Service illustration · not a completed customer projectTHE WORK, EXPLAINED
Start with the condition.
Understand the scope.
Ask which accessible system components will be assessed and how observed conditions and access limits will be recorded. EPA recommends considering cleaning in response to specific conditions rather than as a routine service. Keep any cleaning or replacement proposal separate from the assessment findings.
What may be involved
- supply ducts
- return ducts
- registers
- air handler
Ask the provider to distinguish existing parts to inspect, proposed replacements, and tools, materials or reports included in the service. Confirm the work and exclusions after assessment; this list does not mean that every item will be supplied or replaced.
LOCAL RESEARCH / Mission Bay
Local context
Where duct or HVAC work is permitted in California, independent field verification can be part of closing the permit. The California Energy Commission's Home Energy Rating System page says that depending on the work being done HERS testing may be mandatory and that properly permitted work will trigger any necessary testing, that a homeowner has the right to find and hire a rater who is independent of the contractor, and that suspected asbestos in duct insulation or sealing can exempt some tests, including duct leakage testing. Ask early whether the proposed scope is cleaning alone or work that would trigger verification.
Source ↗Planning your work
Duct cleaning is not usually construction work, but replacing, altering or reconnecting ductwork or air-handling equipment can be. The Contractors State License Board's consumer page on building permits sets out the California Building Standards Code position that work may not be erected, altered, repaired or demolished without a permit first obtained from the building official, and says code requirements vary between cities and counties. Ask which parts of the proposed scope are cleaning and which are alteration, then check with the building department for the address.
Source ↗Area-wide context does not establish the condition of your property or equipment.
Before the visit
Building age and weather cannot establish duct contamination. The system itself needs to be inspected.
