Heating/Cooling issues in upstairs of Cape?

I have 2 bedrooms in the upstairs of our Cape. It use to be attic space that was redone into bedrooms. We are having major heating/cooling issues up there. In the winter it's really cold and in the summer, really hot. Basically making it unuseable space. It is on the same heat/cooling system as our main floor, but by the time the thermostat reaches it's ideal temp on the main floor and shuts off, the upstairs hasn't reached that temp yet. Has anyone else had this issue? Thoughts on what we can do? Wasn't sure if we could do a completely different zone/thermostat for the upstairs. Thanks!

Re: Heating/Cooling issues in upstairs of Cape?

I'm in the same exact boat as you. From all the research and word of mouth Ive seen /read its just the way it is. The problem is since you have no attic space above your ceiling the space that is there needs to breathe so you can not put insulation there. your eves should bring air in and you should have vents on in the roof to vent that air out. The only insulation you should have is on the interior knee wall and the floor which would be your first floor ceiling. If you were to block all this up with insulation then you would have major moisture problems. We had our whole house sided and that made a big difference as it blocked some drafts. I fear the only way to every truly fix this 100% is to fully dormer. Hope this helps.

Re: Heating/Cooling issues in upstairs of Cape?

Re: Heating/Cooling issues in upstairs of Cape?

Can you add an extra heating zone for upstairs, so that you have separate thermostats for upstairs and down? If you have a hot water heating system (as opposed to forced hot air), it can usually be done.

It's actually economical for your heating bills, too. At night, if you are sleeping upstairs, you can turn the thermostat down on the main floor, and during the day, if upstairs is empty, you don't need it as warm.

I have a split, not a cape, but we added a third heating zone so that the upper level has its own thermostat (basically each level is on a separate thermostat now). It works out well.

Re: Heating/Cooling issues in upstairs of Cape?

Do you have vents upstairs? Also be sure to keep the bedroom doors open up there. That is what we do and we have been much warmer this winter than last. The heat rises and will travel up the stairs

Re: Heating/Cooling issues in upstairs of Cape?

We put some insulation in our crawl space and had insulation blown in to certain areas. It made a big difference.

We also got a space heater for our second room - it was the farthest from the furnace and we wanted to use it for DS. We got a Lasko one that turns off if tipped (DH did a lot of research - he's in the FDNY and anti-space heater).

Re: Heating/Cooling issues in upstairs of Cape?

You need to insulate the roof. Then add more supplies upstairs.

If you have baseboards for heating, add more baseboards.

If you have central air ducts for cool, add more ducts.

That should solve your problem.

Re: Heating/Cooling issues in upstairs of Cape?

Definitely do a different zone. We are purchasing a cape and have been told as long as we have the house on three diff zones, (basement, 1st floor, 2nd floor) we should be fine. That way should also be economically sound for you as well.

Re: Heating/Cooling issues in upstairs of Cape?

before we dormered our Cape we had the same problem as you..
so first we got another heating zone for upstairs.. it fixed the problem only temporarily because it really had to be jacked up in the winter to get it warm.
costing us lots of money.

when we dormered.. a full dormer, it definitely got better.

Re: Heating/Cooling issues in upstairs of Cape?

call someone about a separate zone. You should have one for each floor. I grew up in a cape that had 3 zones, basement, middle and top floor we never had heating issues.