No Air return in basement?
#1
08-23-06, 08:28 AM
No Air return in basement?
I have not before lived in a house with a basement, so please don't think this question is stupid.
There is no 'air return' in the basement, but there are several vents which put air into the rooms. Thus air is constantly pushed up out of the basement via the stairway, and in the summer that means the dank basement smell comes upstairs. Is it normal to not have returns there? Will I create an imbalance with the rest of the house if I add one or two? Was it a mistake by the contractor?
TomC
There is no 'air return' in the basement, but there are several vents which put air into the rooms. Thus air is constantly pushed up out of the basement via the stairway, and in the summer that means the dank basement smell comes upstairs. Is it normal to not have returns there? Will I create an imbalance with the rest of the house if I add one or two? Was it a mistake by the contractor?
TomC
#2
08-23-06, 08:58 AM
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What type of furnace do you have ??
If it's high eff with pvc flue pipes then go ahead and put a return down there. If it's an older furnace it's best if a pro looks at it. Usually on older furnaces you can install one but you would want it far away frome the furnace.
If it's high eff with pvc flue pipes then go ahead and put a return down there. If it's an older furnace it's best if a pro looks at it. Usually on older furnaces you can install one but you would want it far away frome the furnace.
#3
08-23-06, 09:05 AM
the house is 5 yrs old, with a heat pump. we're not the original owners, and some neighbors say the builder rushed to get the house done to meet his contract date. i could give example, but it hurts to talk about, that's why i wonder if returns were overlooked during construction. does size matter? should the area of the return equal the area of the supply vents? TomC
#4
08-23-06, 09:24 AM
I dont know if this will help but we had the same situation. 3year old home with heat pump and furnace and a return was not installed in the basement. We had the hvac tech out one day and he noticed it and told us he forgot the return in the basement since the contracter rushed them. He came back out the following week and installed it for free.
#6
08-23-06, 09:35 AM
'for free' is how we got insulation in the attic over the master bedroom because it was overlooked, and also how we got the telephone jack in the family room turned on because it too, was overlooked.
I guess a quarter of a million dollars just doesn't buy what it used tooo.
I guess a quarter of a million dollars just doesn't buy what it used tooo.
#7
08-25-06, 08:31 AM
Dont know what your duct set up is there. But most of the time you can cut a return right in the cold air drop there by the heatpump. Cut it low. Make sure that there is a filter in the unit there .If not use a filter grill then for the new return.
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