Ductwork Installation Cost Calculator
Ductwork Installation costs $4,875 to $7,375 for a typical 180 linear feet job in 2026, against a national benchmark of $5,950. Labor runs 38.4 crew hours at $42.44 an hour. Enter a ZIP code to apply that area's measured wages for this work and its regional price level.
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What makes up the price
Cost by size
National averages, before any local adjustment. Computed from the same model as the calculator above, so the two always agree.
| Duct to install | Linear feet of duct | Typical | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 linear feet | 100 | $3,800 | $3,100 to $4,700 |
| 140 linear feet | 140 | $4,875 | $4,000 to $6,025 |
| 180 linear feet | 180 | $5,950 | $4,875 to $7,375 |
| 240 linear feet | 240 | $7,575 | $6,200 to $9,375 |
| 310 linear feet | 310 | $9,450 | $7,750 to $11,725 |
Priced by the foot of duct, not the size of the house
| 120 ft | 180 ft | 260 ft | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flex on a metal trunk | $4,325 | $5,950 | $8,100 |
| All sheet metal | $5,450 | $7,625 | $10,525 |
| Flex throughout | $3,725 | $5,025 | $6,775 |
That is $26 to $45 a linear foot, which is where published ranges of $20 to $60 come from.
Floor area is the wrong measurement and it is the one most quotes hide behind: a single-story ranch with a short trunk and eight branches has far less duct than a two-story house of the same area with a run to every room. To estimate the footage: count the supply registers, allow 12 to 15 feet of branch for each, add 30 to 50 feet of trunk, and add the return. A typical 1,800 square foot house comes to 150 to 250 feet.
What moves it:
| 180 ft, flex on trunk | |
|---|---|
| Basement or crawl space | $5,950 |
| Attic | $6,850 |
| Through finished ceilings | $10,100 |
| New build, nothing to remove | $5,650 |
| Asbestos duct wrap to deal with first | $9,525 |
The ducts decide what the equipment delivers
This is the only reason any of the rest matters.
A typical American duct system loses 10 to 30% of the air it carries through leaks, and in a house where the ducts run through an attic or a crawl space, that air is lost to the outdoors entirely. A system leaking a fifth of its air is delivering four fifths of what you paid for, which makes a 16 SEER2 condenser behave like a 12.
So the order of priorities, when money is limited:
- Seal what you have. Sealing an existing system is $1,100 to $4,000 and often fixes the symptom.
- Fix the returns, which is usually the actual design fault.
- Replace the ducts when they are genuinely beyond saving — crushed, disconnected, asbestos-wrapped, undersized throughout, or fiberglass duct board that has broken down.
Replacing sound ducts because new equipment is going in is money spent in the wrong place. Replacing ducts that are leaking a third of their air is money better spent than on a higher efficiency rating.
Mastic, not tape
The most practical thing on this page.
Duct tape does not work on ducts. The name is a historical accident: the adhesive dries out in the temperature swings a duct sees and the tape peels within a few years, which is why taped joints in attics are routinely found hanging open. The trade seals with:
- Mastic — a thick paste brushed onto the joint, often with mesh tape in the gap. It stays flexible and it is what a specification should say.
- UL 181 foil tape, which is a different product from hardware-store duct tape and is acceptable on metal-to-metal joints.
Ask what the joints will be sealed with. "Taped and sealed" is not an answer; "mastic and mesh" is.
The returns are usually the problem
Undersized return air is the commonest design fault in American houses, and almost nobody looks for it.
A system has to pull back as much air as it pushes out. Houses are routinely built with generous supply runs and one central return, which forces all the air through a single grille and a few door undercuts. The result is high static pressure, a struggling blower, rooms that do not get air with the door shut, and whistling.
Symptoms worth recognizing:
- A whistling or roaring return grille.
- Doors that pull themselves shut or are hard to open when the system runs.
- Rooms that never condition properly with the door closed.
- A filter that gets sucked against its frame.
The fix is more or larger return paths — a return in each bedroom, or transfer grilles or jump ducts between rooms and the hallway. If a duct system is being replaced, this is the moment to correct it, and a quote that adds no return capacity to a house with one central return has not looked at the problem.
