1/2" pex 12" or 9" spacing

[gogolf0401]

I have a 40x88' pole barn up in west central MN. Blue Ridge says 12" spacing with 1/2" pex is sufficient. Just curious if you agree. I plan to keep it cool during the winter (50-60 degrees) for the big shop area, but I'll have a living area, bathroom and woodshop that will probably be a little warmer. Wondering if 9" spacing would be recommended for these areas.

I know the right answer here would be to calculate heat loss and such, but I don't have time for that, plus I'm not sure where I'll put windows yet.

 

[Highbeam]

12" for 1/2".

 

[theoldwizard1]

You will likely zone the living area, bathroom and wood shop different than the other area so stick with 12", unless you have an area you want to warm extra quick.

 

[gogolf0401]

You will likely zone the living area, bathroom and wood shop different than the other area so stick with 12", unless you have an area you want to warm extra quick.

Ok good. I'll stick to 12" then. Would be nice to have a faster response time, but I don't want to buy more pex or get new manifolds since I already have those.

 

[gogolf0401]

I'm concerned that if I zone my bathroom and game room together, that the little bathroom will get a lot warmer than the game room. Anyone have any experience with this?
Also, I don't want my wax ring to melt, how far do you stay away from the stool?

 

[Rookie2]

I agree, I would stay away from the bath room with tubing because the concrete will carry the heat from other areas and average out. I have an unfinished 40x60 ,Wirsbo salesman had me start at 6" spacing at the outside walls and increase to 24" spacing in the center. 55 deg in the middle of winter is good working temp.

I have a morton and used house wrap under the metal.

 

[gogolf0401]

I agree, I would stay away from the bath room with tubing because the concrete will carry the heat from other areas and average out. I have an unfinished 40x60 ,Wirsbo salesman had me start at 6" spacing at the outside walls and increase to 24" spacing in the center. 55 deg in the middle of winter is good working temp.

I have a morton and used house wrap under the metal.

I guess I'm hesitant to not put any pex in the bathroom. It is also on an outside wall.

 

[Rookie2]

You can make it a separate short loop or add pex in the wall to plumb a future radiant baseboard heater or they make under the step hot water heaters with a blower.

 

[dfiler2]

If you pay attention when you're laying out the PEX and keep the bathroom a separate loop it would be easy to control that area separate later on. Rookie2's suggestion of stubbing lines for a future panel heater is a good one, here are some towel warmers that do a good job of heating a bathroom. I've never heard of a wax ring melting but you could always use a waxless ring. As mentioned above having the loops closer together on the outside walls and a little further apart in the middle is a good way to help keep the heat where you need it without using extra tubing. Good luck with your project, nice looking building!

 

[Radix2]

If the bathroom is on an outside wall, there is little reason to think it will get hotter just because it is small, after all, it has little pipe because it is small too. You are probably overthinking it, is anyone going to spend long hours on there ? There is no way it going to be much different than the rest of the place, may even be cooler since the ratio of exposed wall to floor area in a small room is worse than in the big room.