Whole-home duct cleaning
Dryer vent cleaning
Camera inspection
Sanitizing & deodorizingWhole-system duct and dryer vent check with before-and-after photos - you see exactly what came out of your vents
That "$99 whole-house special" is a bait ad - the real number appears once they are in your hallway, or the "clean" is a shop-vac at the register. We photograph the inside of your ducts before and after instead.
Fast, Reliable Duct Sealing Across Margate
If your Margate home was built in the 1960s or 1970s and still runs on its original ductwork, the air you’re paying to cool is likely leaking into your attic before it ever reaches your living room. Duct sealing in Margate typically runs $450 – $1,200 depending on how many runs need re-wrapping and how many connections need mastic. We work in Margate’s older ranch homes every week, and the problems we find are consistent: taped seams that gave out years ago, burlap wraps unraveling in attic heat, and return ducts pulling in air from wall cavities. Call Hollis Air Duct Fort Lauderdale at (754) 354-3644 for a written quote before any work starts.
Key Takeaways for Margate Homeowners:
- Original 1960s – 70s duct systems in Margate commonly leak at every taped joint within a decade of installation.
- Duct sealing here is rarely a patch job; it’s re-wrapping entire runs and sealing every connection with mastic.
- Our written price is agreed before we touch the system, and the work is covered by the 365-Day Done Right Promise.
- Margate’s year-round AC use and attic temperatures above 130°F make cheap foil tape fail within two summers.
Duct Repair in Margate
Duct repair in Margate usually means one of three things: reconnecting a run that has separated at a joint, replacing a crushed or collapsed section, or re-sealing connections where the original tape has dried out and peeled away. In homes along Southwest 8th Street and the neighborhoods around Oriole Golf & Tennis Club, we open ceilings and chase spaces to find ducts that were never properly supported, sagging between joists and pulling apart at the seams. Repair work on a single separated run typically runs $180 – $350 in Margate. Multiple runs with crushed sections and failed connections land closer to $500 – $900.
When a Run Separates
A separated duct is not a cleaning problem. Air leaves the system before it ever gets to the register, which means the AC runs longer and the room still feels warm. In Margate’s summer months, that translates directly to higher FPL bills. We reconnect the run, seal the joint with mastic and UL 181 tape, and re-support the section so it does not sag again.
Crushed Runs in Tight Attic Spaces
Margate’s 1960s ranch homes were not built with easy attic access in mind. Scuttle holes are small, clearances are tight, and duct runs get stepped on, stacked on, and crushed flat over decades of storage and pest activity. When a run is flattened beyond repair, we cut it out and replace the section, then seal both ends. Replacement work carries the same written-price rule as everything else we do in Margate.
Styles & brands we work with
Air Duct Sealing in Margate
Air duct sealing in Margate is the work that actually fixes the leaks cleaning only exposes. After a thorough cleaning, we seal every accessible connection with mastic, a thick paste that dries into a flexible, airtight barrier. We then wrap exposed fiberglass runs with foil-backed insulation where the original burlap has unraveled. Full-system sealing on a typical three-bedroom Margate ranch runs $600 – $1,200. The range depends on how many runs are accessible, how much of the original wrap has failed, and whether return ducts need correcting.
Mastic and UL 181 Tape: Why We Use Both
Cheap foil tape fails in Margate. The attic heat bakes the adhesive, and within two summers the tape peels back and exposes the seam. We use mastic as the primary seal, then cover it with UL 181-rated tape. The combination holds up to the thermal cycling that would break either product alone.
Re-wrapping Runs, Not Just Patching Seams
Margate is one of the few cities in Broward County where dozens of original 1960s – 70s homes still have burlap-wrapped fiberglass duct board with exposed galvanized seams. Those wraps unravel in attic heat and leak conditioned air into unconditioned space. So sealing here is less about patches and more about re-wrapping entire runs. That’s the difference between a job that lasts and one that fails before the next cooling season.
Why Hollis Air Duct Fort Lauderdale Is Margate’s Preferred Duct Sealing Company
We’ve been doing Duct Sealing work in Margate since the days when most of these homes were only forty years old, not sixty. The houses have not changed much. The problems have. Technicians who know Margate’s housing stock can find a collapsed return in a 1972 ranch faster than a crew driving in from outside the county, because they’ve seen the same layout on Northwest 18th Street and along Margate Boulevard a dozen times before.
On Northwest 18th Street, our techs opened a 1972 ranch’s return plenum and found the original duct board collapsing at the seams, with the air handler pulling attic air in through a 3-inch gap near the blower motor. We re-sealed all supply and return duct connections with mastic and UL 181 tape, then wrapped the exposed fiberglass runs with new foil-backed insulation, dropping static pressure enough that the study finally cooled below 80 degrees. That’s the kind of fix you only find when someone actually opens the system and looks.
