Placing bed in front of baseboard-style vent
#1
03-04-17, 03:43 PM
Placing bed in front of baseboard-style vent
(Forgive me if this sounds very new and like an amateur. First time homeowner who is terrified of accidentally cause some sort of heat damage or house fire)
There is a baseboard-style hearing vent on the wall that I'd like to place my bed against (it is matress & box spring on top of a metal frame, roughly 6-8 inches off of the carpeted floor). There is a separate air intake vent on an opposite wall, so this particular vent is just what distributes the heat and central air. I'm fairly certain that the previous owners removed a flat floor heating vent and just placed an unnecessarily large baseboard vent cover over the hole.
Would it be safe to place a bed up against this wall (thus covering the vent) - or would it be a dangerous heat and/or fire hazard?
There is a baseboard-style hearing vent on the wall that I'd like to place my bed against (it is matress & box spring on top of a metal frame, roughly 6-8 inches off of the carpeted floor). There is a separate air intake vent on an opposite wall, so this particular vent is just what distributes the heat and central air. I'm fairly certain that the previous owners removed a flat floor heating vent and just placed an unnecessarily large baseboard vent cover over the hole.
Would it be safe to place a bed up against this wall (thus covering the vent) - or would it be a dangerous heat and/or fire hazard?
#2
03-04-17, 03:59 PM
Welcome to the forums! If it is a forced air vent, or a false vent, I see no problem in putting the bed there, unless it is the only outlet for air. You say the other one is a return?? Normally returns are not located within rooms, but in hallways. Can you confirm that it is a return and not actually another supply.
Could you post pictures of both vent locations? Not closeups, as we know what they look like
http://www.doityourself.com/forum/el...your-post.html
Could you post pictures of both vent locations? Not closeups, as we know what they look like
http://www.doityourself.com/forum/el...your-post.html
#3
03-04-17, 04:05 PM
Group Moderator
so this particular vent is just what distributes the heat and central air.
I'm fairly certain that the previous owners removed a flat floor heating vent and just placed an unnecessarily large baseboard vent cover over the hole.
Registers are only installed in the floor because it is too hard to get into the wall after the house is built. It's not likely a floor register was moved to the wall.
#4
03-04-17, 04:27 PM
Hopefully these pictures are enough.
First one is the return vent, roughly 8-9 inches from the ceiling. Second picture is the floor vent (partially obstructed by a pet crate)
First one is the return vent, roughly 8-9 inches from the ceiling. Second picture is the floor vent (partially obstructed by a pet crate)
#5
03-04-17, 04:35 PM
Group Moderator
Placing furniture in front of a forced-air heat register is certainly not a fire hazard. But if, for example, you put a bed or dresser completely over it, it will make the room less comfortable since it will restrict the air movement. It might also cause the window and exterior wall to get colder than normal, which can cause condensation in winter months.
#6
03-04-17, 05:16 PM
Group Moderator
In the picture..... that does not look like a forced air register. It looks more like hydronic baseboard heat. Do you have a boiler in the house ?
#7
03-04-17, 06:57 PM
@PJmax - Nope, no boiler. I found the original 'brochure' from when the house was on the market and for heat/cool it says (exact words): "Gas, Forced Air, Water Heater - Gas, Central Air".
#8
03-04-17, 07:04 PM
Group Moderator
I'm not quite sure why that cover is so big. It certainly doesn't look like anything I've seen used for forced air. It may have been purposely used to spread the air flow out if part of it was blocked. Does any air come out of it ?
Also... rare to see a return high in a room like that.
Also... rare to see a return high in a room like that.
#9
03-04-17, 09:35 PM
That's the part that has me confused. The actual opening to the ductwork is maybe 15 inches long while the cover is probably a good three feet.
Air does come out of it. The vents are like that all over the house, but this room specifically seems to run warmer than the rest during the winter and cooler in the summer.
Air does come out of it. The vents are like that all over the house, but this room specifically seems to run warmer than the rest during the winter and cooler in the summer.
