Professional Duct Repair & Ductwork Replacement in Pinellas Park

How do I know if my ducts are leaking?

Leaky ducts waste the air you pay to cool and pull hot, humid attic air into your home. Watch for:

• Rooms that never cool while others are fine.
• High Duke bills for the size of your home.
• A house that feels sticky even when the thermostat reads 75–76°F.
• Dust building up quickly on furniture, or dust streaks around vents.
• Whistling or rattling in the ducts.
• Sweating ducts or wet insulation in the attic, or water stains on the ceiling near vents.
• Crushed, kinked or disconnected flex duct you can see in the attic.

In Pinellas Park, many ducts run through attics that get far hotter than the outdoor air on summer afternoons. A disconnected supply run can dump cold air straight into that heat, and a leaky return can pull hot attic air into the system.

How does the Duke Energy duct test and repair program work?

Duke Energy Florida's program helps customers find and fix duct leakage:

• The test: Duke pays up to $50 toward a duct leakage test, which typically costs about $100.
• The repair: if the test shows enough leakage (at least 60 CFM25 per ton of system capacity), Duke pays up to $400 per system toward repairs.
• Who can do it: only Duke-approved contractors. We're one.
• Eligible homes: single-family and manufactured homes on Duke service.
• Typical cost to you: Duke says customers pay about $400–$600 on average after the incentives.

Source: Duke Energy Florida duct test & repair program page. Ask us to check whether your home qualifies before you book.

What happens during a duct test and repair visit?

1. Set up the test. We seal the supply and return vents and connect a calibrated fan to the system.
2. Measure leakage. The fan pressurises the ducts and measures how much air escapes, in CFM at 25 pascals.
3. Find the leaks. We inspect the attic, closet or crawl space, looking for disconnected joints, torn flex duct, gaps at the air handler and leaky plenums.
4. Repair and seal. Mastic and approved tape on joints, re-hanging sagging runs, replacing damaged sections and sealing the air handler cabinet and plenum.
5. Re-test. We measure again to confirm the improvement and complete Duke's paperwork if your home is in the program.

How do you repair belly ducts in a manufactured home?

Manufactured homes run their main supply duct under the floor, inside the "belly" wrapped by a plastic or fabric belly board. Over time:

• The belly board tears and lets moisture and animals in.
• Duct joints separate, blowing cold air under the home.
• The crossover duct between sections of a double-wide gets crushed or disconnected.
• Insulation gets wet and falls.

We access the duct through the belly, reconnect and seal joints, replace or re-support the crossover duct, and repair the belly board. Manufactured homes qualify for Duke's duct test and repair program too, if leakage meets the threshold.

What does duct repair or ductwork replacement cost?

Sources: Duke Energy Florida duct program page; itstampasbest.com HVAC cost guide (Aug 2026). These are estimates, not quotes. Spot repairs depend on access and how many leaks we find; we explain the price before work starts. See our cost guide.

Should I repair, seal or replace my ductwork?

• Repair and seal when the ducts are in decent shape, with disconnected joints, small tears or leaky connections. This is the most common fix.
• Replace sections that are crushed, badly torn, or full of wet, collapsed insulation.
• Replace the whole system when ducts are old and brittle, undersized for your AC, poorly laid out, or leaking everywhere. Many 1960s and 1970s Pinellas Park homes still have original ducts.

We'll show you photos from the attic or crawl space so you can see what we see. If only one branch is failing, there's no reason to replace the lot; if the whole system is brittle and undersized, patching it repeatedly costs more in the long run. We'll explain which applies to your home and price both options where it makes sense.

Do I need a permit for duct work in Pinellas Park?

The City of Pinellas Park requires a permit for duct alteration or replacement over $500 in value. Small repairs below that threshold usually don't need one. When a permit is needed, we file it and arrange the inspection. For the current fee schedule, call the city's Building Development division at 727-369-5647.

Should I fix ducts before replacing my AC?

Yes, ideally. A new, efficient AC connected to leaky ducts can't deliver its rated performance, and the money you spend on efficiency leaks into the attic. Leaky returns also pull in humid air that a new system then has to remove.

When you're planning an AC replacement, we check the ducts as part of sizing. Sometimes a duct repair alone fixes a hot room that seemed to need a bigger system. Fixing ducts first also means your load calculation reflects the home as it will be, not as it is with leaks.

How do ducts affect humidity and air quality?

Leaky returns pull dust, insulation fibres and humid attic air into the system. Sealing them is one of the simplest ways to improve comfort. For more ways to tackle dampness and dust, see indoor air quality.

Duct test and repair: call (727) 761-8873.