Radiant floor heating

[shamban]

I am considering a radiant floor heating system for my new home. I have not heard any "unbiased" opinion as to how well these systems work. I am in Ohio and have woods blocking the Northern winds. The systems aint cheap though, so I would hate to make the investment and be unsatisfied.

Thanks,

Joe

[rabadger]

Floor heat is nice stuff. I would like it in my home. There is a right place to start. First of all the state of Ohio treats residential HVAC the same way Indiana does. The state follows one set of codes and leaves it up to the cities and counties on what they want to do. I found in some areas of Ohio that the counties have an inspector for each township and one for the city. The inspectors are not required to follow the same HVAC code books.

One person from Ohio called me and was totaly flustrated with the whole HVAC bidding process. They asked six contractors to quote the job. Prices came in from 3,500 to 12,000. All the contractors bid warm air heat and A/C.

A developer called me from northwest Ohio and told me they sent four diferent floor plans out for bid and the quotations came back so bad that they had no idea what they were purchasing in the way of craftsmanship.

This is what you sould do.

Have load calculations, a HVAC system design and suggested specifications drawn up for your use. You would then have the ability to set a level standard for all the heating and cooling contractors. You will be able compare the bids and figure out what to do. With out the information in hand, before you ask for bids you are leaving yourself open. It's better to have the contractors quote on what you want and need than to put up with the expensive adds after contracts are signed.

You could even have a option for warm air to compare costs. After all, if you need air conditioning the air distribution system has to be installed.

I saw a post on a web site yesterday where someone is trying to build a 3600 square foot home and wanted floor warming only in the uncarpeted areas. Without having the load calculations and drawings it came in at 33,000. Granted, I do not know the details on what exactly was quoted but that seams high to me for A/C with floor warming only.

[bkrahmer]

I havent' got to experience my hydronic system in its full glory yet. However, I'm pretty pleased with it so bar. I think I have to replace one of my pumps with a smaller one, though. I wish I would have put the tubing in a 1.5" lightweight slab for the main and second floors, though. I like the idea of having that big heat sink which can conduct to colder areas pretty well. (Concrete is only about R-1). I pieced mine together with quite a few ebay components, and I'm probably at around $3000, including a $900 hot water heater (3000 ft2). It can pretty easily take my basement temp from 50 to 55 degrees in about 20 minutes. It will be great to have efficient, comfortable heat with warm floors and less dust.

[shamban]

Thanks for all the great feedback. My primary reasons for wanting Radiant floor heating is A. Allergies- I am allergic to dust mites and cat dander...we won't have forced air blowing that around, and B. I hate the look of all that duct work. We are building a timber-frame home and I want to maintain that rustic look as much as possible.

I got a quote proposal from Radiantec at $9K based on our drawings (2200sqft). I will review it further.

Thanks again for the feedback!

Joe

[bkrahmer]

I got a lot of good information from Radiantec's website. Does their quote include installation? Definitely try to get a local company to bid a comparable package. Personally, I don't know if I could get anybody in town to install a package I bought online.

I also learned that a few of the companies that had their pricing online were pretty much gouging for their packages (IMO). The base price package wasn't too bad, but for every 500 feet of tubing you added, they wanted another $500. If you spent a couple hours online buying the parts separately, you could easily save a couple thousand. Depends on what you are after for a bottom line, cost or convenience.

[shamban]

bkrahmer-

The quote was a DYI package. I cannot see having much of a problem with installation. To make it easier we have TJI joists with the knock-outs as well.

You bring up a good point about pricing though and I have been thinking about that a lot. The concept is very basic really and outside of the hot water heater, the other components are (or should be ) cheap. I am definately going to review the quote in detail I am not getting gouged.

Thanks for the feedback!
Joe

[bkrahmer]

If you are a DIYer, check out houseneeds.com. I'm a very satisfied customer of theirs. They can quote an entire package as well. Their PEX tubing is a little higher than I paid ($0.39 vs $0.30), but the rest of their stuff is pretty well priced. Pex tubing and Taco zone valves and pumps can be pretty consistently found on ebay (I'm talking new, not used.)

I have i-joists with knockouts also. Don't plan on using them. Get yourself a 1" spade bit and drill your holes just a couple inches from the bottom of the top flange. Pulling tubing is a huge PIA, though. Pull about the length of 2x your joist length at each go while your roll is allowed to spin freely, and you will have the easiest time.