Just keep in mind that the older your unit the higher the likelylihood you'll need to/want to replace the A coil unit inside the house (usually on top of the furnace). This will definitely drive the total over 1500.
That 1st pic gives me hope.
I can build around the a/c, then go back to the house, and continue on. Then have a swing doorbuilt in for access. I will have railing along the entire deck, so it actually wouldnt look all that hillbillyish. That 1st pic might just save me $1-$2K. On the railing surrounding the a/c unit, I could always put some type of flower bed thingamajiggy, and it wouldnt look all that silly.
Take me piece by piece..... Till there aint nothing left worth taking away from me.....
when I lived in a rowhouse, my neighbor built this huge deck that was as wide as his house. They moved the A/C unit out further into the yard and they made it so that part of the deck actually could be raised up to access the bilco doors.
Looking at that 1st pic. I am now thinking of having the entire deck sitting 4-6 feet off the house. Have it free standing and planting shrubs/bushes/whatever against the house on the side that was going to be attached to the house. Then having that lattice/gate/access thingamajiggy built on the other side to access the a/c unit. With railings surrounding the whole damn deck.
It actually might work.
Take me piece by piece..... Till there aint nothing left worth taking away from me.....
Well something I actually know for once. Moving your unit can be almost as pricy. You're looking about 4 hours labor, vacuuming and recovering the freon out of your lines and unit, a new pad, most likly a new line set, new electrical lines and box and refilling everything back up with freon. If your unit is 10 years old it's still on R22 freon which isn't made anymore so you'll need a conversion kit. An upgrade wouldn't be that much more. A few hundred dollars which would probably pay for itself by the end of the summer/fall is savings with your energy bill. What's your furnace and A/C brand? I could get you a quote if you would like.
Well something I actually know for once. Moving your unit can be almost as pricy. You're looking about 4 hours labor, vacuuming and recovering the freon out of your lines and unit, a new pad, most likly a new line set, new electrical lines and box and refilling everything back up with freon. If your unit is 10 years old it's still on R22 freon which isn't made anymore so you'll need a conversion kit. An upgrade wouldn't be that much more. A few hundred dollars which would probably pay for itself by the end of the summer/fall is savings with your energy bill. What's your furnace and A/C brand? I could get you a quote if you would like.
When I had Mr. A/C unit guy at the house last year to give the unit a look over, he said the unit was in great shape and that I should get at least 3-5 more years. Now granted, I realize the damned thing could kill itself tomorrow. But If I could wait a few summers before I have to deal with the A/C unit, I would be thrilled.
Take me piece by piece..... Till there aint nothing left worth taking away from me.....
Looking at that 1st pic. I am now thinking of having the entire deck sitting 4-6 feet off the house. Have it free standing and planting shrubs/bushes/whatever against the house on the side that was going to be attached to the house. Then having that lattice/gate/access thingamajiggy built on the other side to access the a/c unit. With railings surrounding the whole damn deck.
It actually might work.
Sounds like a plan, very glad to help. Shrubs/landscaping can hide a multitude of sins.
Well something I actually know for once. Moving your unit can be almost as pricy. You're looking about 4 hours labor, vacuuming and recovering the freon out of your lines and unit, a new pad, most likly a new line set, new electrical lines and box and refilling everything back up with freon. If your unit is 10 years old it's still on R22 freon which isn't made anymore so you'll need a conversion kit. An upgrade wouldn't be that much more. A few hundred dollars which would probably pay for itself by the end of the summer/fall is savings with your energy bill. What's your furnace and A/C brand? I could get you a quote if you would like.
When I had Mr. A/C unit guy at the house last year to give the unit a look over, he said the unit was in great shape and that I should get at least 3-5 more years. Now granted, I realize the damned thing could kill itself tomorrow. But If I could wait a few summers before I have to deal with the A/C unit, I would be thrilled.
How soon do you want to build your deck? If you're not in a rush, you might as well wait until your A/C unit konks out in a year or two.
Don't waste your money on spring tune ups. All you need to do is open up the panel on the unit with all the electrical and make sure there is no junk in it, give it a quick vacuum. Also take your hose and spray through the coils surrounding it getting rid of all of debris, leaves, grass, dirt ect... Shouldn't take more than 15 minutes and saves a couple hundred dollars. And for the love of God DON'T cover it in the winter!!!
Don't waste your money on spring tune ups. All you need to do is open up the panel on the unit with all the electrical and make sure there is no junk in it, give it a quick vacuum. Also take your hose and spray through the coils surrounding it getting rid of all of debris, leaves, grass, dirt ect... Shouldn't take more than 15 minutes and saves a couple hundred dollars. And for the love of God DON'T cover it in the winter!!!
