hello all. i realize this topic has probably been answered many times here in different/ seperate posts but a collective answer would be much appreciated.
i’m about to remodel my bathroom and would really like to replace the beat up baseboard heaters with some floor heating. there’s a regular plywood subfloor over a basement but access from the basement is impossible (tenant living down there!). I would prefer to simply lay a “mat system” over the existing subfloor and follow with stone or tile, but will go under subfloor if necessary.
i know next to nothing about what my options are as far as hooking up to my existing boiler system, best and most efficient retrofit systems available and simply whether it’s worth it to do this just to my bathroom (will eventually convert other room as time and money allow). so, any and all help appreciated.
thanks in advance,
tim
Replies
Do you want to heat the bathroom or just warm the floor?
is the baseboard electric or hot water?
baseboards are hot water and i'd like to get rid of them in that room and use only the floor as heat.
Tim -
It shouldn't be too much of a problem to install PEX tubing and connect it to the supply and return piping of the existing baseboard heaters. But if you don't have any experience working with this stuff, it would pay to hire a heating contractor that does. You have people living below the floor. You don't need to have a leak in the system to rain on their parade.
Also, you'll need some sort of mixing valve or control thingie since (as I understand it after having our system - also a retrofit - installed) there's a different temperature requirement for in-floor heat tubing than for wall mounted baseboard heaters. There might be an issue with the thermostat and other controls as well.
What I did in the areas of in-floor tubing is to take up the subfloor down to the joists. Attached 1x4 ledgers to the joists 3/4" below the top of the joists. Ripped the plywood down to fit between the joists and gained 3/4" of space in the floor system. Downstairs on the main floor I poured 1-1/2" of fiber reinforced concrete throughout. Upstairs where I have just the bathrooms with in-floor tubing, I'll float a setting bed for the tile floors that will flush out with the hardwood flooring in the bedrooms to which the bathrooms adjoin.
I'm not a hydronic heating know-all, but from what I've seen during the installation of our system, I'd suggest bringing a qualified heating contractor on board.
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Dennis in Bellevue WA
[email protected]
Mostly good advice but don't hook up the PEX to the supply and returns. Besides the head loss and Delta T issues, you have to realize that the water will be way too hot and overheat the floor.
> ...that the
water will be way too hot and overheat the floor.
That was what I was concerned about. How do you "temper" the water? Is there a mixing valve setup that would work for this guy? As far as I know, in my new system we only have one supply run to both the in-floor and baseboard units. But in between the boiler and the heating devices there are manifolds and mixing valves and all manner of 'stuff' that must address the question of different water temps for baseboard and in-floor tubing.
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Dennis in Bellevue WA
[email protected]