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 Air Duct Repair Across Richmond
Air duct repair in Richmond typically runs $280 – $640 for a standard repair like sealing pinhole leaks or reconnecting a detached flex run, and $900 – $2,400 when corroded sections need full replacement. Most jobs are finished the same day we arrive. We know Richmond’s ductwork problems well because we see them every week: salt-air pitting in old galvanized steel, oily refinery grit coating register boots, and retrofitted bungalow systems that were never properly supported. If your vents are blowing weak air, your floors feel dusty right after cleaning, or you smell crawlspace must when the heat kicks on, call us at (951) 527-6259 for a straightforward diagnosis and an upfront price.

Why Linden Air Duct San Francisco Is Richmond’s Preferred Air Duct Repair Company
Richmond homeowners call us because we document everything. You get a written price before any work begins, a written guarantee on every repair, and photos of your ducts before and after the job. That last part matters here more than almost anywhere, because so much of what we fix is hidden inside walls, floors, and crawlspaces you’ll never personally inspect.
Our crews work in Richmond regularly. We know the difference between a 1930s bungalow in the Iron Triangle and a 1960s hillside ranch near Wildcat Canyon, and we know which failure modes each one tends to produce. Scheduling is coordinated from our San Francisco Bay Area office, and our techs arrive in marked uniforms with photo ID badges. Before the visit, we send you the technician’s name and photo so you know exactly who’s at your door.
Marcus Veale leads our team, and every technician works to the Threshold Standard: background-checked, identity-verified, and accountable for the work in writing. That standard has been in place since 2004, under the Threshold Group family. When a Richmond customer tells us they were nervous about letting a stranger into their house, we understand. You should know exactly who’s coming.
Styles & brands we work with




Ductwork Repair in Richmond
Ductwork Repair in Richmond usually means fixing leaks, holes, crushed flex runs, or disconnected joints in the metal or flexible tubing that carries heated and cooled air through your home. In this city, the job skews toward corrosion work. Original galvanized steel ducts in pre-WWII bungalows and mid-century ranch homes take a beating from damp bay air and fine particulates that settle out of the air near the refinery corridor. We cut out rotted sections, match the gauge, seal with mastic, and rebalance the system so every register delivers the right pressure.
Sealing Pinhole Leaks and Corrosion
Galvanized steel doesn’t fail evenly. In Richmond it pits, especially where ducts run through uninsulated crawlspaces that stay damp for months. A pinhole leak might only lose 5 – 10% of your airflow, but several of them add up. We locate every leak with a pressure test and a camera inspection, then seal or replace as needed. Typical cost: $280 – $520 for most single-run repairs.
Reconnecting Detached Flex Runs
Bungalows built before 1950 rarely had central heating. When later owners added systems, the flex duct runs often got pulled through tight joist bays and never properly strapped. After 20 or 30 years, they sag and separate. We find the gap via camera, reconnect with proper collars and code-rated strapping, and seal with mastic. Cost usually lands between $200 – $400 per detached run, depending on access.
Duct Replacement in Richmond
Duct Replacement in Richmond is the right call when corrosion has eaten through enough of the steel that patching no longer makes sense, or when entire sections of duct are undersized, crushed, or lined with debris that cleaning can’t remove. A full replacement of a single supply trunk in an average Richmond ranch home runs $900 – $2,400. Whole-home replacement for a 1,400-square-foot house typically lands between $3,800 – $6,800, and larger hillside homes with long runs go higher. We give you one flat price per system before any work starts.
Replacing Corroded Galvanized Runs
When we pull out a section of 1960s galvanized duct from a Richmond crawlspace, the bottom seam is often pitted through in a line where condensation pooled for years. That’s the pattern we look for before recommending replacement instead of repair. We replace with gauge-matched galvanized or sealed flex, depending on the run, and we photograph everything along the way.
Full System Replacement for Older Homes
Some of Richmond’s original systems were installed when heating oil was the norm and airflow standards were looser. You might have undersized returns, no return in the hallway, or ducts that were never insulated. If you’re planning to stay in the home another 10 years, replacing the ductwork once, correctly, often costs less than chasing leaks twice a year. We provide a written scope and price per system, so a three-system house gets quoted as three systems, not one vague number.
Trusted Brands We Service in Richmond
We service and install ductwork components from trade-trusted manufacturers, and we stock common replacement parts for faster turnaround on Richmond jobs. Our crews run professional-grade equipment from Rotobrush and Nikro for cleaning and camera inspection, and we work with air quality products from Aprilaire, Abatement Technologies, and Guardsman when a repair calls for filtration or sanitizing upgrades. If your system has an existing Aprilaire filter cabinet or a Guardsman product, we’ll work around it and match compatible components. You won’t wait a week for a part that should be on the shelf.

