Security-Widefield
Ten minutes from the shop and the closest thing we have to a specialty. Security-Widefield grew up fast in the 1950s and 60s alongside Fort Carson, and those sturdy little ranch homes come with a very consistent set of heating and cooling quirks. We know them by heart.
- 5,700 ftSimilar derate to the Springs, but the housing stock changes what "right-sized" means.
- ~10 minOur shortest run. No-heat calls here often get the fastest arrivals on the board.
- '50s–'70sMid-century ranches, many with their original duct layouts still in service.
Sixty-year-old ducts are the real story
The furnaces in these houses have been replaced two or three times since the Eisenhower administration. The ductwork mostly has not. Panned joist returns, unsealed trunk joints, and crawlspace runs that have been leaking since installation are the norm. When a homeowner tells us the back bedrooms never worked, we test the ducts before we talk about equipment, because in this neighborhood the ducts are guilty until proven innocent.
Smaller houses need smaller furnaces
A typical Security-Widefield ranch runs 900 to 1,400 square feet. Over the decades, replacement furnaces crept upward in size, each contractor adding a safety margin on top of the last one's. We regularly pull 100,000 BTU furnaces out of houses that a load calculation says need 60,000 or less. The smaller furnace is cheaper to buy, runs longer and quieter, and heats the house more evenly.
Cooling without tearing up the house
Many of these homes have no ducts in the right places for central AC to work well, especially where additions came later. A mini-split head in the main living space, sometimes paired with one in a back bedroom, often cools the whole footprint for less than the cost of duct surgery. It heats in the shoulder seasons too, which takes load off the old furnace.
Duct sealing made the back bedrooms actually livable. Wish we'd done it years ago instead of pricing bigger furnaces.Renee, Security-Widefield