Furnace Installation & Replacement in Toronto

What changes a furnace replacement in a Toronto house

Every new gas furnace sold in Canada must be at least 95% AFUE, which means a condensing unit that vents through plastic pipe instead of the chimney. In a suburb those pipes go out the nearest side wall; on a Toronto semi one side is a party wall and the other faces the neighbour's wall across a narrow passage. CSA B149.1 and the manufacturer set clearances from windows, doors, gas regulators and air intakes, so the termination often has to move to the rear wall or go up through the roof, using the old chimney as a chase. That route sets the pipe length, and pipe length can decide which furnace model is allowed, so we walk it before quoting.

The chimney is the second question. Once the furnace leaves it, a gas water heater is left venting alone into a brick flue that is now too big and too cold for it, and its exhaust can spill back into the basement. The fix is a liner sized to the water heater, or a power-vent or tankless unit that does not use the chimney, and it belongs in the furnace quote from the start; chimney liners when replacing a furnace explains the choice. In a semi the chimney often sits on the party wall with a separate flue for each house, so we confirm which flue is yours before anything goes down it.

Size comes from a heat-loss calculation, not from the nameplate on the old furnace. A semi or row house shares one or two walls with heated neighbours, so it loses less heat than a detached house of the same floor area, and the right furnace is often smaller than the one coming out. Ducts matter as much: forced air in these houses was usually retrofitted, with small returns, and a furnace too large for them trips its limit switch and wears out early. A two-stage or modulating furnace that runs on low fire most of the winter suits small ducts and a low dug-out basement, where we also measure the height available for cabinet, coil and plenum.

The City of Toronto lists replacing a furnace or boiler in a house among the work that does not require a building permit; a permit comes back in when the heating system is installed or modified, such as new ductwork, and then we file it with Toronto Building as the contractor. The gas connection is made by a TSSA-licensed technician in every case, and do I need a permit to replace my furnace in Toronto sets out the rule. If the house heats with radiators and has no ducts, a furnace is rarely the answer, and boiler repair and installation in Toronto is the page to read. Ontario's Home Renovation Savings Program is aimed at heat pumps, insulation and windows more than at gas furnaces, so we state in writing what it will pay on your job. See the furnace installation service page for the install day, the Toronto service area page for where we work, and request a free quote to have the house measured.

Why ZK Mechanical for furnace installation & replacement in Toronto

• Vent route walked and measured first: side wall, rear wall or through the roof by way of the old chimney
• Orphaned water heater dealt with in the same quote, with a liner, power-vent or tankless option priced
• Heat-loss calculation for attached houses, which usually need less furnace than the old nameplate suggests
• Two-stage and modulating furnaces matched to small retrofit ducts
• No Toronto building permit needed for a straight furnace swap in a house; where duct changes need one, we file it and book the inspection
• TSSA-licensed gas technicians; gas line pressure-tested and the furnace test-fired before we leave
• Old furnace removed and disposed of; financing through lending partners with no prepayment penalty

Furnace Installation & Replacement in Toronto — FAQs

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