Home Improvement Today?

The pipe going into the baseboard convectors should be uncomfortably hot to the touch and noticeably cooler - by about 20 degrees, on the exit side.

As a general rule of thumb a baseboard convector provides 5-600 btu per linear foot.

While we are on the convectors,
did you pull the covers off and clean the fins? They can collect a lot of dirt/hair/junk over the years and the fins need to be straight as well.

The covers need to fit well and be tight with end caps in place too. Carpet installers sometimes block the air flow.

Once you have the flow issues worked out
you can also pick up some efficiency by insulting the pipes with the cheap black foam that snaps around them.

 

I realize it's simply another anecdotal example, but when I had an apt a few years back, the radiators had bleeders. The building owner who was an HVAC guy simply showed me how to bleed one, asked if I was handy, and then just gave me the key since he had several and said if I bleed the rest it should get better. Lots of murky water came out, but afterwards holy shit... whereas before it was just barely warmer than ambient, it was an absolute SAUNA in there afterwards.

Good luck

-J

 

Agree, just a bit of air can really mess up the works.

Boiler systems are generally quite powerful, I'm pretty sure his problems are flow related rather than lack of capacity.

 

Question for anyone who might know:

My basement when I moved in had a supply register in the basement (it was in the main supply trunk of the whole system). The furnace was replaced, and the new piece of ducting that was utilized does NOT have a supply register. Not a big deal in the summer but in the winter the basement gets... cold.

Would I be doing anything dangerous simply uncapping a supply line that goes to my bedroom (which I don't need because it blows right on me and I hate that shit), and instead diverting that to the basement? Admittedly I Googled and found a few posts from an HVAC forum stating if my furnace was something like 80% efficiency or lower, a return register could pull exhaust gasses from the flue or the like. I don't know a damned thing when it comes to things like this (airflow, sciency things related to HVAC) so if anyone can provide some insight if I'm ok to simply dump more hot hair in the basement without returning it, would that be ok?

I am aware that I need to seal up my rim joists to the best I can (2x4 framing so I'm thinking just some foam board and expanding foam or caulk to seal the edges), so yes I will be doing that either this winter or spring time.

Appreciate the input.

 

supply, not as big a concern but just letting it dump might mess up the balance to the other rooms (path of least resistance)

 

yes to the air and when was the last time the zones were flush out

 

First, what kind of furnace is this - gas or oil?

If gas, does it have two fairly large white plastic pipes that go outside the house?

 

Gas furnace and there is only sheetmetal ducting going to the chimney for exhaust (water heater and furnace). I do not have the kind that just exits out the house.

 

This is an older lower efficiency unit then.

High efficiency units (plastic pipes) pull combustion air from outside the home, lower efficiency units (chimney exhaust) pull combustion air from the space (basement).

The issue with adding a heating duct to the basement is that the return heating air comes from the upstairs living space. You would be applying a low positive pressure to the basement, the only way for the pressure to equalize is out the chimney.

You should contact a professional with the proper test equipment to do this project for you.

 

That sounds good, thank you for the insight. I capped it back off in the basement and I'll revisit this in the future. I'll start with sealing up the rim joists and see what I can do.

It's about ten years old, so who knows how long it'll last anyhow!

 

properly installed and maintained 20+ years
new filters regularly so the heat exchanger doesn't crack, annual inspection and cleaning

 

My basement stairs have awful carpet and a few make squeaking noises and felt like the edges were breaking off, so I peeled back some carpet to take a look - figuring maybe I'll buy new carpet and replace the (assumed broken) treads. I expected to find 2x10s. Instead, I found this



Any idea why anyone would do this? It seems like an insane amount of work for an inferior end result. What I thought was edges of 2x10s breaking off is actually the 1x2 on the face of some treads separating from the rest.

Dimensionally, they're 9.75x1.5", so I feel like that's close enough to just buy 2x10s, cut them to the right width, and swap out these things. Thoughts?

 

Looks like originally they used the leftover concrete form wood to make basic utility steps (wall paint, side filler and the color of the 2x4s)
If there is a center stringer 2x10s should work just fine

 

the recurring nightmare side project, helping my dad with one of his rentals, and it's basement mold issues...

stripping the walls entirely down, replacing the studs as needed, then installing bead board...





these things are far more fun when it's my own house.

 

Where are all of the outlets?

Did you sub that?

 

Makes sense. The basement used to be finished so he must have figured once carpet was over them, who cares. I am pretty sure there is a center stringer - it's all closed in from the back now but I can always pull one step if I don't have photos from before.

 

If there's a center stringer, the treads and risers should be nailed down. A magnet through the carpet might even tell you. No need to rip anything apart until you're ready to replace them.

 

Sounds like my father in law bled the air out of the system and it’s much better now. Still planning to grab photos to add and go over everything with the group.

 

Great news!

You may want to bleed it again in a few days, sometimes it takes several times to work all the air out.

For around $30 you can pick up a thermocouple types thermometer, they are very useful for taking pipe temperatures and sorting out flow issues.

Look for a model like the one illustrated below that can read 2 channels at the same time, the entering and leaving side of a baseboard unit for example.

 

Excellent!