How Much Does It Cost to Replace Ductwork in South Florida? (2026 Guide)

Up to a third of the cold air your AC makes never reaches a single room. ENERGY STAR puts typical duct losses at 20 to 30 percent of the air a system moves, and in a Florida house that air is leaking into an attic that hits 130 degrees in August. You paid to cool it. The attic got it.

A duct job is how you get that air back, and it is expensive. Replacing the ductwork in a typical South Florida home costs $3,000 to $9,000 in 2026, about $25 to $55 per linear foot with the old duct hauled away. Replacing two or three bad lines costs $600 to $1,800. We do duct replacement and AC repair in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach, and this is the first thing homeowners ask us. By the end you will know what the job costs by home size, what makes one quote thousands higher than another, when sealing the ducts you already have is the cheaper fix, and the six questions to ask before you sign.

A full replacement means every supply line, the return line, the metal boxes behind your vents (boots), the vent covers (registers), the connections at the big metal box on top of the air handler (the plenum), and a permit with a leakage test at the end. Anything less than that is a partial job, and the two are priced very differently.

Key takeaways

• Bigger homes cost more. Expect about $2,500 to $5,000 under 1,200 square feet, and $8,000 to $15,000 above 3,000 square feet. These are South Florida market ranges we see on real quotes, not a Florida Breeze price list.
• An attic that is hard to get around in costs more than anything else on the list. A tech can stand up in some attics and has to crawl in others, and most of this bill is labor.
• Florida code sets the standard. Duct in an attic has to be wrapped to R-8, the insulation rating for attic duct here. The finished system also has to pass a leak test, at 4 cubic feet per minute or less per 100 square feet of living space (Florida Building Code, Energy Conservation, 8th Edition, Sections R403.3.1 and R403.3.3).
• Metal costs more in 2026, and that is part of why quotes are higher. Imported steel and aluminum now carry federal import taxes. Home heating and cooling parts are charged a lower 15 percent from June 8, 2026 through December 31, 2027 (White House proclamation, June 2026). This hits sheet metal work harder than flexible duct.
• Most whole-home jobs take one to three days. Sealing what you have, when the duct is still sound, costs a fraction of replacement.

Duct replacement cost in South Florida by home size

Replacing ductwork costs about $2,500 for a small one-story home and up to $15,000 for a big two-story one. The price depends on how much duct the house needs and how hard the attic is to work in, so the size of your home is the quickest way to get close. The table below is for a full replacement with insulated flexible duct, new registers, and a leakage test, which is the usual South Florida job.

Home size	Typical duct run	Estimated 2026 cost
Up to 1,200 sq ft	Around 100 linear feet	$2,500 to $5,000
1,200 to 2,000 sq ft	Around 150 linear feet	$3,500 to $7,000
2,000 to 3,000 sq ft	Around 200 linear feet	$5,000 to $9,500
3,000 sq ft and up	250 linear feet or more	$8,000 to $15,000

Line items that show up on top of the duct itself:

• Old duct removal and disposal: $300 to $1,000, higher when the attic is packed or the material is contaminated.
• Permit and duct leakage test: commonly $150 to $500 combined, set by your city or county.
• Adding a return: $350 to $900 each. Undersized returns are the most common design problem we find in older homes here.
• New plenum and air handler connections: $400 to $1,200.
• Sheet metal main lines instead of flexible duct: adds 30 to 60 percent on those lines.

Every number on this page is an estimate for planning. What your home actually costs depends on the layout, the attic, and what the installer finds when the old duct comes down, which is why we quote in writing after seeing it.

What makes ductwork replacement cost more: 6 price drivers

One quote on your house can be $4,000 higher than another. Almost every time, one of these six things is the reason. The attic is the biggest one.

1. How easy the attic is to work in. How wide the hatch is, how far apart the roof beams sit, and how much room there is over the back bedrooms all change the time. In an attic where the crew has to lie flat in August heat, they work in short shifts, so the same 150 feet of duct can take a day or it can take two and a half.
2. Flexible duct or sheet metal. Insulated flexible duct is what most South Florida homes use for the branch lines, and it is cheaper to put in. Sheet metal costs more and takes longer. It is the better choice on long main lines, tight ceilings, and systems that have to push air hard.
3. How many runs and returns you need. The more supply runs, registers, boots, and returns the house needs, the more it costs. Floor area alone does not decide it. A home with one undersized central return usually needs another one added, and that is real money.
4. What is coming out of the attic. Duct with mold growth, rodent contamination, or old fiberglass board that is shedding takes protective work and disposal. That is where the $1,000 removal lines come from.
5. Permit and the leakage test. A duct system replacement is permitted work in most South Florida cities, and it gets tested. Miami-Dade County lists "repair of air conditioning duct" by a licensed mechanical contractor on its permit exemption list, but replacing the system is not a minor repair, and each city sets its own rules. Ask who is pulling the permit before work starts.
6. Whether the air handler is being replaced at the same time. Doing both at once saves a second trip and a second permit, and the plenum is already open. Our Florida AC replacement cost guide covers that side of the budget.

5 signs your ducts need replacing, not just sealing

Replace the duct instead of sealing it when the duct body itself has failed, not simply because the system is old. Sealing is cheaper and it is the right answer more often than homeowners expect. Here is what failed duct looks like when we open an attic hatch.

