Therecanbonly1
New Member
We are in the process of adding approximately 800 sq ft to our current 1700 sqft house (500 is below grade "basement" splitlevel). This will include bigger kitchen/dining room, 2 bedrooms and a full bath - bringing us to 3 full baths. due to the design of the house and chimney placement, we are looking to convert to HE gas and eliminate the need for the chimney (otherwise it would end up being a really tall column). Anyway, the new square footage will be getting a separate HVAC system that will tie to the gas line but include AC (which we do not currently have). The rest of the house will be water baseboard. My entire life I have only ever had an oil combi unit. Is this the best choice to continue with? The oil heater we have now is 51 years old and you cannot shower and wash your hands at the same time. With 3 showers, dishwasher and washer as well as the heat, we want to be sure we can use the showers and run laundry if needed. As a complete heating novice, I do not know where to begin on HVAC recommendations. The estimates so far have ranged from $11K to $21K which is a very large range. The most common recommendations have been for Weil-McLain or Navien. Some for a combi unit (sometimes with a separate water tank resevoir) and some for separate units. I am just overwhelmed with pricing and options. The HVAC in the addition is included in the addition contract but the heater/boiler was not. The contractor's HVAC guy was the $21K only for the heater changeover, tank removal and connection. ANy guidance is appreciated. We are outside of Philadelphia.