Radiant Heat Concrete Floor Installation

The most cost effective system for medium to larger homes is hydronic since the amount of power it would take to heat a whole home with electric would be substantial.

Radiant heat concrete floor installation. Instead of blowing hot air through a vent or pumping hot water to a baseboard radiator along the wall radiant heat warms up the entire floor. Radiant heating system design or installation mistakes that must be avoided. But they all suffered from. Remember since you will only have 1 chance to pour the concrete slab you will only have 1 chance to put the pex tubing in it.

Tubing the water will circulate in tubing running beneath the floor in the concrete under wood floors or on a sub floor of wood precast concrete or slab on grade concrete. A lot of planning and teamwork early in the process will help ensure a successful installation says the radiant panel association in its 2008 radiant flooring guide. There s two basic types of concrete floor heating hydronic and electric. This article explains how to avoid some fatal mistakes when installing radiant heat in a concrete floor slab by describing an incompetent radiant heat floor installation along with an explanation of why things went wrong and how to avoid these errors.

Either through pipes carrying hot water embedded in or directly below the floor or via electric mats in or below the floor. In fact any type of flooring that employs adhesive as its joining system is a poorer choice for radiant heating systems than flooring that uses tongue and groove or fold and lock seaming. Relied upon radiant heat for over 60 years. Basic materials for radiant floor heat installation in a slab.

Many radiant floors most using copper tubing buried within concrete slabs were installed and used success fully in the 1960 s and 70 s. Since concrete flooring is homogeneous concrete alone is a poor choice for radiant heating. So even if there are no existing plans for the radiant floor heating or a snow melting system installing pex tubing in it may turn out to be a good decision. How does radiant heat work.

Qualified system installer the company who designs the radiant floor heating system may also install the system. The heat is made possible in two ways. In fact it was servicemen returning from world war ii who first spread the word about underfloor heat to their fellow americans.