Common Air Duct Repair Problems We See in Richmond Homes
- Pinhole leaks in original galvanized ducts: Marine fog and damp crawlspace air corrode steel from the outside in. Hillside ranch homes near Wildcat Canyon and San Pablo Ridge often have the worst pitting because their crawls never fully dry out.
- Disconnected or crushed flex duct in retrofitted bungalows: Homes built between 1920 and 1940 didn’t have central air. Later retrofits ran flex through tight spaces without proper support, and we regularly find runs that have sagged apart or been crushed by stored boxes.
- Gray, oily film on registers and boots in North Richmond and the Iron Triangle: Fine particulates from the refinery corridor and unpaved alleys settle inside duct runs and coat register boots. It’s not fluffy dust, and a standard cleaning doesn’t always remove the film from pitted metal.
- Blower motors working too hard from restricted airflow: When boots and filters clog with that oily grit, static pressure rises and the blower strains. We measure static pressure on most repair calls to confirm whether the duct damage is the actual cause.
See the difference
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AfterPricing for Air Duct Repair in Richmond, CA
Here’s what you can expect to pay in Richmond. Sealing pinhole leaks and small corrosion spots: $280 – $520 per run. Reconnecting a detached or sagging flex run: $200 – $400. Replacing a corroded section of galvanized trunk line: $900 – $2,400. Whole-home duct replacement for a typical Richmond bungalow or ranch: $3,800 – $6,800. Larger homes around El Cerrito border areas or the Richmond hills with multiple systems come in higher because of total linear footage. We quote one flat price per system in writing before any work begins, and that price doesn’t move after the fact. Estimates are free. Call (951) 527-6259 and we’ll walk you through what your specific house needs.
Inspecting and Documenting Work You Cannot See
Here’s a specific Richmond story. In the Iron Triangle, our techs opened a floor register on a 1930s bungalow and found a gray, oily film coating the inside of the supply duct, not fluffy dust. A camera inspection showed the galvanized steel had pitted through in three places near the crawlspace, so we cut out the corroded sections, matched the gauge, and sealed the runs with mastic before rebalancing the air handler. The homeowner never saw the inside of those ducts. They saw the photos we sent afterward. That’s the point. In Richmond, where a lot of the damage is corrosion inside walls and crawls, the documentation is part of the repair. You should expect before and after photos, a written summary of what was found, and a written guarantee covering the work for 365 days. If a covered repair doesn’t hold, we come back at no charge. That’s the 365-Day Done Right Promise, and it applies to every air duct repair job we do in Richmond.
Most of the work we do here is tied to Richmond‘s specific coastal and industrial environment. The fog settles in for months, and east winds push fine particulates from the refinery and port areas across the flatlands and into neighborhoods like Belding Woods, Park View, and North Richmond. That combination means ductwork in Richmond corrodes faster and collects a heavier, greasier film than you’d see in Berkeley or San Pablo. It also means a duct repair here is less about reattaching what shifted and more about arresting what’s rotting. Our Air Duct Repair team is built around handling exactly that kind of failure.
We Also Serve Cities Near Richmond
If you’re in San Pablo, Berkeley, San Rafael, or Piedmont, we cover those areas too. But the corrosion and refinery-grit issues we described are specific to Richmond’s flats, hills, and older housing stock. If you’re in a neighboring city, call us and we’ll talk about what your ducts actually face there.
Serving Richmond, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Richmond 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 Air Duct Repair in Richmond
Every 3 to 5 years is reasonable for most Richmond homes, but homes built before 1960 with original galvanized ducts should be inspected every 2 to 3 years. The fog keeps crawlspaces damp, and that accelerates pitting on duct bottoms. The inspection is quick and includes camera footage, so you’ll know exactly what condition the steel is in. Call (951) 527-6259 to schedule an inspection, and we’ll quote any needed repair before we start.
That’s a signature Richmond problem, especially in the Iron Triangle, North Richmond, and areas near the refinery corridor. Fine particulates from industrial and port activity mix with moisture in the air and settle as a film inside your duct runs. A standard dry-wipe won’t fully remove it if the duct interior is pitted. We inspect the ducts with a camera, measure what’s actually coating the register boots, and then clean or replace affected sections. If the film returns quickly, the duct itself likely needs replacement rather than another cleaning. Call us at (951) 527-6259 and we’ll tell you what you’re actually dealing with.
We can repair galvanized ducts when the corrosion is localized. We cut out the rotted section, match the gauge, and seal with mastic. Replacement becomes the better call when pitting covers most of a run, when the steel has thinned to the point that new leaks are inevitable, or when the duct is undersized for the system. In Richmond, original ducts in 1960s ranch homes often reach that point around 50 to 60 years. The camera inspection tells us which side of that line you’re on, and we’ll show you the footage before recommending anything.
You should receive a written price before any work begins, photos of the damaged ducts before repair, photos after the repair is complete, a written summary of what was found and fixed, and a written 365-day guarantee on the repair. Linden Air Duct San Francisco provides all of that on every Richmond job. If a covered repair fails within the year, we return at no charge. Never accept a verbal-only repair on work you can’t see inside your walls or crawlspace, and if another contractor won’t provide written documentation, call (951) 527-6259 instead.
Yes, if the smell is coming from the ducts. Leaks in return-side ductwork pull crawlspace air directly into your system, and in Richmond’s damp months that air is exactly what you’re smelling. Sealing return leaks, repairing corrosion holes in supply runs, and ensuring the crawl has proper vapor control all reduce musty odors. But if the crawlspace itself is wet, you’ll also need to address drainage or encapsulation. In Richmond, where fog keeps the ground damp for months, it’s often both. Call us at (951) 527-6259 for an honest diagnosis and a written quote for whatever’s actually needed.
Need air duct repair in Richmond? Call (951) 527-6259 for a free estimate. We’ll put the price in writing before any work begins, and your repair is covered by our 365-Day Done Right Promise.
Written by Marcus Veale, Owner at Linden Air Duct San Francisco, serving Richmond since 2004.