Many of the houses that were built in the ’70s and ’80s still have the old ductwork. This is made out of a gray material, while newer ductwork is made out of a silver material.
The Problem With Old Gray Ductwork
There is a huge difference between the two types of ductwork. The old gray ductwork tends to just fall apart in your attic. Once it’s been in your house for 20 or 30 years is just dries out and falls apart. The gray stuff holds the insulation around the duct, so if it falls off, the insulation falls off too! Then you just have an uninsulated tube for the air going through your house.
If you want your air conditioner to cool your house, you want the air to come out of your vents at as close to the cool temperature you want as possible. But if the air is moving through those uninsulated ducts in your attic, it’s going to pick up a lot of heat and be warmer than you want it!
If You Have Old Gray Ductwork
Pretty much any time you see this kind of gray ductwork, it has to be replaced. We can’t really even work with it, because it falls apart when we try!
What We Use Now
The material we use for ducts now (and for the last 25 years) doesn’t do that. We have never seen it dry up and fall apart, no matter how old it is.
Your Next Step
Do you have this old, gray ductwork in your attic? Give us a call at (972) 423-1279. We’ll take a look at it and let you know if your ductwork will impact cooling or heating your house this year.