Barndominium/Shop or "real" House?

[ETD66SS]

You are lookin at Maine.

Yep!

0 Gatehouse Drive, Bingham, ME 04920 | MLS #1528539 | Zillow

 

[ovrszd]

I have a gas boiler that designed to heat all three; domestic tap water 'on demand', house floor and shop floor. My garage is also on the network but I haven't used it in it's 20 years. It's just for future proofing incase there would ever be a need to make it a habitable space. Shop and two car garage are three separate zones. I even have a zone for an actual heated slab under an imaginary outside dog house that I've never got around to finishing
Anyway, on demand water heating doesn't work comfortably with a well and bladder pressure tank because the pressure range alters the exposure to the heat exchanger varying water temperature in the shower. Also, the boiler has to ramp up 30⁰F creating a delay in water temperature after the demand.
So, I bypassed the boiler and installed a conventional electric 40 gal DHW heater
The reason for two hydronic water heaters is because the shop and living quarters couldn't be more different in their heating requirements.

The way I understand it his living area is not hydronic heated. Maybe I missed something. Zones don't require additional heaters. Just additional circuits/pumps/thermostats.

 

[ETD66SS]

The way I understand it his living area is not hydronic heated. Maybe I missed something. Zones don't require additional heaters. Just additional circuits/pumps/thermostats.

I think it would be unless the radiant heat in the garage floor below is enough to heat the living space above???

 

[ovrszd]

I was assuming I'd have separate heaters. But I have not researched that part yet. All I know is I really want radiant heat. I'm sick and tired of forced hot air with my allergies & asthma.

I should have read down... you can certainly use hydronic heat for your living space. It will require some additional construction insulation and radiant barriers. No big deal. If you do that you will certainly want a third heater.

What are you going to do for AC?

 

[ovrszd]

I think it would be unless the radiant heat in the garage floor below is enough to heat the living space above???

No it will not.

 

[ETD66SS]

I should have read down... you can certainly use hydronic heat for your living space. It will require some additional construction insulation and radiant barriers. No big deal. If you do that you will certainly want a third heater.

What are you going to do for AC?

I want central air of some kind. I need it quite cold to sleep. But without ductwork, not sure how that will work. I don't think cooling the floors with the radiant heat would work for me.

 

[ETD66SS]

Now that I am pretty set on my Barndo floor plan (I think).

I need to finalize where to build it.

Where I show it currently is where I always planned my shop to be located. I ran conduit for power and separate conduit for coax cable under the driveway before I put down the fabric and the stone. The run going towards the ponds was for a house, the run going to the west was for a shop. I have 400A service, two sub panels with 200A breakers, one for each conduit run.

But now that I'm thinking I won't be building a house, the 167ft away from the ponds on my balcony might be too far away to enjoy the view?

However, if I do this, I stick to my original plan and if a house is ever in the cards in can go close to the ponds like I intended...

 

[JasperFrank]

I don't think radiant heat in the form of hydronic is sensible any more. I look at my hydronic heating system and just think, how stupidly over complicated it is. Its got an electric boiler, and a pump, and three zones that all have their valves to them. A pure resistance heater way would have been so much more simple.

 

[garc]

But now that I'm thinking I won't be building a house, the 167ft away from the ponds on my balcony might be too far away to enjoy the view?

I'm over 200 feet from my 50 meter pond (think Olympic pool) and the view is just right from my balcony

 

[Carl_NH]

I was assuming I'd have separate heaters. But I have not researched that part yet. All I know is I really want radiant heat. I'm sick and tired of forced hot air with my allergies & asthma.

Why not consolidate all into one utility room under the stairs (or in the ground floor) for the house and barn/shop so it's all in one place with your water pump/tank, DHW heat and radiant heat etc.

Then for cooling in summer and heating in the bridge seasons, install a mini split - a 12K single zone would do your whole upstairs - installed on the outside wall by the sectional sofa or DR table.