concrete counter radiant...

Chris_82

Good point, I love the line because: "I can." Kitchens are the worst and I will def remember this sage advice! To try at home, if I ever get home...and have the time

kevin coppinger_4

Has anyone....

ever done radiant tubing in concrete counters tops? any advice? Do you insulate? w/ what? how do you best control it? a separate zone might be a bit overkill..slab sesor? whaich one? ty, kpc

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Dave_4

counter radiant

You could insulate with 1/2" R-Board polyisocyanurate foam. Seems like a good idea to keep the cupboards cool. I'm just not sure about having warm countertops wrt food spoiling, melting butter, etc. I would put it on its own zone so you can limit the surface temperature.

My 2 cents FWIW.

Unknown

I agree with Andrew,

but I think Bob Gagnon has done it.

Dave

Paul Pollets

Why??

I think HR has done it too. Other than being a novelty, is there a shortfall of BTU's in the room?

Hot countertops would be less than advisable for food prep, or beverages that would get overheated.



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Bob Gagnon plumbing and heating

I heat countertops because

I can. counter tops don't get hot, only warm. Radiant heat is more comfortable because of the more average temps. throughout the house, radiant countertops add to that comfort. Would you rather have a warm countertop or a kickspace heater, many kitchens are hard to heat because of the limited floor space. Everyone up here is getting granite counters, so they are already buying the best heat emitter you can get- think of the thermal mass! As for spoiling food and heating beverages it is not an issue because the counters are even warmer in the summer. The more surfaces you can heat in a house, the lower the water temp., the more efficient the system. I tie them right into the same zone as the kitchen to keep things simple and to prevent overheating, when the kitchen calls for heat the counters get warm, 75 to 85 degrees, just like the floor. I run a seperate loop so the counters could be shut off without shutting off any floor heat. So far nobody wants them shut off. My customers LOVE them. One lady told me she feels like a princess walking through her kitchen. After I pressed another customer for problems he admitted that fruit ripened too quickly, and I told him we could put a little refletex insulation under the fruit bowl, or we could shut off that loop, he said "NO WAY, my wife would kill me". on another job we simply left out the radiant on the end of the counter where they were going to put the fruit bowl. Someone on this site once said that bacteria will grow on the heated surface, and I have no doubt that it will, because it grows at the north pole and in the desert, but again the counters get 75 to 85 degrees in the summer anyway, we don't notice any more bacteria growing then do we. I once tried to melt butter on an 85 degree floor to get a picture to add to my portfolio, but the butter wouldn't melt, so I don't think that would be a problem. I use my short pieces of pex, 70' to 100', for the counters and stairways, that just end up in my basement, so it dosen't cost hardly anything anyway. Heat the counters you'll be glad you did, and so will your customers.
Thanks, Bob Gagnon

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hot_rod

Leave some un-heated areas

instead of warming the whole counter top?

Mine is in my bathroom and is on with the floor loop..Controlled by a slab sensor in the tile floor.

hot rod

Brian

Warm Tops

Hot Rod
Do you have any schematics on how to do them.

Thanks
Dobber

Larry Weingarten

fun

I was just at a place last night where they heat a cement bench surrounding a small pond. This is in an open courtyard near the Pacific Ocean. It is all lost heat, warming the heavens, but boy, people sure do like to sit on that bench! Its fun to see!

Yours, Larry

hot_rod

This one was done upside down

on a piece of that glossy Marlite board. I made a grid pattern with some 3/8" soft copper. Put 1-1/2 inches of concrete in the form, then lay the copper ''mat" in with stubs out the bottom.

A concrete guy helped with the mix. He doubled up the fiber mesh and used a torch to burn off the fuzz when it was flipped over. An acrylic sealer with a bit of pigment has been great for the final coating.

Plants love it on this warm top. And towels on a shelf below are also warmed.

I see you can buy kits now for DIY counter tops. www.concretenetwork.com is one of the sites that "Google" turned up.

hot rod

Home Depot Employee

OOOOHHHH

A warm countertop on the island in my kitchen?

Warm cheeks..... gives me ideas....hhmmmmmm

Andrew Hagen_2

DIY

I had no idea concrete countertops were a DIY item. Coincidentally, I just finished installing my kitchen cabinets and need a countertop. I have ordered the instructional DVD. Thanks.

I think I will skip the radiant in the countertop in the kitchen. I could see doing it in the bathroom.

hot_rod

Never pour concrete!

without installing radiant tube Someday....

Even with a concrete counter top, you could shut it down if some un-seen problem arises.

A sticker from Mark Eatherton!

hot rod

Bob Gagnon plumbing and heating

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Bob Gagnon plumbing and heating

Warm Countertops

A granite countertop salesman told me a while back that the biggest ojection people had about granite was that it was too cold. Bob Gagnon



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Home Depot Employee

Unless..

Unless you are a baker and wish to roll out your dough on the counter, which requires a cool surface and is desired.

Bob Gagnon plumbing and heating

unless

you also have radiant cooling like I have. I don't have granite yet, but one of my customers has it with a radiant cooling system, and she can simply turn the thermostat to cooling mode and that dough will act like it is supposed to. Unless it is real cold outside the counters are barely warm, like the floors. Bob Gagnon

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tim smith

for the cool counter

Run the cold water supply through the counter for rolling dough etc on the baking counter??

Bob Gagnon plumbing and heating

not cold water supply

I cool my house by running well water through a heat exchanger to cool off my primary heating loop, making all the radiant surfaces cool. or you could simply turn down your heat, and radiant countertops, when rolling dough. You would probably turn the heat down if you are baking anyway.
Bob Gagnon

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kevin coppinger_4

thanks guys...

very informative...I will stick tube in there and work it from there...kpc

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