Where would you put floor grates?

[Swedishchef]

Hey guys

I am looking for your wisdom and advice.

My stove is installed in my basement. I have a picture of my floorplan (well, pretty close to it, just a few differences). The red circle to the left of the cupboard near the rear french doors is the location of the stove which is in the BASEMENT. The chimney goes out through the foundation and up along the house.

Normally I would keep my basement open and would try to get the heat to rise at the other end of the house in order to get heat upstairs...not efficient at all.

This year I want to install grates/registers into the floor in the living room/dining room end of the house and plan on keeping the basement door closed or partially open to help passive air circulation.

Where should I install them? What size? How many?

Thanks in advance!

Andrew

 

[North of 60]

You are gonna have to get permission with the local municipal inspector if he will allow the penetration's from basement to upper level with of course nfpa UL approved horizontally rated spring loaded fire dampers. Piece of cake. %-P Been there.

 

[Swedishchef]

Good thing there's no municipal inspectors where I live. :D

I plan on contacting the provincial building code representatives in Montreal to see what they have to say. However, I did contact a friend of mine who works with the town and he said that provided it is a bungalow, grates are allowed. However, they are not allowed in 2 story homes. Does it make sense? Not to me.

Anyone else have any input?

Andrew

 

[DAKSY]

If you're not dealing with an inspector or worried about code violations,
I'd cut them into the floor near the outside walls - one in each room.
You can always add more later if the premise works...
Those areas tend to be colder & that's where your cold air drop will work best.
If you don't have the cold air returns, the heat won't rise effectively.
Once they're in, try a winter with the basement door open, before you
go cutting a hole in your floor & installing a monster grate in the middle of your house...

 

[Todd]

It's tough to know what would work best but I think I would try a vent in the two bedrooms furthest away from the stove. I'm thinking they should be the coldest rooms and give you the best cold air return to the basement. You have a nice centrally located stairwell which should work nicely if you can get that heat to pump up through it. I think I'd also be tempted to place a vent right over the stove where that red dot is but there's no telling if the heat would go up through that vent or the cold air go down, I've seen it go both ways in two different homes.

Another option is to install a second small stove up stairs on the main level. This would be ideal and even out the heat throughout the whole house. I've tried everything trying to heat from basement installs and had some success but you never get the upstairs as warm as you would like unless you add another stove.

 

[Swedishchef]

DAKSY: I will more than likely give that a try. Any suggestions to size, etc? Since my basement ceiling is not done yet, the heat tends to trap in between the floor joists. And since the staircase is the only way for heat to rise, it makes it damn hot at the bedroom side of the house. I don't like a hot bedroom. ugh.

Todd: I agree, adding another stove would be the best of both worlds. However, my wife would kill me if I attempt to do that. It's "decorated" to her tasting, we have furniture just about everywhere I could place a stove/chimney. I may try to put a 16X16 cast iron register on top of the stove. I can always feel the heat in the floor above it (upstairs). The ceramic gets nice and warm. I presume heat would rise in that point...

Andrew

 

[fishingpol]

Many older houses including bungalows had the gravity coal-fired hot air furnaces in them. One central grate over the furnace on the first floor, and smaller registers in each room. Hot air up through the large register and cooler air is pulled in at the smaller registers.My house had them still in when we bought it and I covered them over. Have you looked in the basement to see if there are framed in areas between the joists? I have a concrete ring in my basement floor where the stoker sat many years ago.

I'm wondering if it is a "grandfathered thing".

 

[leeave96]

If you're not dealing with an inspector or worried about code violations,
I'd cut them into the floor near the outside walls - one in each room.
You can always add more later if the premise works...
Those areas tend to be colder & that's where your cold air drop will work best.
If you don't have the cold air returns, the heat won't rise effectively.
Once they're in, try a winter with the basement door open, before you
go cutting a hole in your floor & installing a monster grate in the middle of your house...

+1

I'd put one in the furtherist part of the living room first that would draw heat across/into the room. See how it goes and then add another in the bedroom. That way you will see how each one effects the other. Also, fire rated dampers are a very good idea. I'll be doing this with my house too.

Good luck,
Bill

 

[jeff_t]

Good thing there's no municipal inspectors where I live. :D

I plan on contacting the provincial building code representatives in Montreal to see what they have to say. However, I did contact a friend of mine who works with the town and he said that provided it is a bungalow, grates are allowed. However, they are not allowed in 2 story homes. Does it make sense? Not to me.

Anyone else have any input?

Andrew

Most building codes weren't created on a whim, and most NFPA codes make sense. I'd probably still install the dampers.

 

[Swedishchef]

It could certainly be a grandfathered thing... However, I will do as suggested: install a couple in the dining room, living room. I will try a winter with the basement door only. And then see what happens after that. How many grates and which size do you recommend? Any sites where I can get dampers?

Andrew

 

[fishingpol]

Here is a start. The lead pellet that holds the spring-loaded damper in the open position usually melts around 140 degrees. It would probably take a fire in the area of the damper to close it. Much smoke would go through the vent before there was enough heat to close it. Adding vents can change the air flow patterns and possibly draw smoke away from a smoke detector. Some thought may have to go into the location of where the detectors are located to make them effective.


http://www.pexsupply.com/Broan-RD1-Model-RD1-Ceiling-Radiation-Fire-Damper-12-1-2-x-12-1-2

 

[DanCorcoran]

Installation without dampers may not only make the house less safe, it may also affect your insurance coverage. Just food for thought...