Don't waste your money on spring tune ups. All you need to do is open up the panel on the unit with all the electrical and make sure there is no junk in it, give it a quick vacuum. Also take your hose and spray through the coils surrounding it getting rid of all of debris, leaves, grass, dirt ect... Shouldn't take more than 15 minutes and saves a couple hundred dollars. And for the love of God DON'T cover it in the winter!!!
Funny.
So as a new home owner I had NO CLUE when it came to the A/C unit. So I purchased a groupon for $25? to have the unit inspected. When the guy showed up at the house I was honest, and explained to him that I basically wanted him to explain all he could to me as far as maintenance. The guy was super cool about it. He could have ripped me off all he wanted and told me I had freon issues, coil issues, etc. etc. Instead the guy grabbed our water hose and cleaned the fucking thing off, and said I was good to go. freon level was fine, and everything else was fine.
Then he told me NEVER to cover the damn thing in the winter.
Take me piece by piece..... Till there aint nothing left worth taking away from me.....
Don't waste your money on spring tune ups. All you need to do is open up the panel on the unit with all the electrical and make sure there is no junk in it, give it a quick vacuum. Also take your hose and spray through the coils surrounding it getting rid of all of debris, leaves, grass, dirt ect... Shouldn't take more than 15 minutes and saves a couple hundred dollars. And for the love of God DON'T cover it in the winter!!!
Funny.
So as a new home owner I had NO CLUE when it came to the A/C unit. So I purchased a groupon for $25? to have the unit inspected. When the guy showed up at the house I was honest, and explained to him that I basically wanted him to explain all he could to me as far as maintenance. The guy was super cool about it. He could have ripped me off all he wanted and told me I had freon issues, coil issues, etc. etc. Instead the guy grabbed our water hose and cleaned the fucking thing off, and said I was good to go. freon level was fine, and everything else was fine.
Then he told me NEVER to cover the damn thing in the winter.
youtube is great source of info on how to do something once you know what you want to do.
i had a leaky valve in the downstairs shower....i had no idea on what needed to be done to change it...quick youtube search, and bam, i was ready to do it. i've done that with a few projects. the internet is so awesome.
Don't waste your money on spring tune ups. All you need to do is open up the panel on the unit with all the electrical and make sure there is no junk in it, give it a quick vacuum. Also take your hose and spray through the coils surrounding it getting rid of all of debris, leaves, grass, dirt ect... Shouldn't take more than 15 minutes and saves a couple hundred dollars. And for the love of God DON'T cover it in the winter!!!
The outside unit is built for winter and the elements. They are power coated and all the crutial parts are sealed. Covering it seals in all the moisture for months at a time and breaks everything down much faster. Grainger is also a great resource for parts. They carry most parts and even if youre a little handy and know how to use google you can save yourself a buttload of cash.
Don't waste your money on spring tune ups. All you need to do is open up the panel on the unit with all the electrical and make sure there is no junk in it, give it a quick vacuum. Also take your hose and spray through the coils surrounding it getting rid of all of debris, leaves, grass, dirt ect... Shouldn't take more than 15 minutes and saves a couple hundred dollars. And for the love of God DON'T cover it in the winter!!!
Funny.
So as a new home owner I had NO CLUE when it came to the A/C unit. So I purchased a groupon for $25? to have the unit inspected. When the guy showed up at the house I was honest, and explained to him that I basically wanted him to explain all he could to me as far as maintenance. The guy was super cool about it. He could have ripped me off all he wanted and told me I had freon issues, coil issues, etc. etc. Instead the guy grabbed our water hose and cleaned the fucking thing off, and said I was good to go. freon level was fine, and everything else was fine.
Then he told me NEVER to cover the damn thing in the winter.
Good to see there are more honest people like me. My family has a heating and ac company and I use to tell people how to fix the shit over the phone so they could save a few bucks. Use to drive my family nuts!
As an engineer, I kind of feel obliged to chime in... I skimmed this thread quickly, wanted to give some advice. I don't deal with HVAC systems exclusively, but they creep up in my work fairly often...
- you do not want to cover the condenser with lattice/framework for two reasons: (1) as you mentioned it will limit access down the road for future maintenance and (2) it will restrict air flow around the condenser. The condensor unit is designed to dissipate the heat absorbed by the refridgerant by passing mass amounts of outside air over it. Restrict the airflow around the condenser and your compressor is going to have to work harder and not be as effective, so the downside is two fold: shorter life span and warmer inside.
- the average life expectancy for a compressor is around 10 years. if it is a high end unit (i.e. Trane) and you do regular maintenance (every 2-3 years or so), expect to get 15-20 years out of it (assuming you live in Chicago where the unit isn't on 6 months of the year). If the unit is low-end and you never do maintenance, you'll probably get 10-13 years out of it based on the limited number of months its actually in use (I live in Houston where my compressor is running 10 months of the year, so it's all relative).
- if you move the unit, you need to have someone qualify that the compressor can still function properly without effecting it's efficiency. Simply put, adding piping/hosing increases the friction in the system that the condensor must overcome - thus making the unit work harder. Usually you design a system to function at the compressors maximum efficiency point - change the system, you modify this and wind up spending more on energy.
