Whole-system duct and dryer vent check with before-and-after photos - you see exactly what came out of your vents
That "$99 whole-house special" is a bait ad - the real number appears once they are in your hallway, or the "clean" is a shop-vac at the register. We photograph the inside of your ducts before and after instead.
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AfterFast, Reliable Air Duct Repair Across San Francisco
Air duct repair in San Francisco usually means one of two things: a run that has crushed or separated inside an old wall cavity, or flex duct that’s tearing and growing mold from the marine layer west of Twin Peaks. Most San Francisco homes never run air conditioning, so damaged ductwork can sit undiscovered for years. When we pull a disconnected run during a routine cleaning, the fix is often straightforward, but it needs to be found first. Our Air Duct Repair team knows where to look in Victorian and Edwardian construction, because that’s what most of this city is. If you suspect a leak, a crushed run, or mold in your ducts, call (980) 447-2498. We’ll tell you exactly what we find and what it costs to fix, in writing, before any work starts.
Key Takeaways
- Most San Francisco duct repairs happen because a retrofitted run was crushed, disconnected, or has torn flex duct from fog-driven humidity.
- Common repair costs in San Francisco run $275 – $900 for a single collapsed or separated run, and $1,800 – $4,600 for a full-system rebuild with new flex duct and sealed plenums.
- Camera inspection is the only way to find damage inside balloon-frame wall cavities that were never designed for forced air.
- Every Linden repair is covered by the 365-Day Done Right Promise, in writing.
- The technician’s name and photo arrive before the visit. A photo ID badge is shown at your door.
Why Linden Air Duct Cleaning Is San Francisco’s Preferred Air Duct Repair Company
San Francisco homeowners don’t need a duct company from the East Bay or the Peninsula. They need someone who understands what fog does to ductwork and why a 1910 flat in the Richmond District has different problems than a 1950s house in Miraloma Park. Our crews work across San Francisco every week, from the Outer Sunset to Bayview, and we’ve pulled enough crushed flex duct out of enough balloon-frame cavities to know what we’re looking at before the camera even goes in.
Every technician who arrives at your door is background-checked, identity-verified, and introduced by name and photo before the visit. That’s the Threshold Standard, and it’s not optional. When the tech rings your bell in Noe Valley or the Mission, they carry a photo ID badge and show it at the door. You’ll know exactly who is standing on your threshold. Marcus Veale leads our repair team, and he insists on that standard for every single job in San Francisco.
Serving homeowners since 2004 as part of the Threshold Group family, we’ve built our San Francisco reputation on written guarantees and honest pricing. A live person answers the phone around the clock, so when you call at 7 a.m. before work or 8 p.m. after the kids are down, a human picks up. No voicemail loops.
Ductwork Installation in San Francisco
Ductwork Installation in San Francisco usually means replacing a section of a system that was never designed for the building it’s in. Most Victorians and Edwardians were heated with floor furnaces or radiant systems. When central air got retrofitted decades later, contractors threaded ducts through original wood-framed walls and subfloor cavities wherever they could fit, not where the system would actually perform. Those runs get pinched, crushed, and knocked loose over time. A complete ductwork installation is the fix when the existing runs are too damaged or too poorly configured to repair.
For a partial ductwork installation in San Francisco, homeowners can expect to pay $900 – $2,600 depending on access and how many runs are involved. Full-system installation in a typical two-unit Victorian flat runs $4,200 – $8,500, with the higher end reflecting jobs where we have to open original plaster walls or work in crawl spaces with less than 18 inches of clearance. Every price is written down before the work begins.
Retrofitted Runs and Balloon-Frame Access
Installing new ductwork in a balloon-frame Victorian means working with cavities that run uninterrupted from basement to attic. We measure twice and camera-inspect the entire path before cutting anything. The goal is a run that flows, not one that just fits.
Sealed Plenums and Balanced Airflow
A proper installation includes sealing every plenum and joint, because San Francisco’s humidity works its way into any gap. We use professional-grade equipment from Rotobrush and Nikro for installation support, and we test the system under negative pressure before we call the job done.
HVAC Duct Installation in San Francisco
HVAC Duct Installation in San Francisco is often a full-scope job in homes where the original furnace was abandoned and an air handler was bolted in as an afterthought. In stacked flats, each unit frequently has its own jury-rigged duct system, with supply and return runs that were never designed to work together. That means cross-unit leaks at shared chases, collapsed flex where runs get pinched around original framing, and airflow that barely reaches the back bedrooms. A proper HVAC duct installation restores balance between supply and return, and that’s what actually fixes the problem.
Full HVAC duct installation in San Francisco generally runs $4,500 – $9,200 for a single unit in a Victorian or Edwardian flat. Partial installations, where we replace the worst runs and rebuild the plenum connections, run $1,400 – $3,300. These are honest whole-system ranges, not a per-vent teaser price that grows once the van is parked outside.
Supply and Return Balance in Old Flats
Older flats often have one undersized return for an entire floor. We calculate the airflow requirement for the square footage and the number of registers, then size the new runs accordingly. A balanced system is quieter, filters better, and stops pulling unconditioned air through wall cavities.
Working With Original Framing
We plan every HVAC duct installation around the original framing. That means no notching old-growth redwood joists, no cutting through shear walls, and no surprises. If we need to route a run differently to protect the structure, we tell you before we touch anything.
