Thanks for sharing, came across your video because I was questioning why my basement didn’t have a return. Come to find out I’m in Roseville, installing a return now.
This works with all forced air systems. Just be sure the furnace is not in an enclosed room. Or run a duct from the furnace to the room you are using in the basement.
Hi! I live in Buffalo NY and have an old 2.5 story home with an unfinished basement. I recently got a new furnace installed (Carrier 59TP6) in my basement to replace an 25+ year old one that was on its way out. I am experimenting trying to figure out the best way to equalize temps in my house. FOr an hold house, it is pretty good. I have been in houses much worse. My home is 1800sqft - the ".5" floor or quasi 3rd floor heat vents are fully sealed, the space between those 2 floors is also insulated and sealed. There are 5 vents in the basement running along the heat trunk - they were all covered, taped and sealed. I opened them today because I think that adding some warmth to the basement will be beneficial - its going to rise anyways and will help with cold floors somewhat. I do have cold air returns throughout my home in the two stories. They are more "crude" as in they're stud bays and unlined, but it's better than nothing. I came across your video b/c I was wondering if adding cold air from the basement into the furnace mix would help. The basement is approximately 900sq ft and all wide open/unfinished. I did recently upgrade to glass block windows and plan to get the rim joist seled (waiting on approval through NY state for a program that pays for part of it) Would it be beneficial to add a cold air return like you've shown to suck in colder air from the basement or would this imbalance the house? I appreciate any input you may have. None of the return ducting in the basement that the upper floors run into have any vents or intake in the basement level. The hot water tank is near the furnace and vents out the chimney, but is also pretty new. Given that I have 5 supply in the basement I'm thinking backdraft would not be an issue?
What it will do is make the basement more comfortable/ liveable. I open a supply vent far from the furnace and add a return vent in the base of the furnace to allow the basement to change the air down there. It will take a little air from the rest of the house but improve the basement air quality. Get the opinion of your furnace installer and determine if u want to spend time down there or not.
Fortunately we are in an open basement. When a furnace is in a room, even semi-airtight the return should be ducted to the basement living area. It may be louder in the family room, but much more liveable.
this return is on a furnace in the middle of the basement, not in an airtight mechanical room. If there is a gas leak or exhaust leak I'll be dead soon. When there is a tight mechanical room the return vent MUST connect to the living space only. Good point, also use carbon monoxide detectors in the bed rooms.
What we plan on doing is putting a return vent in the mechanical room where the furnace is located and increase the door undercut of the utility room so that it is about two inches high. We have a high efficiency furnace so the combustion air is sealed off. Water heater in there is electric.
Good video. My basement looks like this one. I am putting the vent on the side away from the hot water heater to keep gas from getting spread through the house just in case.
The end result is a warmer basement because there is no other way to such the cold, damp air off the basement floor. Everyone that has done this loves it. The supply air is not involved in this project other than I suggest closing off all basement supply vents except the one farthest from the furnace.
If you have a moldy basement, clean it up first, please! If your furnace is leaking co (monoxide) or gas, please fix it first. Moving damp stale air out of the basement will help prevent the formation of mold. Also I say to leave the air supply from the furnace open so the return can draw that supply air equally. Otherwise the supply air vent in the basement has no place to push to. Blair
Is there any way to warm the air that is coming in through the fresh air supply? It makes it feel drafty when it gets below zero. Thanks for the video, I think the cold air returns are a great idea.
This sounds very helpful. At the moment, I have been keeping the door to the furnace room open, which helps. I was wondering if putting in a louvered door, along with a cold air return from the family room would both help?
Don't you have supply vents in the basement in Saskatchewan? If you have supply, you should have a return. Be sure the furnace is not in a separate room. My grandma Gordon was from Regina.
We have a finished basement with 3 rooms and a utility room. Air vents are currently half a foot from the floor and air returns near the ceilings. Year around the basement tends to be 4-5 degrees below the first floor. The 2nd floor is either just as cold as the basement in the winter or quite a bit warmer than the first floor in the summer. I don't know if we have leaks, crushed ducts, or other potential problems. That all being said would something like what you show in this video help us in any way?
The problem with ceiling air returns is that cold is heavy and is on the floor. The whole point of the video and what I try to do is draw air off the floor which gets the dampness and the coldness back into the furnace system and get circulated throughout the house.
@@MrHardware1 Would you recommend we move the air returns to very close to the floor? Or would just cutting a hole in the return like you did be better?
