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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Our 1925 rowhouse has radiators and a furnace (in the basement). Sometime in the 80s the previous owner put in central A/C (including adding the duct work). I don't love radiator heat plus they are clunky and take up valuable real estate in our home. So, I'm thinking about making the switch to forced air heat (although happy to hear about other alternatives we should consider). If you've ripped out your radiator system (including all those dang holes in the floors), was is a huge process? Any ballpark estimates? General thoughts or cautions? Thanks. [/quote]
You can get the old radiators replaced with newer and more efficient low profile ones that take up less room (look up "Runtal").  That is $$$, though.  Not sure if it would be more than adding a forced air unit, but it would be close.  How old is your boiler?  We are currently in the process of adding radiant back IN to our house; it was replaced by forced air by previous owner.  It's an older, drafty house.  Don't underestimate the amount of cold air that might leak in through gaps while the air handler is running.  Have you had somebody come out and run a pressure test on the house to see how leaky it is?  We have so many cold spots that the forced air just makes worse.  In my view, retrofitting older homes will never produce great results unless you are doing a full gut and can move everything around and do a really good air sealing job.  That being said we are going to keep our furnace for emergency heat in one addition that that "new" radiant won't  fully reach (we still need the ducts for A/C anyway).[/quote]

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