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radiant floor with aluminum plates

Snowmelt
Snowmelt Member Posts: 1,405
i have a question, the last bay at a job sight is only 10 inches are so. so i can only get one track in there would it be wise to put a track on the outside wall as close to the top as possible, to help prevent the cold air from coming in?

Comments

  • STEVEusaPA
    STEVEusaPA Member Posts: 6,506
    I would think you would want insulation to stop cold air from infiltrating. To me, cold air would extract heat from the tubing.
    steve
  • Zman
    Zman Member Posts: 7,561
    The outside joist bay/rim area are usually inadequately insulated and tend to leak air.
    Unless your builder is conscientious about this and is using spray insulation, I would keep the tubing out of that bay.
    "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough"
    Albert Einstein
    Solid_Fuel_Man
  • STEVEusaPA
    STEVEusaPA Member Posts: 6,506
    Keep in mind if that last bay is 10 inches, a 2x6 wall above it flush to the exterior, more than half of that bay is probably under the wall, I'd just insulate it.
    steve
    ZmanCanucker
  • hot_rod
    hot_rod Member Posts: 22,024
    The key is to get all the tubing that the design called for, installed. Don't skip a bay and shorten that loop.

    If it is the outer most joist bay, the wall is above a portion of it, I'd just pack that one with insulation. Your highest delta T is that outer joist where ambient outside temperature is only 1-1/2 or 2" away from inside air temperature. Spray foam first to seal any air gap and pack a large fiberglass batt in there. Same detail for rim joist where the joist ends nail to the rim board, fill up that space with insulation.

    Run 4 tubes in the last space if you need to use up the loop, two in plates two just fastened to the subfloous areu'h in
    Bob "hot rod" Rohr
    trainer for Caleffi NA
    Living the hydronic dream
    Solid_Fuel_Man