Duct work in 20x34 Universal

[jeffpettis]

I am looking at the 20x34 Universal plans and I was wondering if there are plans or notes for HVAC ductwork in the plans. If not, how would you go about running the ductwork for the second floor without using engineered floor trusses, or is this the only option to be able to have an HVAC system in this house. This may be a silly question and I may be overlooking the obvious, but I am trying to get all my ducks in a row and figure all these things out before I order the plans.

Thanks in advance, Jeff

[John Raabe]

No, there is not an HVAC duct layout in the plans for that house. That would be specific to your climate and equipment and would usually be designed by the installer. Ductwork can be installed in a dropped ceiling area above the windows and below the floor system running along the walls perpendicular to the joists.

In a small house there may be options such as ductless mini-split heat pumps that can be less expensive to install and run.

[jeffpettis]

So I'm guessing that if I wanted to do central heat and air, engineered floor joists for the second floor would be the best option besides a drop ceiling? I don't know much about mini-splits here in Florida, but I would probably have to have one in almost every room of the house for it to cool the whole house.

[John Raabe]

You could go to full span web trusses to open up a larger space in the floor for ductwork. That would give you lots of flexibility.

[jeffpettis]

Is there any reason why I couldn't do standard 2x8 floor joist framing on the first floor and full span web trusses for the second floor? Would I still need the support beam for the second floor or would the web trusses negate the need for the beam?

[John Raabe]

Yes, you could use 2x8 joists over a centerline beam for the main floor framing and then choose a full span option for the upper floor.

[jeffpettis]

Thanks for your help John, I think that is the route I'm planning to go. Looking to close on our 10 acres in the next few weeks. Survey is complete and I hope to be able to start posting some pics of the land clearing in a few weeks. We are planning to build the house ourselves and pay as we go so it'll probably be a while but when it's done it'll be ours!!!