Radiant floor heating $$??

[ejb]

Hi guys.

Looking for some guidance:

I am planning a kitchen remodel, current floor is linoleum ontop of 2 - 5/8" sheets of plywood. I'd like to install radiant heating if it can be done for something less than a fortune....

Question is, as I understand it, I can either rip up one layer of plywood (no problem) put down some sort of groved panels that the tubes snap into, and lay then new floor ontop of that...or 2) install the tubes underneath.

I like the idea of the under-the-floor method(i.e. from the cellar), mostly because the nervous part of me says if there is leak, I can get to it w/out ripping up the floor; but I suspect its going to be quite a pain-in-the neck to install it (hard if I do it, expensive if I hire someone). The other drawback of this method, as I see it, is that its not as good...i.e. not all the heat gets up where it supposed to be.

Ripping up the first layer of flooring, and putting panels down is doable...probablyy less work, but i have no idea a) how much those panels costs, and b) how much the floor will end up "rising"...i.e. by the time I add the panels, tubing and then finished floor on top, how thick will that be? Worried about doors etc still workinf and then transition to other floors not replaced.

Last question...and maybe the most important. Any idea, how much I should budget for these two methods? A price per SF estimate for parts and labor seperately would be much appreciated if you've done anything similar lately. Not coutning the new floors since that has to happen anyway.

 

[midlf]

I did a lot of research on this about two years ago. However my age assisted memory does not have the prices. I found all the info by googling the words radiant floor heat. I think the under floor tube would be cheaper and, if the basement ceiling is clear, easier. You still need to insulate under the floor for either method.

 

[InlineDieselFan]

I can't answer the price per foot, but it was too much for our current home under construction. But I do know that the more you do the cheaper per square foot it is.

If you are just doing a kitchen with a heated floor have you thought about the electric radiant floor heaters? This is what we did in our master bath. Total cost was less than $1,000. This got us the controllers, wiring, and 44 square feet of heated area, then the radiated out area also. For the elctric type the more you do the cheaper per square foot also.

steve

 

[heehaw]

i've seen this done with a plain everyday, gas in this case, water heater as the source of heating the water, and also in this case, the orange natural gas pipe: in concrete: and it worked great and cheap: now for what your wanting to do, use the pex pipe, tear up a layer of flooring, and use your water heater for the source: a little thermostaticly controlled pump, or valve on the water heater to turn the water on and you've got it..
heehaw

 

[Casco1]

EJB, I'm in the early process of building a new home and have looked into radiant floor heating. After speaking with a few friends in the trades I've decided against it, mainly because in our area the more conventional methods give more heat per $. From my research radiant floor is best used in climates where the ground never freezes or homes built on slabs where by heating the cement base heats the house. I'm sure If I had unlimited funds someone could install a RFH system that would do the job. I've decided to go conventional and buy myself a new pair of fuzzy slippers.. Good Luck with your project

 

[inveresk]

If your only talking about underfloor heating for the kitchen, then I'd forget it. It's likely to be very costly for such a small area. Ideally, you want to do a whole floor to make it worthwhile.

It's a great house heating system, though, and gives terrific comfort conditions, is very efficient and means no baseboard or other heaters that restrict furniture layouts.

 

[MossRoad]

It also means no dust is spread around like with forced air... but you have to install ductwork anyway if you want air conditioning. And you need some way to exchange the air in the room once in a while or it gets stale.

 

[5030tinkerer]

There is a company out there called warmboard that makes a very, very compelling product. Check it out at warmboard.com. I am building a new home and struggling between this solution and the more conventional set in thinset method. I know someone in Wisconsin who has the thinset system and he swears by it. The warmboard is about $6/ft and consists of a 1.1/8" subfloor base (you could likely rip out *both* of your 5/8 subfloors, resulting in just an 1/8" increase in floor height). You'll want to check with them and do your own research obviously. I ordered a sample of their product and was blown away by the quality. Basically a 1.1/8 plywood sheet routed with channels for the pex tubing and then a thin sheet of aluminum bonded to it for even heat distribution. This allows you to place the tubes at 12" OC instead of the 4" or so requirement for conventional installations. It also lets you feel more comfortable with having a uniform flooring surface. No, I don't work for them - just amazed by their product. Good luck!

 

[slydog]

I was in Alaska this summer on a fishing trip, and the friend we were staying with had built his own garage. It was about 45 x 45 with about a 16 foot ceiling. When pouring the slab, he had embedded pipes in it, and heats the slab in the winter with a 50 gallon hot water heater, regulated by a thermostat controlled pump.

He said it works great overall, but doesn't heat the slab evenly. Of course he doesn't have to worry about air conditioning. It was a pretty cool looking setup, that he seemed to be pleased with for heating his garage/shop.

I think it would require more engineering if it were used in a home slab setting, to even out the heat distribution, and probably wouldnt be very practical in your case, but I thought it worth mentioning since we were on the subject.

 

[jol1269]

there are draw backs to both systems as well as advantages the under floor method although hard to do in a crawl to me would make more sense especially since the finished floor above wouldnt have to be removed and if you went with the underflor system after you put in the pex tubing and the aluminum flanges ,just get some expanding spray foam like froth pak or handi foam and spray it ontop of the pex and aluminum to seal it in and keep the heat going up into the sublfoor and flooring where you would want it to be ...just my two cents