I have a friend that knows about ac repair but I think other stuff is beyond him so I'm asking here. My townhouse is really hot upstairs but freezing downstairs during the summer. There is good Ir blowing out of vents upstairs but only the bathrooms are cold. We open the door to these but it doesnot help a whole lot.

There is one return vent that has an inch of clearance before a desk blocks it on the main floor. There are no returns upstairs.

In the winter when the temperature in Chicago goes below freezing our pipes burst unless we open the faucet, which is a waste of money and resources but better than the pipe bursting.

Our garage does have some holes in its ceiling due to my friend fixing broken water pipes multiple times(before we just open the faucet) but they were never covered up. Should we do something about this?

There is only one furnace that serves the whole townhouse. The thermostat is in the kitchen which is above the garage and below the bedrooms.

Suggestions and advice appreciative