Advice on solving a cold floor problem

[Tom7227]

I have a family room that is 23 X 33. It has two levels and the lower level is the lowest point in the house. The lower level is a converted garage and on a slab. That part of the room is cold, 5 degrees colder than the upper part. The time has come for new flooring and I am considering ceramic tile. Last year I put a booster fan in the cold air return thinking that would solve the problem but it didn’t work. I considered insulating the slab but the temps on the slab are consistent so there isn’t a lot of heat loss along the perimeter of the room

Could anyone give me an idea on what a WIRSBO system would cost for the 24 x 23 lower portion of the room? What would it entail in terms of a device to heat the water? I suspect that I would have to put down the tubing and then cover it with ½ or 5/8 plywood or chipboard. The cement board and then the tile.

Would this even work to heat up the lower area or would all the warmth simply migrate up? The ceiling in this part of the room is 9 feet, the smaller part of the room is a vaulted ceiling.

If anyone has any other ideas on how to solve the problem please feel free to offer suggestions.

Thanks for your time.

Tom

[Esox_Magnum]

Cold air will pool at the lowest point,sounds like more of an air mixture issue. Does this lower portion have a heat run into it as well as cold air return?

[Tom7227]

Yes, there are two hot air ducts in the lower part of the room.

[Warner's Point]

I would think about installing an electric radiant heat system under the flooring. The electrician can anchor the wires to the slab and then you can pour a self leveler that would cover the wires. Over this would go your tile. I have seen the wirsbo system installed and I think it would be much more expensive than this method.

[slammer]

Warner has it right. Less $$ also.

[Esox_Magnum]

Close off the runs in the upper portion so more of the heat is focused to the lower portion.... Kinda like opening basement vents and closing the ones on the 1st and 2nd floor to help regulate the heat...

[delcecchi]

Is it a cold floor problem, as in the floor is cold? Or is it a cold room problem in that the room temp isn't what it should be?

Those sound like two different problems to me. I guess in floor heating pumping more heat into the room might help, but if warm air is flowing to the rest of the house and the cold air pools in the room won't you just get less heat from the furnace and still have a cold room? But your feet will be warm anyway.

[Tom7227]

The cold is level with the drop into that part of the room, the lower two feet in the room. Clearly it is cold air dropping from the rest of the house into that area. The more I study it the less I think a heat source is the solution. I think maybe what I need to do is put a ceiling fan in that part of the room and mix things up. The electric coils in the floor would cost a lot of dough if I use the info in the Menard's ad today.

[Esox_Magnum]

Fan willhelp, your right your not getting heat below the step down, need to get the cold air sucked out to draw warm air down there... Not a simple or easy task...

[kerryd15]

Close off the runs in the upper portion so more of the heat is focused to the lower portion.... Kinda like opening basement vents and closing the ones on the 1st and 2nd floor to help regulate the heat...

The ceiling fan will help keep the temp the same from top to bottem. I think esox is right, if you can push more warm air the lower portion of the room by opening those vents more or closing vents down a little in higher protions of the house. adding a fan will mix the air but if the slab is cold it will also suck more heat out of the room so it will take more warm air to heat it either way.