Service illustration · not a completed customer projectTHE WORK, EXPLAINED
Start with the condition.
Understand the scope.
Ask which accessible system components will be assessed and how observed conditions and access limits will be recorded. EPA recommends considering cleaning in response to specific conditions rather than as a routine service. Keep any cleaning or replacement proposal separate from the assessment findings.
What may be involved
- supply ducts
- return ducts
- registers
- air handler
Ask the provider to distinguish existing parts to inspect, proposed replacements, and tools, materials or reports included in the service. Confirm the work and exclusions after assessment; this list does not mean that every item will be supplied or replaced.
LOCAL RESEARCH / Miami
Local context
Miami-Dade County's mechanical permits page tells applicants to check its permit exemption information to verify whether a mechanical building permit is required, and says a completed building permit application and a mechanical fee sheet must be submitted as part of an application, with plans submitted for plan review where a category indicates it needs processing. The page itself does not list which mechanical work is covered. Ask the department covering your address whether the proposed duct work counts as exempt repair or as permitted work before it starts.
Source ↗Planning your work
Miami-Dade County's permit exemption list states that repair of air conditioning duct is exempt from permit requirements regardless of the value of materials and labour when performed by a licensed mechanical contractor, and separately that changing out air conditioning equipment of the same electrical, cooling or heating capacity does not need an electrical permit but that a mechanical permit is required for the change out. That list carries an update date and says it applies to unincorporated Miami-Dade County. Cleaning is not the same thing as duct repair or equipment replacement, so ask a provider which category the proposed work falls into. Confirm the address, the proposed scope and the applicable review with the City of Miami; neighbourhood names do not always follow city limits, so check which building department covers your address.
Source ↗Area-wide context does not establish the condition of your property or equipment.
Before the visit
Building age and weather cannot establish duct contamination. The system itself needs to be inspected.
