Bellefontaine Neighbors: roughly 10,500 residents, 4.4 square miles, North St. Louis County, eight-ish miles north of downtown. Census tables show 91% detached houses with a median build year of 1958. Postwar construction like this drives nearly every line item when furnaces get replaced.
Why scope varies from one ranch to the next
Natural gas warms 84% of households; electricity, 14%. Typical projects therefore mean hauling a worn gas unit up basement stairs and setting its successor. Scope grows or shrinks with:
- Exhaust path. Mid-efficiency (80% AFUE) furnaces commonly reuse lined masonry flues. Stepping up past 95% means PVC piping out through siding or band joist, plus somewhere for condensate water to go.
- Ductwork from the 1950s. Undersized returns and taped-over joints make a new blower work harder. Sealing or adding a return is sometimes part of the quote.
- Gas piping, wiring. Aging shutoff valves, flex connectors, nearby receptacles: any could require code updates.
- Extras. Evaporator coils, smart thermostats, humidifiers: each adds hours.
We don't publish a number for a reason
Neighbors with matching floor plans still end up with different scopes once flues, returns, and gas piping get inspected. Every quote here is built house by house.
About us
Furnace Direct, a DBA of Hamlin Mechanical LLC, sells gas furnaces and heat pumps at factory-direct cost. Bellefontaine Neighbors falls inside our St. Louis install hub, so the equipment and a licensed installer can be arranged together.
Apples-to-apples bids
Line up quotes at one AFUE tier. Each should itemize flue work, duct repairs, permits, and removal. Request a Manual J heat-loss calculation; sizing off the old nameplate tends to repeat old mistakes.
Best window
August through October offers open calendars before freezing nights arrive. Furnaces swapped in during the 1990s or earlier deserve a look now.
Get a quote
Send a photo of the furnace nameplate and tell us where the vent exits. Call for Pricing at (888) 762-1334.
Housing age and heating fuel: Census Reporter, ACS 2024 5-year.
Get your system replaced.
Tell us a little about your home and what you're replacing. A specialist will call you to work out exactly what you need, go over the price, and get it replaced. No obligation.