1. The outer wrap is torn open, or the inner sleeve that carries the air has pulled loose. Once that sleeve slips off its metal ring, air pours straight into the attic and no amount of sealant holds it.
2. Runs are crushed, kinked, or lying in long sags. Flex duct that snakes over trusses loses airflow at every bend, and you feel it in the farthest room.
3. Mold growth inside the liner, or a musty smell that returns after a cleaning. Cleaning removes debris, not a contaminated liner. See our air duct cleaning cost guide for when a cleaning is enough.
4. Insulation value is below current code. Older homes here often have R-4 or R-6 duct in an attic that hits 130 degrees or more in August. Warm duct in hot air sweats, and the drips end up on your ceiling.
5. The duct is at the end of its life. In our field experience, flex duct in a South Florida attic gives 15 to 20 years before the jacket and liner start failing, faster where sun beats on a low roof deck.

None of those signs means you have to buy a whole new system. There are three different jobs, and the shape the duct is in decides which one you need, not how old it is.

Is replacing ductwork worth the money in Florida?

It is worth it when leaks and a bad layout are what is wrong with your comfort. It is a poor buy when the duct is still in good shape. Think about the leaking air from the top of this page against a real bill. In a home where cooling is most of a $250 month, getting a big share of that air back shows up every month, and you also get a quieter system and rooms that finally match the thermostat.

There is a comfort side that never shows up on the bill. When air leaks out of the supply duct in your attic, the system has to pull air in somewhere else. It pulls it through gaps on the return side, which in a Florida home means hot, damp attic air. Sealed duct is the cheapest humidity control most homes here can buy.

Two things to know about a 2026 budget. First, the federal 25C tax credit that used to help with this kind of work ended for anything finished after December 31, 2025, so plan without it. Here is what the end of that credit changed. Second, new duct pays off much better when the attic above it is insulated. That is why we look at both together, and why the attic insulation cost guide is the other half of this decision.

What Florida code requires on a duct replacement

Florida requires attic duct to be wrapped to R-8 and the finished system to pass a leak test. Both belong in your quote. Under the Florida Building Code, Energy Conservation, 8th Edition (2023), duct in an attic gets R-8 insulation at 3 inches across and larger, and R-6 below that (Section R403.3.1). Joints and seams get sealed (Section R403.3.2). Then the whole system is put under test pressure. Total leakage has to come in at or below 4 cubic feet per minute for every 100 square feet of living space (Section R403.3.3).

That test number is the part homeowners never hear about, and it is the best consumer protection in the job. A duct system that passes it is tight by measurement, not by promise. Ask for the test result on paper when the work is signed off. If a quote does not mention a permit or a leakage test on a full replacement, that is the quote to question.

6 questions to ask before you sign a duct quote

• Is this a full replacement or a partial one, and exactly which runs are included?
• What R-value duct are you installing, and is it flex or sheet metal on the trunk lines?
• Did you run a load calculation and check return sizing, or are you matching what is up there now?
• Who pulls the permit, and will you give me the duct leakage test result?
• Does the price include removing and hauling away the old duct?
• What is the labor warranty, and what is the material warranty, in writing?

Florida Breeze HVAC is a licensed Florida HVAC contractor (license CAC1823982) serving Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties, and we do duct replacement along with AC maintenance, duct cleaning, and attic insulation. The homeowner side of this is short and safe: change your filter on schedule, keep supply registers open and clear, and call when one room stops keeping up. Attic duct work, plenum connections, and anything touching the air handler is licensed professional work, so leave that part to a contractor.

FAQ

How long does it take to replace ductwork?

Most whole-home replacements in a single-story South Florida house take one to two days, and larger or two-story homes take up to three. Replacing a few runs is usually a same-day job. Your AC is off for part of each work day.

Can you replace ductwork without replacing the AC?

Yes. Duct is a separate system from the equipment, and replacing it on a healthy air conditioner is common. If the system is 12 years or older and already showing problems, price both at once, since the labor overlaps and the plenum has to be opened either way.

Does homeowners insurance cover duct replacement?

Standard Florida policies do not cover duct that wore out or leaks with age. Coverage generally applies to sudden accidental damage, such as a storm opening the roof or a fire. Check your own policy language and ask your agent before you assume either way.

How long does ductwork last in a Florida attic?

Insulated flex duct in a South Florida attic generally gives 15 to 20 years, less when it is crushed, poorly supported, or sitting under a low roof deck. Sheet metal lasts longer, though the internal liner and the connections still fail before the metal does.

How much does ductwork cost per linear foot?

Figure $25 to $55 per linear foot installed in South Florida in 2026 for insulated flex duct, with the old duct removed and hauled away. Sheet metal trunk lines run higher. A typical 1,500 square foot home needs roughly 150 linear feet.

Is duct sealing cheaper than duct replacement?

Much cheaper. Sealing an intact system is a fraction of a replacement price, and it is the right call whenever the duct body is sound and the losses are at the joints and connections. Replacement is for duct that has torn, collapsed, or grown mold inside. Our guide on duct replacement vs repair walks through where the line sits.

Get a written duct quote for your own home

The only number that matters is the one for your house, with your attic and your layout. We inspect the duct system, measure what it is losing, and put an itemized price in writing before any work starts, at no charge, anywhere in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach. Get a Free Evaluation or call 954-687-8624.