How about another possibility for heating.........
Stan,
a good friend who is a contractor suggested I consider a forced air system, which of course would require the addition of duct work. I would be doing an inside the house installation, although I have seen several Rummers with duct work done outdoors on the roof. Do we have anyone who has done this before? If so it would be great to hear how it has worked for them. The main reason behind this idea was the fact that I know people who have already had some failures in their in slab systems, and of course mine if very old too. Thanks in advance for your help.
JH
Hi Stan, enjoy getting the emails on the Rummers. We’re in a fortunate position in that we have one of the few Rummers that are built on a crawlspace and has forced air gas in it. I always wanted the heated slab but I’ve heard too many horror stories of failures and the ensuing mess and cost! This is just my two cents here, while the ducting being run in the house would certainly be more efficient I think it would spoil the looks of the house from the interior. You can get the roof systems (I think Patrick across the street from you has one) that are much slimmer/sleeker. Some of them are so big and ugly! Talk to several HVAC companies about options and good luck!
TK
I suggest mini splits. I'm sure on roof ducting works, but they are ugly and ruins the beauty of the architecture. Ducting run along beams is sure to work as well, but could be an eye sore. Mini splits are non intrusive and energy efficient. Check them out.
DC
While I'm one of those that despises forced air in Rummers, problems with the hydronic radiant system leave you with few options. If you are going to go with forced air, going through the roof look best with your interior architecture. Going along your ceiling would make your Rummer look kind of dumpy not to menion that the beams will make things difficult. If you're looking to sell at some point, you should consider this.
You could try the electric grid radiant system. You can order the SunTouch and Honeywell grids from Home Depots contractor serivces. Their price is resonable, but installation depends on what you have laid for your flooring if any.
_AM
Hi JH
Interesting idea.
After having removed all the paneling and before replacing with drywall, the one thing I noticed it that the 4x12 beams are NOT in a single line. For example, the beam in the garage and the beam in the room other side of the garage wall, both rest on the same wall. I this case there is a 4 inch spacing between them made up of vertical 2x4’s cradling the beams. I would be concerned about cutting through the beam’s side supports. I know when I re-plumbed the hot/cold water in the house and running the lines along one of the beams had given me a concern about the structure. I justified that with 2 – 1 inch dia. holes won’t be a big problem. Removing all of the structure for the duct work, I think, could be risky.
To address the floor leak problem, I think there may be a solution with a product that I found that is use in refurbishing galvanized plumbing in old hotels. When I had the hot water line leak in my home I considered using this product that coats the inside of the pipes with epoxy. For me, I was also concerned about the location of the hot water heater in the garage being far away from the kitchen and laundry room and needed to address that problem too. So I went with a new plumbing and only used 2 areas of the beams, one being the room next to the garage and the other was the inside of the utility room and guest bathrooms that now have false beams. All the rest of the new plumbing is in the walls.
KS
I think it was Jill that mentioned the Mini-Split systems. Darrell & I are considering this as an alternative to our radiant floor heat because you can also add air conditioning. The advantage to this type of system is that it only requires that you make a small 3 inch hole in an exterior wall, granted in each room but then you have ultimate control over energy use because you only need to heat/cool rooms that are currently being used. I don’t remember who Jill recommended right now, but I am sure she would be happy to pass on that info.
I hope you find this idea useful!
TW
It's none of my business, but if you are asking: I would strongly suggest that you do not retrofit your Rummer with forced air. The duct work on the roof is visible and unsightly. Also, forced air is noisy thus eliminating the silence of the Rummer in-the-floor heating system. I don't know for sure but I would guess that making this change would lower the resale value/desireability of your home among people who are looking for an Eichler/Rummer style home.
If and when your pipes start to leak, there is good technology to locate the leak. Breaking up a bit of floor, repairing the leak and the floor is inexpensive compared to installing ugly duct work, etc.
JG
Stan
We put a split system in our house (European style heating and cooling) with no duct work but three small units in various areas of the house. We have 2 small condensers outside our house. No duct work on the roof and our house is heated and cooled very efficiently. We save over $100 per month in the winter compared to our inefficient radiant heat.
Please let JH know and he can call us and come over to see our system if he wants.
Thanks
JH
SW 84th Ave
Stan,
As I transition into forced air in the next week or two I would be happy to let someone have my old boiler if they could use it. Otherwise it will be just taken out and mothballed. When I finish I will send photos your way to share with others. I will eventually soffit a few sections of the duct that will be visible tucked up against the beams inside the house. Much of it will be above the kitchen cabinets and going through storage and closet space. Thanks again for the great tips and advice I received through your network of rummer owners..........JH
Stan,
a good friend who is a contractor suggested I consider a forced air system, which of course would require the addition of duct work. I would be doing an inside the house installation, although I have seen several Rummers with duct work done outdoors on the roof. Do we have anyone who has done this before? If so it would be great to hear how it has worked for them. The main reason behind this idea was the fact that I know people who have already had some failures in their in slab systems, and of course mine if very old too. Thanks in advance for your help.
