“We have no closets worth the name and I was sure the answer was window units. They found a chase behind the top-floor bedroom closet. The cornices are exactly as they were.”
Alexei P.Rowhouse owner, Washington Square West
Old-house heating and cooling
Cool the rowhouse. Leave the plaster.
We run small ducts through the closets, chimney chases and ceiling space your house already has, so the walls stay closed and the cornices stay put.
- Small-duct and ductless systems
- Radiators kept in service
- Surveyed room by room
Wall section
A plaster wall is a sandwich. We go around it.
Old plaster is keyed into the lath behind it, and one clean cut loosens the plaster around the cut. Here is what is in the wall, and the route we use instead.
- 1
Plaster
Coats of plaster, older than the wiring, with paint on top. It keeps its shape until something cuts or shakes it.
- 2
Lath
Wood strips or wire mesh that the plaster grips from behind. Cut the lath and the plaster beside the cut loses its hold.
- 3
The stud bay
Shallow, and often holding old wire or a flue. It is no place for a standard duct.
- 4
The route we use
A closet, an old chimney chase, the space above a hall ceiling, the room under a stair. The survey finds them before we draw anything.
Sample content.
The route
How the air reaches the third floor without a hole in the wall.
- 01
Step 1: The air handler goes where there is room
A cellar bay, an attic knee wall or a top-floor closet. The survey measures each before we choose.
- 02
Step 2: A trunk climbs through an existing space
A closet column or an old chimney chase carries the main run from floor to floor, with nothing new framed inside your rooms.
- 03
Step 3: Branches tuck above the ceiling
A branch about two inches across runs through the joist bay over a hall or behind a cornice.
- 04
Step 4: Small outlets finish the job
A round or slim outlet in the ceiling or baseboard, set to line up with the room's own details.
Three ways to cool an old house
Open the walls, window units, or a hidden route.
Each one is right for some houses. This is what each asks of yours.
| What it asks | Standard ducts in new chases | Window units | Hidden small ducts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plaster and cornices | Standard ducts in new chasesCut and rebuilt around the new duct | Window unitsUntouched | Hidden small ductsLeft alone where a route exists |
| Outlets in the rooms | Standard ducts in new chasesLarge grilles | Window unitsA unit in each window | Hidden small ductsSmall round or slim outlets |
| Whole-house cooling | Standard ducts in new chasesYes, from one air handler | Window unitsOne room at a time | Hidden small ductsYes, from one air handler |
| Radiators | Standard ducts in new chasesStay and keep working | Window unitsStay and keep working | Hidden small ductsStay and keep working |
| Windows | Standard ducts in new chasesStay clear | Window unitsBlocked in season | Hidden small ductsStay clear |
| Lead-paint disturbance | Standard ducts in new chasesMore cutting, more to disturb | Window unitsNone | Hidden small ductsLess cutting, less to disturb |
Before any price
A survey and a drawing come first.
Every floor gets walked with a tape, a flashlight and a small inspection camera, and the route is drawn onto the floor plans.
The drawing shows where the air handler sits, where each run goes, where every outlet lands and where the outdoor unit can stand out of sight. If a wall has to open, it's marked in a different color, with the reason. You get the drawing with the written plan, and you can take it to any other firm.
What the drawing shows
Floor plans with the route drawn in
Every outlet and grille located
The outdoor unit placed out of view
What is left alone, listed
Work
What we install and service.
Hidden-duct central air
Small ducts through closets, chases and ceiling space, for rowhouses with no ductwork.
See hidden ductsDuctless in old rooms
A slim wall or ceiling unit where no route reaches, such as a rear addition or a top-floor room.
See ductlessRadiators and boilers
Service, bleeding, balancing and controls for steam and hot-water systems.
See radiatorsHeat pumps in old houses
Small-duct and ductless heat pumps that heat as well as cool. Ask us what your state or utility offers.
Ask about heat pumpsOutdoor units out of sight
Rear roofs, yards and areaways, drawn so a historic review can read them.
See how it's planned
On file
Registration and insurance, where you can read them.
- Registrations
- Home Improvement Contractor · PA HIC reg. # 000000 · Pennsylvania Office of Attorney Generalregistered to take home improvement work in PennsylvaniaCommercial Activity License · City of Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspectionslicensed to do business in the city
- Insurance
- General liability and workers' compensation · Insurer named on the certificatecovers our work in your house; ask for the certificate
Sample reviews
What owners of old houses say.
“What I liked was the drawing. Every outlet had a place on the plan before anyone picked up a tool, and the ceiling plaster is still the same plaster.”
Chrissy D.Twin owner, Ardmore
“Our radiators stayed, and the upstairs finally cools down in July. They also told us up front which closet shelf we'd lose.”
Jaren W.Rowhouse owner, Hawthorne
Sample reviews.
Our blocks
Old blocks, in the city and out along the Main Line.
Rowhouses and twins built long before air conditioning, in Philadelphia and the nearby suburbs.
Philadelphia
- Society Hill
- Old City
- Rittenhouse
- Washington Square West
- Hawthorne
- Mantua
- Powelton Village
Delaware County
- Drexel Hill
- Media
- Wallingford
- Havertown
Montgomery County
- Ardmore
- Bala Cynwyd
- Wynnewood
- Merion Station
- Glenside
Camden County
- Collingswood
- Haddonfield
We don't work beyond Philadelphia, Montgomery, Delaware and Camden counties, and we don't install in new construction.
Questions before you let us in.
Will you open my plaster walls?
Not as a first move. The survey looks for a route through closets, old chimney chases and the space above a hall ceiling before it looks at a wall. If one wall has to open, the plan says which wall, how big the opening is, who patches and paints it, and what that adds. Nothing is cut until you agree.
Can a rowhouse with no ducts get central air?
Often, yes. Small ducts about two inches across fit through places a standard duct can't, and the air handler can sit in a cellar bay, a top-floor closet or the attic. Whether it works in your house is what the survey answers, room by room.
Do I keep my radiators?
If you want them. A radiator system and a duct system can share a house, and we service the iron you have. Adding cooling doesn't mean taking out heat that already works.
My house was built before 1978. Does that change the work?
It can. Paint in older houses may contain lead, and the federal rule asks firms that disturb painted surfaces in those homes to be EPA-certified and to follow lead-safe work practices. Ask any contractor for their certificate, and ask us to show you ours. Cutting less plaster also means disturbing less paint.
My block is in a historic district. Can you still install?
Usually. The Philadelphia Historical Commission may review changes to a designated property that show from the street, so we place outdoor equipment at the rear or on a roof out of sight, and we draw it so you can submit it. Ask the Commission whether your property is designated.
Can you give me a price over the phone?
No, and we'd rather say so. Two rowhouses on the same block rarely need the same route. The price comes in writing after the survey, and the pricing page says what moves it.
Survey
Book a house survey.
Tell us about the house. We call you back in business hours to set a time for the walk-through.
Phone(215) 555-0103
Hours
- Monday – FridayToday
- 7:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- SaturdayToday
- 8 a.m. – 12 p.m.
- SundayToday
- Closed