# Hydronic Heat Zoning Problem (New House)



## Steve0527 (Nov 28, 2020)

I just bought a ranch with a finished basement. The basement was finished in the last 15 years, and the previous owner had baseboard heat added to the finished basement during the renovation. The house is currently served with hydronic Heat, radiators upstairs and baseboard heat in the basement. The basement heat is separately zoned through a second circulator pump which I assume was installed during the plumbing rough-in when the basement was finished. The issue that I am experiencing is if the heat is off in the entire house, and I turn the basement thermostat on, I get zoned heat in the basement, as expected. The heat is on in the basement and off upstairs, as it should be. Here is the problem. When I perform the same experiment upstairs, the upstairs thermostat seems to override the basement thermostat, and turn heat on in the basement as well even though that stat is OFF. Clearly, I have zoned heat considering I can isolate the basement heat from that stat when the upstairs stat is off. Why is my upstairs thermostat overriding the basement thermostat and providing heat to the entire house as if I have one zone? One thing worth mentioning, I noticed that I have a single zone switching relay. Could that possibly be the reason? I don't think this is a plumbing or check valve issue, this is a controls issue. Any help is appreciated at my basement gets up to 80 degrees when I turn the upstairs stat to 70!


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## beenthere (May 30, 2009)

Could be wired wrong. Or even piped wrong.

Need pics of how its piped, and how its wired.

Not uncommon to have a single zone/circulator control added to have a second zone.


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## Steve0527 (Nov 28, 2020)

beenthere said:


> Could be wired wrong. Or even piped wrong.
> 
> Need pics of how its piped, and how its wired.
> 
> Not uncommon to have a single zone/circulator control added to have a second zone.


Thank you. Let me know if you need more pictures.


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## beenthere (May 30, 2009)

Looks like a piping issue. Need more pics of the supply piping from the top of the pipe out to where it splits for the basement.


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## Steve0527 (Nov 28, 2020)

Sure. I'll be at the house in a few hours and will get more pics. Thanks for your help.


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## beenthere (May 30, 2009)

You should post over at DIYCHATROOM.COM they are a DIY site, we're not.


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## Steve0527 (Nov 28, 2020)

beenthere said:


> You should post over at DIYCHATROOM.COM they are a DIY site, we're not.


Will do. Sorry about that...brand new


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## martinezsophie (Nov 18, 2021)

Man tell me about it. I wanted to get a new house recently until I discovered the disaster with the heating system it had.


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## perryhope (Nov 18, 2021)

I get how you feel. You really have to be careful when you deal with this kind of installations. The worst part is that the owners that sell such houses will never disclose this to you. My brother bought last year an utterly useless house in Nebraska with similar issues to yours. He thought it was a bargain for that price when he found out that the heating system was terrible and that even the cost of the house when he checked it on https://www.boutiquehomeplans.com/cost-to-build was way too high considering all the criteria. Sometimes it's much better to research before buying a home.


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## Milvian (5 mo ago)

I can assume that those house owners engaged in heating installation decided to save money and made the system like this. You need to contact the heating system specialists in your area and ask them to inspect your house. But the most important thing is that now you are the owner of a new house and you have a happy life ahead of you in your chosen house. I recommend that you now temporarily distract yourself from this problem and start arranging comfort. Order on https://baliandboo.com/collections/house-signs, address the sign of your house, and buy cozy curtains. Let yourself relax for a few days and then decide what to do with the heating. Good luck to you!


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