@@jww84 if you cut a hole in the return close to the floor, you’ll need to pipe it from the furnace room to the living area. Lowering the high returns would be best but I bet it’s almost impossible.
Clever. will this improve airflow upstairs in main living area? Also, any concerns if it's in a semi closed room with Gas Water Heater on the complete opposite side of the furnace, 4' feet away
No, this only improves airflow in the basement. It should never be done in a semi-closed mechanical room. It needs to have free access to the entire basement air. I run a separate duct from the cold air plenum to the mechanical room wall so air from outside the mechanical room (the living area) is drawn into the furnace. A cold air return in a semi-closed mechanical room can draw carbon monoxide down the chimney poisoning the household.
Could I use this to heat my upstairs? I have a pellet stove in the basement and my furnace a little ways away. Could I cut a hole in the top of my return to get the warm air to circulate through the ductwork?
It sounds like a good idea, just make sure you have ‘makeup air’ to feed your stove, furnace, hot water tank so you don’t cause negative air and draw any carbon monoxide throughout the house.
@@MrHardware1 I threw a 12x14 vent in the top of the return in the basement. I put magnetic covers over 80% of the main level cold air return. This pushes through roughly the same amount of air. I only either run the stove or furnace at one time so there should be no issues with carbon monoxide. I have a few different sensors for it and none went off last night so it seems to be working
If the return is cut so close to the furnace blower, will this new inlet greatly reduce how much air is being sucked back through the rest of the house? Or, How much overall efficiency loss will occur by adding this new return point?
We have the ability to reduce the opening of the vent because we like to use a hot register which is adjustable. However considering that one vent is circulating the entire basement, or much of it, the loss to the rest of the house is, so far, not noticeable. The added cost is usually below $10 a month and re-seal-able if the cost is not deemed worthwhile. Not all situations and users are alike but I haven't had a complaint of it's efficiency yet.
Can you share if this has potential negative side effects, such as possibly creating a negative pressure issue in the basement? The issue I’m specifically concerned about if the potential to possibly draw exhaust from the water heater flue back into the basement vs. allowing it to rise out of the house.
It does when there is no supply in the room or area where the return is. I’ve seen more people put the return in an airtight furnace room and yes it did draw air down the chimney because it was no fresh air supply from the furnace in that room. The point is to change the air, air in through a duck, out through a duck.
I would imagine that as long as this isn't the one and only air intake for your furnace, the increase in vacuum effect would be negligible. That is an excellent point! We definitely would not want to use the chimney as the air intake for the basement.
It will decrease airflow pressure cause your furnace filter to wear out early and it will reduce the efficiency of your furnace sounds like a great idea if your goal is to spend more money
Thanks for the video. Would you advise someone with unfinished basement to do this? I'm trying to find a way to heat up the basement w/o spending a lot of money to add a heat source. I just want to heat up the basement little bit so first floor floors won't feel ice cold.
Of course. The main problem is when the furnace is in a closed room. The return duct needs to access the basement living area you want to warm up. The other best thing to do is insulate the perimeter joists at the top of the basement wall.
I have a small 1950s home with finished basement. The gas furnace is in an unfinished utility room about 1/4 the size of the entire basement. In the basement there are 4 supply registers and no return. We have had a problem with negative pressure (air coming down the chimney) so we keep a window next to the furnace to help equalize the pressure...this works but obviously makes the basement cold in winter. Wondering if putting in a cold air return would be a good idea or make the negative pressure problem worse.
No, air down the chimney is dangerous. You need ‘make-up’ air to bring air properly into the house. I would get 2, one to bring air into the furnace/hot water heater/dryer area and another connected to the furnace cold air return. A cold air return to the furnace should be run to the basement living area, not the furnace room.
In the summertime it grabs cold air off the basement floor and spreads it out throughout the house. Unless I’m doing something stinky in the basement mine is always open.
