Real Estate Update

Trust the pro's tune up. I got a long story about a home owner that kept leaning out his oil boiler cus it was set "too rich". Short ending; he burned out the exchanger.
 
My plan is to have an in-floor heating system operated by an NG boiler (about the size of a beer keg) and a mini split unit for AC.

Apparently, fuel oil is now very uncommon in this part of Ontario but everybody has natural gas available (OK, OK….I can here the giggling and the joke you’re all thinking about an old guy who likes chili…..).

Anyhow, that’s the plan….

We get possession in about 10 days.
 
I had an oil furnace in Orange Park Florida back in the 80's. Sometimes it wouldn't light right off and the oil would build up a bit. Then it would go to huffing and puffing. Shit... I built a brick fire place in the den and never looked back. I don't think it ever froze there but the damp cold was cold. That fireplace filled the neighborhood with the smell of a camp fire. Smelled so good! Was so warm! Cut my fuel oil bill down to almost nothing. Wood was free for the pick up at the saw mills.
 
My plan is to have an in-floor heating system operated by an NG boiler (about the size of a beer keg) and a mini split unit for AC.

Apparently, fuel oil is now very uncommon in this part of Ontario but everybody has natural gas available (OK, OK….I can here the giggling and the joke you’re all thinking about an old guy who likes chili…..).

Anyhow, that’s the plan….

We get possession in about 10 days.

If I were to build new, in-floor hot water would be a given. Had than when I worked as a mechanic for the equipment rental place. It was marvelous! Bring a piece of equipment in in the dead of Winter, wait for the snow/ice to melt and then crawl under it and work on a toasty warm floor!
 
DE, our house came with an oil burning furnace. Yes, cheapest option, as there's no natural gas here in the "sticks". Our original furnace bit the dust about 10 years ago (40 year old furnace!), so we had it replaced. The new one has a Riello burner. Our furnace guy calls it a "Ferrari", because it is so efficient. Find yourself a furnace person, who specializes in oil furnaces. The better they run, the less they smell, and ours doesn't smell at all...

We have a Buderus oil-fired boiler for the house. Cut my oil consumption nearly in half from the old one installed in the 50's.

I have a furnace guy I trust, he'll come down and install it for me and tune it up.

It’s funny how different things are in different parts of the country. Here in the desert southwest , it’s all about the air conditioning. We just paid a stupid amount of money to have a super high efficiency air conditioner installed. During our summers the A/C runs almost constantly and the utility companies up the rates during the summer ( thoughtful of them ). By replacing our almost 20 year old A/C unit with a new one that was three times more efficient our electric bills fell by half. As for the winter? Ha! That’s t shirt weather, any old furnace will do. ;)
 
While we're on the subject of heating and furnaces...

I'm building the stand/plenum for the downdraft furnace to sit on. Frame is angle iron, 24x18, 18" high cube. Sides will be covered with bolt-on sheet metal panels. Bottom will sit on an uninsulated concrete slab.

My question is, should I insulate between the bottom of the frame and the slab? I can see the slab being a giant heat sink and sucking up a lot of the heat for no good purpose.

I'm thinking a piece of 2" blue board, some half inch spacers and a sheet metal floor in the frame.

Yes? No? Won't make any difference?
 
While we're on the subject of heating and furnaces...

I'm building the stand/plenum for the downdraft furnace to sit on. Frame is angle iron, 24x18, 18" high cube. Sides will be covered with bolt-on sheet metal panels. Bottom will sit on an uninsulated concrete slab.

My question is, should I insulate between the bottom of the frame and the slab? I can see the slab being a giant heat sink and sucking up a lot of the heat for no good purpose.

I'm thinking a piece of 2" blue board, some half inch spacers and a sheet metal floor in the frame.

Yes? No? Won't make any difference?

I would say yes DE - as you point out, the concrete will be a big heat sink and that will cut down on what you really want to do which is heat the interior of the building.

I presume the existing floor is concrete poured onto gravel either over, or directly on, tamped earth.

If that is the case, then it would even better if you could lay down some blue foam everywhere on the floor and then put a wood sub-floor on top of the insulation. That will make the building much more comfortable in the winter and be easier on your feet than bare concrete IMO.
 
