Cost to replace electric baseboard heaters with furnace

[Nir]

Hi Everyone,

How much approximately does it cost to replace electric baseboard heaters with a furnace in a building?

Any estimate for the cost to do so in a 4-plex? same question for a long 10-plex with 2 floors?

THANKS.

 

[powerhouse]

Why would you want to?? The cost would be huge. Electric basebrd is very reliable & rarely if ever needs maintenance. Just turn the knob on the wall & it works every time all the time. Where are you going to run the duct work for your high maintenance furnace. There are a lot of moving parts, circuit boards, etc in a furnace & you will need it cleaned once a year. Are the tenants paying for their own electricity? Have you considered increasing the insulation in the attic or replacing windows?



If you insist, get a few quotes from heating contractors, carpenters, drywall & flooring contractors, etc needed to do the work.



Larry

 

[ccfreedom36]

hi all



nice to meet you

 

[housingrental]

Larry brings up some good points in the post above

Another benefit to consider is the potential for variance in temperature from room to room in a forced air system

My experience has been that in almost all situations unless your already gutting the place it is not economically viable to switch heating system types

 

[Nir]

Thanks Adam and Larry.

I'm assuming your answer would be the same if instead of replacing electric heaters with furnace I asked about installing a boiler as the last is even more expensive to install.

Regards,

N.

 

[fisher1]

Just throwing a number in the air for a 4 plex with one furnace supplying the entire building, and duct work installation. I would guess 20 to 25K. A lot of different variables though.

 

[fisher1]

I inquired about changing an old boiler out in a big 2 story house that I was looking, at and the budget the heating company gave me to expect was 9-12K. Very Expensive for a boiler.

 

[ShannonMurree]

Omg really? Wouldn't it be better to get seperate meters installed and have tenants pay utilities?



Don't forget to factor in the cosmetic repair as well because you presently don't have any ductwork. So the HVAC people will cut through your drywall and you'll have to hire a seperate contractor to get that cleaned up, patched and walls repainted.

 

[housingrental]

The only thing I can suggest which might be of interest - if you'd get higher rent back from this location for this type of feature, your living rooms have enough space and layout allows for it - is adding in gas fireplaces into each of the units. You have dual benefit of more efficient heating for part of the unit and aesthetic benefits.

 

[RussellWestcott]

Sounds like a great solution Adam

 

[MrHamilton]

Just to remove and replace the ducting in my unfinished basement was 1,500. I agree with the other posters. I can't see this being financial feesible unless you paid well under market and plan on gutting the place.

 

[RandyDalton]

Hi,



Sorry for joining this late. I would suspect that installing a furnace with the necessary ductwork will definitely be economically unviable. Depending on whether the basement is finished the best solution might be to;



1) Install FAG furnace for the the lower unit.

2) Install gas fireplaces in appropriate locations in each of the other three units.



I have similar units to this and while electric heat is a perceived negative to the potential tenant, I find that the gas fireplace negates this.



Regards...Randy D.

 

[Doc898]

Hello All,

I just got a quote to install a furnace and ducting in an unfinished of my 1100 sq ft house last week. Near 10 grand with duct work. The installer advised me that it would never pay itself off given the cost of gas compared to hydro here in BC. I have new furnaces in two other rental properties, and their not without their problems/maintenance.



Hope this helps,

Mike

 

[markl]

I concur with Adam throw a gas fire place in if you have gas servicing the property. You can run this externally.



Are all the units separately metered? If not sub metering might be the answer instead of putting in a central heating supply.

 

[dcaz4moores]

I agree, this is an excellent suggestion. As a master electrician, and educator in the trades, I have seen a number of well intended concepts be completely dethroned, when the involvement of multiple trades are required (and your query implies, that would be needed)...also recognizing that trades and craftsmanship are no longer synonomous...could lead to disastrous results. The route that minimizes building impact, tenant disruption and fiscal demand seems most prudent.



Regards,



Dave.