Air Duct Replacement in Houston, TX

Does the whole duct system need replacing, or just part of it?

Usually just part. We open the attic and read the system as sections. A 1950s galvanized trunk with fiberglass liner can be sound metal with failed liner inside. That gets stripped and relined or re-sleeved, not torn out. Fiberglass ductboard plenums from the 1960s through the 1980s are different. Once the foil facing splits, the board holds moisture and sheds fiber. Board like that does not come back. Replace it in sheet metal or ducted board of current spec.

Flex is the common case here. R-6 and R-8 runs laid over attic joists since the mid-1980s sag, kink, and pull loose at the takeoff. A sagging run is not automatically dead. A crushed run behind a kneewall is. Compressed flex chokes airflow. That is why the back bedroom at the end of a long attic run never cools.

Replacing supply duct without fixing the return is the mistake we see most. One undersized central return raises static pressure, whistles at the grille, and shortens blower life. A disconnected return in the attic pulls attic dust and insulation fiber straight into the coil.

We measure static pressure before quoting. If the numbers are fine and the leaks are small, sealing beats replacement.