Design
Furnace, Ventilation & Air Quality
This is the part of a renovation nobody photographs and everybody skips. It's also the part we wrote up most often.
We don't do emergency furnace repair. If your furnace is out tonight, call a service company — we'll happily tell you who's good. What we do is fix the ventilation problems a renovation is about to make worse.
We visit your home, then you get a written price and a start date.
McAra Design + Build gives you a fixed price for ventilation work before any work begins. Re-routing a bathroom fan so it vents properly outside is the smallest job on the list. Changing ductwork after a wall comes out, adding fresh-air makeup for a strong range hood, or installing and balancing a fresh-air ventilation system is what pushes the price up.
When this work is part of a larger renovation, it's a line item in that job, not a separate bill. You get a fixed number in writing before anything starts.
What's included
Everything in the scope, itemized.
- 01Bathroom and kitchen exhaust re-routing
- 02Exterior hoods and dampers
- 03Duct changes and re-balancing
- 04Fresh-air makeup for strong range hoods
- 05Ventilation system install, service and balancing
- 06Attic insulation and ventilation correction
- 07Radon rough-in and reduction
- 08Airflow measurements before and after
- 09Permits and inspections
What we check that others don't
What we check that others don't.
- §1
Where your bathroom fans actually vent to. Venting into the attic instead of outside is extremely common in Calgary, and it's how you get frost, then mould, then a roof problem. We follow the duct to where it ends, confirm there's a proper outdoor hood and a working flap, and reroute it if it stops short.
- §2
Whether ductwork still matches the floor plan after a wall comes out. Open up a main floor and the heating vents that used to serve two rooms are now serving one large one unevenly. We measure airflow room by room and plan the duct changes as part of the renovation, instead of leaving you with a cold end of the house.
- §3
Ice damming (ice building up at the roof edge). This is a heat-loss and ventilation problem in the attic, not a roof problem. Warm air leaking into the attic melts snow, which then refreezes at the edge of the roof. We check insulation depth, air leaks around ceiling openings, and whether the intake vents under the eaves are blocked, then fix the cause.
- §4
Fresh air for strong range hoods. A powerful hood pulling hard on a tightly sealed house has to get its replacement air from somewhere, and that's often down the furnace or water heater's exhaust pipe — which is dangerous. We calculate what the hood needs and build in a fresh-air path before you choose the appliance.
- §5
Whether you have a fresh-air ventilation system, and whether it's working and balanced. Most Calgary homes that have one have never had it balanced, and an unbalanced system either does nothing useful or pushes too much air pressure through the house. We measure the air coming in and going out, set it properly, and show you the numbers.
- §6
Radon levels, and the cheapest point in the project to deal with them. Calgary is in a region where radon levels tend to run higher. Putting in the rough-in piping while a floor or ceiling is already open is a small cost; adding it after everything is finished is much more. We tell you where that window falls in your project so the decision is yours while it's still cheap.
- §7
Cold rooms. These are almost always caused by undersized ductwork, not an undersized furnace. A room at the end of a long, narrow duct run will never keep up, and a bigger furnace won't fix that. We measure the duct run and fix the delivery instead of selling you new equipment.
How long it takes
One day to two weeks on site.
Re-routing a bathroom fan and fitting a proper outdoor hood usually takes a day. Duct changes after a wall is removed, installing a ventilation system, or sealing and fixing attic insulation takes one to two weeks.
When this work is part of a larger renovation, it happens during the stage when walls are already open, which is the only cheap time to do it. Both the start date and the finish date are in the contract.
Under this pillar
Sub-services.
Poly-B water supply lines replaced while walls are open.
We put it in writing.
- A fixed price
- agreed before we start, and it doesn't move unless you change the scope.
- A completion date
- in the contract, not a range, not a best guess.
- A workmanship warranty
- if it fails because of how we installed it, we fix it. No argument, no invoice.
Most renovation guarantees are a paragraph of conditions. Ours is three commitments you can hold us to.
Questions people ask before they book.
- No. McAra Design + Build does not do emergency furnace repair — if your furnace is out tonight, call a service company, and we'll happily tell you who is good. What this crew does is fix the ventilation problems a renovation is about to make worse, before the walls close back up over them.
- Yes. Warm, wet air pushed into a cold Calgary attic condenses, frosts on the wood sheathing, and melts in the first thaw, which is how a bathroom fan turns into a mould problem and then a roof problem. McAra Design + Build re-routes it to an outdoor hood, usually in a single day.
- Almost always undersized ductwork, not an undersized furnace — a room at the end of a long, narrow duct run will never keep up no matter how big the furnace is. McAra Design + Build measures the airflow at that specific vent and redesigns the delivery instead of selling you new equipment.
- If the hood moves a lot of air in a reasonably tight Calgary house, yes, or the house pulls its replacement air down the nearest furnace or water heater exhaust pipe instead, which is dangerous. McAra Design + Build calculates the requirement before the appliance is chosen and builds the fresh-air path into the scope.
- Calgary is in a region where radon levels tend to run higher, so testing is worthwhile, but the practical decision is timing. A rough-in installed while a floor or ceiling is already open costs a fraction of adding it after everything is finished. McAra Design + Build tells you exactly when that window falls in your project.
Related
Where people go next.
Get a free in-home quote.
We visit your home, then you get a written price and a start date.
What are you planning?
Or call Chris directly: +1 (587) 837-3113