Hi -

I'm not sure if this is the right spot for this, but here goes ...

We have a 3-season porch, 10X14, which is connected by a slider to a somewhat large back hallway which has its own heating (forced hot water) and zone. We would like to make the 3-season porch a little warmer. The porch is all single-pane glass, and an "open-rafter" ceiling (not finished) with no insulation.

My first inkling was to insulate the floor. I have easy access to the underneath (there is 4 feet between the ground and the bottom of the floor joists), and could easily put insulation up between the joists and cover it. Put it in there and see if it helps is my thinking, because it can't hurt.

Yesterday, my nephew suggested radiant heat in the floor, as he noticed we have the baseboard heat and separate zone in the adjoining room. My question is - is this even conceivable, can I run the radiant piping off the hot water that heats the back hall? Is the piping easy to install? My thought is that I would put the piping up under the floor in between the joists, then insulate below that, and cover with some sort of plywood (just like I was originally going to do).
Then I would call in a plumber and have him do the final connections.

Or is this just not a good idea, because I just don't know what I'm talking about, or is it something that could be done and really would help?

Thanks - Dave

 

For a porch... I think I'd insulate very well and just sponge heat through opening that patio door. And it that wasn't enough, an electric heater if you absolutely must add heat.

My big concerns for doing this would be freezing the piping, what water temps are being used by the rest of the house and controlling the temperature (along with how quickly it can respond when needed).

If you want to go through those efforts, the bathrooms and or kitchen would be a better place, because it won't be cheap.

 

I'm with Who ...

Why not put a couple lenghts of electric baseboard out there and only turn it on when the porch is in use ?

The amount that it might cost to install radiant out there will probably run the baseboards when you need them for a few years...

(of course, you would need an electrician to run a 240 volt line out there though... that could cost a few bucks too )

Insulating the floor would certainly help in any case. If it's open on the bottom, take steps to prevent them furry little critters from getting into the insulation and building nests... foam boards might be the best solution for this.

While yer at it, why not insulate and throw some sheetrock up on the ceiling ?

 

IMHO, radiant is a poor choice for this application. High installation cost, low output relative to the high heat loss of this space due to the poor floor&ceiling insulation and losses through all the glasss, and poor response to changing load (e.g., from sunny to sunset; cloudy to sunny).

Extending the baseboard run from the hall to the porch room would be much better. Do a heat loss for the room and get as much baseboard in there as aesthetically possible. Insulate all piping under the floor.

 

I'd still be afraid of the 'freeze factor' ... and why heat it if it's not in use ?

Is the plan to make it an all season room and use it year round ? If so, then replace the windows, insulate the floor, walls, and ceiling, and run the baseboard...

 

Hi -

Thanks to everyone who responded.

We would use the room more if it had a little more heat. We know there is a limit to how deep into the winter we could use the room. We are just trying to squeeze a bit more use out of it.

I guess we are trying to have it both ways, but we don't want to completely re-do the room (replace the glass, sheetrock the ceiling, etc) because we really like the look and feel of the room as it is right now.

Like I said, we are just trying for a little more use. Now that I know the expense and effort of radiant heat would not be worth it, I will look into other options. The suggestion of tying another baseboard into the existing one sounded pretty good.

Thanks - Dave