Air Duct Replacement in Houston, TX

Does the whole duct system need replacing, or just part of it?

Usually just part. The failure is rarely uniform. In Houston attics, the supply plenum and the first several feet of trunk fail first. That is where surface temperature is lowest and summer attic humidity is highest. Condensation lands there. Duct board liner erodes, sheds fiber, and stops drying out between cycles. Branch runs twenty feet away can still be sound. We open the system, check plenum liner condition, and pull on every boot connection at the ceiling.

Flex is a different failure. It sags between trusses and holds low spots. Dust settles in the belly. Kinks and tight turns choke static pressure, and the far bedroom goes warm. Replacing flex without re-supporting it just repeats the problem. Straps go at proper spacing. Runs get pulled taut and cut to need instead of coiled.

Return side gets ignored most. One central return in a 1970s house moves air fast enough to load dust at a single grille. Leaks on the return pull attic insulation fiber straight into the blower and coil. Adding return capacity often does more than new supply.

Pier-and-beam homes with under-floor runs that took floodwater are different work. Those ducts come out, not get cleaned.