Furnace replacement in Bastrop, TX

What is actually being replaced

In a typical Bastrop County house the indoor unit in the attic or hall closet is one cabinet doing two jobs. It heats, with electric strips or a gas or propane burner, and it moves the air across the AC's indoor coil all summer.

That shapes the decision. A furnace that fails at fifteen years usually sits beside an AC of the same age. Replacing the furnace alone means a new cabinet paired with an old coil and outdoor unit, and the next large AC repair reopens the attic. Many households here replace both at once; some do not, and the quote should say which and why.

When a furnace is worth replacing

Gas or propane: a cracked heat exchanger. The heat exchanger separates combustion gases from the air in the house. A crack is not patched; on an older furnace it ends in replacement.

Electric: the cabinet, not the strips. Heat strips, sequencers and limit switches are parts and get replaced. A blower motor, control board and strips failing in the same few seasons on a unit installed before about 2010 is the cabinet wearing out.

Repeat failures. Two heating calls in one winter on the same furnace.

An AC replacement is coming anyway. With new refrigerants the indoor coil is replaced with the outdoor unit, and fitting a new coil onto an old furnace is often more trouble than the furnace is worth.

Electric, heat pump, gas or propane

The replacement does not have to match the fuel being taken out, but the house sets limits.

• Electric strips to heat pump. The most common upgrade here. The Smithville weather station near Bastrop records about 34 freezing nights a year and about one at or below 20°F, so a heat pump carries most of the winter and the strips become backup. See heat pumps.
• Gas to gas. Keeps the existing flue and gas line. Ask whether the venting has to change for a higher-efficiency furnace.
• Propane. Same as gas, plus the tank, its regulator and its supplier.
• Manufactured homes. The replacement must be a unit built and listed for manufactured homes. See manufactured home AC and heat.

What a sound quote names

• The heating capacity, and the load calculation it is based on
• The cabinet model and the AC coil it will be paired with
• The attic or closet work: platform, secondary drain pan, float switch, return and supply connections
• For gas or propane: the venting, the gas connection and a combustion test at startup
• The permit, and who pulls it. Inside the City of Bastrop a replacement needs a city mechanical permit; Bastrop County issues none outside city limits.
• Removal of the old unit

How long it takes

A furnace or air handler swap in an existing location is usually one working day. With the AC done at the same visit, plan on one long day or a day and a half. If the house has no other heat, ask when the old unit comes out and when the new one runs.

What to say when you call

• Electric, gas or propane, and the install year if known
• What happened: a technician's finding, a utility shut-off, or repeated failures
• Whether the AC is the same age, and whether its replacement is being considered
• Where the furnace sits and how it is reached
• Whether you already hold a replacement quote

Common questions

Is it worth going from electric strips to a heat pump? In a house that already heats with electricity, a heat pump moves heat instead of making it, and strips stay for the coldest nights. A contractor can compare the two for your house.

Who checks the license? You can. Ask for the Texas Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractor License number and look it up on the TDLR license search before work starts.