ᐅ Where should the ventilation duct for a mechanical ventilation system be installed?

Hello everyone,

We have received different opinions from various heating system installers regarding the installation of ventilation ducts for a controlled residential ventilation system using a central ventilation unit.

1. Installing the ducts within the concrete ceiling and having the ceiling contractor include the corresponding outlets.

2. Installing the ducts on the floor with core drilling, as the structural engineer has concerns about routing them through the ceiling, and this way the expensive recesses can be avoided.

What are your experiences with this?

Thank you in advance!

Both approaches exist; which one is better depends on the construction of your floor.

Or lower the ceiling and run the pipes above it.
In concrete ceilings, this is less common due to thickness, cover, and structural reasons.
Option 2 is more frequently used.

We installed ours in the concrete ceiling. It is the nicer option and less intrusive on the ceiling than in the floor.
The ceiling simply needs to be planned with sufficient thickness; we have 22 cm (8.7 inches), but 20 cm (7.9 inches) should also be enough.

Depending on the pipes, the ceilings may need to be even thicker. This can cause structural issues again. In some cases, installing a dropped ceiling is more practical. We have different options.

A disadvantage of dropped ceilings is that you lose ceiling height in the room, which is also not ideal.