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Home > Archive > Alternative Power sources > October 2005 > Radiant Floor Heat
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Radiant Floor Heat
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| Jim & Lil 2005-10-11, 11:21 pm |
| Hello and thanks in advance for any constructive help .
I am building a shop (26'x32') and wish to put in radiant floor heating
....IE:....run tubing inside the concrete..... I wish to do this myself. ...I
have Googled the subject but have only found contractors that want to do
this for me. I need a website that can explain this for me so I can learn
about this so I can do it myself. I am a pipeline welder/contractor...I have
a concrete worker arriving tomorrow afternoon (Oct 12th) to give an estimate
on the floor. I plan on construction in the spring.
Any websites come to mind? Thanks...jim
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| Steve Spence 2005-10-11, 11:21 pm |
| Jim & Lil wrote:
> Hello and thanks in advance for any constructive help .
>
> I am building a shop (26'x32') and wish to put in radiant floor heating
> ...IE:....run tubing inside the concrete..... I wish to do this myself. ...I
> have Googled the subject but have only found contractors that want to do
> this for me. I need a website that can explain this for me so I can learn
> about this so I can do it myself. I am a pipeline welder/contractor...I have
> a concrete worker arriving tomorrow afternoon (Oct 12th) to give an estimate
> on the floor. I plan on construction in the spring.
> Any websites come to mind? Thanks...jim
>
>
http://www.radiantec.com/ is one source ....
--
Steve Spence
Dir., Green Trust, http://www.green-trust.org
Contributing Editor, http://www.off-grid.net
http://www.rebelwolf.com/essn.html
| |
| Ecnerwal 2005-10-11, 11:21 pm |
| In article <11korb4d7hkstcc@corp.supernews.com>,
"Jim & Lil" <jim.morris@sasktel.net> wrote:
> I am building a shop (26'x32') and wish to put in radiant floor heating
> ...IE:....run tubing inside the concrete..... I wish to do this myself. ...I
> have Googled the subject but have only found contractors that want to do
> this for me. I need a website that can explain this for me so I can learn
> about this so I can do it myself. I am a pipeline welder/contractor...I have
> a concrete worker arriving tomorrow afternoon (Oct 12th) to give an estimate
> on the floor. I plan on construction in the spring.
> Any websites come to mind? Thanks...jim
The Radiant Company - very helpful for DIY - located in Vermont (ship
wherever). Just a happy customer. Advice from me - don't scrimp on the
insulation (you can't go back and make it better later), and put in
plenty of steel rebar (not only is it good to hold the floor together,
it helps keep the radiant-tubing-tied-to-mesh beast under control) which
you also can't add later. Put extra steel around doorways.
http://www.radiantcompany.com/
I did not like their slab manifolds (personal taste regarding some
design choices inherent in them, not a perceived lack of quality), so I
made my own.
Oh, and - you'll want it bigger. Mine's 24x48 and still too small ;-)
--
Cats, coffee, chocolate...vices to live by
| |
| Dave Hinz 2005-10-12, 12:21 pm |
| On Tue, 11 Oct 2005 19:56:52 -0600, Jim & Lil <jim.morris@sasktel.net> wrote:
> Hello and thanks in advance for any constructive help .
>
> I am building a shop (26'x32') and wish to put in radiant floor heating
> ...IE:....run tubing inside the concrete..... I wish to do this myself.
I did this for my entire basement and kitchen (spancrete/concrete
floor). Ran it myself, no problem, works great.
> ...I
> have Googled the subject but have only found contractors that want to do
> this for me. I need a website that can explain this for me so I can learn
> about this so I can do it myself. I am a pipeline welder/contractor...I have
> a concrete worker arriving tomorrow afternoon (Oct 12th) to give an estimate
> on the floor. I plan on construction in the spring.
I laid 6" wire mesh (you know, the 1/8" or so wire welded into 6"
squares). The stuff comes in rolls, or sheets. Sheets are MUCH less
screwing around than rolls, because, well, they start and stay flat.
Lay that down, and get the PEX tubing (find an UMBRO dealer near you).
Tie it to the tubing with the yellow ties you use to hold rebar together
before a concrete pour - 6" long wire with a round loop on each end.
Get the spinner tool for this so you don't rip your hands to shreds
tying 'em. (DAMHIKT).
