Construction or renovation of a home is a messy process that brings sawdust, paint fumes and many other airborne particles that you would not even think to breathe in. These particles are not even suitable for the HVAC equipment either! 

Since new home construction has started to pick up again, do not let your Furnace be used as a ‘ construction heater.’ This construction dust is highly likely to enter heat exchanger, burner area, venting system, and in the blower housing and wheel.

HVAC technicians warn that you must not turn the Furnace or Air Conditioner on while you’re either renovating or constructing home. Dust like sawdust, paint fumes, drywall dust or glue vapours enter the system through return air vents and clog the equipment causing severe strain - especially the drywall dust that tends to infiltrate the whole system.

We helped to shine a light on some of the issues about furnace usage and construction that every homeowner must know about. 


Why Your home’s new furnace is USED

Homeowners often feel cheated when they discover the furnace that they expected to be un-used in their brand new home is used by the builders first. In general, no builder is allowed to run a residential furnace during construction – especially when the house is in the drywall phase.

Back in 2016, a stand was taken by the furnace manufactures where the industry adopted a position that gas furnaces will not be permitted to use in Canada when the building will be under construction!

In case the furnace is to be used in the last stages of construction, the following condition should be met!

The interior drywall should be installed and taped.

The system’s supply air and return air opening must be sealed to reduce the infiltration of dust. The purpose is to protect the system prior to and during drywall installation and woodworking.

The building must be thoroughly free from drywall dust and debris.

A new furnace rated at MERV 11 or finer must be installed.

The necessary arrangement should be made with fuel distributor to figure out the furnace subsequent to it being employed for finishing the heat. 

What should you do when the furnace was operating during construction?

If you suspect the furnace being operated either during home building or renovation, follow these two steps to stop the problem before it gets worse.

Firstly, don’t panic; instead, do a visual inspection by taking off the front panel. If you suspect drywall isn’t okay; look for the evidence of damage right away. The harm or damage could be seen like a small bag of flour exploded in there.

Secondly; consider calling a knowledgable HVAC professional who can advise you about the best available options. You can avoid the furnace from being caked with the sawdust or drywall by having the air ducts cleaned before moving in. But it will not always be the case. Better hire a pro HVAC technician to get the best help!

Still have issues and want an HVAC professional to help you out? 
Call us today; 1-855-245-4328

13 Responses so far.

  1. Amazing post, Which you have shared here about the Furnace. Your article is very informative and useful to know more about the need of Furnace in homes. Thank you so much. Furnace repair Houston Tx

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  3. Great article. Our drywall service company once had a contractor who was doing exactly this, turning on the furnace while working, then it was clogged before the construction was done! We had to relieve him of his duties immediately then pay an HVAC specialist to clean the furnace. This article is bang on and the furnace should never be used until the completion of all work. Thanks for writing this article, cheers.

  4. Amazing work! It's incredible how much damage can be done when these types of things are not carefully considered. When it comes to drywall Saskatoon we make sure every precaution is made. Thanks for sharing this info it was great to read!

  5. Ryan paul says:
    This comment has been removed by the author.
  6. Very good info, This information will always help everyone for gaining important knowledge. So please always share your valuable and essential information. I am very thankful to you for providing good information. drywall repair Toronto

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  9. Hi,

    Great article on home renovation and furnace usage. This article is helpful. I would like to add a point. We also need to make sure air ducts and dryer vents are cleaned and maintained properly.

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  13. Unknown says:

    This is a wonderfully written article. Our company does all types of home renovations and we've ran into these types of issues before. Great to see a post raising some awareness about this good work.

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