So this house I live in it has a really large vaulted ceiling through the living room which runs right through the middle of the house. Each side of the house isn't vaulted. On one side of that vault there is a loft room that sits over the top of the bedrooms basically.
In the summer even with central AC it gets hot as balls up there and the living room in general is by far the warmest room of the house.
Thinking about putting either a portable AC or a window unit in there to cool off that room and help the living room at least a bit.
Anyone have this experience or any advice, I'd appreciate it. [Reply]
Originally Posted by TEX:
I completely understand. I have the exact setup. Walk up the stairs and I have a 16 × 22 loft with 3 sides comprised of walls with windows and one side just a half rail with pickets about 8 inches apart that extends the 22 ft length of the room. Below the rail is the dining and living room. Get the window unit and you'll see excellent results.
Ah ok that's similar, other than mine loft is above bedrooms and the stairs to the basement. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Mecca:
I don't even own a gun are you sure you aren't confusing me for someone else?
You don't remember the photo someone posted of "Mecca" in the members pics thread of some long haired fat dude laying on his bed surrounded by guns? [Reply]
Originally Posted by tooge:
You don't remember the photo someone posted of "Mecca" in the members pics thread of some long haired fat dude laying on his bed surrounded by guns?
Originally Posted by Mecca:
Ah ok that's similar, other than mine loft is above bedrooms and the stairs to the basement.
Yep. My loft is also above a couple of bedrooms. Its my "Chiefs Gameroom." I have a pool table, air hockey table, TV etc. up there. I spend lots of time in that loft all year, so I needed it to be comfortable. The small window unit did the trick! Trust me, once u get one, you'll never look back. [Reply]
Built our house in 1996, original unit died in 2011. When we replaced it we had the AC companies look at the distribution of cold air returns in the house. We added two and the entire house was more consistent in temp. We also added non-powered turbine vents on the roof to help the attic ventilation [Reply]
The problem with a window unit is that they don't seal well. Taking the thing out in the winter and putting it back in the summer will mash your window over time. That said, since you live that far south you may just want to leave the thing in year round. If so, make sure you cover the exposed part of it during the part of the year you don't need it. [Reply]
Originally Posted by oldman:
The problem with a window unit is that they don't seal well. Taking the thing out in the winter and putting it back in the summer will mash your window over time. That said, since you live that far south you may just want to leave the thing in year round. If so, make sure you cover the exposed part of it during the part of the year you don't need it.
Another question about that, would a window unit need any outside support cause if so that's like 20 feet in the air... [Reply]
It would depend on how heavy it is. Another thing to consider is you may have to have a 220V outlet installed. If it's a 220V, those things are pretty heavy and you probably don't want just your window holding the thing in. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Mecca:
Another question about that, would a window unit need any outside support cause if so that's like 20 feet in the air...
That's a non issue with a small unit. Mine is in a window 19 ft high and has been up 6 years. No issues. There are plenty of inexpensive support brackets if you are concerned. [Reply]
We lived in a house that had hydronic heat, so central air was out. We had several window units and the only ones that required additional support were the 220V units.
Another thought might be to look into those ductless systems. The idea sounds great, but I don't know how well they really work. Anyone have any experience? [Reply]
Originally Posted by oldman:
We lived in a house that had hydronic heat, so central air was out. We had several window units and the only ones that required additional support were the 220V units.
Another thought might be to look into those ductless systems. The idea sounds great, but I don't know how well they really work. Anyone have any experience?
I was going to mention that. If you (mecca) own the house and plan to be there a long time, look at installing a ductless minisplit system. It only requires one hole to be drilled through the wall, so you won't have drafts and stuff, and my understanding is that they're more efficient.
We have an older home that has hot spots and cold spots in different seasons, so we installed three of them last fall in different parts of our house.
They provide both cooling and heating. We got the installation done too late in the year to test the cooling, but they've been nice for heating and they've only bumped our utility bill by about 10 percent, while making several rooms much more comfortable. I'm looking forward to seeing how they cool, particularly up on our third floor which I suspect has similar cooling issues as your loft. The heating has been pretty quiet, and my understanding from a neighbor that has a similar system is that the cooling is very quiet as well, meaning that you won't be annoyed by the noise if you're in your living room or loft.
The downside is that they're expensive to buy and install, but we plan to be in the house for another 20 years, so we can justify it. [Reply]
