EddieWalker
Epic Contributor
How will they spread the concrete and walk on the 6 inch wire and not push the wire to the bottom of the pad?
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fried1765
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I think wire mesh rests along the very bottom of 90% of most slabs.
Even pulling the wire mesh, with slots cut in shovels, or using a hook, is not all that good, because it often gets walked on again.
Pixguy
Elite Member
More chairs?
We are probably going to end up doing it ourselves. We'll drill the block on the side to stick the rebar in 3" up, and for chairs I was thinking of using 2"x3" angle iron, cut in 2" sections, and welded to the rebar every other joint, so hopefully it'll support it. That way the pex sitting on the wire will be at ideal height.
ovrszd
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I think you missed Eddie's point. A point I also wanted to bring up.
With 6" mesh above the rebar with the pex tied to it 1.5-2" from the top of the pour you can't walk on the pad when pouring. There's no way to screed the concrete?
Secondly, I've never heard of installing the pex 1.5-2" from the top? What is the purpose of doing that?
Again I say, the mesh is unnecessary. If you want the pex embedded in the middle of the concrete tie it to the rebar.
As for rebar chairs. Buy the plastic ones. They are dirt cheap.
With 6" mesh above the rebar with the pex tied to it 1.5-2" from the top of the pour you can't walk on the pad when pouring. There's no way to screed the concrete?
Secondly, I've never heard of installing the pex 1.5-2" from the top? What is the purpose of doing that?
Again I say, the mesh is unnecessary. If you want the pex embedded in the middle of the concrete tie it to the rebar.
As for rebar chairs. Buy the plastic ones. They are dirt cheap.
Apparently we’re doing the pour ourselves. We have 2 helpers as well so 4 people total. One truck gets to the rear, one in the front. We found 3” rebar chairs in plastic and will have them at every intersection. Then tie the mesh to the rebar, then pex clips on the mesh. All the pex guides I’ve read say 1-2” from surface so the heat doesn’t have to go through 5” of concrete to get to the surface. We’re figuring it out as we go, I think the goal is not to step in but pull from the outside. The concrete guy we talked to said we should go with mesh as it’s a lot easier to tie the pex to and the spacing is taken care of for you. Mesh isn’t expensive and it’s not hurting anything. We’re still learning as we go.
ovrszd
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Yeah, definitely do it however feels right to you. There are some "rules" in laying the pex but I think you've got them covered. Laying it in the upper half of the slab is not one of them. Most pex is laid on the pinkboard and stapled.
The heat you get from floor heat is what's stored in the slab. The slab provides continuity and even heat. The idea that it'll work better being in the upper half of the slab is simply wrong. I'm not saying it's a bad idea. Just saying it won't work better. Heat rises. The heat source being at the bottom of the slab is most logical.
Whatever you do try to follow the rule of a foot of pex for every square foot of floor. Make sure all of your loops are the same length.
I'm not sure how you are going to lay the pex since you can't walk on the elevated mesh. But you'll figure it out.
Looking forward to pics as you go. If you have a Drone take a pic straight down on your floor before you pour. This will be a guide as to the location and routing of the pex.
Take your time when laying out areas for your lift to sit. Take detailed measurements. I know of a commercial shop that drilled thru a loop when installing a lift. Their failure was to move the lift from it's original location. They moved it 6".
The heat you get from floor heat is what's stored in the slab. The slab provides continuity and even heat. The idea that it'll work better being in the upper half of the slab is simply wrong. I'm not saying it's a bad idea. Just saying it won't work better. Heat rises. The heat source being at the bottom of the slab is most logical.
Whatever you do try to follow the rule of a foot of pex for every square foot of floor. Make sure all of your loops are the same length.
I'm not sure how you are going to lay the pex since you can't walk on the elevated mesh. But you'll figure it out.
Looking forward to pics as you go. If you have a Drone take a pic straight down on your floor before you pour. This will be a guide as to the location and routing of the pex.
Take your time when laying out areas for your lift to sit. Take detailed measurements. I know of a commercial shop that drilled thru a loop when installing a lift. Their failure was to move the lift from it's original location. They moved it 6".
