Help with my heating plan for lower level walkout we are refinishing

9 years ago

We are planning on installing a small secondary furnace in our lower level walkout basement where we are adding a master suite and living room. It is quite chilly down there, currently there are only 2 heat vents and they are through the drop down ceiling. Everyone has stated due to the nature of the beast (heat vents in ceiling) we won't get very good heating down there no matter what we do. One company suggested the secondary small furnace, as that is what he did in his home when he moved bedrooms to the downstairs and he said it helped tremendously. We will have ductwork for that furnace downstairs only, with some added ductwork from the original furnace to provide heat and cooling in summertime. Am I missing a more cost effective, or better heating option for the lower level? The cost difference was $2000 adding that second furnace.

Also my husband is insisting on putting a second humidifier on the secondary furnace. My HVAC guys says humidity balances out, it will be redundant. My husband suffers terribly from bloody noses in the winter, we have one of those giant free standing humidifiers we use in our bedroom (I think they're really meant for the whole house!). We want to get rid of that if we are dropping $ into all this hvac. Who is correct here, will a second humidifier help?

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Comments (7)

tigerdunes
9 years ago
Your location?

What will be the finished sq foot basement living area? Has a load calculation been performed for correct sizing?

What is fuel for basement furnace?

I see nothing wrong with a humidifier?

I encourage excellent building/insulation qualities for this finished area. In other words, no cheap shortcuts.

IMO
happyallison
Original Author
9 years ago
I'm south of Indianapolis, and have natural gas. The total finished sq/ft. would be 1450.

Yes, basement is partially finished (drywalled, etc.) but I'm also figuring out how to get a proper thermal and vapor barrier on the floor (posted in flooring). I'm hoping the company has done proper calculations but I can't say.
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ionized_gw
9 years ago
If your home is very dry, you probably have a lot of air leaks.
mike_home
9 years ago
You want to install a vapor barrier on the floor, and then you are thinking about adding a humidifier in the basement. This doesn't make sense.

Have you measured the humidity level in the basement?
happyallison
Original Author
9 years ago
The vapor barrier on the floor is to protect the flooring from possible direct moisture seeping through the cement. I thought that was standard when putting finished flooring on a concrete slab, however I could be wrong, please correct me if that's the case. We will put carpet in our master bedroom, and from what I've read the moisture will eventually cause the carpet pad and carpet to eventually mold underneath, therefore you want to put a vapor barrier. The home now doesn't have a humidifier at all, and we are putting hardwoods first floor and engineered hardwood lower level which will further increase air dryness.
mike_home
9 years ago
If the concrete floor is damp from moisture seepage, then the humidity level in the basement should be fine. It actually may be too high and may need a dehumidifier in the summer.

Part of my basement is finished. I had a carpet and pad installed a few years ago. I specifically told the installer I did not want a pad with a moisture barrier. My thinking was that if the concrete were to become damp due to high rainfall then I did not want the moisture to be trapped below the padding. Ideally the moisture passes through the carpet and padding and the portable dehumidifier I have in the basement would dry out the air as needed. I was worried trapping any moisture would create a potential mold problem. So far it has worked well for me.
ionized_gw
9 years ago
Carpet on foundation slabs is generally a bad idea. Within the carpet itself will always be cooler than the rest of the room and tend to condense.

Look at "My house is killing me" by Jeffrey C. May.

Help with my heating plan for lower level walkout we are refinishing

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Help with my heating plan for lower level walkout we are refinishing

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