Transom Question(s)

[ambull01]

Tried to find a previous thread but no luck.

Got a reciprocating saw for Christmas and have been chomping at the bit to try it out just haven't found the right project yet, until now.

I may have mentioned this before, my house has larger than normal door transoms. I've been having issues getting the heat from the stove room past my entrance way/hallway and to the diagonal family room. The 2nd floor stairway goes up right by the entrance way. Getting heat up to the 2nd floor is not an issue at all. Here's my plan:

1) Cut out door transoms in stove room (living room), family room (diagonal to stove room), dining room (connected to family room), and kitchen (connected to dining room).

2) Install some type of grate in all the transoms to make it look pretty. Don't want a massive hole up there.

3) Attach square/rectangle duct work that is the same size as the transom cutout to the ceiling and run it from the stove room transom to the family room transom. From there I'll let the heat lazily make its way to dining room and kitchen.

4) Place a fan in the transom opening in stove room to blow heated air through duct work and into the family room.

5) Use strategically placed floor fans to push cold air into the stove room.

Will this crazy idea work or is it too much air flow. I need to know soon before I start cutting holes in my house. Thanks

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Have you tried fans?

 

[ambull01]

Have you tried fans?

Just fans on the floor? Yep I have. Blew cold air into the stove room. It only resulted in more heat upstairs. I need to get the heat past the hallway entrance and stairwell. Can't really think of any other way other than cutting out transoms and putting in duct work from stove room to family to and force the heat to go through.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Maybe you could turn it into an architectural feature like a divided light transom. Multiple small windows you could remove during the heating season and install in the summer. They were originally put in to let more light in, but I don't see why you couldn't get them to move air.

 

[ambull01]

Maybe you could turn it into an architectural feature like a divided light transom. Multiple small windows you could remove during the heating season and install in the summer. They were originally put in to let more light in, but I don't see why you couldn't get them to move air.

Yeah that's a good idea, I like it. I was thinking about putting up some kind of sliding metal plate on the outside of the stove room. So, God forbid, a fire starts up in that room that I can't put out myself I can shut the door and slide the metal plate shut to keep the fire contained.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

If a fire gets out of the stove, get your family, and yourself out of the house. Let the insurance fix the house. It's why you give them money every month.

 

[firefighterjake]

Yeah that's a good idea, I like it. I was thinking about putting up some kind of sliding metal plate on the outside of the stove room. So, God forbid, a fire starts up in that room that I can't put out myself I can shut the door and slide the metal plate shut to keep the fire contained.

If a fire has started up in that room you've got more serious issues than trying to slide a metal plate to keep the fire contained . . . namely being that you should have had plenty of warning well before the fire reached this point with working smoke detectors . . . and as mentioned . . . your priority should be evacuating the home and getting to the family's meeting place.

That said . . . I wouldn't worry too much . . . make sure you have working smoke and CO detectors, develop good burning practices (lighting the fire, burning at the right temp, not reloading too soon, proper ash disposal, etc.), insure that the stove is installed to manufacturer specs (clearances, hearth, etc.) . . . and you should be able to sleep well at night without fear of fire blowing apart your stove.

As a final aside . . . no need for a metal plate even . . . a simple wooden door (not even talking about a fire rated fire door) when shut can buy folks time in a fire situation. I, and the other brothers and sisters here in the fire service, can probably attest to a number of fires when they've found a home with heavy flame and smoke damage . . . and a room or two with doors shut are largely spared from damage.

 

[ambull01]

If a fire has started up in that room you've got more serious issues than trying to slide a metal plate to keep the fire contained . . . namely being that you should have had plenty of warning well before the fire reached this point with working smoke detectors . . . and as mentioned . . . your priority should be evacuating the home and getting to the family's meeting place.

That said . . . I wouldn't worry too much . . . make sure you have working smoke and CO detectors, develop good burning practices (lighting the fire, burning at the right temp, not reloading too soon, proper ash disposal, etc.), insure that the stove is installed to manufacturer specs (clearances, hearth, etc.) . . . and you should be able to sleep well at night without fear of fire blowing apart your stove.

As a final aside . . . no need for a metal plate even . . . a simple wooden door (not even talking about a fire rated fire door) when shut can buy folks time in a fire situation. I, and the other brothers and sisters here in the fire service, can probably attest to a number of fires when they've found a home with heavy flame and smoke damage . . . and a room or two with doors shut are largely spared from damage.