@@MrHardware1 - My question stems from this - My humidity measuring device shows me that my relative humidity in basement goes up (even with dehumidifier running) when I keep it cold air return duct open - I am assuming what is happening is the negative pressure in the basement causes humid air from basement windows to come into the basement. Humidity came back to normal range (with dehumidifier running & return duct in basement closed)
Being a science nerd, I tried a different experiment - ran a Duct fan along with flexible duct tubing from my 2nd level bedroom. Ran the following a) fan pushed cold air from basement to Bedroom - this caused humidity level to go up in the basement (same reasoning as above) b) moved the fan to bedroom sending warm air from bedroom to basement - this didn't cause the humidity to go up but it stayed at the same level. This proves that cold air vent or cold air being blown from the basement do not work - until your outside humidity is low (near basement windows)
I have a question, don't know where to ask it? in the older home we bought there Was a room added on...The room is very cold in the winter, it is on a cement slab. We put up new insulation, very good and better drywall ...there is a vent for air and heat but no cold air return.. There is only one cold air return in the whole home..it is a very small home..would putting a cold air return in this room help it stay warm in winter?
+Judy Kent Wow, slab rooms are trouble. Foam insulation around the outside of the foundation may help retain some heat from leaching out into the earth. Usually I install a small vented gas heater and make sure there is 12" or more of insulation in the ceiling and hope for the best.
Here is our dilemma. We have a finished basement with no returns. There are 5 vents down there though. The furnace is in the utility room down there and that room is nice and warm but the rest of the basement is cold. Could we cut in the return as showed in this video and do a vent in the bottom of the door to the utility room? Would that help?
+Jennifer Woellert Cut a return from the bottom of the cold air return and run it to the rec-room wall on the floor. This way it will pull cold air from the floor of the rec-room. Sometimes the return needs to be run other ways, that is done on a case by case basis. Email blair@mrhardware.com w/ more details.
Thank you for this video and all of the responses ive seen. So I have a 1955 house with a finished basement. Temperature is always very nice down there. Im in northern Indiana. I have hot air vents but no cold air return in basement and air feels stagnant down there. I always leave the mechanical room door open. My plan is to add a louvered door to mechanical room and keep it closed and add a cold air return to the opposite side of basement to help with airflow. Does this sound like a good plan to you? I do get mild dampness smell after heavy spring rains so im hoping this will help alleviate that issue. I also have a large dehumidifier running 24/7
I have a rough bsmt but the wood stove is in the floor above. Is there good reason to do as in the vid to cause a little air flow in the bsmt to help block mold growth?
Great video! Thanks for the info. I have a question if you dont mind Sir. I recently had a 2 year old payne furnace cleaned and the tech told me the cold air drop was to small and would drastically shortn the life. It was code. but he said not adequate to heat the home properly. I was taken back because before he even saw the furnace he was in sell mode. he then told me to do as you did in your video and place a cod air return vent on the cold air drop. any info on this would be appreciated .
Furnaces require a certain amount of airflow to function efficiently. The calculations on duct size and length need to be done by a professional or with the help of a professional. Call the manufacturer and they may guide you and you can make the calculations. Blair
Can cold air plenum have 2 openings... one for combustion air coming from outside and the other is from cold air intake like the one you've shown? Much appreciated.
+Michael Timofeyev Combustion air is very important, I prefer to supply it to the mechanical room to keep the clothes dryer, furnace and hot water tank supplied with air. Make-up air is connecting the cold air plenum to the outside duct to replace air exhausted by bath fans and kitchen fans.
I have almost this exact setup in my basement (with the return in the furnace) and basement is still freezing. Gonna close up the cold air return in the basement and close all the vents down there. It's a pure waste of money at this point
@@aisthpaoitht a cold air return in a semi-tight furnace room can draw either furnace or hot water tank exhaust down out of the chimney, causing carbon monoxide poisoning. There has to be an open area with an air supply feeding the ‘new return’ to prevent a partial vacuum sucking exhaust air from the chimney.
Typically only if the furnace and hot water tank are in a semi air tight room. If there is a supply register in the basement it will provide air for the return to draw from.
Don’t listen to him he doesn’t know what he’s talking about I’ve been doing HVAC since 1998. The problems with this is number one that box above where he cut that return in was a humidifier so now that is going to be wasting electricity also water cause it will not work properly also you don’t just go cut a return in without using a duct calculator to see if it needs it and I could go on feel free to ask questions.
Angelo, if there are 2 air supplies in the ceiling of the basement do you not think one return would allow them to change the air in the basement? Please enlighten me as how the humidifier is not working now? The bypass is still forcing air through the media in the media, humidifying, and with your experience you know that is a drum humidifier with a water reservoir, how is that wasting water? I'm free, email blair@mrhardware.com, please. Blair
Mr. Hardware I’m going to get back to on this sorry for coming across so harsh it’s just I take HVAC very serious it’s my life I’ll explain some of the issues that could be a problem not 100% but I rather take the time to share what I’ve seen happen over the years with situations similar to this so that a guy that vlogs like you can say hey you can do this but check for these things it’s just I’ve seen some UA-cam videos on HVAC stuff on here that make me crazy.