Citydude
Elite Member
Im not getting the 1 and 1/2 inch below the surface in a 6 inch slab for pex placement. Isn’t this not using the principles of heating with mass? 1 and 1/2 inches of concrete heated is not the same thermal retention as 3-4 inches.
A lot of the information I'm getting is from here: How to install PEX Tubing in a concrete slab
It makes sense to me at least. Maybe for a 4" pad it wouldn't be bad but 6" is a lot of concrete to heat before it hits the surface. Their suggestion doesn't seem to be driven by sales as they wouldn't make anything extra regardless of where you put it, and they even sell staples to staple it to the insulation. I mean if it's dead wrong, it's dead wrong, it seems to make sense to me though.
Today was the leveling of the gravel and digging out the front course of block so we can lay the final course of 12's tomorrow. The stone leveler worked great and gave a real nice consistent level. I had a spare 24' 2" square tube steel so I picked up a 20' section of 2" angle iron and welded it to the bottom. Attached fork attachments to it. But I found that it was fairly unstable, I would dig in any time i hit a mass of stone. So I smoothed it as much with the bobcat's bucket, then shuffled the leveler on the ground forward a few feet to get my new level, then back on the bobcat to pull the stone away. Repeated the process many times, and even welded a piece of tube steel on the front to keep it from tipping forward. I'm happy with the results.
Clearing out the stone #3 stone that we've been driving over for the past week was a pain, basically hand picking boulders out of the holes. Got the new block in place for tomorrow. Sand, lime, and mortar next to the bin as well. Will lay the last course of 12's, finish the ends, put in the center post, pour concrete down the middle, put in the J bolts and some rebar down the middle for strength. When I was 14 I was pulling my mothers car around and mistook the clutch for the brake and smashed the center post of my fathers garage with the volvo. It didn't move. So over the course of the next 50 years, I'm sure the center post will be smacked and I'll be safe.
It makes sense to me at least. Maybe for a 4" pad it wouldn't be bad but 6" is a lot of concrete to heat before it hits the surface. Their suggestion doesn't seem to be driven by sales as they wouldn't make anything extra regardless of where you put it, and they even sell staples to staple it to the insulation. I mean if it's dead wrong, it's dead wrong, it seems to make sense to me though.
Today was the leveling of the gravel and digging out the front course of block so we can lay the final course of 12's tomorrow. The stone leveler worked great and gave a real nice consistent level. I had a spare 24' 2" square tube steel so I picked up a 20' section of 2" angle iron and welded it to the bottom. Attached fork attachments to it. But I found that it was fairly unstable, I would dig in any time i hit a mass of stone. So I smoothed it as much with the bobcat's bucket, then shuffled the leveler on the ground forward a few feet to get my new level, then back on the bobcat to pull the stone away. Repeated the process many times, and even welded a piece of tube steel on the front to keep it from tipping forward. I'm happy with the results.
Clearing out the stone #3 stone that we've been driving over for the past week was a pain, basically hand picking boulders out of the holes. Got the new block in place for tomorrow. Sand, lime, and mortar next to the bin as well. Will lay the last course of 12's, finish the ends, put in the center post, pour concrete down the middle, put in the J bolts and some rebar down the middle for strength. When I was 14 I was pulling my mothers car around and mistook the clutch for the brake and smashed the center post of my fathers garage with the volvo. It didn't move. So over the course of the next 50 years, I'm sure the center post will be smacked and I'll be safe.
aczlan
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Once it gets up to temperature, your entire slab will be the same temperature from top to bottom (within a degree or two).
It may heat up faster with the PEX in the top couple inches, but once the slab is up to temperature it shouldn't matter where in the slab your PEX is sitting.
If it's further down the slab, it'll be a little bit harder to hit on accident which is where I would put it.
Aaron Z
It may heat up faster with the PEX in the top couple inches, but once the slab is up to temperature it shouldn't matter where in the slab your PEX is sitting.
If it's further down the slab, it'll be a little bit harder to hit on accident which is where I would put it.
Aaron Z