Nice! Always great to read about fire best practices from a fireman. I only thought about the metal plate because if I open up the transom because I figured that will give the fire an escape route out of that room. Although by the time the flames get to the transom the whole ceiling will probably be on fire lol.

 

[brad wilton]

transoms were what they used to move heat from room to room in the old days don't know why they stopped .with everyone trying to save money on heating

 

[realstihl]

And I thought transoms were only on boats.

 

[begreen]

The transoms are high which is where the heat will stay or migrate to. Is there a basement below?

 

[BrotherBart]

And I thought transoms were only on boats.

Nope. Lots of houses and virtually every hotel room used to have'em. Still do in tropical areas.

 

[ambull01]

The transoms are high which is where the heat will stay or migrate to. Is there a basement below?

No, just a crawlspace. There is a basement under the kitchen.

 

[begreen]

I was thinking of an insulated duct with a blower connecting the stove room with the kitchen. Suck cold air from the kitchen and blow it into the stove room. But if this is a cold crawlspace that may not work well due to heatloss unless very well insulated.

 

[ambull01]

Nope. Lots of houses and virtually every hotel room used to have'em. Still do in tropical areas.

Wait a minute, I may have no idea what I'm talking about. Isn't there a transom in every room? I thought a transom was just the part of the wall above the door and below the ceiling?

I was thinking of an insulated duct with a blower connecting the stove room with the kitchen. Suck cold air from the kitchen and blow it into the stove room. But if this is a cold crawlspace that may not work well due to heatloss.

Blow in more cold air? This house is pretty draft, not sure I need more cold air. Wouldn't the floor fans suffice? Also, why do you mention the kitchen specifically? Just trying to work out your thought process in my head.

 

[BrotherBart]

A transom.

 

[ambull01]

A transom.

View attachment 152736

Well that's embarrassing. I thought I had transoms in every room, turns out I just have walls lol. Anyway, yeah that's what I want to make. I think that would look great in here but If I hook up ductwork on the ceiling to the transoms then that wouldn't work sadly. So, just a simple decorative grate with possibly a space cut out to fit a small fan. Blow the heat through the duct work to the other room.

 

[BrotherBart]

BB - Educating Jarheads since 1969.

 

[ambull01]

BB - Educating Jarheads since 1969.

lol. You feel like driving over the bridge and educating me personally? I need some help setting up my house for wood heat. Plus I want to test your Poulan.

 

[begreen]

Wait a minute, I may have no idea what I'm talking about. Isn't there a transom in every room? I thought a transom was just the part of the wall above the door and below the ceiling?

Blow in more cold air? This house is pretty draft, not sure I need more cold air. Wouldn't the floor fans suffice? Also, why do you mention the kitchen specifically? Just trying to work out your thought process in my head.

The cooler air would be coming from the cooler part of the house you want to move the warm air to. The displaced cool air gets replaced by the warmer stove room air. This is a convection loop. We don't have a floor plan sketch so I chose the kitchen based on the previous text.

 

[ambull01]

The cooler air would be coming from the cooler part of the house you want to move the warm air to. The displaced cool air gets replaced by the warmer stove room air. This is a convection loop. We don't have a floor plan sketch so I chose the kitchen based on the previous text.

I see. What about running duct underneath the kitchen, through basement and crawl space then dumping out in the stove room? I could cut a vent in the kitchen floor and a little fan to blow in cold air, run duct from that vent to other rooms and put in vents in each. So three vent fans pushing cold air to come out in the stove room. The heated air I'll push to the other parts of the house from the ceiling duct. Am I getting carried away or is this feasible?

 

[begreen]

Sounds like overkill, but we need a sketch to see what you are working with.

 

[ambull01]

Sounds like overkill, but we need a sketch to see what you are working with.

Okay I'll make one. May take a little while though, I'm off to the rifle range this weekend in VA. I've never made a floor plan sketch though so hopefully I don't jack it up too much. Thanks

 

[begreen]

Keep it simple, take a picture of the sketch with your cell phone. We need to understand the layout you are working with. If you can insulate a duct system with an inline blower that may work out. Or perhaps there is a simpler solution. We'll need to see what you see to determine that.

 

[ambull01]

Keep it simple, take a picture of the sketch with your cell phone. We need to understand the layout you are working with. If you can insulate a duct system with an inline blower that may work out. Or perhaps there is a simpler solution. We'll need to see what you see to determine that.

Why would you need to insulate the duct system in the crawl space/basement if its just transporting cold air?