HVAC System Bids

[Michael Jones]

Well, I received 2 bids for the HVAC in my "planned" studio today.

One was for $3800.
The other was for $7800.

Big difference in price, huh?
The $7800 bid was from what's generally considered the most expensive HVAC Contractor in town, also the biggest.

The $3800 one was from a reputable contractor, just not as big of a company.

But on the high bid, those guys have done studios before, and put together a nice contract. They also visited with me about the design of the HVAC. They're bid documents looked better too. And they planned on a "return air" and vent in each room of the studio.

The $3800 dollar included vents in every room, of course, but had only 2 "return air" intakes. One in the live room and one in the control room. Both isolated from each other.

Both contractors included an oversized duct system for quiet operation and isolated vents for each room as well.

Seems like an awfully big difference in price. Maybe a couple more bids?
What do ya'll think?

 

[knightfly]

Was the central unit each bid listed the same? If the big guys have done studios before, maybe they specd a bigger, slower blower. HVAC for studios is designed with the knowledge that noise from air is propotional to somewhere between the 4th and 5th power of velocity.

Did either bid include baffling in the ductwork, or a tuned stub for dialing out the specific blower resonance? Round or square ducts? (Round is quieter, supposedly)

Generally, a squirrel cage will be quieter than axial blower.

What did each bidder spec as far as vibration dampeners, both for mounts and for isolation between ducts and blower?

It's possible that both bids are almost identical other than price, but I'd sure try to find out why the huge gap. Maybe ask the high price guys to explain, they might be able to sell you on their choices given a chance... Steve