Home Improvement Advice? Heating a Cold Basement

[Diomedes]

There's a backstory, but it isn't important for the question at hand. The end result is my basement is cold. I'm looking at heat pump window units, but the windows in my basement are small - just 23" by 15" or so. Anyone know of units small enough to fit an opening like that? Or have any other (inexpensive) ideas? Looking to keep this quick, simple, and under 1k. Thanks, MCB Hivemind.

[Chuck E Ducky]

What about a mini split? They have gotten very efficient. Guess it depends how handy you are if you could keep it under your budget. Not super hard to install yourself.

[Jonnydread]

Mini splits are great and technology has come a long way. I commission them and they're super easy to work on.

[Jonnydread]

Would a unit heater suffice? Do you want the basement to be constantly comfortable or just comfortable when being used?

[Diomedes]

Yeah, we have minisplits for the first floor and they work great, but even the small ones are more than I'd like to spend. Plus there's more electrical work involved with those because of the units outside. I'd like to just be able to plug the thing in. (And yes, I realize what I'm looking for may not exist.)

I don't want to have to put my heavy coat on when I go down to do the laundry.

[Chuck E Ducky]

Well you could just run a plug in unit but I’m not a big fan of those they can be a fire hazard. Especially if you have kids or pets.

I used one that attached to the wall. It was like a 4’x4’ piece with 4 mounts that didn’t get super hot to the touch but it won’t heat a large area.

You could run a floor vent with blower one up one down to help circulate the heat you are already making Upstairs.

Even cheaper would be a box fan at the top of the steps.

If it’s just to keep pipes from freezing a 100w lightbulb work great for that. I use this technique on my rental with a crawl space. Every year I install a new bulb and it keeps the pipes from freezing even during some of the lowest recorded temps in the NE.

[Chuck E Ducky]

The panel one I was talking about was like this. Big one dose 200sq’ for about $200 I don’t remember it being super expensive to run either. But I’m a fat and happy a 60* kind of guy.
https://www.amazon.com/EconoHome-Mou...dDbGljaz10cnVl

[Diomedes]

Oh my goodness why hadn’t I thought of some fans. Use the heat we’re already making. So easy and simple. Thank you.

[Grendel]

First Insulate, if you have a below grade basement you are fighting against the earth as a heat sink and below grade you will be ~55 degrees F and any heat you create will be sunk into the earth. When it comes to adding heat vs. sinking added heat to earth the earth wins every time.

[Cdn_Cuda]

Insulation does a big difference. I'm in a 70s house and it has crap insulation. I rebuilt two external walls to be 2x6 instead of 2x4 and put in very good insulation and it made a huge difference. I'm a big fan of Roxul. Easy to put in, nicer to deal with than pink insulation. I've redone my attic with it as well.

[flyweightnate]

Foam puzzle mats on the floor, if it's concrete. Cold concrete on bare feet is terrible.

[Chuck E Ducky]

You could use something like this. I would run one drawing up one drawing down. Extra cash in budget I would spend on insolation. Simple plastic over the basement windows helps a lot. You can buy those cheap kits from Lowe’s you just heat them with a hair dryer. It helps a lot surprisingly and saves way more then it cost to do every year.

https://www.amazon.com/Tjernlund-RB1...077918&sr=8-10

[Siress]

Grendel nailed it regarding the heat sink effect of the walls. I'm not sure, but I think exposed (i.e. above ground) walls are worse, as the exterior convection has a higher heat flux than the relatively warmer and lower heat flux earth. Regardless, insulation is the first step in heating. As I recall, building codes stipulate that the R value of basement insulation must be equal to or lesser than the insulation used on the floor above. I've heard various recommendations for basements. The person I know with the most experience recommended fiberglass because it can dry out faster than other materials and thus mitigate against mold.

