Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Apr 12, 2015 5:28 am Hi all, One of the rep mentioned to us that we could source ducted R/C aircon ourselves during the winter months and might save some money since central unit aircon is not offered as a promo (I opted for a lump sum discount). Is this usually the case? If so, is Ford & Doonan the place to go? (was told to go there) or your typical Harvey Norman or Good guy? How much does it typically cost for us to buy directly from the supplier? Which stage of building is a ducted R/C typically installed? The other thing we were told we could save money from sourcing ourselves is glass splashback. The builder happy for us to look for someone to install during construction. However, I have a feeling many companies might not deal with individual customer (had friends having trouble finding someone do his kitchen overhead cupboard a year after moving in), so I'm worried about delay too. What's your take on this? Thanks Re: self installed ducted a/c & glass splashback in new buil 2Apr 12, 2015 6:59 am As far as ducted air con goes the best way to go is to have the ducted heating installed (which is normally a builders standard) but first talk to an air condition supplier about what duct size is needed. You then pay the builder to install the larger ducts and make your own arrangements about getting an add on air conditioner. We did this and it worked out well. It can also be neater if you get the builder to provide a separate circuit to supply the sir conditioner points with power The Harder You Try - the Luckier You Get ! Web site http://www.anewhouse.com.au Informative, Amusing, and Opinionated Blog - Over 600 posts on all aspects of building a new house. Re: self installed ducted a/c & glass splashback in new buil 3Apr 12, 2015 11:47 am Hi bash, thanks for your reply. I'm kinda confused here with all the technical stuff. You mentioned ducted heating, but I thought the r/c would have heating anyway no? Don't they aircon installer supplied all the ducts? What do you mean separate circuit? Re: self installed ducted a/c & glass splashback in new buil 4Apr 12, 2015 1:43 pm Sorry I missed the point about reverse cycle which does provide heating. Because the builders normally offer a good price for ducted heating we went for that in our last new house and then added cooling later. However the duct size for heating systems isn't big enough for a cooling system so we paid the builder to increase the duct size. The problem with having ducted heating/cooling afterwards is that you will have all the mess of having the ducts installed. (not too bad for a single storey house but a big issue for if you have a 2 storey house) Modern R/C units, even though they are efficient, do consume a fair bit of power so should be on a separate power circuit to the rest of the house. It is often easier to run the cables to the locations of the units during the build which will save later installation costs. The Harder You Try - the Luckier You Get ! Web site http://www.anewhouse.com.au Informative, Amusing, and Opinionated Blog - Over 600 posts on all aspects of building a new house. Re: self installed ducted a/c & glass splashback in new buil 6Apr 13, 2015 10:57 am Our sales consultant told us not to go for air con (or downlights) with them because all they would do is get someone like Ford and doonan in, add on the builders margin and give us a 3 year warranty instead of the 5 years you can get from the manufacturer. Unless there is a deal with the builder this seems to be the cheaper way too go. The only problem is having to install post handover, but your builder may allow installation during construction. Follow my build here: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=74975 Re: self installed ducted a/c & glass splashback in new buil 7Apr 13, 2015 11:00 am I should note that our consultant was on a fixed commission per sale, so the final value of the house was unimportant to him. A consultant on a percentage commission is more likely to encourage more inclusions. Follow my build here: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=74975 Hi guys, I want to do some floor levelling before laying the planks and am considering doing it with self-levelling or yellow tongue PB board. I am wondering which one… 0 6532 The unit normally clips into a metal plate screwed to the wall, either plate is not flush, or unit not hooked in and could be hanging from the pipes partly, either might… 2 15786 Hi all, sorting out the ducted air con for a 350sqm double story house. Does this placement sound reasonable to you? Also, I plan to have 6 zones I think. Living room… 0 0 |