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Furnace Installation and Replacement
Serving Beltsville, College Park, Hyattsville and the Surrounding Areas in Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia
- Load calculated, not guessed
- Financing through Wisetack
- Permits pulled, three jurisdictions
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Furnace Installation and Replacement
When Is It Time for a New Furnace?
It's time for a new furnace when the repair bills start showing up as often as the cold snaps, usually past the fifteen-year mark, or when a new build, an addition, or a move off baseboard heat leaves you with nothing to replace. Fortiz HVAC Inc handles furnace installation and replacement by measuring the house first, pricing any venting or duct work into the quote, and pulling the permit wherever you are in the DMV. If your furnace still has winters left in it, we'll tell you.
- 15–20 yearsA furnace's working life. Past fifteen, you'd rather choose the date than have January choose it.
- 80% vs 95%The efficiency gap, and the reason the venting has to change with it.
- 3 jurisdictionsMaryland, DC and Virginia each permit separately. We pull whichever one your address needs.
- 1 dayWhat most straight changeouts take. Venting or duct work makes it two, and a first-time install is quoted on the duct work it needs.
What a Furnace Looks Like in Its Last Winter
Furnaces almost never quit in October. They quit on the first properly cold night, when every heating company in the DMV is already booked three deep. These are the tells worth acting on early.
It's Fifteen or Older
Heat exchangers crack with age, and that's the failure that ends a furnace rather than costing it a part. Manufacturers stop stocking boards and valves for older models, so repairs get slower and dearer. Fifteen is where planning beats reacting.
One Room Never Catches Up in a Cold Snap
A furnace big enough for the house still can't fix a duct run that was undersized or crushed decades ago. More heat at the source doesn't move more air through a restricted branch. That's why we check the ductwork before quoting a bigger unit.
It Fires, Hits Temperature, and Shuts Off Minutes Later
Short cycling means the furnace is oversized for the space it's heating. It blasts the thermostat satisfied, shuts down, then restarts a few minutes later. Every one of those starts wears the igniter and the blower a little further.
The Gas Bill Climbs Every Winter for the Same Warmth
Burners foul, heat exchangers scale, and efficiency drifts down year by year. You're paying for the same comfort with more fuel each season. Compare a January bill against one from three winters ago and the trend is usually plain.
The Burner Flame Is Yellow Instead of Blue
A healthy gas flame burns blue and steady. Yellow or flickering means incomplete combustion, which wastes fuel and produces carbon monoxide. It's worth a same-day look rather than something to note and move past.
You've Paid for Repairs Two Winters Running
One repair on a mid-life furnace is maintenance. Two winters of invoices on a system past fifteen is a deposit on a new one, spent slowly. We'll add them up next to a replacement quote so you can see both.
Replacement isn't always the answer. If the furnace is under twelve and one part failed, furnace repair makes more sense and we'll tell you so. If the ducts are why that room stays cold, a new furnace won't change it and ductwork repair comes first. And in a climate this moderate, a heat pump or a dual-fuel pairing deserves a price next to the furnace before you commit to either.
How Much Does Furnace Installation Cost?
Most gas furnace installations in the DC area land between about $4,500 and $8,000, with high-efficiency units that need new venting at the top of that range or above. Your number depends on the size your home needs, the efficiency tier you pick, and any venting, duct or gas line work, each shown as its own line before anything's ordered. Estimates on replacements are free, and financing through Wisetack spreads the cost monthly on a soft credit check.
Replace It Now, or Get One More Winter Out of It?
Sometimes We Tell You to Wait
A twelve-year-old furnace with one failed part usually has winters left, and we'd rather say that than quote you a system. Past fifteen with repairs mounting, waiting means buying in January, at an emergency rate, from whatever's in stock. That's your call to make. We just think you should make it with both numbers in front of you.
Why Do Homeowners Hand Us the Furnace Job?
The Old Label Is a Guess, Not a Spec
The load calculation comes before the model number.
Square footage, insulation, window area and air leakage decide the size. Copying the tonnage off the unit we're removing assumes the old one was right, and assumes nothing's changed about the house in twenty years. On a new build or addition there's no old label at all, so the calculation is the only honest starting point.
We sort the venting before install day, not during it.
Going from 80% to high-efficiency takes the chimney out of the exhaust path, and your water heater is suddenly alone in a flue built for two. That work goes in the quote, where you can see it.