#10
03-05-17, 03:10 AM
Rather than relying on a brochure for your information, can you go the the heating source and see what type system you have. I definitely think that is either hydronic or possibly electric baseboard heating. When the heat is running, can you feel air coming from the register on the wall up high?? Definitely an odd place and too small for a return register. Back to basics, if that is a hydronic or electric heat unit, no, you can't put anything against it without adverse effects on the furniture and a reduction in heat/cooling in the house.
#11
03-05-17, 11:25 AM
@chandler - It is definitely neither of those. Quite literally, it is like there was the standard floor vent and for whatever reason, a previous owner took out the metal floor vent cover and placed the baseboard style cover over it instead.
When the heat (or AC) is running, you can hold something light like a piece of paper or a feather up to the vent on the wall and it sucks it to it, like it's taking air in rather than putting air out.
When the heat (or AC) is running, you can hold something light like a piece of paper or a feather up to the vent on the wall and it sucks it to it, like it's taking air in rather than putting air out.
#13
03-05-17, 02:18 PM
Group Moderator
It's been established that this is forced air heat... so I don't understand why no one believes the guy... that style of baseboard heat register was popular around here in the early 60's. Its large size is meant to distribute the air over a wider area, the double window above it.
#14
03-05-17, 03:53 PM
Member
I put a sleigh bed in my room that had a register near and behind the bed. The natural shape of a sleigh bed provided enough stand off for the floor register to function and the bedding to not be so close as to cause a fire hazard.
#15
03-05-17, 03:54 PM
And they are all in the ceiling here. Sometimes we down here have to adjust to Yankees digging a hole in the ground and building a house on top of it. Only mobile homes have floor vents here. LOL.Seriously sorry for the questioning.
#16
03-05-17, 03:57 PM
Brant, I was questioning it because of its proximity to the wall. Floor registers are placed further away from the wall and if it was just removed and this thing attached to the wall, I don't see how the air could jump that far. If it is a midwest thing, so be it.
#17
03-05-17, 04:36 PM
Originally Posted by XSleeper
It's been established that this is forced air heat... so I don't understand why no one believes the guy... that style of baseboard heat register was popular around here in the early 60's.
In 20+ years of selling real estate (Philadelphia area)
I've never seen a forced air baseboard. And the fins look vertical, like water or electric.
On the other hand, it's common to find electric baseboard heat when attached garages or enclosed porches are converted to living space.
That really looks like an electric baseboard heater.
If there's no boiler, then I'd bet it's electric.
Is there a dial on the other end?
Is there a thermostat in that room?
Did you get a home inspection report? That might help clear up some questions.
Oh, check your breaker box, is there a double breaker that says "baseboard" or "heater"?
#18
03-05-17, 06:59 PM
Group Moderator
Yes, floor registers are in the floor and farther from the wall. Baseboard diffusers are on the wall in between the baseboard. Here is an approximation of what the op has.
48 Baseboard Diffuser | Heat Register Vent
Glad everyone is being cautious but this isn't a problem.
48 Baseboard Diffuser | Heat Register Vent
Glad everyone is being cautious but this isn't a problem.
#19
03-05-17, 09:45 PM
@Hal_S - It is absolutely not an electric baseboard heater (No dial, no thermostat in the room and no boiler) - but is a hollow metal 'shell' over the smaller forced air vent.
XSleeper is right on the money - This house was built in the 1950s/1960s and seems to not have had many updates done over the years (with the exception of removing old panelling and adding a central air unit)
XSleeper is right on the money - This house was built in the 1950s/1960s and seems to not have had many updates done over the years (with the exception of removing old panelling and adding a central air unit)
#20
03-06-17, 06:59 AM
Ok, it's just a hot air vent-re-director. You're fine putting furniture near it.
Just expect that 'under the bed by the heat vent" will be your pet's favorite spot.
Just expect that 'under the bed by the heat vent" will be your pet's favorite spot.
