Interesting HVAC return system

[Mike Lamb]

This house has an interesting return for the HVAC system. It is a 1950s house on a slab. A concrete tunnel runs beneath the floor down the middle of the house. The wood floor above the slab has been furred up to allow air to flow beneath it. The returns are slits cut in the baseboard.

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[John Kogel]

I wonder if the volume of return air is adequate? Probably not.

It is kind of a floating floor design. I like the idea, anyway.

[kurt]

There's a few of those in Skokie. Where was this house?

Air quality for the Skokie houses is really lousy; they smell musty.

[Mike Lamb]

There was a fairly large 18" x 20"ish register in the floor at the hallway outside the bedrooms so supply air volume would be OK. No musty smell. There was water pipe in the HVAC chase with insulation that was deteriorated. It might be an IAQ problem.

This was a few blocks from my home, Evergreen Pk., IL, "Home of the Unabomber."

[kurt]

I remember reading about this method years ago. It was one of many ideas for post WWII housing in Chicago. Crazy. I've only seen a couple of them. They're freezing in winter.