Question on old house register locations

Doug_11

Hi all,

I'm renovating a colonial that was built in 1926. The house originally had steam heat but after tearing into the house I ended up yanking the whole system due to widespread structural issues. I am going to install forced air, however I want to use registers that are correct in period for the home. What I need to know is are floor registers (the old cast iron type, around 10" by 12") correct or are wall registers (mounted adjacent to the floor) correct. Additionally how were the returns taken care of (in the floor, walls, up high, down low, etc..)

One more thing, the house has been totally gutted, all loadbearing structure (main basement beams, joists, loadbearing walls, everything on both floors) will be replaced

Thanks in advance for your time,

Doug

Mike T., Swampeast MO

If you want a ducted warm air system correct to the period of that home it would be gravity (the "octopus" in the basement) and a single return on the main floor. A forced system in that timeframe would have been fairly rare but there would still be a single return in all likelihood.

Since you probably don't want a truly "authentic" system:

1) Both floor and wall registers were common--ideally they are located on outside walls. The wall registers of that period generally start at the floor, extend from the wall a bit and the front has a decided angle up and towards the wall. I'm not certain if authentic reproductions are made, but they're quite common in used building material and "antique" stores. Depending on the demand in your area they will vary in price from dirt-cheap to extremely expensive.

2) You will probably find that running proper ductwork will do WAY more structural damage to a home of that age than even the most inconsiderate steam/hot water system.

3) If you want heat ONLY you can still probably get away with smaller in both size and number returns. The fact that cool air occupies less space than warm helps in this regard. Doors to bedrooms/etc. are often cut quite short to give some natural air circulation when there is no dedicated return for such rooms.

4) If a COMBINED heat/air conditioning system get ready for problems. If home is on more than one level it is often impossible to include a PROPER single combined system unobtrusively. Since the "cold air smaller" thing is now working AGAINST you, returns are larger and each individual space really should have its own dedicated return for best comfort. A/C really "wants" to be both supplied and returned from the ceiling/high on walls while heat really "wants" to be both supplied and return near the floor. Better combined forced air systems incorporate Hi-Lo returns--each space has a return both high and low on the wall with one or the other being shut depending on whether heat or A/C is being delivered.

Doug_11

GREAT information, thanks!

Steamhead

Doug, if I were you

I'd stick with hydronics or steam. These take up much less room (aside from the radiators) and cut into the house structure much less than scorched-air will. Also you'll be far more comfortable. If you must have air-conditioning, a mini-duct system is the most compact.

An authentic gravity scorched-air system would have had registers placed on the inside walls of the rooms. This was done to keep ducts short, but it detracted from comfort. I see many old houses that originally had these gravity duct systems, but they were replaced with hot-water or steam.

You have many options when building a period heating system. Don't sacrifice your family's comfort to scorched-air.

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