Help with HVAC routing

rubicon789

Ok here is what I need help with... We live in a Cape cod style house and want to refinish the basement. THe previous owners did this many moons ago and it is in dire need of remodeling. Our problem is with the HVAC dustwork. It runs perpendicular to the floor joists. Coming down nearly 11'' from the top of the ceiling. Since the basment only has 7' ceilings this takes up quite a bit of headroom. I made a very basic drawing of our current setup. You can see the left, center and right ducts run perpendicular the the joists. While a few of the ducks run parallel. We would like to conserve as much space as possible, anyone have any ideas? I think with the additions that were put on over time the system was just tapped into here or there to make it work. can we design a better system? Red is return and Blue is supply

geo fan

i would re-route the ducts along the outside perimeter and soffit it out. its a pro job and a lot of material . or have 2 seperate rooms and put a wall beneath that middle supply

8 Ball

If you dont mind putting up some ductwork, the mains can be made shorter, and wider. What size are the trunk lines?(main ducts) How much room are you looking for?

rubicon789

Geo- If I do that (1 return down the top side, and 1 Supply down the back side) Then soffit it out would that make the system less efficient? "B/c the air will have to travel further to reach its destination?

No I don't mind doing the work at all... as long as it is do-able and right. The ceiling is only 7 ft. and the soffits that are in place now come down 12'' so those sections of the basement are very short. I will measure the trunk lines when I get home.

Also, does it matter how you route the ducts? I mean it seems like it was thrown together before... But I want to do it right this time.