If it is flex, the workmanship is the product
Flex duct delivers its rated airflow only if it is installed properly, and the cheapest build is the one where that matters most:
- Pulled tight, not left long and coiled. Excess length is the single commonest fault and every foot of slack costs airflow.
- Supported every four feet with wide straps, with no more than about half an inch of sag between supports. A sagging belly in a run acts like a partial blockage.
- No kinks, especially where a run crosses a joist or turns into a boot.
- Long radius turns. A sharp bend in flex costs more pressure than ten feet of straight run.
- Inner liner sealed to the collar with a drawband and mastic, and the insulation sealed over it separately. Two bands, not one.
You can inspect all of that yourself with a flashlight, and it tells you more about an installer than anything they will say.
When not to install ductwork
The $10,100 figure for finished ceilings is in the table for a reason: it is usually the wrong answer.
Running new duct through a house with finished ceilings means opening drywall, building soffits, patching and painting — a carpenter and a painter doing most of the work, and a finished result that loses ceiling height and closet space. A house with no existing ducts is almost always better served by a ductless system: two zones of mini split is about $6,600 against $10,100 for duct plus the cost of equipment on top of it.
Where new duct in a finished house does make sense: an addition that can be fed from an accessible space, a house being gutted anyway, or a single run to one problem room.
Balancing is not optional
A duct system is finished when the air has been measured at each register and the dampers set so each room gets what the design says it should. Without that, the rooms nearest the air handler get too much and the far ones get too little, and the usual response is to close registers in the near rooms — which raises static pressure and makes it worse.
Balancing is in the price here, and it is worth asking for explicitly: "Will you measure airflow at each register and set the dampers?" A system that was never balanced is the reason a lot of expensive equipment disappoints.
Asbestos duct wrap stops the job
In houses built before about 1980, the wrap, tape or paper finish on old duct may contain asbestos. The presence is not the problem; disturbing it is.
If the existing duct is wrapped in a white or grayish fibrous material with a paper or canvas outer layer, stop and have it sampled before anybody starts pulling it down. Abatement is a licensed trade with its own containment requirements, and the figures on this page cover only the duct work that follows it — hence the +60% card, which is the disruption rather than the abatement itself.
What you are paying for
180 linear feet of insulated flex on a sheet metal trunk, through a basement, replacing old duct, at $5,950:
| Labor, about 38 hours | around $2,282 |
| Flex and trunk, 180 ft | $1,170 |
| Boots, takeoffs, mastic and hangers | $504 |
| Permit, disposal and balancing | $450 |
| Overhead and margin | the balance |
Thirty-eight hours is a two-person crew for most of a week, and six of those hours happen before any duct goes up: measuring the house, sizing the trunk and branches against the equipment, and planning a route that fits between the joists.
Questions worth asking
- Has the system been designed, or copied from what is there? A Manual D calculation is the proper answer.
- What will the joints be sealed with? Mastic, not tape.
- How much return air does the house have, and are you adding any?
- Will the duct in unconditioned space be R-8 wrapped?
- Will you measure airflow at each register and balance it?
- Flex or metal, and why that choice here?
- Is there any chance of asbestos in the existing wrap?
- Are the registers and boots being replaced, or reused?
- Could sealing the existing ducts do the job instead?
- If ceilings have to be opened: who patches and paints?
Common questions
How much does ductwork installation cost?
About $5,950 for 180 linear feet — a typical 1,800 square foot house — in insulated flex on a sheet metal trunk, running through a basement or crawl space. That is $33 a linear foot, within published ranges of $20 to $60. All sheet metal is $7,625, flex throughout $5,025, and running new duct through finished ceilings takes it to $10,100.
How do I estimate how much ductwork my house needs?
Count the supply registers, allow 12 to 15 feet of branch for each, add 30 to 50 feet of trunk, and add the return. A typical 1,800 square foot house comes to 150 to 250 feet. Floor area is the wrong measurement and the one most quotes hide behind — a single-story ranch with eight branches has far less duct than a two-story house of the same area with a run to every room.
How much air do leaky ducts lose?
10 to 30% in a typical American system, and where the ducts run through an attic or crawl space that air is lost to the outdoors entirely. A system leaking a fifth of its air delivers four fifths of what you paid for, which makes a 16 SEER2 condenser behave like a 12. That is the whole reason duct detail matters, and it is why sealing an existing system at $1,100 to $4,000 often beats buying a higher efficiency rating.