Cool, I built custom homes in the 70's. Back then we built insulated cold rooms w/fresh air intakes to house the furnace and water heater. Before closed combustion furnaces. We had to take extra care to prevent water lines from freezing, Okemos MI. Of course then we could treat the rest of the basement w/supply and returns. The return on the furnace room wall and the supplies on the opposite ceiling. Worked great. Now I have a hardware store in a 1950's neighborhood, I'm 3rd generation, and the goal is to move cold damp air off the basement floor. I'm aware that if the return is installed in a semi tight mechanical room it can draw co down the chimney. However most of these homes have several hot supplies in the ceiling but now return, so to get the kids to play in the basement the return solves the problem. It also displaces radon gas which left to accumulate can cause health problems that circulating the air helps prevent. Thanks for taking the time to correspond, Blair
It is an easy repair. Get a piece of galvanized sheetmetal about 2" larger than the hole and carefully, (not to let a screw go into anything in the furnace) and screw the cover over the hole. About 3 screws a side.
The same ones you breathe when you are doing the laundry in the basement, no? The important thing if for the supply to be delivering air to the basement so the return can take it in. The danger is in a tight room w/out a supply sucking air down the chimney.
@@MrHardware1, thanks for answering so soon. Sorry I missed you. But I'm confused. Do you mean, "... a tight room WITH a supply THAT'S SUCKING air down..."" in the sense of, "... a tight room WITHOUT A RETURN that HAS A supply THAT'S sucking..."
@@lvvry1855 A tight room w/out a supply register will cause the furnace to draw air down the chimney (negative air). Even if a room is tight if there is a supply (heat) register it will provide air for the return to draw from. Hence a balanced air flow. In the 70's when I built custom homes we put the furnace and hot water tank in an insulated room in the basement with vents to the outside. That way those appliances used outside air for combustion not 'treated' inside air. Of course no return in that furnace room, but we did install a return from the basement 'rec room' to the cold plenum.
My house has this installed by the previous owner in the damp musty basement... Now my whole house smells like a damp musty basement. It's a terrible idea.
Yeah you're going to want to add a good sized dehumidifier there, if possible drain directly to a drain instead of having to empty the pail frequently.
+Blair Gilbert if I put a rec room or bedroom in my basement which I have I would run the cold air duct down the wall to the bottom of the wall. That way it would be done properly and not drawing through or under doors to the furnace from other parts of the basement.
Great idea. Great video. Thank you for taking the time to respond calmly and clearly to 10 years of questions!
Thanks for sharing, came across your video because I was questioning why my basement didn’t have a return. Come to find out I’m in Roseville, installing a return now.
This works with all forced air systems. Just be sure the furnace is not in an enclosed room. Or run a duct from the furnace to the room you are using in the basement.
Hi! I live in Buffalo NY and have an old 2.5 story home with an unfinished basement. I recently got a new furnace installed (Carrier 59TP6) in my basement to replace an 25+ year old one that was on its way out.
I am experimenting trying to figure out the best way to equalize temps in my house. FOr an hold house, it is pretty good. I have been in houses much worse. My home is 1800sqft - the ".5" floor or quasi 3rd floor heat vents are fully sealed, the space between those 2 floors is also insulated and sealed. There are 5 vents in the basement running along the heat trunk - they were all covered, taped and sealed. I opened them today because I think that adding some warmth to the basement will be beneficial - its going to rise anyways and will help with cold floors somewhat. I do have cold air returns throughout my home in the two stories. They are more "crude" as in they're stud bays and unlined, but it's better than nothing. I came across your video b/c I was wondering if adding cold air from the basement into the furnace mix would help. The basement is approximately 900sq ft and all wide open/unfinished. I did recently upgrade to glass block windows and plan to get the rim joist seled (waiting on approval through NY state for a program that pays for part of it)
Would it be beneficial to add a cold air return like you've shown to suck in colder air from the basement or would this imbalance the house? I appreciate any input you may have. None of the return ducting in the basement that the upper floors run into have any vents or intake in the basement level.
