Hello – I’m currently building my house and I’ve had mixed responses on the following question. I’m just finishing up the rough-in’s for the house and I am starting to work on the insulation. When I asked the HVAC guy he said to just heat the house using portable electric heaters for the drywall so leave the furnace install until after drywall is completed to prevent damage to the furnace. Other contactors say to just seal up the return vents and change your furnace filter every other day and your furnace will be ok.
Now for my question – when should the furnace go in? Normally I would just trust the contract (i.e. HVAC guy), but based on his work thus far, I have reasons to question his response.
Thanks again for your help.
Replies
Activate your furnace only after all drywall sanding is completed. No matter how careful one is drywall dust will make its way into the furnace and from there into the new duct work. Until then warm the interior with forced hot air heaters designed for construction sites. Forget about using electric heaters. They require one power cord per unit and a 20 amp fuse as there is a limit on how much power a circuit can handle.
Edited 1/2/2008 4:50 pm ET by Half a bubble off plumb
I've seen new furnaces ruined from dust and dirt and they weren't even hooked to the ductwork. They didn't change the filters every day as suggested though.
If you do use the furnace, I wouldn't run it through the ducts till the sanding was cleaned up.
Bob's next test date: 12/10/07
Seems to me you wouldn't wish to spread the construction dust through your vents. All right to install it, but why run it and make it warmer for the contractor for your greater dust problem later?
Drywall sanding dust is too fine to be trapped by any ordinary filter. Trying to keep the duct clean is a lost cause.
I'd say you can install it at the same time the HVAC crew is doing your ductwork. Just don't run it until you've done drywall finishing. Use an alternative source of heat to dry the mud work.
Scott.
Always remember those first immortal words that Adam said to Eve, “You’d better stand back, I don’t know how big this thing’s going to get.”
I don't' know where you live so really don't know how cold it is there. Ask your drywall guys about how the job will go with no heat (they will likely supply their own to keep themselves in work).
In this relatively mild climent, winter drywalling works OK, but just takes an extra day per coat to dry. Drywall guys use kerosene torpedo heaters - not the best, but they do put out the most heat. I've seen guys here at BT talk about electric heaters but I just don't see it as feasible.... I looked into it and it seemed like a $2000 heater with a $150 cord was what was required.
To answer your Q more directly, we don't fire up the furnace until after dW, trim, and first paint.
Right on the cord. I got two used heaters for fifteen bucks each and had to wire them up.New they would have been about $300 though
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"Drywall guys use kerosene torpedo heaters - not the best, but they do put out the most heat. "That is why it takes an extra day to dry per coat. The exhaust has so much water vapour. not accurate to say they put out the most heat tho. You can get a 50K BTU kero torpedo or a 100K BTU Propane burner, or elecctric that makes 150K BTU. It is the size of the unit, noit the fuel it sources from
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I guess this is our perennial thread on construction heaters.
>> You can get a 50K BTU kero torpedo or a 100K BTU Propane burner, or elecctric that makes 150K BTU. <<
Can you please post a link or pic for a semi-affordable portable electric heater that is 150k BTU?
The workers have told me of the ill effects of breathing fumes from fueled heaters for long periods of time and I've had some myself - not a good thing at all. I have a propane torpedo but if anything, it is worse. I rarely use it.
I've looked around for electric heaters several times but was never able to find anything that would come close to heating a whole house for under a $grand. Even those were marginal. And, I would have no way to plug in more than one heater during those stages of construction. A hundred foot cord would be required to reach the T-pole. Our T-poles have a large 220v outlet that is intended for a floor sander, etc. Only the one outlet though. The house is not powered at that point because the electrical trim-out is not done. Last year somebody posted links of and pics of electric heaters that I felt would scarcely heat one room, based on their ratings - they were a joke... Further, I don't feel comfortable leaving portable heaters plugged in over night, (not to mention the theft issue) so we need something that can heat a whole house up in an hour or 2.
I guess if I lived where it was really cold I'd probably find a way to get temporary power in the house. We just deal with though.
Something like this might work. Only 100kbtu though and $3 grand... I'd have to call "Two Guys and a Truck" to move it though and get a seperate insurance policy... A
I'd guess remodeling situations are quite different, because obviously you have a powered and heated house right there.
Not to sound condescending to anyone, but for me the bottom line is that it's not my problem because I'm a construction manager - not so much a construction worker... I have my own set of problems. Not much help here though.
Edited 1/5/2008 10:33 am ET by Matt
Matt, I can only tell you what is done around here and done quite often. Call a HVAC contractor, ask him if he has any used electric furnaces he has pulled out of jobs . Keep calling around until you find one. Furnaces are pulled out of homes all the time and many of them are still function just fine. Common here is the indoor side of a heat pump unit. Simple box with heat strips and a fan. Or a furnace from a mobile home. The unit doesn't have to be sized to heat the house, nor have any bells or whistles. All it needs to have are the resistance strips and a fan. They are used here all the time. Couple of guys have to carry it in (it's awkward , not heavy) , electricians wires the service to it and box fans are used to move the air. At one time I owned two. One I pulled out of a remodel and it didn't cost me a dime. , the other cost me less than $300.00 Some HVAC guys around here will also rent them to you as part of their contract when providing the HVAC to the dwelling . If no one near you is doing that you might even suggest it to your favorite HVAC sub.
