what type of cement to use?

nikos

hello all

can someone advise me on what type of cement to use.im fixing my ranch and using radiant heating on the first floor ,i would like to know which type of cement to use (light weight) to have good heat tranfer of heat ,and how much is the minimum thickness of cement that i can pour?1'"or1 1/4"

Zman

Pcf

I don't have the book I front of me, you are l looking for a product that weighs about 105 pounds per cubic foot. This comes from a John Siegenthaler book. Gycrete works well as does regular concrete. Lightweight concrete is bad because it insulates.

Mark Eatherton

It depends....

on what your wishes wants and expectations are, and different materials must be treated differently.



If you are looking for mass, but it won;t be a wearing surface, then go Gypcrete or its equal. With Gyp, you must use a BONDING agent on the sub floor prior to application. Gyp can't be allowed to get wet after the fact, or it will powder... In other words, avoid use in areas where moisture might be, like bathrooms, entryways etc. It is typically poured at 1 depth of around 1-1/2" thick.



Concrete, which uses cement as one of its constituents, must be applied to a bond BREAKER sheet. If not properly applied, it will break up and look like a puzzle. Not a pretty picture. It can be used as a final wearing surface, can be polished, dyed and or stained and is typically poured at a minimum of 2" thick.



If you are really interested in learning as much as you can, go to the Radiant Professionals ALliance web site and purchase their Radiant Flooring Guide, which tells you about ALL of the different types of radiant floor systems available, their uses and limitations.



http://iapmomembership.org/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage_iapmo.tpl&product_id=157&category_id=26&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=3&vmcchk=1&Itemid=3



If you are not yet a member of the RPA, or have dropped your membership, consider joining/rejoining. Membership is really inexpensive ($300/year) and there are some excellent member benefits.



ME