Our Margate customers call because they want a written price before we start, a uniformed tech who shows up inside the window, and a guarantee that means something. Roy Castellanos runs our crew to The Garrison Standard: arrive inside the quoted window, price it in writing, do the work by the book, and leave the site cleaner than we found it. The Duct Sealing in Margate work we do is covered by the 365-Day Done Right Promise, in writing, on every single job.
Trusted Brands We Service in Margate
Margate homes run on a mix of original equipment and whatever previous owners patched in. We service and seal systems from every major manufacturer, and we keep seals, mastic, and insulation products from Honeywell, Aprilaire, and Abatement Technologies stocked for Margate jobs. That means when we open your system on a Tuesday and find a failed run, we’re not waiting on a parts order to finish the work. The fix happens same visit, with materials we already carry.
Our sealing work uses professional-grade products, not hardware-store tape. When we re-wrap a run or seal a plenum, we use materials rated for the temperatures Margate attics actually reach. That’s the standard, and we put it in writing.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterCommon Duct Sealing Problems We See in Margate Homes
- Original taped joints failing decades ago. These 1960s systems were assembled with tape that was never meant to last sixty years. Once the tape goes, every seam leaks, and the system pulls attic air straight into your supply stream.
- Attic heat destroying cheap foil tape. Margate’s attic temperatures cycle from 130°F in the day to cooler overnight, and that expansion-contraction cycle peels cheap tape off within two summers. Only mastic and UL 181 products survive it.
- Undersized return ducts keeping static pressure high. Many older Margate homes have returns too small for the system, which means gaps behind registers and in wall cavities keep pulling dust in even after sealing. The return sizing has to be corrected or the dust comes back.
- Duct board collapsing at the plenum. Original fiberglass duct board breaks down over decades. We find the board folding in on itself at the supply and return connections, which is a structural failure that sealing alone won’t fix.
Pricing for Duct Sealing in Margate, FL
Here’s what you’re looking at, in real numbers. A single separated duct run in Margate runs $180 – $350 to reconnect and seal. Full-system sealing on a three-bedroom ranch runs $600 – $1,200. If your system has multiple crushed runs, collapsed duct board at the plenum, or an undersized return that needs corrective work, the job can land between $1,200 and $2,000. We write the price down before any work begins, and that number does not move. No per-vent add-ons, no “while we’re in there” surprises. Call (754) 354-3644 for a free estimate, and we’ll give you a number you can plan around.
What moves the price is access. Margate’s older homes have tight attics and limited scuttle holes. If we can reach every run, the sealing work is straightforward. If we’re working through a 20-inch opening in a hallway closet, the labor changes. We’ll tell you that before we start, not after.
We Also Serve Cities Near Margate
Our duct sealing crews work throughout Broward County’s older-home belt, including Coconut Creek, Pompano Beach, Plantation, and Fort Lauderdale, plus all of Margate from the neighborhoods around Calypso Cove to the waterfront homes along the canal. If your home sits in any of those communities and you need sealing work, we’ll get you on the schedule the same way we do in Margate.
Serving Margate, FL - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Margate area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs About Duct Sealing in Margate
If you’ve cleaned your ducts and the dust returns within months, or rooms at the end of long runs never cool properly, the problem is probably leakage, not buildup. Original 1960s systems in Margate leak at every taped joint once the tape fails, and cleaning does not fix leaks. The system pulls attic air and wall-cavity dust right back in. Call (754) 354-3644 and we’ll tell you what we find when we open the system.
Duct sealing is the process of closing every leak in your duct system: reconnecting separated runs, sealing joints with mastic, and re-wrapping exposed duct board with foil-backed insulation. For a 1960s Margate home, it’s worth it because the alternative is paying to cool attic air. Most original systems leak 20 – 30% of conditioned air before sealing. That’s real money on every FPL bill.
Yes, for most accessible runs we seal from the inside using mastic applied at every connection we can reach through existing access points, then re-wrap externally where the attic allows. We do not tear open ceilings. Margate’s older homes have limited access, so some sealing work is done from the register side, but we work with what your home gives us and we’ll tell you if a section is unreachable before we start.
Because sealing the supply side does not fix a return that’s too small for the system. An undersized return keeps static pressure high, and high static pressure pulls air from wherever it can, including gaps behind registers and inside wall cavities. Until the return sizing is corrected, the dust keeps coming. This is a recurring issue in 1960s and 1970s Margate homes, and we’ll check for it on every sealing job.
Done right, with mastic and UL 181 products, sealing lasts for years. Margate’s attic heat is the main variable. Cheap tape fails in two summers. Our sealing work carries the 365-Day Done Right Promise in writing, and if anything we sealed fails within that year, we come back and fix it at no charge. Call (754) 354-3644 for a quote and we’ll put the specifics in writing before we begin.
Written by Roy Castellanos, Owner at Hollis Air Duct Fort Lauderdale, serving Margate with written prices and the 365-Day Done Right Promise on every job.