Questions about old-house heating and cooling.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Small ducts move air faster than standard ones, so outlets and equipment placement decide how quiet it is. The plan names where the air handler sits, away from bedrooms where we can, and where each outlet goes.

Yes. A small-duct or ductless heat pump heats as well as cools, and we service steam and hot-water radiator systems. Ask us what your state or utility offers for heat pumps.

Leave the house first, then call 911 and your gas utility from outside. Don't call us first. Once the house has been checked and cleared, we're glad to look at the system.

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.