researching the built in for the "project room"
Emily Oster
While no visible progress has been made on the "project room" for the past two weeks (it still looks just like this), I did officially order the mountain grass flooring and get our carpenter in queue to return to build the built in bookcase and window seat. This, of course, means I need to work out the particulars of the design asap.
We decided to do a built in when we uncovered the rotted out floor boards surrounding the radiator. Our original plan was to paint the floor and the built in provided a way around not having to replace the bad boards. When we decided to do mountain grass flooring instead, the built in became less needed but a feature we still wanted to have. It also will allow us to hold the flooring away from the radiator. This will hopefully prevent any immediate moisture from the radiator from getting trapped in the pad or flooring. So while the built in is a rather large expense for us it checks boxes in the functional and aesthetic columns making it easier to justify the cost.
This is what the initial drawing looked like..
project room built in sketch
I essentially made it super simple and didn't give too much thought to the radiator element of it. After coming back to it after a couple of months later, I see quite a few issues with the design.
1. The long screen piece across the middle panel is too long. It would be super flimsy and I am not even sure if the material comes that long.
2. The design does not allow for the radiator to "breathe" enough. I had a technician out to the house and he described radiators as like lungs that need air space all around them so they can "breathe" heat. I had given this some thought in my initial design but I am worried more air needs to circulate in order to properly heat the room.
3. Access to the radiator was TBD and now needs to be finalized - top hatch? removable seat? doors?
4. Quarter round needs to be across the whole front in order to secure down and finish off the flooring. This limits the possible ways to vent the radiator from the bottom.
Below are some images that I have been looking at to help guide me in resolving the above mentioned issues with my initial design. I also plan to consult Jeff and our carpenter before finalizing the design. Stay tuned!
The slotted vents - source unknown
Drilled holes as vents - via Stately Kitsch
Hinge door access - source unknown
Large panel - via From Scandinavia With Love