Should I get over my fear of radiant heat?
bdillard
| Posted in General Discussion on
Hello,
I grew up in a house where everything we owned was under constant maintenance. If it could break it would. Somethings don’t change – roofs still have a limited life span, furnances as well.
I could well be being paranoid and I’m hoping I am but I’m wondering if I put in radiant heat, a pipe/pex/tubing will break and I’ll need to jackhammer through cement to get to it. I could consider running it under the floor but I wonder how much work that would be compared to air if the heat has to go through about 2″ of subfloor construction.
If you could let me know your experience I’d love to know as everyone seems to talk about radiant heat as fondly as they talk about their iphone.
Replies
it is the best heat you can have!! Labor intensive running the pipes though. I installed it in a garage floor and was just as scared but if you keep 80 pounds of pressure in the lines while you pour and have a leak then it will surely show during the process. We used pert tubing. We used the onyx tubing for and under floor job years ago and I am planning on doing the same in our ranch. It is ran by a small wall hung Lars boiler. This technology is amazing. The building is so toasty and the heat is so even. If you happen to have a leak and it is below the floor then access is not a real big deal. Still better than tearing out old galvanized steam pipes and even hot water loop pipes from 60 to 100 years old!!
We’ve had it in our concrete floors since 89. Often wonder the same as you regarding a leak. So far, still just wondering.
2 baths on second floor have it under tile. However, this tubing is laid on top of subfloor within aluminum loops, then Durock and tile.
Like was mentioned, keep pressure in tubing until all work is complete and watch the gauge.
You’ll soon forget about a potential leak…….
Until you remember.
Thanks for your replies!
The great thing about modern radiant floor heating installs is the variety of control strategies.
Be sure to use barrier pex tubing, follow the manufacturer's install instructions, and pump the boiler water through the system using constant circulation & outdoor reset; no thermostat needed.
High mass radiant floors rarely require supply water temperatures greater than 115°, so the combination of constant circulation & low swt temps provide less expansion, contraction, and friction - making for a quiet, effective, comfortable, & trouble free system.