Should ducts be sealed with duct tape?
No — the name is a historical accident. The adhesive dries out in the temperature swings a duct sees and the tape peels within a few years, which is why taped joints in attics are routinely found hanging open. The trade seals with mastic, a thick paste brushed on with mesh tape in the gap, or with UL 181 foil tape on metal-to-metal joints, which is a different product from hardware-store duct tape. Ask what the joints will be sealed with; "taped and sealed" is not an answer.
Why are my rooms uneven when the system is the right size?
Usually return air. A system has to pull back as much as it pushes out, and houses are routinely built with generous supplies and one central return, forcing everything through a single grille and a few door undercuts. The symptoms are a whistling return, doors that pull themselves shut, rooms that never condition with the door closed, and a filter sucked against its frame. The fix is more return capacity — a return per bedroom, or transfer grilles between rooms and the hallway.
Is flex duct or sheet metal better?
Sheet metal costs about 28% more here — $7,625 against $5,950 for 180 feet — lasts indefinitely, and is quieter when sealed properly. Insulated flex on a metal trunk is the standard residential build and performs well when installed properly. The honest distinction is that flex depends on workmanship: pulled tight, supported every four feet with no more than half an inch of sag, no kinks and long radius turns. Flex done badly cannot deliver its rated airflow whatever equipment is attached to it.
What does bad flex duct installation look like?
Excess length left long and coiled rather than pulled tight, which is the commonest fault of all; sagging bellies between supports, which act like partial blockages; kinks where a run crosses a joist or turns into a boot; sharp bends, which cost more pressure than ten feet of straight run; and a single drawband where there should be two — one sealing the inner liner to the collar with mastic, one sealing the insulation over it. All of that is visible with a flashlight.
Should I replace my ductwork when I replace the furnace?
Only if the ducts are genuinely beyond saving — crushed, disconnected, undersized throughout, asbestos-wrapped, or duct board that has broken down. Replacing sound ducts because new equipment is going in is money in the wrong place. What is worth doing at that moment, because everything is accessible, is sealing them and fixing the returns. Those two together cost a fraction of replacement and address most of what is actually wrong.
Can ductwork be installed in a house that has none?
It can, and it is usually the wrong answer. Running duct through finished ceilings means opening drywall, building soffits, patching and painting, which takes the job to about $10,100 for 180 feet before any equipment — and loses ceiling height and closet space. Two zones of ductless is about $6,600 all in. New duct in a finished house makes sense for an addition fed from an accessible space, a house being gutted anyway, or a single run to one problem room.
What is duct balancing and do I need it?
Measuring the airflow at each register and setting the dampers so every room gets what the design calls for. Without it the rooms nearest the air handler get too much and the far ones too little, and the usual response — closing registers in the near rooms — raises static pressure and makes things worse. It is included in the figures here, and it is worth asking for explicitly: a system that was never balanced is the reason a lot of expensive equipment disappoints.
Could my old duct insulation contain asbestos?
In houses built before about 1980, yes — the wrap, the tape or the paper finish may contain it, and the presence is not the problem: disturbing it is. If the existing duct is wrapped in a white or grayish fibrous material with a paper or canvas outer layer, stop and have it sampled before anybody pulls it down. Abatement is a licensed trade with containment requirements of its own, and it is a separate cost from the duct work that follows.
Does duct in an attic need insulating?
Yes, R-8 at minimum, and this is where most of the loss in a hot climate happens. Duct running through a 130°F attic is trying to deliver 55°F air, and uninsulated or thinly insulated runs lose a substantial part of it before they reach the room. The boot at each ceiling penetration should also be sealed to the drywall rather than left as an open gap — that joint leaks conditioned air into the attic continuously and is one of the easiest things to check.
Where these numbers come from
Nothing here is copied from a contractor directory. Labor is priced from what the trades are actually paid, materials from published producer prices, and both are adjusted to your area using federal cost-of-living data.
- Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors, United States: $42.44/hour, August 2026 (BLS CES CES2023822003)
- Insulated flex and sheet metal trunk: $6.50 per linear foot (price recorded October 2026, not index-adjusted)
- Boots, takeoffs, mastic and hangers: $2.80 per linear foot (price recorded October 2026, not index-adjusted)