Furnace installation and AC service in Burke Acres, Kalamazoo 49048

Burke Acres sits in the northeast corner of Kalamazoo near Parchment, and a large share of its houses date from the 1950s and 1960s. Those homes were built for gas forced air, often with ductwork sized for the furnace of the day and no air conditioning at all. Central air was added later in many of them, sometimes on ducts that were never meant to carry cooled air.

Our technicians install new furnaces and air conditioners in Burke Acres with that history in mind. We check whether the old chimney can still vent a new furnace, whether the electrical service can support a modern condenser, and whether the duct trunk is big enough. Solving those questions up front keeps the new system quiet, efficient and long-lived. You see the findings and the price for each option before you decide.

Mid-century ranches and their original ductwork

Houses from the 1950s and 1960s are often single-story ranches or split-levels with a basement or crawl space. The furnace usually sits near the middle of the house with a metal trunk line running both ways and short branches to floor registers. When central air was added later, the coil went on top of the furnace and the ducts stayed the same. Cooling needs more airflow than heating, so those older ducts can whistle, run cold near the furnace and leave far rooms warm.

Venting is the other big question. Many mid-century furnaces vented into a masonry chimney, often shared with the water heater. A new high-efficiency furnace vents through plastic pipe out the side wall instead, which can leave the water heater alone in an oversized chimney. Our furnace installation plans include a liner or venting change for the water heater when it is needed, so both appliances exhaust safely. We check the draft with a test before leaving.

Cold floors in winter, warm far rooms in summer

A ranch on a slab or crawl space can feel cold underfoot through a Kalamazoo winter, especially on nights below zero when wind pushes against the long outside walls. Bedrooms at the ends of the house often run cooler than the living room. In humid summers the pattern flips, with those same end rooms running warmer. Balancing the branch ducts, sealing the trunk and choosing a furnace with a variable-speed blower help even out the whole house in both seasons.

Reaching Burke Acres from our Kalamazoo shop

Burke Acres is in the northeast corner of the city, an easy drive from our downtown Kalamazoo office on S Rose Street. Calls to (269) 360-5258 reach a person at any hour, every day. For a new furnace or air conditioner, a technician visits to measure and inspect the venting and ducts, and that replacement estimate has no charge. For repairs, you hear the price before work starts.