Hi folks. First time here.

This might seem like an out-of-season topic, but I just had a contractor give me an estimate on putting central air into my small row home with radiator heating.It is 2-story house and about 80 years old. I have very little space. The crawl space between the roof and ceiling is too small for a unit, and I don't have any space outside (ground level) to install one. So the only option is putting a big enclosed unit (all-in-one) on our flat roof (if our town permits it). The contractor would put individual ducts into our ceilings (which includes 7 rooms). He would have to go into the crawl space to work on the ducts on the upper floor.The crawl space is also filled with insulation which will make it a harder job. Plus, the contractor said he would have to get a crane to lift the big air conditioning unit to the roof. So the bottom line here is that it will be VERY expensive.....he quoted a price of about $13,500.00, saying it will be a big, labor-intensive job.

I think that this would be the most efficient way to air condition my house, but also the most expensive. The contractor mentioned ductless air conditioning, but said that he wouldn't like to install that kind in our house, because he believes it wouldn't work well. He said it was more suited to a big open area, like in a church or one big open office floor.

Finally, I am asking the question if any one of you has had ductless air conditioning installed in his home (especially a 2-story house), and is it satisfactory?