless someone convinces me that a heat pump is good in Chicago-type
climate). I would like to have the system divided in to at least two zones
(approximately 1500 sq ft will be leased to another tenant) so perhaps two
cooling units, maybe even two heating units? there are some baseboard
heaters that I am hopeful are still in good working order however I will
budget for the "worst case".

The water heater is an old commercial unit that has rusted through the
outer
core. I'll have to check with the commercial code about what has to be
used
for replacement but let's assume that a ~100 gallon commercial unit or
tankless equivalent (for renter) will be needed.

Many thanks for any help.

-Randy
Hoping to avoid a money pit!

No body on the net can give you a price range unless it's like
$7,500-50,000.

With out knowing the spec's of the building and installation issues it is
just anybodies WAG. (wild ass guess)

Get a HVAC contractor in to do a Manual J & D, make sure they do them.
(if not call the next on the list)

You could run a HP w/ Gas Back-up.
(this would likely be your cheapest route)

Or run gas w/ straight a/c.
(Nat. gas if avail)

Get three estimates and go from there.

Good Luck,
~kjpro~

"~KJPRO~" KJPRO @ STARBAND.NET wrote in message
...
"Me" wrote in message
m...
Hello,
We are buying an old house to use for our business and will need to
replace
all of the mechanicals. I can't get someone in to give me an estimate
right
now, but would like to have some rough estimate of the costs so I can
try
to
budget for it. The building was previously used as a restaurant, is
approximately 5500 sq ft, and will now be used for office space.

We will need to replace the current furnace and heat pumps (~17 years
old).
As the building is in the upper Midwest, I am thinking that a heat pump
is
not the best solution, so we will likely go with a separate furnace and
A/C
unit (unless someone convinces me that a heat pump is good in
Chicago-type
climate). I would like to have the system divided in to at least two
zones
(approximately 1500 sq ft will be leased to another tenant) so perhaps
two
cooling units, maybe even two heating units? there are some baseboard
heaters that I am hopeful are still in good working order however I will
budget for the "worst case".

The water heater is an old commercial unit that has rusted through the
outer
core. I'll have to check with the commercial code about what has to be
used
for replacement but let's assume that a ~100 gallon commercial unit or
tankless equivalent (for renter) will be needed.

Many thanks for any help.

-Randy
Hoping to avoid a money pit!

No body on the net can give you a price range unless it's like
$7,500-50,000.

With out knowing the spec's of the building and installation issues it is
just anybodies WAG. (wild ass guess)

Get a HVAC contractor in to do a Manual J & D, make sure they do them.
(if not call the next on the list)

Nope, it's a Manual N. But do get contractors to bid the job.

- Robert



You could run a HP w/ Gas Back-up.
(this would likely be your cheapest route)

Or run gas w/ straight a/c.
(Nat. gas if avail)

Get three estimates and go from there.

Good Luck,
~kjpro~