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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Holladay, UT
    Posts
    577

    Default Rusty heat ducts

    2002 house I inspected today. The basement heat ducts are run in the slab. This is a picture of rusty ducts. I thought there were specially designed metal ducts for this application. Any thoughts???

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    Tom Rees / A Closer Look Home Inspection / Salt Lake City, Utah
    http://acloserlookslc.com/

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Plano, Texas
    Posts
    4,245

    Default Re: Rusty heat ducts

    Quote Originally Posted by Tom Rees View Post
    2002 house I inspected today. The basement heat ducts are run in the slab. This is a picture of rusty ducts. I thought there were specially designed metal ducts for this application. Any thoughts???
    Thoughts? Yeah, it is a stupid idea to put ducts in a slab. It is not common here thankfully but I have never seen ducts in a slab that did not have a moisture problem.

    Jim Luttrall
    www.MrInspector.net
    Plano, Texas

  3. #3
    David Bell's Avatar
    David Bell Guest

    Default Re: Rusty heat ducts

    Yeah,,Let's put steel ducts into a moisture rich environment and then ask why it rusts. Slab construction can be one of the most economical designs when done correctly, this one? not so much.


  4. #4
    David Bell's Avatar
    David Bell Guest

    Default Re: Rusty heat ducts

    One of the best slab systems I have seen was a UNICO high static system located in a closet with a sheet metal plenum and about 10, 2" pvc vents piped under slab to the outside walls, under windows. Return air was thru the closet wall which abutted the living room and had an Air Bear filter behind the grill. The condensate pump ran often and was a good barometer of how well the system was sized. These systems can be very noisey when not installed correctly, but this one was very quiet.


  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Utah
    Posts
    390

    Default Re: Rusty heat ducts

    Underslab ducts are not that uncommen but they should have been installed with a PVC coating. Having said that, back in the day we used to use them quite a bit before PVC coating but called for them to be encased in concrete. If the duct rusted out you still have a conduit for air.

    AND, there is a significant difference between a catostrophic failure due to rust and just a few rust spots.


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