- a heat pump is really the way to go if it's advised in your climate. Sure it's more expensive unfront, but if you're thinking about replacement its worth looking into as it could save you money in the long run.
Sorry for the dissertation.... I need to get back to my paying job. ... if you have more questions that you think I can answer, drop me a PM.
That 1st pic gives me hope.
I can build around the a/c, then go back to the house, and continue on. Then have a swing doorbuilt in for access. I will have railing along the entire deck, so it actually wouldnt look all that hillbillyish. That 1st pic might just save me $1-$2K. On the railing surrounding the a/c unit, I could always put some type of flower bed thingamajiggy, and it wouldnt look all that silly.
That's what I would do...I wouldn't bother taking the deck back to the house...with a good railing and some plants you'll never see the a/c
Comments
I can build around the a/c, then go back to the house, and continue on. Then have a swing doorbuilt in for access. I will have railing along the entire deck, so it actually wouldnt look all that hillbillyish. That 1st pic might just save me $1-$2K. On the railing surrounding the a/c unit, I could always put some type of flower bed thingamajiggy, and it wouldnt look all that silly.
Till there aint nothing left worth taking away from me.....
It's never the wrong time of the year for a tiki bar.
"Let's check Idaho."
It actually might work.
Till there aint nothing left worth taking away from me.....
I need his architect/drawing skills.
Till there aint nothing left worth taking away from me.....
Till there aint nothing left worth taking away from me.....
Sounds like a plan, very glad to help. Shrubs/landscaping can hide a multitude of sins.
:P
How soon do you want to build your deck? If you're not in a rush, you might as well wait until your A/C unit konks out in a year or two.
"Let's check Idaho."
why don't you cover it?
not that i cover mine.
http://www.grainger.com/ is also a good AC resource for parts. fuck the repair man.
So as a new home owner I had NO CLUE when it came to the A/C unit. So I purchased a groupon for $25? to have the unit inspected. When the guy showed up at the house I was honest, and explained to him that I basically wanted him to explain all he could to me as far as maintenance. The guy was super cool about it. He could have ripped me off all he wanted and told me I had freon issues, coil issues, etc. etc. Instead the guy grabbed our water hose and cleaned the fucking thing off, and said I was good to go.
Then he told me NEVER to cover the damn thing in the winter.
Till there aint nothing left worth taking away from me.....
:P
youtube is great source of info on how to do something once you know what you want to do.
i had a leaky valve in the downstairs shower....i had no idea on what needed to be done to change it...quick youtube search, and bam, i was ready to do it. i've done that with a few projects. the internet is so awesome.
- you do not want to cover the condenser with lattice/framework for two reasons: (1) as you mentioned it will limit access down the road for future maintenance and (2) it will restrict air flow around the condenser. The condensor unit is designed to dissipate the heat absorbed by the refridgerant by passing mass amounts of outside air over it. Restrict the airflow around the condenser and your compressor is going to have to work harder and not be as effective, so the downside is two fold: shorter life span and warmer inside.
- the average life expectancy for a compressor is around 10 years. if it is a high end unit (i.e. Trane) and you do regular maintenance (every 2-3 years or so), expect to get 15-20 years out of it (assuming you live in Chicago where the unit isn't on 6 months of the year). If the unit is low-end and you never do maintenance, you'll probably get 10-13 years out of it based on the limited number of months its actually in use (I live in Houston where my compressor is running 10 months of the year, so it's all relative).
- if you move the unit, you need to have someone qualify that the compressor can still function properly without effecting it's efficiency. Simply put, adding piping/hosing increases the friction in the system that the condensor must overcome - thus making the unit work harder. Usually you design a system to function at the compressors maximum efficiency point - change the system, you modify this and wind up spending more on energy.
- a heat pump is really the way to go if it's advised in your climate. Sure it's more expensive unfront, but if you're thinking about replacement its worth looking into as it could save you money in the long run.
Sorry for the dissertation.... I need to get back to my paying job.
oh, and gazebo unit 4 life.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wP8EpmoLmwk
"skidoos skidoos, bikes and trikes, by the gazebo we likes ta fight!"
a little newfy humor for you... though for the record I think these losers were serious when they recorded that...
I don't see architecture coming from you...
That's what I would do...I wouldn't bother taking the deck back to the house...with a good railing and some plants you'll never see the a/c
Im thinking free standing about 6-8 feet from the house.
Play around with some bushes, shrubs, etc.
DONE!
Next year its the above ground pool, with attached deck. On opposite side of pool.
You have 1 year to work on your drawing skills!
:P
Till there aint nothing left worth taking away from me.....
Where can you get a good railing around here?
:fp:
comments like this are why every thread on the AET winds up locked.
Home improvement is nothing to get upset about...
Better?