What to do with baseboard heaters?

[Nathan Hoffman]

I have a few places in our new house where I want to install some built-in cabinets, etc, but there is some baseboard heat there now. I need to keep the heat there in one form or another, and the hot water loop must remain. It can be altered, but it has to come out of the floor and go back in where it does now. The heater is about 9" high and 3" wide along the wall. Has anyone ever dealt with this issue before? Thanks.

[Rob Russell]

Hey Nathan,

We have a similar situation with the new master bedroom upstairs, where the new bedroom's heat has to inserted into an existing loop. You can cut the existing pipes, sweat on 90* fittings and move the radiator out as far as you need. Sweat on another pair of 90* fittings to transition back to the radiator and you''e good to go. One thing to keep in mind is that the 90* fittings add a little bit of height, so you can rough cut the supply/return pipes and then clean up the cut with a pipe cutter. You'll probably have a good 1/2" or 3/4" of pipe to cut off, so it makes it failrly easy to get a clean joint. If you don't have them, this is a good time to install an air bleed valve.

Rob

[Jamie Buxton]

One way to deal with it is to budget the bottom 12" of the built-ins for heaters. You don't change the heaters at all. Generally people put grills to visually close off that space, but still allow the hot air to circulate. Another version is to move the heaters out so they mount to the front of the built-ins. You still lose the bottom 10-12" of the built-in to the heaters, but the looks are more similar to other walls in your home where the heaters are visible.

[Rob Russell]

One way to deal with it is to budget the bottom 12" of the built-ins for heaters. You don't change the heaters at all. Generally people put grills to visually close off that space, but still allow the hot air to circulate.

Jamie,

One thing to be careful of is that radiators depend on convection to work and boxing one in under a cabinet will pretty effectively dampen the amount of heat you get out of it. You'll also really heat up and dry out the wood right over the radiator.

Rob

[Nathan Hoffman]

Thanks for the replies!
Rob- Good to hear from you! Is the Felder up and running yet? What you describe sounds simple enough, and would certainly leave the heating system very close to "as designed" to minimize any heating loss. I do have at least one spot where I cannot bring the heater in front of the built-in because of a nearby doorway, and in that case I may need to do something like the other suggestion.
Jamie - This sounds ideal from a visual perspective, as well as ease of installation, as I'm not worried about losing that bottom space. I am a little concerned, though, with blocking that heater in. As Rob pointed out, wouldn't the wood above the heater get very warm and dry? If there were a way for air to get down behind the unit as well as in from the front, would that make it work better?
As always, I appreciate the feedback I get here at the Creek!

[Rob Russell]

First - I wonder why this thread ended up in the "Articles" section. Shouldn't this be OT?

Nathan - no, the Felder isn't up and running yet. I've had a job change at work (more responsibility) have been working mega-hours and my weekends have been spent elsewhere on another project. The phase convertor is in process, but that's where it sits right now. I'm tempted to buy one just to get up and running, but that would take away all the fun of building one.

[Nathan Hoffman]

I'm not sure if it was something I did, but it shouldn't be in the articles section - would be nice to move it.
I seem to remember a "Weekend Accomplishments" post where you said something about working on a cottage. Is that what's taking your time? This time of year, its hard to want to be in the shop with the beautiful weather, but I'd be ready to fire up the Felder if I were you. Hope it goes well.

[Rob Russell]

Oh - believe it "I'm" ready, it's the phase converter that isn't. :D

You're right about the cottage taking time. It's my Dad's and has little done to it for the past decade or 2. My wife likes to use it, so it takes on a different level of importance to her (which means me) during the spring/summer/fall months.

As long as she stays off my case about the house project, I'll work on what she wants. Besides, her parents' pile of stuff is still in the workshop and in the way of where the jointer/planer will be.