Basement register needed?


  #1  
Old 11-27-05, 07:20 PM
B
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Basement register needed?

I am in the process of finishing the basement. I have added 2 bedrooms each with a register and return air vent. The bathroom has only a register. My question is, I am currently framing an exercise/toy room(19x12)that is open to the main hallway in other words there is no wall enclosing the room from the hallway and has only the one 12 ft wall that is an exterior wall. It will be very difficult (but not impossible) to run a register to this room. My options are to tap into an existing run that feeds the upstairs living room or not put a register in the room at all. Any comments or suggestions?
I am already pushing the limits of my furnace.
 

Last edited by builderbob; 11-27-05 at 07:21 PM. Reason: Change title
  #2  
Old 11-27-05, 08:00 PM
MechEng
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Is the hallway heated? If you are already pushing the limits of your furnace, you may not be able to heat this space. Anytime you add ductwork to supply another space, you are reducing the amount of air going to the existin space, and thus the heat. So if you try to heat it, and your furnace is tapped out, the rest of your house may suffer. In cold spells, this might mean frozen plumbing, not a good thing.

If the room is open to the hall, it might be OK not to provide ducted heat. It probably will be chilly. A ceiling fan would help circulate the air and thus move the heat into the space. You could also add some insulation to that exterior wall.

Tapping into an existing run is typically not a good idea. If the duct serves more than one room, and is more of a distribution duct or trunk, then it is safer. But a duct going to one space will have that space suffer as you "steal" the heat away from it.

Have you considered a duct to the space and enclosing it so you can't see it? Since it is a renovation, think about how you could run it, then hide it.
 
 

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