Furnace replacement · Spokane Valley
Furnace installation in Spokane Valley, crawlspace ducts included
Plenty of Valley ranches still heat with a furnace installed before Spokane Valley incorporated. We replace it after a load calculation and a crawl through the ductwork underneath, with circuit, gas line and permit each listed on the written quote.
- Ducts walked first
- Static pressure and crawlspace runs checked before any model is named.
- Permit and inspection
- Each install is permitted and inspected; a new circuit appears as its own quote line.
- 30-day written quote
- Itemized lines, two or three efficiency tiers, cash and financed totals.
Drive almost any street south of Sprague and you pass furnaces that went in during the 1970s, 80s and 90s: hall-closet units in Opportunity, garage-corner units in Dishman, shallow utility rooms in the Chester and Ponderosa ranches below Dishman Hills. Many are 1990s replacements of the original equipment, 80 percent furnaces with standing pilots or first-generation hot-surface igniters, and the oldest still in service run closer to 60 percent. When a repair bill shows up every winter, the real question is what should replace the furnace and how big it ought to be.
Our answer starts on hands and knees. The furnace is half of a Valley install; the ductwork in the crawlspace is the other half, and a new two-stage furnace bolted onto separated joints and crushed flex will be loud and uneven whatever the brochure promises. So the site visit, which costs you nothing, covers the rooms, the ducts, the flue route, the gas line size and the panel. The Manual J load calculation that comes out of it nearly always lands smaller than the furnace now standing in the closet.
Valley furnace situations and our usual recommendation
| Situation | What we usually recommend | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Furnace 20 to 30 years old with a repair every winter | Two-stage or modulating condensing furnace (95–97% AFUE) sized by load calculation | Replacement parts are hard to find and up to a third of the gas is going up the flue |
| Standing-pilot unit from the 1990s in a hall closet | Sealed-combustion condensing furnace, vented through a side wall | A pilot burns gas all year, and the old burner draws its air from inside the house |
| Early high-efficiency furnace east of Sullivan with a failing secondary exchanger | In most cases, replacement instead of the exchanger repair | On a unit near the end of its life, that repair eats a large share of a new furnace |
| Crushed flex, open joints and one small return under the house | Ducts sealed, a return added, blower speed set to the system | Airflow decides whether the far bedrooms stay warm, more than the furnace does |
| Electric furnace and a painful January bill | Gas furnace where a line already reaches the house, or a heat pump with strips as backup | Electric resistance heat costs more per unit of warmth than gas or a heat pump |
| Full panel and a heat pump planned for later | Circuit and panel space planned now and listed on the quote | The 240-volt work is planned once instead of twice |
Valley ranches, garage furnaces and crawlspace ductwork
The furnaces we pull most often in Spokane Valley sit in 1960s to 1980s single-story ranches south of Sprague, across Opportunity, Dishman, Chester and the Ponderosa streets. Past Sullivan, on the way to Barker Road, the houses are younger, and the furnace on its way out is often an early condensing unit whose secondary heat exchanger has begun to fail. Either way, the drive out I-90 takes our install crew roughly twenty minutes, we set equipment in the Valley most weeks, and the distance never shows up as a surcharge.
The crawlspace fills in the rest. Original 1970s duct runs have joints that let go decades ago, flex that somebody knelt on during a plumbing job, and returns that were undersized the day they went in. We read static pressure at the furnace and follow the runs with a flashlight, and any sealing or added return is listed separately on the quote, with what it will fix spelled out. When the new furnace sits in a garage or against an outside wall, the condensate line is routed and insulated so a cold Valley garage cannot ice it shut in January.
The panel is the third piece. A lot of Valley panels are already full, so a new furnace circuit, or the 240-volt circuit for a heat pump you may add later, gets planned at the site visit. It goes on the written quote as its own line, with the permit, and the install is inspected. Depending on whether your power comes from Avista, Modern Electric or Vera, we look up the utility rebates your equipment qualifies for and complete the paperwork together. We install Carrier, Bryant, Lennox, Rheem, Goodman, American Standard and Amana.
Furnace installation prices in Spokane Valley
For a typical Valley ranch, a 95 percent-plus two-stage gas furnace starts at $5,500, and an 80 percent furnace at $3,950 where the venting makes that the sensible pick; both figures cover the equipment and our crew's installation. If a heat pump outdoor unit goes in alongside the furnace, that part of the job starts at $4,200. Treat these as starting points for planning rather than a quote: duct sealing, added returns and panel work all move the total upward, and your own number comes in writing once the site visit is done. Book that visit through the site-visit form and a full-system install saves up to $500, with the first-year tune-up included so the combustion readings get checked again before the second winter. A written deposit holds the equipment order.
| System, installed | Price |
|---|---|
| Gas furnace, 95%+ AFUE | from $5,500 |
| Gas furnace, 80% AFUE | from $3,950 |
| Heat pump outdoor unit only | from $4,200 |
| Electric furnace | from $4,000 |
| Heat pump with air handler | from $5,750 |
| Central air conditioner | from $4,150 |
Starting prices with equipment and installation included, before utility rebates and before our up to $500 off a full system. Multi-zone systems are quoted on request. The site visit and written quote cost nothing.
Questions we hear
How long does a furnace changeout take in a Spokane Valley ranch?
Most are finished in one day, usually before the rooms have cooled much. Sealing crawlspace ducts, adding an AC coil, rerouting venting for a condensing furnace or adding a circuit can push it to two. The quote names the install days in advance, so a January call gets a firm date rather than a guess about when somebody might turn up.
Our furnace has a cracked heat exchanger. How fast can it be replaced?
Usually within the week, and sooner in hard cold. We show you the crack on camera, write the replacement quote at that visit and talk through safe temporary heat. If the furnace can run safely for a few days we tell you; if it cannot, it stays off. A gas smell is a different matter: leave the house first, then phone Avista or 911 once you are outdoors.
Will you fix the crawlspace ducts too?
When the readings say they need it, yes. Separated joints get sealed, crushed flex gets replaced and a missing or undersized return gets added, each priced as its own line. Some Valley duct systems are in fine shape, and then we say so. A new furnace on ducts that cannot move the air is the most common reason a replacement disappoints its owner.
Do you pull the permits with the City of Spokane Valley?
Yes. Mechanical and gas permits are pulled by us, the electrical permit appears as its own line on the quote, we set up the inspection, and the paperwork is yours to keep.
Two-stage or modulating for a long single-story ranch?
A 95 percent two-stage furnace suits most Valley ranches and pays back quickly on our winters. A modulating furnace runs quieter and holds a steadier temperature from one end of a long, low house to the other, which helps when the bedrooms sit far from the hall closet. We quote both and show where the extra money goes.
Call, text or book
Book the site visit online and a full-system install saves up to $500, first-year tune-up included. If you are not convinced the old furnace is done, call or text us for a repair visit instead: the $99 diagnostic becomes part of the repair total if you go ahead, and there is up to $50 off an HVAC repair booked online.
Book a visit
Tell us what is going on
We call or text back to confirm a time window, usually the same day.
- $99 diagnostic Counted inside the written repair price you approve. Say no to the repair and it is the whole bill.
- Up to $50 off An HVAC repair booked online. Appliance repairs booked online: up to $22 off. Never taken off the diagnostic.
- Up to $500 off A full-system install booked through our site-visit form, first-year tune-up included. The site visit costs nothing.
Prefer to text? Send a photo of the model tag to (509) 370-5361.