That being said.... The heating situation in our basement is also in dire need of fixing. Our furnace is in the attic. Upstairs, the ductwork and returns are all in the ceiling (this is actually pretty nice, because I don't have to strategically place furniture- the way you need to when you don't want to cover up the heating returns when they are in the floor). However, for some reason they did not run any ductwork from the furnace to the basement?
Our basement is 100% finished, but since the winter cold has struck our basement might as well be 0% finished. Spending any amount of time down there turns one in to a Popsicle. It is so cold! They do have the baseboard heaters in each room. But for some unknown reason they are affixed to the wall near the ceiling, not the baseboards????
Anyway, they are an eyesore, they don't heat properly, and they cost a fortune to run.
My conundrum is that I may only have enough money from our 2009 income tax return to change one of these situations.
Pragmatism will probably win out, and we'll end up updating the heating downstairs. After all, my kitchen functions just fine (I do hate to think about how much time I have spent planning all of the changes I would make to the kitchen. I have spent countless hours on the internet researching and know what I would do, down to the last detail. However, most of this planning was done prior to the onset of winter, before I realized what a immediate situation we had going on downstairs. At least that fact makes me feel a little less sheepish and like I wasted my time).
It sounds like the decision has already been made. Yes, we will probably put heat downstairs. So, does anyone have any suggestions? IE- forms of heating that are affordable, and heat well? HVAC companies that are affordable and do a good job? If anyone has had any experience in this arena I'd love to hear the assessment.
4 comments:
Depending on how your floorboards in the ceiling of your basement are laid out, it may be quite a pain to get ducting to the rooms. In fact I cant imagine a scenario where I would consider it affordable. (under a few thousand).
I figure most contractors would suggest you get a second separate furnace for the basement. you may have to create a semi-unsightly ducting drop down one length of your basement, and maybe down the both sides.
On the good news side, you dont need to worry about adding central air to the basement furnace, and in the winter, it will probably take over much of the heating duties for the upstairs as well.
We used Smedly for our central air. They were affordable and prompt, but I really dont have anyone to compare them to.
When we bought this house it only had Electric radiant heat and all of the estimates we received would be that is would cost $400-500 per month to heat this house. That being said we decided to add central heating and air to the whole house. We had several companies give us bids and we went with All seasons heating and air located in Roy. They were reasonably priced and the owner came out and gave us many options, not just central heating.
My guess is that you will probably need a separate furnace for the basement, because of the duct work situation. We had to put one furnace in the attic and the other in our crawl-space under the house. GOOD LUCK!
I have also seen fireplace inserts that cost significantly less that a new furnace that can heat up to 1800 square feet. If installed properly, they will vent to the outside of your house. I will ask David where he found them. Our HVAC guy also said it would have been an option for our main floor.
Wow good luck with that one. I hate home repairs! I was going to suggest a fireplace insert but that would only solve the problem in the one room you install it in. Good luck!
Well... if you change your mind and decide to go with the kitchen, I now have some experience and would be willing to help.
Post a Comment