freezing in my apt?
I live on the top floor of a 4 story brownstone> the thermostat is on the bottom floor above the boiler and basement. The top floor where i am is freezing. It is around 8 to 10 degrees cooler on the top than the bottom floor. I have gas steam heat with radiators. Do i…
I live on the top floor of a 4 story brownstone> the thermostat is on the bottom floor above the boiler and basement. The top floor where i am is freezing. It is around 8 to 10 degrees cooler on the top than the bottom floor. I have gas steam heat with radiators. Do i need to move the thermostat? my wife says to just put the thermostat higher, but i have it up to 76 and it is still only 68 on my floor. It will get to the set tempeture on the bottom floor and shut off i guess leaving us cold on the top floor.
Like I said earlier, moving the thermostat to a higher floor will help. The trouble is that your boiler isn’t running long enough to push steam to the top floor because your thermostat reaches it’s setting and turns the boiler off. If it’s too hot on the first floor you could shut one radiator off. However, I wouldn’t call 68 freezing at all, in fact I think you’re in the zone of what should feel okay. You may have the wrong size vents too. The larger the hole in the vent the faster steam will reach that radiator. Perhaps you should get a plumber in and check your system out.
The system is steam. Do you guys think moving the thermostat to the hallway will help?
12:24’s spot on.
Having the same problem. Bleeding my radiators (assuming hot water versus steam) helps a ton. Pulls the air out of the system which blocks hot water from travelling to higher floors. Hardware store will have a key for the valve. Turn it until you get water coming out.
Best to do while heat’s off 😉
Bleed the radiators and make sure the top floor ones are working. Hang lined heavy drapes on your windows if they aren’t new and well-insulated. Open the drapes on sunny days to let the sun heat the rooms, and always always close them tight right away when the sun goes down. Drapes keep out an extraordinary amount of cold. We had a drafty window over our bed in our former place, and after I hung heavy drapes on the window the room was seriously 10 degrees warmer.
Also try to shore up any places where the heat might be getting out or cold getting in. Weatherstripping doors and windows, etc. Try calling in an for insulation consultant, they can now blow the stuff into your walls from the outside
7:59 — what country has a legal limit of 55 degrees in a residential space? Or are you talking celsius here?
To the OP: I was renting the top floor of a brownstone and had the same problem (also, my place wasn’t insulated — I had HOLES where the floors met the walls which I couldn’t touch because the landlady was anal about retaining her vintage look). It was hot on the bottom floor (where the landlady lived) while freezing on my floor.
The discomfort of walking around my house with cold hands or waking up with a frozen face just ruined the rest of my day. It drove me insane and I moved out.
You are freezing at 68 degrees. I set my thermostats at a toasty 68 degrees. hardly freezing and 13 degrees above legal limit.
I had the same problem. I moved the thermostat to the top floor so that the boiler would have to run longer to reach that floor. In addition I got a programable thermostat so I can set it to be warmer at specific times during the day. I find with the old steam system it’s hard to get a even temperature on all floors of the house. I set the programable thermostat to go up two degrees early in the morning and at about 5 pm at night. I wish I knew a better way to do this. Steam heat seems to cool down much faster than hot water heat systems. Perhaps Mr B can get Master Plumber on video to talk about this?
Start by insulating the cellar steam pipes. That will help direct the heat into the system and prevent it from leeching out into the cellar and preheating your garden floor.
Fiberglass insulation, not less than 1 inch thick, works best.
Next is to balance the system by venting it properly.
…finish up with a glass of bourbon.