Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with baseboard

My heaters groan with the cold

Eicats — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 07:06:16 -0800

Why are electric baseboard heaters so noisy only in the dead of winter? In my apartment building, we have just the little baseboard heaters, the metal kind that are attached to the base of the wall-- the kind that work by using hot water, I believe. Now, as it's starting to get cold, the heat has been turned on- but you would never know it by sound. Not a single creak, click, or peep from the heaters. However, I know from living almost a decade in this apartment that even though the heaters are nice a quiet at the start of the cold season, by the middle of winter, every time the heat comes on, it makes incredibly loud groaning and creaking noises. And it almost sounds like little popping noises, that seem like the water bubbling in the pipes (?)

So I thought I'd finally ask: why does this happen?! It gets so loud and annoying! Is there some problem like water lines or pipes freezing and that's why it makes so much noise heating up when it's so cold outside?

If there's something that could be done to mitigate this, I would love to know so I can request service from the landlord.

Thanks, all!

Baseboard Help

bananafish — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 23:13:25 -0800

Need to find a baseboard with the following criteria: a modern look (i.e., simple with straight lines), 3.5 inches wide by .5 inch thick, primed We're having difficulty finding a baseboard with this thickness. We live in the Bay Area. We would consider buying them on the internet but we need 300 feet, so we would need free or reduced shipping to make it cost-effective. Right now, my husband is contemplating cutting down 300 feet of baseboards to the right size, so please help!!!

Should I rent an apartment with electric baseboard heat?

washburn — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 13:00:48 -0800

Should I rent an apartment with electric baseboard heat? Looks like I'll be staying in this college town one more year (hopefully not more than that) but I need to find a new apartment. I've finally spotted an inexpensive apartment in the desirable area of town, but it's the top floor of an older house, and it's listed as coming with electric baseboard heat.

I'll be touring the place tomorrow, and may soon be faced with a decision of whether to rent; however I'm pretty worried about the cost of heat in winter, here in the midwest, where power prices have jumped quite a bit.

Right now, I don't know what the heating cost of the place was last year; perhaps I'll be able to find that out. But I wonder what people's opinion of this sort of heating are, and whether it should be deal-breaker.

Also, I'm wondering whether there are any cost-saving requests I ought to make of the property management company before signing the lease. For example, I was thinking of asking to see the attic, and then asking them to insulate it some more (perhaps simply pumping some insulating materials over the floorboards, if the attic has a floor). Perhaps I should also request a "smart" thermostat of some kind? This is a fairly cheap rental unit, from a fairly cheap rental company, so I doubt I could get new windows, etc.; however I'd be interested in any relatively "quick and easy" requests I could make of the rental company that might reduce the heating bills in this new place come winter.

Many thanks.

How does a baseboard heater come off?

kindall — Sat, 26 May 2007 16:01:35 -0800

How does a baseboard heater come off, so I can put some bookcases along that wall? I've just moved into a new apartment and there is a nice long wall that would be perfect for putting my bookcases on, except for the fact that there's a baseboard heater along there. I'm thinking about removing the heater, capping off the wires, and putting the bookcases in front of it. There are two other heater units, one in the hallway right behind the living room and another in the dining room, so I figure I'll just let it go and see how the temperature holds up in the chilly season, and if necessary supplement it with a space heater hooked up to an outlet.

How are these things attached to the wall and how do I get one off?