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Video · Furnaces and Heating

How Long Does It Take to Replace a Furnace? A Basement Time-Lapse

Most straightforward furnace replacements fit in one working day. New venting, ductwork changes or a cramped basement add time. This time-lapse squeezes hours of that day into about a minute and a half.

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What you’re seeing in this video

It opens on the old furnace in an unfinished basement, a humidifier hanging off its side and drop cloths already spread across the floor. That's step one on any replacement day: protect the house before anything gets unbolted.

Then the speed kicks in. The old cabinet comes apart and out, and a tech in a black shirt and khakis works from a step ladder with a torch kit set up nearby. The torch is usually for brazing the copper refrigerant lines at the AC coil, which get joined with heat, not screwed together.

The finish is a new Rheem furnace standing where the old one was, with fresh sheet metal for the plenum on top and a condensate pump at its base to move drain water to where it can go.

Job footageSwiftPro
Topic
Furnaces and Heating
Length
1:34
Posted
May 2, 2026
Shot by
The SwiftPro crew, Northern Virginia

Why it matters in your house

  • Plan for the heat to be off most of the day. Replacing before the old furnace dies lets you pick that day instead of waiting on a cold night.
  • Time grows with changes. Switching from an 80% to a 90% furnace means new PVC venting and a drain, and resizing means new sheet metal. A good estimate tells you which applies before the day starts.
  • Ask who checks the work at the end: gas pressure, temperature rise across the furnace and the safety controls. That last hour matters as much as the tear-out.

Will I be without heat all day during a furnace replacement?

For most of the day, yes. The old furnace has to come out before the new one goes in, and the gas, power and ductwork get reconnected and tested at the end. Most homes have heat back by evening. If venting or ductwork changes are part of the plan, ask up front whether it could stretch into a second day.

Want it done at your place? See Furnaces and Heating at SwiftPro or call (703) 997-9757.

More videos from the SwiftPro crew

In-home assessment, part 2 of a series: an older homeowner in a blue t-shirt points out where a line runs in his unfinished basement to a SwiftPro rep in a black polo and khakis.1:49High Efficiency Furnace Venting: Mapping Where the Vent Can GoSame in-home visit as YeGFpt7bXao: the homeowner points out the line route in the basement, the SwiftPro rep photographs the ductwork and furnace plenum with a phone, then stands on the front lawn of 1:40Furnace PVC Vent Pipes: Designing a New Layout From the Old OneTV giveaway story: a SwiftPro tech in a black polo greets an older homeowner at the door, then checks the basement furnace and humidifier with a phone.4:1380 vs 90 Furnace: A TV Drop-Off, Then a Basement WalkthroughTwo techs pull an old furnace in a closet, then a tech kneels at the new gas furnace with fresh venting and a condensate setup.0:15How Old Is Too Old for a Furnace? Sometimes the Unit AnswersA young tech in a navy work jacket wires a new electric heat strip kit into an open air handler in a utility room, using a Milwaukee tool, with the boxed heating elements on the floor.0:31Furnace Part Replacement That Isn't a Furnace: New Heat StripsAn old gas furnace with its panels off in a closet, then two techs carry a boxed new furnace up a snowy townhouse sidewalk and a bald tech and a bearded tech wire it in.0:49Rusty Furnace on a No-Heat Call, and the New One in the Snow

See all 234 SwiftPro videos

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SwiftPro Heating, Cooling & Plumbing
4230 Lafayette Center Dr N, Chantilly, VA 20151
44679 Endicott Dr, Suite 211, Ashburn, VA 20147
Virginia Class A contractor license #2705192276

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