Are toekicks the answer? Noisy?

Ken D.

I agree, the toe kicks are dust magnets. The coils and fan wheels get clogged and many people don't like the idea of cutting holes in the bottom of the cabinets. I don't use them unless I have absolutely no other choice.

Gene Davis_3

Radiant floor will be in this 14x18 kitchen space shown in the pic, but due to cabinets and island, we'll only get about 150 s.f. of floor to emit effectively. I am a builder, not a heating contractor.

There is glass in both exterior walls, and a large ceiling vault up high with a small dormered window in it. The 14 foot wall is 9'9, and the gabled wall averages 17'4 in height.

I am sure we will need to supplement, and hot water toekicks with fans might be the only answer.

Are they effective? Are they durable and trouble-free? What about operating noise?

Furthermore, what should we do, if we use them, to make the installation so that one can be readily serviced or replaced? There will be finished ceilings all below.

Steamhead (in transit)

There are better options

toe-kicks are the lazy way out of this type of situation. They contain moving parts which will eventually fail, the fins can clog with dust, and some of them are noisy. Also, to be effective, they need hotter water than your radiant floor will use, so you will need to provide two water temps to the room.

Have you or your heating contractor done a heat-loss calculation on the room? If not, there's really no point to this discussion. We need to know things like- What is the room's total heat loss? How much heat will the radiant floor emit when the floor is no hotter than 85 degrees? How much extra heat will be needed?

If you try, you can "find room" for something better. Why not put a radiator, such as a tall Runtal wall-panel unit, on the cabinet wall by the outside door?

To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"

Gene Davis_3

Heat loss calc for the room is 14,996 Btu/h

tim smith

60 btu/sft, ????? sounds awful high

Are all the walls R-21 insulation, new windows? Ceiling fully insulated. Does not sound right for 250sft. You may want to supplement with steel wall panels, I have used them many times in kitchens. Mount on end of islands, in toe kicks etc. I would recheck those loads if I were you. Tim

SPB

Toe kicks?

I agree your heat loss sounds very high. There are quite a few products out there. From Rahau, Roth ect. that are panels under the tile gets the heat where you need it and can get slightly more heatout put with less stripping. Have had very good luck with them. They are quick to install so are about the same price as staple up after figuring labor. (Roths is pre-insulated) You can also put extra in the wall for a litle extra or panels at the end of cabintets or on the wall. They come in generic stand alone radiator style used a lot in Europe. I also have had luck with aluminum panels under the floor double looping, be sure you have a high load as you say though. (I had to do this under a 30 ft glass wall and the contractor would'nt let me add supplimnetal heat. I was scepticle but it work in Colorado's coldest winter.)

Gene Davis_3

I went back to my cheap free software (Slant Fin Heat Loss Explorer) and re-examined. The software will not let me get the ceiling insulation up as high as we'll get using spray foam, so I am now guessing, from the 12K Btu/h loss the program is giving me, that the real loss is something on the south side of 10K or so. Maybe lower if done right using something more sophisticated.

But, since I will only be getting somewhere around 4.5K output from my floor (150 sf x 30 Btu/h/sf), I am a little less than half way there, thus the need for the supplement.

Attached is a pic of the highpriced wood stove that is the thing shown in the kitchen with the stack coming out. The problem is, even though the stove can generate huge amounts of heat, we cannot use it when designing for a system.

Larry C_13

Radiant heat counter tops?

Granite or concrete countertops? Add the radiant to them also.

Larry C

Mad Dog_2

they are my LAST resort

but they can work. MAD DOG


To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"