Do you have a basement? What's the best way to keep one warm and cozy?

[plain jane]

Our new (to us) home as one but it is quite chilly down there and dh and I want/need to do something about it. We are considering either putting in a high efficiency gas stove to warm up the area or, since we need to replace the flooring anyways, going with in floor heating. The plan is to put in engineer hardwood instead of carpet because of allergies and I despise vacuuming carpet. The basement is the only part of the house with carpet and we will not be sad to see it go. :)

 

Does anybody know which would be a better option, heat wise? The warmer, the better. :) We had a quote today for the stove and installation and that was $5000. I honestly have no idea what in floor heating costs (either to install or to run) but as mentioned, warmth is a priority. Dh is quite handy and not afraid to do the install himself. I want the basement to be a cozy place that the kids actually want to play and be in. The plan is also to move dh's office downstairs so it needs to be nice to motivate him to use the space. ;) Eventually some of the kids will have their rooms down there as well so I want them to be comfortable.

 

Thoughts?

[Lily_Grace]

We have a basement, and we have radiant floor heating. Just not on the same levels. :) The radiant floor heating has kept our house warmer than any other I've lived in (it also encourages the kiddos to pick up better, since the heat is coming from the floor). Our basement is our rotating room. In the summer we move the living room down to keep ourselves nice and cool, and in the winter we move the living room back up. If we had infloor heating on all levels it would never move. The basement is stuck with in the wall heaters, though. It's one of the few things I'm disappointed in when we look for houses back in the states. The inefficient heating and cooling systems are the worst.

[Unicorn.]

Radiant floor heat will probably cost more up front, but with what you want to do w/ the basement, I think it's a better option.

[klmama]

I have no idea about the heating source types you mentioned, but while you decide you can still adjust the temp a bit. Heat rises. When it's hot outside and you run A/C, close the basement vents so you aren't directly sending cool air into the area. The cooler air from upstairs will settle to the basement anyway, but it won't be as cold as if the vents were open.

 

When it's cool outside and you run the heat, open the basement vents and partly close the upstairs ones so more of the warm air starts downstairs before it rises.

[flyingiguana]

We have forced air heating in our rental house -- we put a couple new vents AND returns into the basement. We did it mainly to get more airflow so as to reduce mold problems, but it's worked pretty well for keeping the basement warm. We're considering doing this for our own house now.

 

A lot of houses only have one vent going into the basement. There's not much airflow.

 

Course, this is no help if you don't have forced air heating.

[unsinkable]

Ceramic space heater

[gardenmom5]

our basement is tied into the regular H/VAC system so cool air is pulled from it in summer. it has laminate flooring, just that much was a huge difference over the bare concrete floor. when we've lost power during winter storms, it's actually the warmest part of the house and the slowest to lose heat.

[Lizzie in Ma]

We run a dehumidifier in ours and it makes a huge difference in temperature.

[Anne in CA]

We also run a dehumidifier and our basement is always a little warmer than the rest of the house in the winter and a little cooler in the summer. But the dehumidifier takes a lot of electricity.

[skimomma]

I couldn't resist..... Yes, we have a basement. It is a dark, creepy, spider-filled space that is not only cold and damp, but has water running through it....in one side and right out the other. So, not cozy:) We cannot even store anything down there except tires and the litter box. 130 yo houses are just so fun......

[Cinder]

Ours is a walk-out basement that has its own hvac, installed during building.

[Punks in Ontario]

Radiant floor heat will probably cost more up front, but with what you want to do w/ the basement, I think it's a better option.

 

I agree with radiant heating. Make sure you have a good insulation under it. This also helps better than anything I know for preventing mustiness which would be important for allergies.

 

We also have a wood stove downstairs which I love.