Anyway - this all depends. What you save on initial investment could easily be consumed in a few months of relatively elevated operational expenses or poor reliability of the equipment. Moving hot air from your upper floor to the non-insulated basement is one such example that I think will both mess up your currently heated areas and cost you a significant amount in operational expenses. Depending on your current heating system, it might even lead to very premature failure of the equipment.

• What's the square footage of the basement? Ceiling height? Which walls are exposed to earth and which are above ground? Any other openings (windows, doors)? Any dividing walls in place already?
• Are you planning to finish the basement at any point in the foreseeable future?
• What's your fire hazard risk tolerance?

[Diomedes]

In terms of insulation, it's a 110 year old house. We actually had the rim joists insulated, but the problem is the basement walls. Right up to the rim joists, it's concrete, and it extends 2-3 feed above ground, depending on where you are. So those 2-3 of wall just suck in the heat when it's cold outside. The obvious solution would be to frame out and insulate the exterior walls, but that's a bigger project than we want to take on right now.

[Mcdizzal07]

My office is in my basement which is above grade slab in Southern NJ. I have one of these with an oscillating fan next to it to blow the hot air around -> https://www.northerntool.com/shop/to...4882_200664882 . You just need access to a gas line if you have it and get some yellow flexible tracpipe. An HVAC person could hook it all up for probably 500-600 including the cost of the heater.

[Mr. Hick]

There is a real, and honest concern about the yellow trac pipe being decimated by near by lightning strikes. Our local code enforcement forbade it from any construction for this reason. things maybe entirely different depending on region.

[flyweightnate]

Yellow CSST suffers when there isn't good bonding, which is most of the time. Running dedicated bonding conductors alongside it, fitting to fitting, is the preferred method to use it more safely.

[Mr. Hick]

Pictures: PLEASE. here in New England I have chinked and mortared 200 year old basements. Pictures are worth ten million words.

[boarder2k7]

Lived in one of these once. Never again. Poured concrete or I'm out.

[Siress]

In terms of insulation, it's a 110 year old house. We actually had the rim joists insulated, but the problem is the basement walls. Right up to the rim joists, it's concrete, and it extends 2-3 feed above ground, depending on where you are. So those 2-3 of wall just suck in the heat when it's cold outside. The obvious solution would be to frame out and insulate the exterior walls, but that's a bigger project than we want to take on right now.

If you're not planning to finish it in the foreseeable future and want to be quick about this, R-5 "faced" (i.e. vapor barrier attached) foam board is $17 per 4'x8' sheet at my Lowes - which is far and away the best value per sheet. Without framing to hold it in place, you should probably use the actual foam board adhesive. IIRC, that's another ~$1-2 more per sheet. The cost-cutter method is to use Great Stuff spray foam as the adhesive...but I don't know how strong that'll be long-term without reinforcement. Call it $20 per 4'x8' sheet. Probably several hundred to insulate the exterior walls. And probably saving several hundred over the course of your first year's basement heating expenses. It'll still take a while to heat the basement, but the insulation will help retain it for longer - meaning the heat coming in from upstairs will be retained longer than it is currently.

[Diomedes]

That's a great thought as well. By "faced", does that mean the panels can face directly into the space, without drywall or something on top?

[Grendel]

That is a cautious affirmative with out seeing your walls. If you go that route it needs to be closed cell with weep gap at the bottom, might make selling the house difficult later though.

[Siress]

Essentially - but that's a consequence of not needing any other functional layers to use as proper insulation. It really just means it includes a vapor barrier. For drywall, you'd need to add framing; even if only a lattice work bolted to the concrete wall through the foam board. Any electrical should either be in a frame with 1-1/4" gap on each side, or run in metal conduit if framing with lattice work. What really changes from area to area are the fire codes. I don't know much about it, but I've seen enough variation in discussions online to know it's something to be checked in a given local. Something I did, and recommend, is making sure you start with a smooth, clean, and dry concrete surface free of cracks, effervescence, and leaks - making repairs as necessary - then coat it in drylok or similar. These repairs mitigate against the risk of water damage that could damage the walls and lead to mold growth; a health hazard.