Humidification

tonypete

My fiance is an interior designer. One of her clients decided they wanted hardwood floors installed. They live in a high-rise condominium. The two bedroom unit is about 1500 sq. ft in size. After levelling an unruly concrete floor slab and installing quarter inch thick cork, an engineered plank hardwood floor was installed via glue-down in the living/dining room, solarium and family room.

A record was kept over the past couple of weeks and the humidity usually remained around the 26 to 28 percent level during the days when the outside air temp was below the freezing point. Now that the outside air temps have climbed above freezing, the furnace had to run less often and humidity levels rose to 44 percent. The manufacturer is calling for levels of 35% constantly but due to the wide exterior temp fluctuations, I think this is unrealistic.

The unit is heated/cooled via two gas-fired scorched air wall units. With-in two weeks, the floor began to curl up at the edges and in some instances, started to delaminate. The supplier/installer was called in, followed by the manufacturer. Everyone blamed the problem on low humidity and apparently, they are correct.

The supplier/installer purchased a portable humidifier from Sears and began monitoring the relative humidity levels via the built-in hygrometer, as well as a small stand alone unit some twenty feet away. These units indicated 26% humidity initially. For the past two weeks, the humidifier has been running and the floor has almost completely uncurled. Some planks will have to be replaced in order to restore the floor back to what it was upon initial installation.

These people are SnowBirds. They leave southern Ontario every fall for their place in FLA and do not return until April. As such, this creates problems for maintaining portable humidifiers (filling, cleaning etc). Some of you guys must have run into this problem over the course of your working experience.

Are there high quality, low maintenance humidification units out there that can be installed on condo/apt style wall furnaces? At best, we think we could get a quarter inch water line to run between the on-suite bath in the spare bedroom to the wall furnace situated in that room. It will have to go under the broadloom.

May I please have your thoughts and recommendations?

Tom

Joel_3

nortec

Nortec makes the best humidifiers I've ever used. they are steam units and boil the water to kill any bacteria. they will require maintenance though, nothing is maintenance free.

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Robert O'Connor_7

Humidity %

Joel is right on the mark. But why would spec. a material that needs soooooooo much attention. Also given the SNOW BIRD factor. Sounds like a poor material choice. So what you mean here with this install is that somebodys gotta stand vigil over the install for what? FOREVER!!! I can't see this product going over big. Robert O'Connor

tonypete

Let me clarify

a couple of things.

The client insisted on changing the wall to wall broadloom out in favour of having hardwood floors. Their decision.. not the designers. They have been in this condo for ten years and wanted to redecorate. There is an existing marble floor in the foyer as well as existing ceramic tile in the kitchen. Therefore, certain floor levels were already cast in stone. Solid plank floors must be nailed down. That meant that the quarter inch cork would still be required plus a five eights underlay screwed down on top of the cork so that the three quarter inch solid hardwood could be installed.

The top of the cork was almost level with the top of the existing marble after the floor levelling was completed. Going to a solid wood floor would mean a "step" transition of about one and one quarter inches. Toooooooo much.

I appreciate the mention of Nortec and will investigate that further. But... is that it???? Am I to understand that there are no other alternatives?

Tom

David_5

Autoflo

Since the humidity is so important you need a humidifier that will run whenever it needs to. This usually means a steam powered humidifier. These use an electric heater to make the water boil. They are expensive to run, but will put out dependable humidity. You will also need a drain run to it. I have installed Autoflo with good results.
I don't think the humidity requirements are realistic. If the humidifier breaks, some boards in the floor will have to be replaced.

David

tonypete

David,
When you say "I don't think the humidity requirements are realistic", exactly what do you mean?

Tom

Wayco Wayne_2

Nortec

is the best choice. Maintenance is low. You replace a cylinder once a year tops. WW

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RELY

humidifier

What you need is a humidifier that is independent of the furnace.Winter air holds 1/12 the water the summer does and with these people away all winter I know the temp will be set low on thermostat.Check April air and General for a humidifier that is remote and independent of the furnace.By the way do not set humidistat above 38%, above this grows bacteria and mold like a champ!

tonypete

I checked out the Nortec unit. According to the website, I need a constant supply of potable water, a drain and power.

The condo has five rooms that meet the above needs. Two ensuite baths, a powder room, a laundry room and a kitchen. IMO, only the kitchen and laundry room are a possibility to receive this unit.

From an "air distribution" point-of-view, the kitchen is more central and has two doorways leading to it, allowing for better air flow. From an esthetic point-of-view, the laundry room is the better choice but it's location is at the end of a short hall leading to the powder room and guest bedroom.

Either way, it would seem to me that the unit will have to be elevated at least two feet in order for water to drain. Is it possible to bolt the unit to a wall? What do you guys use for the drainage line (size, type)?


In a perfect world, this unit would have a dedicated electrical circuit, properly fused. If it goes in the kitchen, 240 volt is not possible. The best source would be the circuit that supplies the garberator which, if the condo followed the code, should be dedicated. If it goes in the laundry room, then perhaps 240 is in the cards via the dryer circuit but some sort of mini-breaker would be needed to PROPERLY protect the Nortec from the 30 amps available. Issues, issues, issues.

Comments about best placement, drainage and power would be appreciated. Also, I figure this unit must have a remote humidistat installed somewhere to control it. If this thing is hardwired, then I really do have a problem.

Tom

brent_3

nortec makes a unit (NH series) with a blower pack accessory that bolts onto the top. The entire unit with the blower attaches to the wall. The unit is not something you would want exposed in the living space. You could possibly install the blower pack in a closet or laundry room and have it blow thru a grille into the living space. These humidifiers take a lot of electricity. I hope you are not thinking this will be a cheap solution because it will not be. They are nice but not cheap. If the humidifier runs a fair amount the furnaces will not because you will be heating the space with the steam.

Brent