mat or tile on top of concrete floor

jim_h

I have a workshop (attached to a garage) with radiant/hydronic heat in the concrete floor.  The pex was professionally laid out and installed when the slab was poured a couple of years ago, and the system works fine.  However when the temperature drops below zero, it does take a while to catch up and at -20 it's struggling a bit.



I'd like to put mats or interlocking plastic tile on the shop floor, but not if it makes the heating system work harder.  On the other hand, it seems to me like a thin mat or 1/4 plastic tile wouldn't make much difference, since the pex is already under 5 inches of concrete, and heat already has to propagate upward through that concrete.



Would it make a significant difference?

Gordy

Plastic mats

It'll work but be a bit less responsive. The thick rubber mats you don't want.

hot_rod

if it struggles now

any covering you put over it will decrease performance.



In my shop, around the work bench I used those sport court type plastic, interlocking tiles. The brand I used have a wide open mesh design and the heat output has not changed much. But it does collect a lot of dirt and crud in the open spaces.