Plan your loops - I forget the total length of tubing they suggest, but
I have 5 loops in my 30'x50' basement - you'd probably need 3 loops for
your shop. Lay out paths for each of the loops, where the hottest water
is near the coldest areas - edges, doorways, and works it's way towards
the center or warmest parts of the room as it gets cooler. Lay it out
on graph paper, and the tubing will be spaced at 1' from each other.
You don't need to tie all that often, but you'll want one at the
beginning, middle, and end of each 180-degree bend. You can probably
put down the tubing on the mesh in a day if you have a helper. You'll
want some sort of turntable to unroll the tubing off of it's roll as you
pull it. It's stiff and cumbersome but it's worth doing.
As to the radiant heat - you will love it, especially for a shop. I use
a water heater for my heat source, and can get 1 degree (f) of
temperature rise per hour measured at the slab. With your size slab,
you probably will get double that. I've got "time of use" electrical
rates so it's cheap to dump heat into it during the weekends and at
night. I warmed the slabs up this weekend, and they're still up 8
degrees from before I did, with no additional heat input. It's a great
heatsink.
Do insulate under your slab, 2" styrofoam (two 1" sheets is easier,
trust me) worked well for me.
Dave Hinz
| |
| Dave Hinz 2005-10-12, 12:21 pm |
| On Wed, 12 Oct 2005 02:12:38 GMT, Ecnerwal <LawrenceSMITH@SOuthernVERmont.NyET> wrote:
> I did not like their slab manifolds (personal taste regarding some
> design choices inherent in them, not a perceived lack of quality), so I
> made my own.
Yeah, I made my own manifolds too. 1" copper pipe "tees", down to the
fittings for the 7 loops.
> Oh, and - you'll want it bigger. Mine's 24x48 and still too small ;-)
Doesn't matter how big it is, it's going to be too small. Build it now,
and make one end ready to build on to.
| |
| Solar Flare 2005-10-12, 3:21 pm |
| Some hydronic websites are advising that no insulation in the middle of rooms
gives a larger thermal mass to the system. This, as they state, has pros and
cons.
Comments?
"Dave Hinz" <DaveHinz@spamcop.net> wrote in message
news:3r4kvjFhrs20U1@individual.net...
> On Tue, 11 Oct 2005 19:56:52 -0600, Jim & Lil <jim.morris@sasktel.net> wrote:
>
> I did this for my entire basement and kitchen (spancrete/concrete
> floor). Ran it myself, no problem, works great.
>
>
> I laid 6" wire mesh (you know, the 1/8" or so wire welded into 6"
> squares). The stuff comes in rolls, or sheets. Sheets are MUCH less
> screwing around than rolls, because, well, they start and stay flat.
>
> Lay that down, and get the PEX tubing (find an UMBRO dealer near you).
> Tie it to the tubing with the yellow ties you use to hold rebar together
> before a concrete pour - 6" long wire with a round loop on each end.
> Get the spinner tool for this so you don't rip your hands to shreds
> tying 'em. (DAMHIKT).
>
> Plan your loops - I forget the total length of tubing they suggest, but
> I have 5 loops in my 30'x50' basement - you'd probably need 3 loops for
> your shop. Lay out paths for each of the loops, where the hottest water
> is near the coldest areas - edges, doorways, and works it's way towards
> the center or warmest parts of the room as it gets cooler. Lay it out
> on graph paper, and the tubing will be spaced at 1' from each other.
>
> You don't need to tie all that often, but you'll want one at the
> beginning, middle, and end of each 180-degree bend. You can probably
> put down the tubing on the mesh in a day if you have a helper. You'll
> want some sort of turntable to unroll the tubing off of it's roll as you
> pull it. It's stiff and cumbersome but it's worth doing.
>
> As to the radiant heat - you will love it, especially for a shop. I use
> a water heater for my heat source, and can get 1 degree (f) of
> temperature rise per hour measured at the slab. With your size slab,
> you probably will get double that. I've got "time of use" electrical
> rates so it's cheap to dump heat into it during the weekends and at
> night. I warmed the slabs up this weekend, and they're still up 8
> degrees from before I did, with no additional heat input. It's a great
> heatsink.
>
> Do insulate under your slab, 2" styrofoam (two 1" sheets is easier,
> trust me) worked well for me.
>
> Dave Hinz
>
>
>
>
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