I am as most people here because of finishing my basement. That being said here is my situation. My house has had an addition added to it about 20x20 size and so the heating was put through the block wall under the room and up from below, there are about 4 heat ducts in this room. There is one return air duct and it happens that they installed a round stle that comes through the wall on the other side of the wall. So in other words most the ceiling would need to be dropped. ( Not what I want). My question/s is this, since now the basement where the return air passes through is going to be finished and heated via wood stove. Is it ok to just remove the round return and have a vent in the ceiling where the return air can now come from my finished portion of my basement? We do not have central air. Is there any rule that says you have to have return air coming from that addition? Am I correct that the return is just a means of reheating already heated air and so could come from anywhere as long as the volume of the room is the same as is the size of the finished portion of my basement? I welcome all input and if having some digital pics would help to visualize more just ask and I will post them. -Bryan

Howdy, I have a good opportunity to increase the ventilation in my crawlspace (it could use it). There is a 3' x 1' hole in the rubble foundation, 6" below grade, that just lets in water, soil, and critters. I'm wondering if it would be better to put in a standard vent, or use a fan/blower to help cross-ventilate. Maybe a humidistat to shut off the fan when the outside air hits 80%+ humidity. Just fishing for info/suggestions.