The hot water tank is near the furnace and vents out the chimney, but is also pretty new. Given that I have 5 supply in the basement I'm thinking backdraft would not be an issue?
What it will do is make the basement more comfortable/ liveable. I open a supply vent far from the furnace and add a return vent in the base of the furnace to allow the basement to change the air down there. It will take a little air from the rest of the house but improve the basement air quality. Get the opinion of your furnace installer and determine if u want to spend time down there or not.
Fortunately we are in an open basement. When a furnace is in a room, even semi-airtight the return should be ducted to the basement living area. It may be louder in the family room, but much more liveable.
this return is on a furnace in the middle of the basement, not in an airtight mechanical room. If there is a gas leak or exhaust leak I'll be dead soon.
When there is a tight mechanical room the return vent MUST connect to the living space only. Good point, also use carbon monoxide detectors in the bed rooms.
What we plan on doing is putting a return vent in the mechanical room where the furnace is located and increase the door undercut of the utility room so that it is about two inches high. We have a high efficiency furnace so the combustion air is sealed off. Water heater in there is electric.
Good video. My basement looks like this one. I am putting the vent on the side away from the hot water heater to keep gas from getting spread through the house just in case.
The end result is a warmer basement because there is no other way to such the cold, damp air off the basement floor. Everyone that has done this loves it.
The supply air is not involved in this project other than I suggest closing off all basement supply vents except the one farthest from the furnace.
If you have a moldy basement, clean it up first, please!
If your furnace is leaking co (monoxide) or gas, please fix it first.
Moving damp stale air out of the basement will help prevent the formation of mold.
Also I say to leave the air supply from the furnace open so the return can draw that supply air equally. Otherwise the supply air vent in the basement has no place to push to.
Blair
Mr. Hardware
Thanks for the vid; I enjoyed it.
Is there any way to warm the air that is coming in through the fresh air supply? It makes it feel drafty when it gets below zero. Thanks for the video, I think the cold air returns are a great idea.
This sounds very helpful. At the moment, I have been keeping the door to the furnace room open, which helps. I was wondering if putting in a louvered door, along with a cold air return from the family room would both help?
+Sheila Durrant
A cold air return to the family room w/out a vent in the furnace room is the plan.
Don't you have supply vents in the basement in Saskatchewan? If you have supply, you should have a return. Be sure the furnace is not in a separate room. My grandma Gordon was from Regina.
We have a finished basement with 3 rooms and a utility room. Air vents are currently half a foot from the floor and air returns near the ceilings. Year around the basement tends to be 4-5 degrees below the first floor. The 2nd floor is either just as cold as the basement in the winter or quite a bit warmer than the first floor in the summer. I don't know if we have leaks, crushed ducts, or other potential problems. That all being said would something like what you show in this video help us in any way?
The problem with ceiling air returns is that cold is heavy and is on the floor. The whole point of the video and what I try to do is draw air off the floor which gets the dampness and the coldness back into the furnace system and get circulated throughout the house.
@@MrHardware1 Would you recommend we move the air returns to very close to the floor? Or would just cutting a hole in the return like you did be better?
@@jww84 if you cut a hole in the return close to the floor, you’ll need to pipe it from the furnace room to the living area. Lowering the high returns would be best but I bet it’s almost impossible.
Clever. will this improve airflow upstairs in main living area? Also, any concerns if it's in a semi closed room with Gas Water Heater on the complete opposite side of the furnace, 4' feet away
No, this only improves airflow in the basement. It should never be done in a semi-closed mechanical room. It needs to have free access to the entire basement air. I run a separate duct from the cold air plenum to the mechanical room wall so air from outside the mechanical room (the living area) is drawn into the furnace. A cold air return in a semi-closed mechanical room can draw carbon monoxide down the chimney poisoning the household.
Could I use this to heat my upstairs? I have a pellet stove in the basement and my furnace a little ways away. Could I cut a hole in the top of my return to get the warm air to circulate through the ductwork?
It sounds like a good idea, just make sure you have ‘makeup air’ to feed your stove, furnace, hot water tank so you don’t cause negative air and draw any carbon monoxide throughout the house.
@@MrHardware1 I threw a 12x14 vent in the top of the return in the basement. I put magnetic covers over 80% of the main level cold air return. This pushes through roughly the same amount of air. I only either run the stove or furnace at one time so there should be no issues with carbon monoxide. I have a few different sensors for it and none went off last night so it seems to be working
If the return is cut so close to the furnace blower, will this new inlet greatly reduce how much air is being sucked back through the rest of the house? Or, How much overall efficiency loss will occur by adding this new return point?
