What materials are needed to install an under floor radiant heating zone?
by
John M
+4
With a baseboard zone already in place, I assume I could use that zone rerouting the hot water from copper to Radiant plumbing, remove the baseboard, reducing the zone temperature and wa-la. Is there more to it than that?
7 answers
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John, Please check out this bathroom renovation by KMS woodworks, this floor has a radiant heating and is good project for you to see and understand the materials involved for heated floors - http://www.hometalk.com/Kevin/project/2181
Yamini LEED AP at Urbanmotifs
on Feb 18, 2012
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You will also need to insulate under the radiant plumbing, and potentially reinforce the floor. Also, have somebody check the boiler to see if it needs to be altered or replaced for the needs of a radiant system.
3po3
on Feb 18, 2012
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The concept of doing that is about right. Are you planning on doing this below the sub floor? or above then installing new tiles? There are differences in how you go about doing the pipes. Also your correct on changing the temps on the water. A mixing valve needs to be installed. Along with the controls that operate the zone. You need to purchase the correct PEX tubing for radiant heat, Not all plastic pipe is the same. As Steve said, you will need to install some sort of reflective insulation below the tubes to direct the heat upwards. There is a link to a suppler for the products that you may need to do the job. http://www.uponorpro.com/en/Products-and-Applications/Products/Heating-and-Cooling.aspx There is a lot of information needed to properly do this type of job. Heat loss will change how many pipes you will need, How hot the water will need to be plus a host of other issues. Its not as easy as you may think. Doing the job part is easy, Its the design process that can become complicated. And costly if done wrong.
Woodbridge Environmental Tiptophouse.com
on Feb 19, 2012
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The electric version I did above works independent from the central system it that home...during the heating season "edges" spring and fall...it can be used to provide just a bit more heat in the smaller space with out have to heat of the whole zone or home.
KMS Woodworks
on Feb 19, 2012
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Hi John, If you are doing a new floor covering installation, you may be interested in using electric radiant floor heating. This will cut down on your installation costs and time. Depending on which floor covering you are using, the installation is slightly different. However, with our systems, you would simply need the products that you would normally use for installing the floor covering, and we would supply the rest. For more information, please feel free to visit our website at http://www.speedheat.us. If you have any questions about our systems, please feel free to contact us. I know there are a few other options out there for electric radiant floor heating systems, as well, and you might want to look into them, too.
Speedheat Floor Heating
on Feb 20, 2012
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I'm planning on installing 3/4" hardwood. The room has baseboard heat now and is a complete & separate zone. I have a fairly new boiler and lots of room to work. Just doing a cost trade off between radiant (hot water) and electric. Or maybe nothing keeping the baseboard. Seems like the radiant tubing can be expensive as I will need 5-6 hundred linear feet?
John M
on Feb 20, 2012
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If you have a free minute and want to throw together a rough drawing with the dimensions and fax or email it to either 1-888-927-6357 or quotes@speedheat.us, we'll be happy to give you a free quote with layout and electrical requirements. This could help cut out some of the guesswork and all. :-)
Speedheat Floor Heating
on Feb 20, 2012
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