saving gas $ (wood floors, countertops, living)

[citybilly]

I'm getting an education here. Most of my adult life spent in Ca. it was not important. A space heater or wall gas heater was it. I have to go all the way back to school days, to recall, but one house was an oil heater suspended in the floor, staying warm meant staying close to, or on top of the grate, until you have a grid branded in the bottom of your foot.<slight exaggeration> Most houses had a big coal furnace, and coalyards were all around. I used to watch my neighbor getting coal delivered, so I wanted to be a coal truck driver when I was 6, but by the time I was old enough, the coal truck driver was a a part of history. So, anyway...when realtors list houses with forced air, or central air, etc, I'm pretty ignert about all that. The house I'm living in, has a lennox Pulse that died early this winter, also has some kind of electric wall unit running horizontally along one wall, and the bedrooms have some sort of magical heat radiation that comes from somewhere in the walls or floor when I turn it on. I swear I don't have a clue what it is but it keeps the room warm. Since my sil pays with autopay, I don't keep track of the bill. :=) Hope she doesn't either.

[Threerun]

An elongated horizontal metal heater along the floor is a baseboard heater.

The 'magical' heat from the walls or floor? Er, maybe radiant floor heating, but that's a pretty recent heating method.

My wifes parents place in Colorado has radiant floor heat (heated fluid) under a concrete type medium. It's pretty nice until you have a failure somewhere in the line.

Then you have to bust up the floor and find the problem!

Radiant floor heating is an option with wood furnaces too, especially outdoor ones, but I wouldn't have it installed on a second story, just the first where you could have access to the lines from a basement or crawlspace. But that's just me and my suspicions...

[David Kennedy]

Those Pulse furnaces almost put Lennox out of business...sorry about that...

In the early 70's the power company encouraged radiant ceiling heat and many new homes at that time were built with a heat loop in the plaster...over the years the plaster cracked and parts of the heat loop died but they exist still in some houses..you may have this unit..

[harborlady]

I'm a huge fan of hydronic heat because it doesn't mess with air quality blowing dust around or giving chase to critters in duct work maint. Mostly I've seen them in slab foundation setups, and yes, the repairs would be $$$$ if it failed. Best you install proffessionally with warranty IMO. Not a DIY when pouring that volume of concrete.

My house in charleston- I'm looking to restore the gas fireplace in the livingroom, but also want to put hydronic heat for main floor living, since utilities in basement are directly beneath and its not a finished basement space yet. There are floating floor options to put radiant heat as well- worth checking out at least. House forum- a poster named ultrarunner- told me how he solved his bathroom heating in a seasonal type cabin-- electric radiant heat under tiles set on a timer. Not too shabby! $$$ to use it all the time, but for spot situations that have time sensitivity to them, it works out well.
Upper floor I'm considering a dual heat/ac electric wall unit that fits above door/window frames called Mr Slim because tearing the whole house apart to accomodate a comprehensive HVAC system isn't practical. I have limited needs for AC and if I insulate roof area properly the math should work out. Cold air falls, and subteranean level of basement already has an offset temp.

Heat rises & basement looks like a good place for a stove of some sort- wood burning, pellet, coal... plan B heating to protect the pipes and at the same time use the space for den area. I hate drop ceilings, but I'm thinking I might be able to fabricate my own tin tiles with some effort if the econo version isn't commercially available. I love the look of these in link below, but have no idea how much they're charging. I'm guessing 6-$12 a panel.

Faux Tin Ceiling Tiles and Tin Ceiling Panels - Metallaire(TM) from Armstrong

[David Kennedy]

Sit down when you read this...here's the cheap way...go to Lowes and look at those ceiling tiles that replicate the 'Old Time tin ceilings...they interlock and are easy to work with...Lowe's has two or three different patterns...install and paint with a base coat semi-gloss paint..work is done on a beer budget..they are stapled to firring strips screwed into the old ceiling lathe and still give back most of the ceiling height.

[harborlady]

I think I've seen a version of that but didn't know lowe's was carrying it. I'd like to keep the access to inspect floor hydronics/pipes/electrical runs as neccessary, though, so I'd have to keep that design in mind. It's got to be similar to drop ceiling that way. Function, then aesthetics.

I once had a neat apartment in rochester ny- loft set up in historic district. Big masonry wall, cathedral ceilings, sky lights- the heating/cooling was astronomical. They got around it a bit by building a closet wall along the full length of southern exposure, but if not for the tiny knob handles it visually registered as a regular sheetrock wall. Closet space galore, clothing insulated the main room from the trombe wall effect. A librarians rail ladder slid down the whole length of that wall, and ceiling fans did the rest.

Great apartment for 20 something, but I don't think I'd be up to climbing a 20 ft ladder to get to bed anymore. Trip to the bathroom in the night was a bit nerve wracking. lol

[Threerun]

My in-laws home in Estes Park was professionally built, and their hydronic system had a failure mainly caused by degradation of the pipe itself, not the install.

And yes, pretty darned expensive to repair, and messy as all get out.

You also need to pay attention to how it's designed and installed. They ran the pipes under the floor where the kitchen cabinets and cupboards are, so you can't keep chemicals or some food stuffs in them.

I've never heard of the heat loop in the wall thing. That sounds like a nightmare.

Eh- I don't mind forced air. The units are easy to maintain, ductwork rarely needs servicing and if properly sized and maintained they are efficient in moving condioned air (and filtering it). It works very well in tandem with woodstove heating too.

[harborlady]

heat loop in the wall thing? Hmm if you meant the trombe wall- this masonry wall was serving as a huge passive thermal gain in summertime because the sun beat on it steadily. More like an accident than deliberate design. The low tech solution was closet space buffering. No pipes involved.

Hydronics I was refering to on main floor of house would be a pex job without concrete installed. It would be directly under the existing hardwood floor, parallel to the joists, reflective insulation layer, then the basement ceiling. Very small circulating loop considering the proximity to hot water source.

More details, you can check this article for 'dry floors' section of hydronics.
EERE Consumer's Guide: Radiant Heating

[Threerun]

Yes, that type (the pex or other) is what I referred to earlier as the only method I would ever consider, under the first floor with basement or crawl access.

[Retired Navy]

One of my friends in Roane County heats both his daughter's home and his own with one wood fired water heating system. It's routed through the concrete floors and provides very comfortable heat. There is also a heat exchanger in both homes that uses the same circulating system, in the winter, to provide hot water. I've been in both homes and it's a really clean, if not green, way to heat. The boiler works off a thermostat that does nothing more than start a blower in the combustion chamber when calling for heat. He told me that he adds fuel (wood) about every 12 hours but because it's an "on demand" system it's very efficient. It can use wood, coal, or pellets but he uses wood because it's readily available and free from tree tops left over from timbering part of his farm.