Last edited:
I would say yes DE - as you point out, the concrete will be a big heat sink and that will cut down on what you really want to do which is heat the interior of the building.

I presume the existing floor is concrete poured onto gravel of tamped earth. If that is the case, then it would even better if you could lay down some blue foam everywhere on the floor and then put a wood sub-floor on top of the insulation. That will make the building much more comfortable in the winter and be easier on your feet than bare concrete IMO.

I did this with firring strips to anchor the subfloor in the entire walk out basement of a three story house I built years ago, worked great.
But the huge crap :wink2: DE drags in to fix would destroy a wood on foam floor.
I place rubber walk mats in front of benches and machines in my semi-heated garage, if your feet stay warm the rest is easy.
 
I did this with firring strips to anchor the subfloor in the entire walk out basement of a three story house I built years ago, worked great.
But the huge crap :wink2: DE drags in to fix would destroy a wood on foam floor.

ahhhhh....yes.....I had forgotten about the PHHWB&T* that he runs.

I guess you are right Gary - doing the entire floor with wood is not likely a sustainable plan.

Nevertheless, I would still put the stove on an insulated base.

* (PHHWB&T = the Prospect Harbor Home for Wayward Bulldozers and Tractors)
 
ahhhhh....yes.....I have forgotten about the PHHWBT* that he runs.

I guess you are right Gary - doing the entire floor with wood is not likely a sustainable plan.

Nevertheless, I would still put the stove on an insulated base.

* (PHHWBT = the Prospect Harbor Home for Wayward Bulldozers and Tractors)
Absolutely My basement stove sits in front of a poured concrete wall, I have a section of insulted insulated "stove board" I keep behind it. So the basement warms up quicker when I fire the stove, otherwise that wall absorbs a lot of the heat, giving it back when I'm not down there, Which isn't the point for how I use that stove. On the other hand my upstairs stove is built into 3/4 ton of masonry, that helps even out the house temp over about 8-12 hours.
 
Last edited:
But the huge crap :wink2: DE drags in to fix would destroy a wood on foam floor..

Plus welding or any torch type work would say No to a wood floor!

Even just doing some work with a cut off disk or grinder would be somewhat of a risk! Those hot sparks like to hide in places then get you at the worst time.
 
Yup on the rubber mats. They're in front of all my stationary tools and workbenches.

I'm prone to plantar fasciitis, so taking care of my feet is a priority.

Me too DE - what a miserable affliction!

Hurts like he!! first thing every morning, then, some weeks later, it simply disappears until the next time.
 
Pete, on advice from my regular physician, I find that semi-custom orthotics work for me.

Went to a full line shoe store (nothing but shoes and related items) that has a machine that you stand on and it measures the pressures across the soles of your feet and then spits out a number for a model of off-the-shelf insert that matches. Something like $50 a pair but they last for years with a little care and are a fraction of the price of bespoke orthotics from a podiatrist.

I keep a pair in my daily shoes, my Muck boots and my logging (riding...) boots. Unless I get tangled up in something that keeps me on my feet for a LONG time, I'm comfy.
 
Yup on the rubber mats. They're in front of all my stationary tools and workbenches.

I'm prone to plantar fasciitis, so taking care of my feet is a priority.
Do you have the kind of plantar fasciitus that if the house was on fire in the middle of the night you would only get half way to the door?
 
Yeah, had that once. Podiatrist suggested trying Spanko orthotic inserts. Made of carbon fiber, they felt like I had golf balls in my shoes. But, we adapt. That went away, but every few years or so, I have to go see him for plantar warts. He treats them with a type of acid. Very painful, but effective. Fortunately, he prescribes good drugs.... Happy feet, happy...uh, happy the rest of you... :shrug:
 
Yeah, had that once. Podiatrist suggested trying Spanko orthotic inserts. Made of carbon fiber, they felt like I had golf balls in my shoes. But, we adapt. That went away, but every few years or so, I have to go see him for plantar warts. He treats them with a type of acid. Very painful, but effective. Fortunately, he prescribes good drugs.... Happy feet, happy...uh, happy the rest of you... :shrug:
I get that "couldn't get out of a burning house" pain ever so often. Lacing and tying well fitting shoes helps immensely. Walmart sneakers are good for only a month. Boot camp adage "take care of your feet " rings true.
 
Back
Top