Family owned, based in Beltsville.
We work out of Beltsville, so most of the DMV is a short drive, and the family that runs the company stands behind every install. Maryland, DC and Virginia each run their own permit and inspection process, and we handle whichever applies. Family owned since 2019.
From First Visit to First Warm Night
Four steps, and you approve the number before anything's ordered.
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1. We Come and Measure the House
A technician walks the home, checks the existing ductwork and venting, or plans the duct runs if the house doesn't have them yet, and works out what size it genuinely needs. That visit writes the specification. A phone call can't.
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2. Options, Priced, No Pressure
Two or three equipment choices with the efficiency, running cost and warranty for each, itemized. Venting, permits and any duct work show up as their own lines, not as a surprise.
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3. Installed, Usually in a Day
Old unit out, or ducts and gas connections run first on a first-time install. Then the new furnace goes in, with venting run to suit the efficiency tier. Most changeouts finish in a day. Floors get covered on the way through, and the old furnace leaves with us.
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4. Set Up, Tested, Explained
Gas pressure set, airflow measured, safeties tested, thermostat configured. Then we walk you through it, hand over the paperwork, and book the inspection.
Ready to Stop Nursing It Through Another Winter?
Get the Number First, Decide After
A free estimate costs you an hour and leaves you with something useful: the size your house needs, what the venting or duct work involves, and what it runs. No obligation attached. Our technicians work across DC, Maryland and Northern Virginia, and install slots tighten as soon as the weather turns, so booking early is how you pick your date rather than take the next one going.
Already Have No Heat? Say So When You Call
A furnace that quit in January doesn't leave room for three quotes and a fortnight of thinking. We'll get heat back in the house first, then talk replacement once you're warm and not deciding under pressure.
Look at What Else Shares the Chimney
Before anyone quotes you, check whether your water heater vents into the same flue as the furnace. If it does, mention it when you call. It changes the job, and it's much better known early than discovered on install day.
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Where We Install and Replace Furnaces
We work out of Beltsville, which puts most of the DMV inside a comfortable drive. Same technicians, same load calculation, same permit handling whichever jurisdiction you’re in. Near the edge of the list? Call and ask rather than guess, because the map runs wider than the names below.
- Georgetown
- Capitol Hill
- Dupont Circle
- Columbia Heights
- Petworth
- Brookland
- Beltsville
- College Park
- Greenbelt
- Hyattsville
- Laurel
- Silver Spring
- Bethesda
- Rockville
- Arlington
- McLean
- Falls Church
- Tysons
Furnace Installation and Replacement FAQs
Furnace installation takes a single day for most residential changeouts, usually six to eight hours. Adding sidewall venting for a high-efficiency unit, correcting duct connections or upgrading the gas line pushes it into a second day. A first-time install with new ductwork takes longer. You get the day count in the quote before work starts.
You can install a furnace in a house that doesn't have one, as long as there's room for the unit and a route for ducts and venting. Homes heated by electric baseboard or a boiler usually need ductwork designed from scratch, and some need a gas line run or upgraded. We plan both in the quote, and in a home without gas, a heat pump may be the better fit.
The size furnace you need comes from a load calculation, not from the old unit's label. It accounts for square footage, insulation, ceiling height, window area and air leakage. An oversized furnace short cycles and heats unevenly. An undersized one runs flat out and never quite catches up.
Whether you install a furnace or a heat pump depends on your fuel costs and ductwork. In a climate as moderate as the DMV, a heat pump covers most of the heating season on less energy, and dual-fuel pairs one with gas for the deepest cold. We price both before you decide.
You do need a permit to replace a furnace in most cases, and the requirement differs across DC, Prince George's County, Montgomery County and the Northern Virginia jurisdictions. We pull it as part of the job. An unpermitted changeout can surface during a home sale and can give a manufacturer grounds to decline a warranty claim.
AFUE on a furnace means Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency, the percentage of fuel it turns into heat across a season. An 80% unit sends a fifth of your gas up the flue. A 95% unit sends almost none, which is why it vents through PVC rather than a chimney.
There are often rebates and tax credits for a new furnace, through federal programs and utility companies, and the terms change regularly. We install to the efficiency thresholds those programs require and hand you the model numbers, ratings and invoice detail you need to claim.