We have the ability to reduce the opening of the vent because we like to use a hot register which is adjustable. However considering that one vent is circulating the entire basement, or much of it, the loss to the rest of the house is, so far, not noticeable. The added cost is usually below $10 a month and re-seal-able if the cost is not deemed worthwhile. Not all situations and users are alike but I haven't had a complaint of it's efficiency yet.
Can you share if this has potential negative side effects, such as possibly creating a negative pressure issue in the basement? The issue I’m specifically concerned about if the potential to possibly draw exhaust from the water heater flue back into the basement vs. allowing it to rise out of the house.
It does when there is no supply in the room or area where the return is. I’ve seen more people put the return in an airtight furnace room and yes it did draw air down the chimney because it was no fresh air supply from the furnace in that room. The point is to change the air, air in through a duck, out through a duck.
@@MrHardware1 Makes sense! Exchange the air….thanks!
I would imagine that as long as this isn't the one and only air intake for your furnace, the increase in vacuum effect would be negligible. That is an excellent point! We definitely would not want to use the chimney as the air intake for the basement.
It will decrease airflow pressure cause your furnace filter to wear out early and it will reduce the efficiency of your furnace sounds like a great idea if your goal is to spend more money
Thanks for the video. Would you advise someone with unfinished basement to do this? I'm trying to find a way to heat up the basement w/o spending a lot of money to add a heat source. I just want to heat up the basement little bit so first floor floors won't feel ice cold.
Of course. The main problem is when the furnace is in a closed room. The return duct needs to access the basement living area you want to warm up. The other best thing to do is insulate the perimeter joists at the top of the basement wall.
I have a small 1950s home with finished basement. The gas furnace is in an unfinished utility room about 1/4 the size of the entire basement. In the basement there are 4 supply registers and no return. We have had a problem with negative pressure (air coming down the chimney) so we keep a window next to the furnace to help equalize the pressure...this works but obviously makes the basement cold in winter. Wondering if putting in a cold air return would be a good idea or make the negative pressure problem worse.
No, air down the chimney is dangerous. You need ‘make-up’ air to bring air properly into the house. I would get 2, one to bring air into the furnace/hot water heater/dryer area and another connected to the furnace cold air return. A cold air return to the furnace should be run to the basement living area, not the furnace room.
What about the summer time? Do we keep keep it open or close it during the summer time?
In the summertime it grabs cold air off the basement floor and spreads it out throughout the house. Unless I’m doing something stinky in the basement mine is always open.
@@MrHardware1 - My question stems from this - My humidity measuring device shows me that my relative humidity in basement goes up (even with dehumidifier running) when I keep it cold air return duct open - I am assuming what is happening is the negative pressure in the basement causes humid air from basement windows to come into the basement. Humidity came back to normal range (with dehumidifier running & return duct in basement closed)
Being a science nerd, I tried a different experiment - ran a Duct fan along with flexible duct tubing from my 2nd level bedroom. Ran the following a) fan pushed cold air from basement to Bedroom - this caused humidity level to go up in the basement (same reasoning as above) b) moved the fan to bedroom sending warm air from bedroom to basement - this didn't cause the humidity to go up but it stayed at the same level. This proves that cold air vent or cold air being blown from the basement do not work - until your outside humidity is low (near basement windows)
I have a question, don't know where to ask it? in the older home we bought there Was a room added on...The room is very cold in the winter, it is on a cement slab. We put up new insulation, very good and better drywall ...there is a vent for air and heat but no cold air return.. There is only one cold air return in the whole home..it is a very small home..would putting a cold air return in this room help it stay warm in winter?
+Judy Kent
Wow, slab rooms are trouble. Foam insulation around the outside of the foundation may help retain some heat from leaching out into the earth. Usually I install a small vented gas heater and make sure there is 12" or more of insulation in the ceiling and hope for the best.
Can i do this to an unfinished basment furnace?
Yup, close the vent (supply) nearest to the furnace so air from the ‘far’ vent flows air across the basement and changes the air in the basement.
Here is our dilemma. We have a finished basement with no returns. There are 5 vents down there though. The furnace is in the utility room down there and that room is nice and warm but the rest of the basement is cold. Could we cut in the return as showed in this video and do a vent in the bottom of the door to the utility room? Would that help?