They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.
Matt, I skipped the part about temp power. Might be regional but we have the permanent power tied in as soon as we can. Outlets in every bath , one in the kitchen and one in the garage normally. Panel is hot, only the GFI, 1-220 v. (dryer outlet generally) and the furnace breakers installed. Panel then has a temporary safety cover placed over the face of it.
They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.
Interesting... I've never seen any of that before. Next time I see a electrical inspector I'll talk to him about the temp power thing...
Really though, I'm guessing you too are in the category of the last paragraph in my previous post. And BTW - isn't your climate somewhat similar (temp wise) to NC?
Matt, Weather wise we don't see much in the way of below freezing temps, but then we don't see much all winter that isn't somewhere between full blown rain storms and a damp drizzle either. Arranging temp. heat for drywall, paint, wood floors etc. is the managers/ G.C. problem here. Subs will supply their own but then you will be paying for it as a rental situation. Prorate the cost of a used electric furnace over it's life as temporary heat and it pays for itself pretty quick, plus it never adds excess humidity to the air that then has to be dried out , nor does it add fumes that cause lingering odors or make it impossible to work in enclosed buildings. Worth looking into maybe.
They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.
Regional difference. Here, GC doesn't supply heat. If subs want to work and they need heat, they provide their own. I run a tight no BS jobsite and always be sure subs have what they need to do their job and the job is ready when they get there, but the heat thing isn't in the cards (my cards).
I wish I had the clams for the one Gene pictured. Then there is the theft issue...
Matt, yep, that dreaded regional difference. My apologies if I implied that you were at fault or lax.
They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.
My point was in comparing fuel types - that you cannot say a kero is going to put out the most heat just because it is a kero torpedo.If you have a n3eed to heat the whole house in a couple of hours, I don't think a portable unit will do the job practically. I leave the thing runnnig on thermostatFor the cost of that unit you show, I have considered a oil furnace on a trailer. It would have an oil tank mounted on the tongue, and the chimney right on board, and a couple flex ducts to mount at window locations. All it would need is 110V power for the blower and ignition.Anyhow, what I have will draw up to about 40AMps on 240V and kicks out about 20K BTU each. Similar to some of the garage heaters shown here...
http://www.heatersplus.com/garage.htm
I have seen some like these that painters here use on a long plug in cord at range or dryer receptacle that are pretty amazing what they do for only about $350.
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Your HVAC sub is correct IMO. (opinions on this vary !)
What I have used and works well is to ask your HVAC sub if he has an old electric furnace that you can rent/buy from him.
Do not connect it to the duct work, simply stand it on the floor someplace in the house. Use box fans to move the air where you need it.
Temporary wire it into the correct circuit, use it while all the interior finish is happening and blow it out and return it or sell to the next guy.
At least some of the furnace installation instructions say to not install until after construction is completed.
Drywall dust is important, but also many chemicals used in construction can corrode the heat exchanger (Not as much of an issue if you direct vent)
BTW: fabric softener can also cause corrosion in heat exchangers after occpancy.
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>> BTW: fabric softener can also cause corrosion in heat exchangers after occpancy. <<
i'm not following you here??????? Do dryers have heat exchangers? Or is that in case you want to use your furnace to wash and dry your cloths? Besides, I thought the only use for fabric softener was for women to mark their territory.
>> >> BTW: fabric softener can also cause corrosion in heat exchangers after occpancy. <<>>i'm not following you here??????? Do dryers have heat exchangers? Or is that in case you want to use your furnace to wash and dry your cloths? Besides, I thought the only use for fabric softener was for women to mark their territory.In my area, often the furnace is in the laundry (especially in older/smaller homes) and draw their combustion air from the laundry room, which can contain "fumes" from fabric softener.Many furnace manuals warn against it.And yes, dryers do have "heat exchangers"
May your whole life become a response to the truth that you've always been loved, you are loved and you always will be loved" Rob Bell, Nooma, "Bullhorn"
"We Live" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kuBgh0VCqI&mode=related&search
And Annie Ross's "Twisted" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lqivrCIRGo&mode=related&search=
The problem isn't with the heat exchanger, but oxides left on the flame sensors.
If you have to temporally heat your home use propane heaters as opposed to kerosene heaters. The smell will linger for a long wile. Jay
I used to keep a used furnace for winter heat on projects, but it got to be a PITA hauling and storing it - and doing the temp exhausting.
Now, I have a pair of 220V electric construction space heaters that will do a decent size area with insualtion. No worry about spilling fuel, smell, CO poisoning, watrer vapour added to the house, etc. When it gets extremely cold - say below zero, we can add the torpedo for a couple hours.
Propane got awfully expensive here. I still have a ouple Propane burners out by the shop that I haven't used for several years
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This works well for jobsite heat at drywall time, and the permanent heat goes in afterwards.
Fostoria HeatWave 220V.
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