What is the cost of a Furnace These Days?

[Anthony Newbold]

What is cost of a Furnace These Days?

Just picked up a home.  Am squaring up the floor joists in the crawl space.  While doing so contractor notes the rusted thru duct-work, (made of tin back in those days.) - Fine, let's replace with the insulated tubing stuff...

Furnace is from the 60's likely (50+ years) but appears functional.  The floor has rotted below the furnace so we are replacing it, but have to lift this furnace up and out of the closet.  I am considering replacing.

Here is why:  Years ago I bought a home and replaced the furnace and all duct work etc.  I've been in business for years and have merchant retail cert...  (purchase tax exempt) so I attempted to purchase a furnace at cost at the local wholesale supply, but they would not even give me a price since I wasn't HVAC certified. So I found a neighbor kid that was HVAC cert. (had the card in his wallet)...  took him to the store, and purchased the $2500 furnace for $600.  and paid him $10/hour to install. (he did a fantastic job).

DOES IT STILL WORK THIS WAY?

Curious, since I'm going to have this old furnace lifted out of the closet anyways.

[Anthony Newbold]

OK... So I'm adding to my own post.  But here is what I've accomplished thus far:

I use craigslist when needed and I have NO problem telling my contractor that I do that when necessary.  I just hired another ROCKSTAR painter and painted my entire 1400SF house for about $400 (I paid for the paint.) 

I try to be NO nonsense but 'sensitive', so my contractor knows the story of how I found out about the markup of HVAC 10+ years ago, so I need his HVAC card for wholesale and am more than happy to pay him his normal exhorbitant labor costs.

Somehow he feels the need to share with me that he has found similar wholesale prices on craigslist. AND HE'S RIGHT!.....  (wow!),,  It's true!  I don't even need his HVAC card to purchase.  For what the local HVAC people are selling for $2500 I can have DELIVERED via normal UPS or FedEX for $539!

Who would have known?  I regularly use Craigslist for labor, but NEVER use Craigslist for parts.  Now I have an upper hand......

So...  having said that.  And having told my contractor I will buy the parts/ all the parts at below wholesale that I've got it all under control and don't really need him.

BUT....  I really do.  So I had him acquire all of the necessary products via his own wholesaler.  (after all I'm going to do it anyways.) (and he got the product procured in less than 24 hours.) 

So here is what I am ending up with.  I am providing all of this information for everyone so that we ALL can make informed decisions regarding this situation that I found myself in.

1.)  Goodman 72,000 BTU Gas Funace, Downflow 95% Efficiency = $800

2.)  2.5 Ton A/C Outside Compressor R410A = $800

3.)  Matching Cased A-Coil for above = $300

4.)  Required Lines necessary to connect the above= $115

All in all I wrote a check for $2,000 to cover the above.  And they are now in my living room awaiting installation.

Quoted Labor= $600

I am sure that there will be about $300 of Non-Sense additional this and that, and we shall see how much more labor I will get hit with.

But I really appreciate this forum, and I want all of you to know what you, and I, and WE,  are capable of by simply digging deeper.  I appreciate my contractor.  I just simply will not hold back and share what I know and expect....    and once we understand each other most things going forward are much better.

Anyhow...  this is where I am at right now.  We all know there will be some added costs somewhere.  I will keep all posted.