Thanks!!!
+Jennifer Woellert
Cut a return from the bottom of the cold air return and run it to the rec-room wall on the floor. This way it will pull cold air from the floor of the rec-room.
Sometimes the return needs to be run other ways, that is done on a case by case basis. Email blair@mrhardware.com w/ more details.
+Blair Gilbert I sure will! Thanks for the response!
Thank you for this video and all of the responses ive seen. So I have a 1955 house with a finished basement. Temperature is always very nice down there. Im in northern Indiana. I have hot air vents but no cold air return in basement and air feels stagnant down there. I always leave the mechanical room door open. My plan is to add a louvered door to mechanical room and keep it closed and add a cold air return to the opposite side of basement to help with airflow. Does this sound like a good plan to you? I do get mild dampness smell after heavy spring rains so im hoping this will help alleviate that issue. I also have a large dehumidifier running 24/7
Any cold air return should help change the air to reduce dampness. You should be able to turn the dehumidifier off once the a/c is running.
@@MrHardware1 Thank you for your reply and thank you for your videos. I enjoy learning
I have a rough bsmt but the wood stove is in the floor above. Is there good reason to do as in the vid to cause a little air flow in the bsmt to help block mold growth?
Do you need a forced air’ supply and ‘return’ return air back to the furnace for my project to work properly. Wood stoves aren’t applicable
do you not normally put a filter on that?
No, the register is before the filter as the air flows. So the furnace filter will filter the air that comes in through the new vent.
@@MrHardware1 that makes sense. Thank you. I'm considering similar set up in my basement. Probably no real need to "double filter." Thanks again.
The duct is called a return boot and drop.
Great video! Thanks for the info. I have a question if you dont mind Sir. I recently had a 2 year old payne furnace cleaned and the tech told me the cold air drop was to small and would drastically shortn the life. It was code. but he said not adequate to heat the home properly. I was taken back because before he even saw the furnace he was in sell mode. he then told me to do as you did in your video and place a cod air return vent on the cold air drop. any info on this would be appreciated .
Furnaces require a certain amount of airflow to function efficiently. The calculations on duct size and length need to be done by a professional or with the help of a professional. Call the manufacturer and they may guide you and you can make the calculations. Blair
And it's also going to wear out your furnace filter a lot faster because you are sucking all that dirt off of the floor that sounds like a good idea
Can cold air plenum have 2 openings... one for combustion air coming from outside and the other is from cold air intake like the one you've shown? Much appreciated.
+Michael Timofeyev
Combustion air is very important, I prefer to supply it to the mechanical room to keep the clothes dryer, furnace and hot water tank supplied with air. Make-up air is connecting the cold air plenum to the outside duct to replace air exhausted by bath fans and kitchen fans.
I have almost this exact setup in my basement (with the return in the furnace) and basement is still freezing. Gonna close up the cold air return in the basement and close all the vents down there. It's a pure waste of money at this point
Could it be air infiltration from the the bond joists at the top of the basement wall? I agree, if you can't heat it don't use it. Blair
Does this work for the opposite situation? Our furnace room is hot and humid in the summer. Is there a way to make it cool and dry using the AC?
If it is a tight room, with a door, have a qualified heating person add a supply and then a smaller return. Done wrong can be dangerous.
@@MrHardware1 thank you. Why would it be dangerous if done wrong?
@@aisthpaoitht a cold air return in a semi-tight furnace room can draw either furnace or hot water tank exhaust down out of the chimney, causing carbon monoxide poisoning. There has to be an open area with an air supply feeding the ‘new return’ to prevent a partial vacuum sucking exhaust air from the chimney.
You need to put a filter on that hole you cut or you are going to suck debris into the circulating air in the house.
Into this video the hole is cut before the furnace filter, as the air flows. No need to double filter.
Would I have to worry about causing a back draft from my hot water heater?
Typically only if the furnace and hot water tank are in a semi air tight room. If there is a supply register in the basement it will provide air for the return to draw from.
Why the hell didn't you install an air filter box with an air filter?
Because the vent is in the cold air return before the furnace filter.
you dont need a filter for this intake return???
No, the filter is next in the flow of air. In the vent, through the filter and up into the furnace.
