I have been researching radiant heat for a house I’m going to build in the mountains. I have a couple of questions though. Over the years I have heard that radiant heat is a pretty expencive proposition, and was typically reserved for the high end. But, after talking to companies like Radiatec, that advertise in FHB, it seems that putting in an underfloor system that attached to the underside of the sub-floor, from a kit would come in under the price of forced air. Is this accurate? Also my main question is, how do the do-it-youself kits compare to the proffesionally installed systems. As a builder I seem to have developed a stigma over the years for thing labled do-it-yourself, because it seems that it oftens turns into something a proffesional has to fix.
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Replies
Staple-up is a viable option. It has both advantages and disadvantages when compared to PEX in a slab.
From the DIY perspective, it's certainly the easier way to go.
Radaintec does serve a market. I wouldn't use their tubing, nor would I use their manifolds, their control boxes, pumps, or valves. At least not the stuff they were offering when I looked into them several years ago.
The key to radiant...as with most any HVAC system...is proper design. If you start with a proper design and execute it faithfully, you'll have an excellent level of comfort in your home.
In general, RFH is more expensive than forced air to install. However, it's less expensive to run. And it's much more comfortable to live with.
A DIY can install using "professional parts" for a more responsive and more comfortable heating system.
You mentioned "in the mountains." Not sure if you'll need AC there, but with RFH you incur the cost of a completely separate AC setup (if required). Often times RFH will be paired wiht a hi-velocity air conditioning system like Unico or SpacePak.
Lastly, if you "do it yourself" and your work meets "professional standards"...where's the compromise? I'ts when you shave corners that you bastardize the system.
radiant heat 101
If you are a builder with experience solving all of the problems that go along with that occupation you are fully qualified and capable of installing radiant heat in any building. As a matter of fact I was in your situation a few years ago. I wanted to install an in-floor radiant heating system in my new studio/workshop.
I looked around for somebody with the knowledge and expertise to install my system, unfortunately nobody wanted the job. So my next step was to learn how to do it all myself, I looked for instructions everywhere from the internet to the local library with little luck in finding the answers I was looking for. Time was running out and I had to get started with something, so I went to the supplier for the mechanical equipment needed for the installation and bought the pump and pressure tank, and pressure gage.
The supplier gave me a sheet of paper with a barely ledgeble schematic of the installation. I have a degree in engineering and draw plans and schematics so I know what I am looking at and can read plans. The schematic was hard to understand and offered little if any help at all. I stumbled through the proccess and made multiple trips to the hardware store for parts needed.
After a couple of days of sweating joints and crimping pex together it all started to make sense and looked like it would work.
I used a water heater for the heat source which made everyone wince when I told them, but I paid no attention since I did the calculations and knew it would supply enough BTUs to heat the building even in Wisconsin winters.
All said and done the system worked like a million bucks and I never had any problems thereafter. As I was installing the system I took pictures because I knew I was going to write an easy how to guide with pictures and diagrams that made sense to a person with little or no experience that wanted to, or was forced to install the system themself.
I now sell the DO-IT-YOURSELF IN-FLOOR RADIANT HEAT INSTALLATION GUIDE on my website http://www.charlesjamessales.com/radiantheat.htm and on Ebay.
Good luck with your project.
Nice of you to respond to a nine yr. old thread.
The questions about radiant heat know no time frame.
Why don't you hang around and help answer questions. Perhaps limit the sales pitch on your book however.
or
Buy an ad from FineHomebuilding.
thanks.
Radiant Heat
I didn't realize the thread was nine years old. Who reads the dates on these things anyway?
You don't need to be sarcastic, the internet is for marketing anyway you can get it. Free is always the best!
You posted the question I answered it.
Marketing?
I don't think this forum is intended to market your product.
It is a place where people come to exchange information about building-not to sell their wares to some unsuspecting builder or homowner.
If you think you responded to a question by me on the topic, you're as much wrong as you are a spammer.
Now, if you wish to stick around and answer questions about building, then welcome to Breaktime.
Recommendation
I would clean up that installation on the cover and try again. Looks "pretty" to the uninformed. Looks ugly and dangerous to a professional.
Radiant Heat
I didn't realize the thread was nine years old. Who reads the dates on these things anyway?
You don't need to be sarcastic, the internet is for marketing anyway you can get it. Free is always the best!
You posted the question I answered it.
It sometimes makes more sense for the DIY installer
The problem with the between the joist system is the labor required to install the emitter plates, tubing, and insulate the joist bays.
At a "Pro" level where all time costs money, it may not pencil out.
At the DIY level, where your time would otherwise be spent, watching sports on TV if you lucky, and doing some kind of honey-do project if your not: The intallation labor time doesn't matter, and the system is actually easier to install than a forced air system.
Radiant heat 101
The information I provide in the guide I wrote is more for the guy that wants to install a system but is either in the middle of nowhere or can't find anyone else to do the installation as was my case. I do not claim to be an expert plumber, but I did my research and have been in the construction field as a builder for more than 30 years.
I have a civil/structural engineering degree and apprenticed with an architect then started designing and building buildings. If my design looks scary to a professional plumber I can not help that. Sometimes a guy just has to try something different. So I bought a 1000 feet of pex and went to the hardware store a couple hundred times, but at least I don't have to sit and wonder if maybe I could have done it myself, I just went ahead and did it. And from that experiment I do know that the system works great. I also know that I didn't have to pay someone $100 an hour or in some cases $2000 a day for something that I wanted. To me it looks no different than some of the other installations I saw while I researched radiant heat. People like to be crittical it is human nature.
My intent for the guide which is full of pictures and diagrams was to provide simple explanations for a simple system, which it does. Nothing is worse than trying to figure out how to do something with nothing more than text for instructions. A picture is worth a thousand words and that is why the whole system is basically on the cover, so there is no guessing as to what the guide is all about.
If anyone out there wants to know about structural engineering or how to design a floor system that will not sag or deflect when walked on, I am an expert on those subjects.
What's scary
is that a "builder" with "more than 30 years of experience" would be so unaware of basic gas line plumbing and safety. A dryer flex line exposed in front of all of the "controls"? IF its not illegal, it is poor at best.
IF you just did this for yourself, I would only fear for your immediate family and pets. However, you published this poor example for people to follow and are trying to get people to pay you to help kill them.
When a DIY figures out something on their own, that's great. When you pretend to know enoug to instruct others in how to do something, you should at least be responsible enough to enlist some competent professionals to review the "product" prior to publication. Some poor SOB is going to try to duplicate that mess and end up killing himself and his family.