ReplyThxOriginally Posted by mchild
I have a bad feeling about this lol Easy to look, not so easy to fix I presume!
Professional Member
It would be quite simple to cut a section of the subfloor from the unfinished side of the knee wall and to see what the insulation is like in the floor area. After you are done looking just use some dry wall screws to put it back in place.
Regular Guest
Thx
Regular Guest
I did verify the floor of the bonus room does have insulation in it
I also think I *MAY* have found the right installer today as they came by the house and did a good job taking measurements and going over the existing ventilation system as they talked about designing a new ductwork system. I'll expect a quote in the next couple days. Now, the question will be pricing and whether or not their quote will break the piggy bank. We may just have to reduce the plan a bit if that's the case as I don't trust the other quotes enough to go with their bids. The Carrier Infinity zoned bid was very attractive but has lacked details regarding the ductwork. I could call him back and ask for a detailed plan for that but my gut feel is he will more than likely use very rudimentary methods ( could work I guess but that's a pricey crap shoot )The contractor today was totally different though it may come down to we cant afford to zone it if we go with them. Keep fingers crossed
Professional Member
They might have a same as cash deal if you don't want it to hit the budget to hard....of course you know what you can spend and can't....just a thought.
Banned
My concern is not if there is insulation,but rather if yu have foor trusses,that allow hot attic air to circulate above the insulation,in direct contact with the bonus room floor,if this is case the insulation is worthless to the bonus room.I did verify the floor of the bonus room does have insulation in it
I also think I *MAY* have found the right installer today as they came by the house and did a good job taking measurements and going over the existing ventilation system as they talked about designing a new ductwork system. I'll expect a quote in the next couple days. Now, the question will be pricing and whether or not their quote will break the piggy bank. We may just have to reduce the plan a bit if that's the case as I don't trust the other quotes enough to go with their bids. The Carrier Infinity zoned bid was very attractive but has lacked details regarding the ductwork. I could call him back and ask for a detailed plan for that but my gut feel is he will more than likely use very rudimentary methods ( could work I guess but that's a pricey crap shoot )The contractor today was totally different though it may come down to we cant afford to zone it if we go with them. Keep fingers crossed
If you have floor joists rather than floor trusses ,it's not likely an issue.
Worth looking into,to be sure ,for your sake.
Last edited by dash; 03-10-2008 at 11:12 PM.
Professional Member
I did verify the floor of the bonus room does have insulation in it
This may seem like semantics, but the ceiling of the garage having insulation does not necessarily mean that the floor of the bonus room is insulated. Let's assume the builder used 2x12 joist. The joists is what the dry wall in the garage is attached to and the sub floor of the bonus room is attached on the top side. The total space of a 2x12 is about 11.5 inches. If the insulation is only nine inches deep (more likely closer to six inches), there is still at least 2.5 inches of air space.
There is a good chance that air space is between the top of the insulation and the bottom of the sub floor. Hot and cold attic air will move through that space from the knee wall area, thus negating any benefit of the insulation for the bonus room. This means the hot attic air is not able to get into the garage but it is getting into your bonus room.
Any comfort system is going to have difficultly under those circumstances.
Professional Member
You beat me to it by a couple of minutes.
Regular Guest
Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
But, the builder did use joists and not trusses, of that I do remember. And I do understand what you guys are saying about the potential for having a pocket of air above the insulation. The only access to that would be going through the subfloor in the dormer attic space. I'll have to look and see if there is a clear panel which could be removed or if it would have to be cut out.
Course, in a worst case scenario that I did find an air gap, I'm not sure how one would fix it within reason. And to think I was happy having found *some* insulation lol
I'll be anxious to see what the quote comes in at. I have a feeling it will certainly be higher than the already high value we were expecting. These things tend to grow and not shrink it seems. While I want a nice system, after discussing the ductwork today I realized just how bad my builder grade duct is ( they used ductboard for the plenum as an example and it wasn't done very well )
So, if we have to punt the zoning idea ( he has told me what that option costs and it wasn't cheap to add the zone ), assuming we go with this contractor, something tells me the new duct and properly sized/matched system will be a HUGE improvment even though maintaining the bonus room at anear identical temp probably won't happen.
One interesting thing I noticed was the 10 inch duct going to the bonus room.. goes to a box which has 3 lines coming off of it. We couldn't get back in there today ( both of us too old and non limber lol ) but the box has 3 lines coming off of it to the bonus room registers. If memory serves me I thought they were 6 inch lines ( could be 7 though ). If 6 inches that would only be about 225 cfm give or take, which would seem to be a fairly low amount of air for this room .The bonus room return is also 10 inches. Course, if they are 7 inch lines it may work out assuming the heat load calcs match. But, the room is basically a 19 x 19 room, 8 ft ceiling, has 1 large dormer on the east side ( room faces south ), and has 8 windows ( 4 double windows ), each approx 27 x 54 inches. The room definitely has some heat load!
Anyway, time for bed
Banned
If the joists are boxed in around the perimeter,air would be blocked enough not to cause an issue.
Regular Guest
Thanks Dash... I'd have to sort through some old brain cells to recall exactly how they framed the room. Nowadays I would have taken photos of everything for such future reference but when building the house at age 30 I wasn't really thinking about future needs too much! Thx again... and hopefully this estimate will be a good one though I think at the very least I have a good understanding of what needs to be done and it somewhat matches a previous quote
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