Cool! (no pun intended)
Don’t listen to him he doesn’t know what he’s talking about I’ve been doing HVAC since 1998. The problems with this is number one that box above where he cut that return in was a humidifier so now that is going to be wasting electricity also water cause it will not work properly also you don’t just go cut a return in without using a duct calculator to see if it needs it and I could go on feel free to ask questions.
Angelo, if there are 2 air supplies in the ceiling of the basement do you not think one return would allow them to change the air in the basement? Please enlighten me as how the humidifier is not working now? The bypass is still forcing air through the media in the media, humidifying, and with your experience you know that is a drum humidifier with a water reservoir, how is that wasting water? I'm free, email blair@mrhardware.com, please. Blair
Mr. Hardware I’m going to get back to on this sorry for coming across so harsh it’s just I take HVAC very serious it’s my life I’ll explain some of the issues that could be a problem not 100% but I rather take the time to share what I’ve seen happen over the years with situations similar to this so that a guy that vlogs like you can say hey you can do this but check for these things it’s just I’ve seen some UA-cam videos on HVAC stuff on here that make me crazy.
Mr. Hardware it’s just really late over here in Boston for me to get into the 10 questions I have to ask you before I approve of this video 100%.
Cool, I built custom homes in the 70's. Back then we built insulated cold rooms w/fresh air intakes to house the furnace and water heater. Before closed combustion furnaces. We had to take extra care to prevent water lines from freezing, Okemos MI. Of course then we could treat the rest of the basement w/supply and returns. The return on the furnace room wall and the supplies on the opposite ceiling. Worked great.
Now I have a hardware store in a 1950's neighborhood, I'm 3rd generation, and the goal is to move cold damp air off the basement floor. I'm aware that if the return is installed in a semi tight mechanical room it can draw co down the chimney. However most of these homes have several hot supplies in the ceiling but now return, so to get the kids to play in the basement the return solves the problem. It also displaces radon gas which left to accumulate can cause health problems that circulating the air helps prevent. Thanks for taking the time to correspond, Blair
@@MrHardware1 wont doing this just pull the radon out of the basement and circulate it through the entire house creating a new problem?
inspector put a square hole in my furnace but never covered it up now basement is warmer than our upstairs is this safe
It is an easy repair. Get a piece of galvanized sheetmetal about 2" larger than the hole and carefully, (not to let a screw go into anything in the furnace) and screw the cover over the hole. About 3 screws a side.
Dangerous! Who knows what gases or fumes you might be sucking back into the system. Am I wrong?
The same ones you breathe when you are doing the laundry in the basement, no? The important thing if for the supply to be delivering air to the basement so the return can take it in. The danger is in a tight room w/out a supply sucking air down the chimney.
@@MrHardware1, thanks for answering so soon. Sorry I missed you. But I'm confused. Do you mean, "... a tight room WITH a supply THAT'S SUCKING air down..."" in the sense of, "... a tight room WITHOUT A RETURN that HAS A supply THAT'S sucking..."
@@lvvry1855 A tight room w/out a supply register will cause the furnace to draw air down the chimney (negative air). Even if a room is tight if there is a supply (heat) register it will provide air for the return to draw from. Hence a balanced air flow.
In the 70's when I built custom homes we put the furnace and hot water tank in an insulated room in the basement with vents to the outside. That way those appliances used outside air for combustion not 'treated' inside air. Of course no return in that furnace room, but we did install a return from the basement 'rec room' to the cold plenum.
My house has this installed by the previous owner in the damp musty basement... Now my whole house smells like a damp musty basement. It's a terrible idea.
Yeah you're going to want to add a good sized dehumidifier there, if possible drain directly to a drain instead of having to empty the pail frequently.
Not code to that here in saskatchewan.
+Shanon McNab
See, if you put a rec-room in the basement it would be out of code with out a cold air return.
+Blair Gilbert if I put a rec room or bedroom in my basement which I have I would run the cold air duct down the wall to the bottom of the wall. That way it would be done properly and not drawing through or under doors to the furnace from other parts of the basement.
+Shanon McNab code isn't just about grabbing money its about doing things the right way vs the wrong way.
Mostly I sleep in the basement its good but its always hot.... weird
It should be a little fresher with air movement coming off the basement floor.
what if your basement smells like swamp ass? then the whole house will smell like a basement. no thank you.
Stupid - fix your swamp ass (sewer gas?) smell.
It wouldn't have gotten that way if it were changing out the air like this method will help the furnace to do. Don't nobody want a swamp ass house LOL