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yep - we put a remnant in the basement (both in the office and playroom) for now until we get if fully finished - no pad even and it has helped a great deal!
Kerosene space heaters are an awful idea in an enclosed space that is probably too full of paper and too easy to forget about. Even if you get a really made unit with a highly efficient catalytic exhaust to prevent any CO they operate at such a high temperature that the odds of setting something aflame are extereme in a home office.
My parents used one in our basement when I was a kid, and so did my DH's family. Everyone used one in the 70s and 80s. Did something change?
I thought people who had fires were using heaters with gasoline or the wrong type of fuel not intended for indoor use. I thought that was the same for CO problems. Using generators indoors or gasoline type fuels
If you have the money,put the Dricore floor system.Its available at the home depot,about $1.50 a square foot,it forms a water and vapor barrier on the floor by giving you an air gap below,and an OSB subfloor on top.Helped my neighbor put one in last year,and doing an entire 900 sq. ft. basement took us all of three hours,and of course,it cost him a case of beer!
My parents used one in our basement when I was a kid, and so did my DH's family. Everyone used one in the 70s and 80s. Did something change?
We had one in the 1970's when they were very popular, but my husband would often get headaches from it. Theoretically, you're supposed to open a window a little to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning if you're using a portable model...but there goes some of your heat, right out the window.
Personally, I'd find some other way to heat your husband's office. I think kerosene heaters are way too dangerous.
He undoubtedly is sitting at a desk. If you want cheap, get a clamp-on light fixture, a 75 watt reflector bulb, and clamp the fixture to the leg of the desk, aimed downward at the floor under his feet. It'll make all the difference in the world. If it is too hot, get an inline dimmer for the lamp.
1) Use a carpet pad and carpet remnants to insulate in the area where your husband works. I've bought both items for well under $1.00 psf at the big box stores in my area ... and it was quality carpet. One section I got was a Berber that went into a rental property living room and had enough left over for an area rug in my office.
2) Get a radiant panel heater (or two). These are flat panels that are 110v powered, and typically have a carpet like face. They hang just like a picture frame, so you can put one on a wall adjacent to the work area, and one under the desk ... perhaps mounted on the modesty panel of the desk, or on the side of an adjacent file cabinet. These panels do not warm the air directly, but the radiant warmth is felt by the people in the area. They are inexpensive and don't cost a lot to operate, unlike 110V BB heaters.
Additionally, consider a floor panel radiant heater, 110V, which are now available through heating contractors. These are a pad which goes under the carpet, and are low wattage/low temp for localized comfort. A typical pad might be 2' x 3' and 65 watts. These aren't intended to make one's feet "toasty" ... but to take the chill off the floor area. We use these pads for our newly born livestock in the winter months, and the little ones figure out the comfort from these within hours compared to the concrete floor with bedding next to them.
I've used catalytic kerosene heaters in several houses and workspaces in years past ... these are very efficient, and used in many countries around the world as primary heat sources in houses. However, they still require make-up airflow for the combustion, which defeats heating a space such as the basement. I don't consider them dangerous if used and adjusted properly, but one must be aware of having the make up air into the area and the potential for a fire if flammables are placed too close to them ... just like using a non-vented gas radiant heater, fireplace, or a pellet stove. At today's cost per gallon of kerosene, however, I don't believe they're competitive for the heat they produce and needed in this small area.
DO NOT use kerosene indoors.
They do sell them but give a whole lot of precautions.
Every year/winter there are newspaper stories about people found dead from the fumes. Why take the chance.
Why not use one of those electric radiators, or ceramic heater or even an electric baseboard heater?
The carpet and pad are also a good idea for the money for a small area.
However, I would put a piece of visquine/thick mil plastic sheet down before the padding first as a vapor/sweat barrier.
I would think a chair would be hard to roll around on one of those thick anti-fatigue mats.
They are great if you are doing alot of standing though.
No basements here. I wish. It'd be nice and cool in the summer.
But when I remember those cold, damp basements of my childhood,,,,,BRRRRRRRRR!
Let us know how you make out.
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