JH
Hi Stan, enjoy getting the emails on the Rummers. We’re in a fortunate position in that we have one of the few Rummers that are built on a crawlspace and has forced air gas in it. I always wanted the heated slab but I’ve heard too many horror stories of failures and the ensuing mess and cost! This is just my two cents here, while the ducting being run in the house would certainly be more efficient I think it would spoil the looks of the house from the interior. You can get the roof systems (I think Patrick across the street from you has one) that are much slimmer/sleeker. Some of them are so big and ugly! Talk to several HVAC companies about options and good luck!
TK
I suggest mini splits. I'm sure on roof ducting works, but they are ugly and ruins the beauty of the architecture. Ducting run along beams is sure to work as well, but could be an eye sore. Mini splits are non intrusive and energy efficient. Check them out.
DC
While I'm one of those that despises forced air in Rummers, problems with the hydronic radiant system leave you with few options. If you are going to go with forced air, going through the roof look best with your interior architecture. Going along your ceiling would make your Rummer look kind of dumpy not to menion that the beams will make things difficult. If you're looking to sell at some point, you should consider this.
You could try the electric grid radiant system. You can order the SunTouch and Honeywell grids from Home Depots contractor serivces. Their price is resonable, but installation depends on what you have laid for your flooring if any.
_AM
Hi JH
Interesting idea.
After having removed all the paneling and before replacing with drywall, the one thing I noticed it that the 4x12 beams are NOT in a single line. For example, the beam in the garage and the beam in the room other side of the garage wall, both rest on the same wall. I this case there is a 4 inch spacing between them made up of vertical 2x4’s cradling the beams. I would be concerned about cutting through the beam’s side supports. I know when I re-plumbed the hot/cold water in the house and running the lines along one of the beams had given me a concern about the structure. I justified that with 2 – 1 inch dia. holes won’t be a big problem. Removing all of the structure for the duct work, I think, could be risky.
To address the floor leak problem, I think there may be a solution with a product that I found that is use in refurbishing galvanized plumbing in old hotels. When I had the hot water line leak in my home I considered using this product that coats the inside of the pipes with epoxy. For me, I was also concerned about the location of the hot water heater in the garage being far away from the kitchen and laundry room and needed to address that problem too. So I went with a new plumbing and only used 2 areas of the beams, one being the room next to the garage and the other was the inside of the utility room and guest bathrooms that now have false beams. All the rest of the new plumbing is in the walls.
KS
I think it was Jill that mentioned the Mini-Split systems. Darrell & I are considering this as an alternative to our radiant floor heat because you can also add air conditioning. The advantage to this type of system is that it only requires that you make a small 3 inch hole in an exterior wall, granted in each room but then you have ultimate control over energy use because you only need to heat/cool rooms that are currently being used. I don’t remember who Jill recommended right now, but I am sure she would be happy to pass on that info.
I hope you find this idea useful!
TW
It's none of my business, but if you are asking: I would strongly suggest that you do not retrofit your Rummer with forced air. The duct work on the roof is visible and unsightly. Also, forced air is noisy thus eliminating the silence of the Rummer in-the-floor heating system. I don't know for sure but I would guess that making this change would lower the resale value/desireability of your home among people who are looking for an Eichler/Rummer style home.
If and when your pipes start to leak, there is good technology to locate the leak. Breaking up a bit of floor, repairing the leak and the floor is inexpensive compared to installing ugly duct work, etc.
JG
Stan
We put a split system in our house (European style heating and cooling) with no duct work but three small units in various areas of the house. We have 2 small condensers outside our house. No duct work on the roof and our house is heated and cooled very efficiently. We save over $100 per month in the winter compared to our inefficient radiant heat.
Please let JH know and he can call us and come over to see our system if he wants.
Thanks
JH
SW 84th Ave
Stan,
As I transition into forced air in the next week or two I would be happy to let someone have my old boiler if they could use it. Otherwise it will be just taken out and mothballed. When I finish I will send photos your way to share with others. I will eventually soffit a few sections of the duct that will be visible tucked up against the beams inside the house. Much of it will be above the kitchen cabinets and going through storage and closet space. Thanks again for the great tips and advice I received through your network of rummer owners..........JH