Ugh !!! Cold Basement!!


  #1  
Old 02-18-03, 09:26 AM
wiermabj
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Ugh !!! Cold Basement!!

Hello to all,

Here is a problem I'm having. My split level home which was built in '92, has had its basement finished by the original homeowner. He used 2 X 4 construction, drywall, and attached paneling over that. The heat source is two vents directly off the overhead trunk line. The space is about 400 sq ft room. I noticed a ton of cold air coming in through the front of the house (soffets), where there was some R-30 faced insulation stuffed. I added more unfaced batts into the areas and kept the cold air from getting in. The problem is the temp is a constant 10-15 degrees cooler than the main living space. I want to use the downstairs space as our Home Theater area but we can't sit there for two hours to watch a movie as it is now. Any suggestions?

Other info...

Suspended cieling

Cieling is NOT insulated

Rear wall of the room is built out to support two large closets.
Those walls are finished but I do not believed they are insulated.

Construction is concrete block foundation, poured floor.

The paneled walls are cool to the touch, the walls in the closets are warm.

The 2 x 4 walls do not go all the way up to the cieling joists. They stop short about 6-8 inches.

Please excuse my home improvement vocabulary but this is my first home, and first major concern. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Bryan
 
  #2  
Old 02-18-03, 11:06 AM
jpbaker10
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buy a space heater for about $60 and turn it on for about 20 minutes
 
  #3  
Old 02-19-03, 04:06 AM
B
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are the walls insulated??

If the walls are not insulated, you may want to consider that. That would be a major DIY task, though. Insulating basement walls will help save on heating bills. I live in an area where winter highs are in the 20s and 30s. My insulation paid for itself in 2 years.

However, I understand if you don't want to take on such a task. The space heater is certainly a viable option.
 
  #4  
Old 02-19-03, 09:36 AM
wiermabj
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Well, a space heater is an option but they are unefficient and dangerous. I really need to find out why the basement is so cold before I start adding more heat to it. If its because of inadequate insulation, heating the basement more isn't very cost effective.

The walls that aren't insulated are completely underground whereas the front and side walls are about half and half. Those two walls are insulated.

I will consider a pellet stove if I find that I am just under heating the area. Like I said, this area will eventually be or main living/entertainment area once its warm enough.

Are the two registers inadequate for a 400sq ft room? The thermostat is set at 70 on the mail living area upstairs and I'm guessing its about 60 in the basement.
 
  #5  
Old 02-19-03, 10:36 AM
B
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depends...

Are two registers adequate? That depends on your situation.
In my home I only have one vent to heat 900 s.f. The basement is the warmest room in the house. My walls are insulated and I have an 8-lb pad under the berber carpet.

Insulating the walls will certainly help.
 
  #6  
Old 02-19-03, 11:22 AM
wiermabj
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Re: depends...

Originally posted by BobF
Are two registers adequate? That depends on your situation.
In my home I only have one vent to heat 900 s.f. The basement is the warmest room in the house. My walls are insulated and I have an 8-lb pad under the berber carpet.

Insulating the walls will certainly help.
That just blows my mind. I can feel the difference as soon as I get to the bottom of the steps into the basement. The entire basement is finished...on the left side of the basement is a laundy area and a full bathroom, on the right side is the room I'm trying to deal with. I can't understand why its so cold....there is a door at the bottom of the steps to the basement....maybe we should keep that closed to keep cold air from the upstairs and the front door from rushing down. I dunno...maybe I'll have to have a contractor come out and look at it.

thanks for your help!
 
  #7  
Old 02-19-03, 12:04 PM
Brewbeer
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If no wall insulation, that will help. Might try to remove a couple sections of paneling to see what is back there.

About your existing heat: two vents in the ceiling. Is there a good, forceful flow of air out of them? Heat rises, and it seems that the heat vents could be more adventageously placed (where are they located in the warm rooms of your house?) If enough heat is coming out of the vents, and just not getting to the floor, (take temp readings at head height and at ankle height), then perhaps a fav to "mix up" the air would work. A friend with a slab-on-grade apartment does this in the winter (else the floor gets down to about 45 degrees, even tho at 5 feet it is warm)
 
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Old 02-19-03, 12:21 PM
R
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If you blow air into a balloon, it'll get bigger and if you let air out of the balloon, it'll get small. Your basement cannot get bigger with heated air being blown in. Your return vents for the furnace is probably located on the other levels. As a certain volume of heated air is being blown into your basement, that same volume of air must leave the basement and go into the returns located on the upper levels. Because as with the basement, your furnace too blows out the same volume of heated air that it takes in.

Which do you think will climb your basement stairs and go into the returns, the warm air coming out of the vents or the cold air at the floor?
 
  #9  
Old 02-19-03, 02:14 PM
wiermabj
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Originally posted by resercon
If you blow air into a balloon, it'll get bigger and if you let air out of the balloon, it'll get small. Your basement cannot get bigger with heated air being blown in. Your return vents for the furnace is probably located on the other levels. As a certain volume of heated air is being blown into your basement, that same volume of air must leave the basement and go into the returns located on the upper levels. Because as with the basement, your furnace too blows out the same volume of heated air that it takes in.

Which do you think will climb your basement stairs and go into the returns, the warm air coming out of the vents or the cold air at the floor?
Thanks for pointing that out. I'm no HVAC guy so those concepts don't even come to mind. So I'll need a return duct? I have a HVAC friend coming over soon to look at my basement.

Thanks!
Bryan
 
  #10  
Old 02-19-03, 02:22 PM
RickJ6956
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Perhaps an HVAC contractor should look at re-balancing the air flow from the ducts?

Balancing the airflow from a forced-air HVAC system is critical to its performance and efficiency.

As a test: Shut off all of the vents in all of the rooms except your basement. Does the basement get too hot while the upstairs rooms are too cold?

BTW, I recently refinished my basement. There is a man-door leading to the garage. An electric heater and a piece of 6 mil plastic over that door frame gets me through the winter just fine ...
 
  #11  
Old 02-19-03, 03:05 PM
wiermabj
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Originally posted by RickJ6956

BTW, I recently refinished my basement. There is a man-door leading to the garage. An electric heater and a piece of 6 mil plastic over that door frame gets me through the winter just fine ...
I wish!
 
  #12  
Old 02-19-03, 03:06 PM
wiermabj
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BTW, the basement was originally unfinished so maybe the HVAC wasn't set to handle the now finshed basement like you said....
 
  #13  
Old 02-20-03, 09:53 AM
Omnipotent
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HAve you thought about baseboard heaters. Easy to install and fairly safe, also have a wall mountable thermostat to control them. i plan on installing a couple in my basement and shutting the direct heat vents, to force more heat upstairs.

Just a thought.

Omnipotent
 
  #14  
Old 02-20-03, 12:08 PM
wiermabj
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Originally posted by Omnipotent
HAve you thought about baseboard heaters. Easy to install and fairly safe, also have a wall mountable thermostat to control them. i plan on installing a couple in my basement and shutting the direct heat vents, to force more heat upstairs.

Just a thought.

Omnipotent
Yes, I have considered several additional heat sources including more heat registers from exsiting supply trunk, propane space heater, baseboard, and pellet stove. The thing I'm trying to accomplish first beofe providing more heat is to make sure the room is as insulated as well as it can be so the additional heat doesn't go out the windows or upstairs. Also, like was stated above, I can't just pump more heat into the basement unless there is a way for the cooler air to get out. I'm learning a lot about HVAC which is great. I just wish I knew exactly what I needed to do to get my basement room warm. My HVAC friend is coming over tonight so we shall see.
 
 

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