Friday, September 11, 2009

Baseboard heat #1

To install baseboard heat, of course, we first remove the baseboard. Wow! Now we know why we have baseboards!

On the other hand, it made it way easier to get that wire down into the downstairs area. (We've been calling it the basement although it's above ground. Sort of a well-lit basement. It feels like a basement. It's not a garage, because it has no garage door. Must be an above-ground basement.)

The finished product looks good and warm.

I answered my question with this: "How do you attach things to a brick wall?" Answer: nail it or screw it. I used drywall screws; they just zoop right in and hold fast. (Well, I twisted the head off one.) It was pretty impressive, and that heater is well-attached.

4 comments:

  1. As a dust and mold allergy patient, I _celebrate_ this moment!

    Mary Anne in Kentucky

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  2. There's actually a good reason for the gap between the floor and the base of the wall -- in the days when that house was built, the wood floors and walls all expanded and contracted. In different directions, at different rates. You don't *want* your floors and walls and ceilings fastened together in that situation. (I once owned a house built in 1897 -- baseboards and crown moldings were *everywhere*.)

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  3. Huh. I hadn't thought of that, but it's obvious, yes. I was just struck by the sloppiness of the cut on each floorboard (especially the one right next to the register) - looks like something I'd cut, because it was done with a handsaw, not a Skillsaw, and speed was the issue, not accuracy.

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  4. As far as I can tell, many house builders saved their accurate/pretty cuts for areas where they would be seen. A joint that's going to be covered with a baseboard doesn't have to be accurate. (and who knows, the builder may have has his apprentice equivalent cut it -- no point in wasting time on practice cuts when you can 'practice' on stuff that won't be seen, after all.)

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