In-floor heating

[nhraracer90]

Hello all,
I will hopefully have my building up here in the next few weeks (40x50) and I was looking into radiant heating. I will also have an oil furnace so the radiant heat won't be my only heat source. This will be a hobby/part time garage. (evening and weekends) Is this worth the extra money to do this upfront? I would probably just run the tubing and finish the rest of it at another time after I pour the concrete floor. What are your thoughts on doing this? Also, if I put down an epoxy floor coating, will this cause any issues?

Thanks!

 

[The Cobbler]

I had this same question when I poured my floor. I knew if I didn't install radiant, I would be upset. I knew if I did install it , I would probably never use it.
in the end I did not install it. I have to live with myself now!

 

[Thumper68]

If you are ever planning on heating your shop full time then put the tubes in, IMO it is the best heat, warm floors warm feet and since I do not have a lift warm *** when working on the floor.

In either case insulate the floor.

It also has the best recovery when you have the overhead door open, as soon as the door shuts my shop is warm again even when it is below 0, nothing is better than having 1200 sq ft of radiator.

If you want to go from cold to warm and back then it is not for you, radiant floor is best when you keep the temp up all the time.

 

[kabinenroller]

Insulation is the most important part of a radiant system. You should design the building with the heating system in mind. If you are planning a pole building you will never have the insulating qualities of a foundation/ poured slab system.
I designed my building with the radiant system being the driving force in how the building was built. Full foundation, insulated on both sides, vapor barrier and sheet insulation under the slab. With the inner insulation installed so it is above the finished floor on the foundation so the floor slab does not touch the foundation, there is no thermo transfer between the two concrete surfaces.
The walls and ceiling are super insulated and the outside of the building has sheet insulation and tyvac wrap under the siding.
I use a wall mounted hot water heater as a boiler and it works perfectly. This will be the fifth winter for the building, I would not even concider any other type of heat. There is no back up forced air system. The thermostat is set at 59 and I do not need to adjust it. It is set that way 24/7/365.

 

[Jess]

I agree with the previous advice to insulate and isolate the floor regardless of what you decide to do. Once you are that far, the pipe is cheap and you future proof your building. When I did mine, I put 3" of XPS under the slab, rebar om 16" centres and mesh on top to tie wrap the pipe onto. All of it was suspended on 1 1/2 chairs in a 5" pour. In my mild climate, I have not found that I needed the heat but its there if I change my mind. Pretty hard to do once its poured.

 

[nhraracer90]

What all materials would I need to put down before I pour the floor? I probably wouldn't be hooking it up for awhile. Just what would I need to before the floor is poured? Thanks!!

 

[seanc_mt]

Check out Eco-Foil.

 

[FANTM58]

Also it's a good idea to run your tubes
Into a manifold and pressurize it .
And install a gauge to inspect for pressure drop.
You don't want a bad loop going un noticed
During the concrete pour.

 

[Armorpoxy]

In floor heat is fantastic, we have it in one of our shops. Feels great when it's cold out...