Min distance from baseboard hotwater heater

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Hi there,

In our soon to be nursery, there is a baseboard heater which is heated by hot water.

Our plan, to keep baby away from the heater, is to build a bench over the heater. The bench would have metal "perforated sheet" as the face of the bench allowing heat to dissipated into the room from the front of the bench; the bench would have 1/2" ply for the seat.

We are thinking about adding shelving underneath the bench. The heater comes up about 8.5" above the floor and the bench will be 23" from the floor; level with the window on that wall.

Now, I think that adding shelving is not wise because it would start around 11" inches off the floor i.e. 2.5" away from the heating element. I just THINK that the a good amount of the energy from the heater would be absorbed by the wooden shelving unit; not enough to be dangerous but perhaps enough to be inefficient at heating the room. My girl thinks that doesn't make any sense.

I have no basis for my claim, it's just how I feel; you wouldn't keep books next to a heater for instance, that would ruin them. You don't want to put a couch in front of a heater, that would prevent the heater from doing it's job of heating the house. So, with that logic, why would I want to add shelving only a few inches above the heater?

I feel the alternative is to add drawers, which would be around 10-12" away from the heater. I came to ask for your thoughts, because I feel I might be over-thinking this; as I tend to do with most of my projects.

What do you all think?

Just Bill

I doubt that the baseboard unit poses a threat to the baby, those things have covers that seem to protect them from kids well. But wood does not trap heat, it is a failry goosd insulator. Adding a wood cover is redundant, and will reduce the heating from the baseboard unit.

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Ok well, that aside we are still building a bench on this wall because we want a built in bench with possibly bookshelves to either side.

Right, so my problem is if it's a good insulator, then heat would not dissipitate into the room well no?

The vertical front face of the bench would be a metal 'perforated sheet'; not wood. What will be wood is the bench seat, cabinets, and book shelves.