Trusted Brands We Service in San Francisco
We work on systems built around equipment from Aprilaire, Abatement Technologies, Guardsman, and Rotobrush. When a San Francisco homeowner needs a replacement plenum or a new flex section, we stock common parts locally so we’re not waiting on a warehouse in Sacramento. We also install air-quality products from Honeywell and Aprilaire, which matter in this city because the same fog that damages ducts also carries fine particulate that a standard filter doesn’t stop. If your system needs a part we don’t stock, we’ll get it quickly and tell you exactly when the work will happen.
Common Air Duct Repair Problems We See in San Francisco Homes
- Mold and torn flex duct in fog zones. Homes in the Outer Sunset and Outer Richmond sit in marine-layer humidity for weeks at a time, even in summer. Flex duct absorbs that moisture, grows mold at the joints, and tears when the material degrades. We’ve pulled sections with visible colonies from homes where the thermostat has never gone above 68°F.
- Crushed runs in balloon-frame cavities. Victorian and Edwardian houses weren’t built for forced air. The retrofitted ducts running through original wood-framed wall cavities get crushed, disconnected, or sagged over decades. Camera inspection is the only way to see it.
- Cross-unit leaks in stacked flats. Two- and three-unit buildings often have separate duct systems sharing the same chases. When one unit’s run leaks, conditioned air from the other unit ends up where it shouldn’t be. That’s a common source of odor transfer and uneven air.
- Shedding duct liner and dust from decades of no AC. Without air conditioning, San Francisco ducts can sit unrun for years. Old fiberglass liner breaks down, and the system redistributes fine particles every time the furnace kicks on. Repair usually means removing the damaged liner and sealing the run properly.
Pricing for Air Duct Repair in San Francisco, CA
Let’s talk numbers, because you should know before you call. A single crushed or separated run in San Francisco typically costs $275 – $900 to repair, including camera inspection, negative-pressure containment during the work, and sealing the run when we’re done. Two to three damaged flex sections with mold remediation run $800 – $2,200. A full-system repair, where we rebuild multiple runs, replace plenum connections, and restore supply-return balance, runs $1,800 – $4,600. The range reflects access: working in a Noe Valley crawlspace with 16 inches of clearance costs more than a Marina District basement with standing room. Marcus Veale will review the scope with you and put the exact price in writing before any work begins. Call (980) 447-2498 for a free estimate.
We Also Serve Cities Near San Francisco
While most of our repair work happens right here in San Francisco, our crews also serve Daly City, Brisbane, Sausalito, and South San Francisco. If you’re just over the county line and dealing with a crushed run or fog-damaged flex duct, we’ll bring the same Threshold Verified standard to your door.
Serving San Francisco, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the San Francisco area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs About Air Duct Repair in San Francisco
Because the damage isn’t coming from your AC. It’s coming from the marine layer. West of Twin Peaks, ambient humidity sits high for weeks at a time, and that moisture works its way into duct joints, flex sections, and old plenums. Mold grows, materials degrade, and runs that were crushed during a decades-old retrofit stay crushed because nothing ever pushed air through them hard enough to reveal the problem. You might not find out until a routine cleaning or a furnace inspection. For an honest assessment, call (980) 447-2498.
We send a camera through the run. In Victorian and Edwardian construction, the ducts are threaded through wall cavities and subfloor spaces that no one has ever seen. We insert a camera, follow the entire path on a live monitor, and document every crushed, disconnected, or sagging section. Then we show you the footage so you can see exactly what we’re proposing to fix, and we put the repair price in writing before any work starts.
It commonly reveals mold on flex duct joints and inside poorly sealed plenums. The fog keeps ambient humidity high enough for microbial growth at temperatures far below what triggers AC use. When we pull flex sections from an Outer Sunset or Outer Richmond home, we set the system under negative pressure and use HEPA filtration to prevent cross-contamination while we repair. Then we seal the new run properly so it’s not feeding on the same moisture next year. Call (980) 447-2498 to schedule a look.
Usually not. Most of the time we can repair the damaged run, seal the plenum, and restore balance without touching the rest of the system. The exceptions are when multiple runs have collapsed, the original retrofit was so poorly configured that the system can’t be balanced, or mold has spread through a significant portion of the flex duct. In those cases, partial or full replacement is the honest recommendation. We’ll show you the camera footage and explain exactly why before you spend a dollar.
Yes, and this matters in stacked buildings. Cross-unit leaks at shared chases can pull air from a neighbor’s unit into yours, bringing odors, dust, and whatever else is in their ductwork with it. A repair that seals those leaks and restores proper supply-return balance means your system pulls from your return and delivers to your registers, not from the shared wall cavity. That’s a real air-quality improvement, and it’s verified by testing the system under negative pressure before we finish.
What to Do Next
If you suspect a crushed run, mold in your flex duct, or you simply haven’t had your San Francisco ductwork inspected in years, call (980) 447-2498. A live person answers. We’ll schedule a visit, confirm the technician’s name and photo before they arrive, and give you a written price for any repair before work begins. Every repair is covered by the 365-Day Done Right Promise. If the work isn’t right, we come back and make it right at no charge. That’s how we’ve operated in San Francisco since 2004, and that’s how we’ll handle your home.
Written by Marcus Veale, Owner at Linden Air Duct Cleaning, serving San Francisco since 2004.