Ductwork
in Vancouver WA
A duct system that leaks throws away a large share of the heat and cooling your equipment produces — which is why a new furnace sometimes disappoints. The ducts were never the part anyone looked at. Tri-Tech designs, repairs, replaces and seals duct systems across Clark and Cowlitz Counties.
What we do
- Duct design and replacement for new builds, additions, additions, and houses where the original ducting was never right
- Duct repair and sealing for leaks, disconnected runs, and crushed flex
- Zoning and balancing for the room that is always too hot or too cold
- Crawlspace and attic runs, which is where most Clark County duct problems live
Signs your ducts are the problem
- One room never matches the thermostat
- The system runs a long time and the house still is not comfortable
- Dust returns within days of cleaning
- Bills have climbed with no change in how you use the system
- You can hear air moving where you should not
Are your ducts the problem?
Contact Tri-Tech Heating, Inc. to schedule repair or annual service.
How we assess it
A technician inspects the accessible runs, checks for disconnections and crushed sections, and measures where the system is losing air. You get a written assessment of what is wrong and what it would take to fix — not a verbal estimate at the door.
Why ductwork decides how a system performs
Equipment gets the attention and the ducts do the work. A high-efficiency furnace or heat pump connected to undersized, leaking or badly routed ductwork will never deliver what it is rated for, because the air cannot get where it is supposed to go. This is why replacing equipment alone sometimes changes nothing about the room that was always cold.
Three things go wrong, and they compound:
- Leakage. Joints that were never sealed, or sealed with tape that has let go, dump conditioned air into the crawlspace or attic.
- Sizing. Ducts sized for the original equipment, or for a smaller house before an addition, cannot carry the air the new system moves.
- Routing. Long runs, sharp turns, crushed flex and missing returns all add resistance the blower has to fight.
What we do
- Look at the whole system. Supply, return, the equipment it connects to, and the rooms that are complaining.
- Seal and repair. Failed joints, disconnected runs and crushed sections, sealed properly rather than taped over.
- Resize or reroute where it is needed. Including adding return air, which older houses are very often short of.
- Verify. Airflow and room temperatures checked afterwards, because the point is the rooms, not the ducts.
Rooms that never get comfortable
If one room runs hot in summer and cold in winter while the rest of the house is fine, that is almost never an equipment problem. Bonus rooms over garages, converted attics, additions and the far end of a long ranch are the usual suspects, and the usual causes are a run that is too long, too small, or has no return path.
Turning the thermostat further will not fix it. Neither will a bigger furnace.
A note on duct cleaning
Duct cleaning and duct repair are different things. Cleaning removes what has settled inside. It does not seal a leaking joint, resize an undersized run, or add a return that was never there. If the complaint is comfort rather than dust, cleaning is unlikely to be the answer.
Related work
Ductwork usually comes up alongside the equipment it serves: furnace installation, heat pump installation, or air conditioning installation. For rooms ducts cannot reach, ductless mini-splits solve it without new runs. Combustion equipment also needs venting, which is a separate system from the ducts. If air quality is the concern, see indoor air quality.
Where we work
Vancouver, Salmon Creek and Camas, and across Clark and Cowlitz Counties — including Woodland, Kalama, Longview, Battle Ground, Hockinson and Ridgefield. If you are just outside that, call and ask; the office will tell you straight.
Licensed, insured and guaranteed
- HVAC license #TRITEHI952LL
- CCB license #161426
- N.A.T.E. certified technicians
- Licensed and insured
- We guarantee our work 100%
- Financing available through Synchrony, subject to application
Ductwork questions we get
Do I need new ductwork with a new furnace?
Not always, but it is worth checking before the new equipment goes in rather than after. Matching the ducts to the equipment is part of the install being right.
Is an estimate free?
Estimates on new installations are free. A repair visit on an existing system is a service call.
Can you add a vent to a room that has none?
Usually, depending on what the existing system has spare and whether there is a route to get there. That is what the site visit answers.
Why is my house so dusty?
Leaking return ducts pull air from crawlspaces, attics and wall cavities and deliver it to your rooms. Sealing the returns often does more for dust than any filter upgrade.
Do you do flex or metal?
Both, chosen for the run. Metal where it needs to last and take abuse, flex where the route demands it — and properly supported either way, because unsupported flex sags into the restriction it was meant to avoid.
Fix the room that is never comfortable
Call (360) 891-2002. The office is open Monday to Thursday, 8:00am to 5:00pm, and Friday, 8:00am to 4:00pm. Emergency service is answered 24/7 on the same number. You can also send us your details and we will call you back.