An issue I've been wanting to address for my very small SFHs is A/C.

C class neighborhoods, central air often disappears during vacancies, (all mine had been liberated during foreclosure process, before I bought the houses,) so I don't want the big central air units. One house had an old (non-working,) through the wall AC where I reframe the sleeve and replaced a 14,000 BTU model. That has worked very well, and since my houses are around 700 sq ft, plus basement, and I told the tenants to turn the fan to on on the furnace in summer. AC blows towards the cold air return in living room. Mini-splits still seem two spendy in my area, about the same as central air. But, maybe that's not the case?

Just having tenants use window units is OK, BUT not very secure, and I have to watch that the unit is installed properly, lest damage to window or walls ( I prefer to prevent potential damages, when I can. )

The biggest hurdle was finding someone to do the framing, as I am not quite confident enough in my own skills, and I'm very slow. But, hooray, I think I have found the carpenter to do the work . (Licensed electrician will be doing wiring.)

So, my question for y'all is, any body have experiences with these, suggestions, tips, ? Good or bad, I'd like to hear it. I'm thinking I can get the units and work done right at around $1200-$1600. But, I haven't checked the prices in the last year.

Check AJ Madison for these units. We buy bottom of line Heat Pump/AC Amanas for about $600. AC only is even cheaper. Well less than the same thing at Home Depot. Free shipping, maybe you can get a deal if you buy more than one. Be sure to call in and deal with a customer service rep, don't order from the website.

We have these units in many places. Workhorses. I was just adding them up, about 10 or so out there. We started using them in 2009. We've replaced 2 or 3, I think.

Good news is if they die, you just pop them out and put a new one in the framed spot.

I am a Licensed Contractor and property owner myself. Many handymen and professionals have issue with making holes through walls to install wall A/C units.

One time a client wanted me to install a single though the Wall A/C in a 15 unit building. I asked why not hire me to do all the units. The owner told me she wanted her manager to watch me do one unit to learn how to do all of the other units themselves. She thought she was saving money that way. A professional charging a lot per hour but doing the job quickly VS a manager/handyman taking a long time at a cheep rate.

Anyways here is the secret for a successful install. You do NOT touch the outside stucco. Instead you open up the inside wall (drywall or plaster). The inside doesn't have to be waterproof like the outside, so any inside mistakes can be repaired easily.

Once you found the ideal area through the inside, then you can cut the studs and do the correct framing. So what if you have to open up a three or four foot area, drywall is so easy to fill in , patch and paint. Then when you are done with framing in the inside and patching the inside, you can then cut the stucco with a diamond saw from the outside, making the exact cut needed. Of course you use a drill to mark the four corners of your cut-out so you know where to cut with you diamond blade.

Then you install the A/C case. Fasten it, caulk it and then slide in the unit.

One thing is when the wall is open on the inside, you can run an electrical box and have a dedicated power outlet for that A/C.

Awesome! Thank you both Robert and WMH.

Working from the inside out makes sense, that explanation was perfect.

Robert,

Most LLs here don't have stucco, just siding...

Thanks Fred. I'm thinking I'll have a roll of that flashing tape (I think that's what its called,) on hand for the carpenter, as well as the flashing for over the AC. The carpenter mentioned getting J-channel too, as its aluminum siding.

MYOB, that will be how it works in the future. But right now, there is no AC at all, so we're at the starting point. (Well, these little houses had central AC, but when the houses were foreclosed on during the housing market crash, the outside bits grew legs and vamoosed! )

But, it is a good point to look for common sizes to the sleeve (sleeve is the metal box that houses the through the wall AC.) I wouldn't want to pick a particular model that is sized way differently than all the others, lest it become unavailable soon. So, I'll look for common dimensions among the models available. Thx

Good points Robert, though my rents cannot go up too much more, or I'll get just the dregs of society.

Does the boat carpet go between the unit and the sleeve, or between the sleeve and framing?

I've got to do a better job at catching these autocorrects.