[ContractorSon]

Hello Everyone, I am a new registered poster,been viewing for months.GREAT site... Doing an owner-builder home in the near future in NE Ohio.Father is GC in Florida,mainly commercial shell contractor. Home will be approx 3500 sq feet,French Country Stone/Stucco,1.5 story plus basement(2600 sq ft), with the kids bedrooms upstairs above the 3 car garage,which is angled at 45 degrees. Home will have a 14/12 roof there,9 ft ceiling,3 dormers on the front and a shed dormer at the back,with the balance a one story at 12/12 and some catherdral/barrel vaulted/flat ceilings hts range from 10-12 feet. I did the Manual J calcs and came up with 4 ton/115k BTUs.Forced Air Nat Gas. Due to the length of the home,I have decided to have 2 units/also 2 electric water heaters. Will use the best insulation that I can,have double pane Pella windows,2x6 construction,etc...What type of furnaces should I use? Any other recs would be appreciated! Have built homes in the past with dad,but all CBS and one story Florida-types. We plan on living there for a LONG time...

 

[Comfortman]

Get the best equipment you can afford. Variable speed indoor units and higher end outdoor units really make a difference in comfort

 

[ContractorSon]

Get the best equipment you can afford. Variable speed indoor units and higher end outdoor units really make a difference in comfort

How about reliability of different manufacturers? It seems Goodman is bottom of the barrel,I am leaning towards a dual Rheem or Trane setup. The equip.reliability ratings will also assist in finding the HVAC contractor,along with recs from local home builder stores,the HBA and the BBB.