Results 1 to 7 of 7

Thread: warm basement?

  1. #1
    lil_acorn is offline Sapphire level (2000+ posts)
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Posts
    2,413

    Default warm basement?

    Before we finished it, our basement used to be very cool in teh summer. We finished 3/4 of it and now it is hot down there, even in the summer. Any ideas on why? I've been in other people's finished basements and theirs is cool. Too much insulation? it's sad that it's not comfortable down there in teh summer!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Posts
    930

    Default

    We have 1/2 basement finished, and up until this summer, it has always been cool. This winter, we changed our heating and hot water system over and had our house re-insulated through the state energy program. The family room downstairs was my favorite place to hang out, now I don't even want to go down there. Previously, our hot water was separate from our heat, but now the same boiler does both, so it is running in the summer to heat the water (we used to shut it off for the summer). I don't know if this is the cause or if it is the insulation change.

  3. #3
    lil_acorn is offline Sapphire level (2000+ posts)
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Posts
    2,413

    Default

    hmm..our furnace and hot water heater are on the finished side, in a separate room with louvered doors for proper ventilation - maybe that is it?

  4. #4
    cmo is offline Gold level (500+ posts)
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    GA.
    Posts
    984

    Default

    Do you have a separate HVAC system for it, or did you tie it into your existing system? When we finished our basement, there was one room that the contractor said was too far from the unit, and that it would be a stretch on the system to tie into it (too many sq. feet for the size of the unit). We did it anyways, and he was right. The room is not even close to adequately cooled in the summer or heated in the winter. We shut the vent and use that room mostly for storage.

  5. #5
    KLD313 is offline Emerald level (3000+ posts)
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Posts
    3,369

    Default

    Is it damp and warm? My finished downstairs is like that and I have a tenant down there. I told him to try a dehumidifier and it seems to be better.

  6. #6
    hellokitty is offline Pink Diamond level (15,000+ posts)
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Land of boys
    Posts
    16,657

    Default

    Is your door from upstairs down to the basement often open (ie: when kids are down there, etc.)? In an attempt to help the cool air circulate better from the basement to our main floor, we keep our basement door propped open and it has made a HUGE difference in our electric bill, BUT our once cool basement is now much warmer. DH compared our electricity prices from last summer and was shocked, esp given that this summer has been so much more brutal than last summer.
    Mom to 3 LEGO Maniacs

  7. #7
    lil_acorn is offline Sapphire level (2000+ posts)
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Posts
    2,413

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by cmo View Post
    Do you have a separate HVAC system for it, or did you tie it into your existing system? When we finished our basement, there was one room that the contractor said was too far from the unit, and that it would be a stretch on the system to tie into it (too many sq. feet for the size of the unit). We did it anyways, and he was right. The room is not even close to adequately cooled in the summer or heated in the winter. We shut the vent and use that room mostly for storage.
    We have no HVAC in there and a dehumidifier running 24/7 in the summer.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •