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best method to replace heatway staple up and in slab tubing

Adk1guy
Adk1guy Member Posts: 61
Unfortunately I have a lot of orange heatway non barrier.
Some is buried and will be a major job to replace. Like a flash slab in the basement and second floor installed from above before putting the subfloor down. But happily, in my basement I only have to drop the insulation to access it.
My question, is aluminum heat panels by Uponor or similar the best way to go or do people in the forum have better methods.
2. My flash slab in the basement, it's 3" on top of blueboard. Has anyone ever seen grooves cut to put new tubing in or am I looking at jack hammering up the slab?

Comments

  • hot_rod
    hot_rod Member Posts: 22,022


    Is the Heatway tube going bad, leaking? Getting hard and brittle where it is exposed? Is it Entran ll, 3, or Onix?

    Yes for the transfer plates.
    Yes to demo the slab, or a thin panel over the top like the Uponor or Viega product.



    Radiant ceilings work nicely for basement retrofits, if you don't want to demo the slab.
    No demo work and incorporate it into the sheetrock installation.Or panel radiators
    Bob "hot rod" Rohr
    trainer for Caleffi NA
    Living the hydronic dream
    Ironman
  • Adk1guy
    Adk1guy Member Posts: 61
    here is exactly what I need. Anyone know a biz that does this or where to rent one?




  • hot_rod
    hot_rod Member Posts: 22,022
    one of the sawblade manufacturers had a machine like that, plus a router for making the loop ends. It is a slow messy job.
    Then you need to fasten the tube in the groove somehow. Then grout it in?
    Bob "hot rod" Rohr
    trainer for Caleffi NA
    Living the hydronic dream
  • Zman
    Zman Member Posts: 7,561
    Do you have room to pour a topping slab over the existing one?
    Another thought would be to pull the ceiling drywall and do radiant plates up and a radiant ceiling down. It would be labor intensive but easier than routering concrete.
    https://www.pmmag.com/articles/96488-radiant-ceilings-are-a-great-option-in-many-systems
    "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough"
    Albert Einstein
  • Adk1guy
    Adk1guy Member Posts: 61
    When you watch videos of these machines working, they are not that messy, pretty fast, and they ARE the routers. Fastening? Improving fastening the easy part. Grout? Yes absolutely!
    The whole point is to have a heated floor. Thank you all for alternate suggestions. I don't want another flash slab on top of my existing flash slab plus elevations would be all messed up. There's two doors and stairs going up.
  • hot_rod
    hot_rod Member Posts: 22,022
    What will the finish floor covering be? I doubt you will want exposed tube? So one way or another you will have some build up. Stairs will be off, I think only a 3/8” difference in rise is code
    Bob "hot rod" Rohr
    trainer for Caleffi NA
    Living the hydronic dream
  • Adk1guy
    Adk1guy Member Posts: 61
    edited November 2022
    It is important to me to keep the same floor height I have now. I am probably have to break up the floor and start over, complicated the fact I build stairs and a partition on top of the slab which I will have to either remove, go around, or go under.
  • hot_rod
    hot_rod Member Posts: 22,022
    Adk1guy said:

    No Bob I will not have some build up. When finished I will have the same height as I have now because that is my design and that is what I am doing.

    sorry to waste your time with suggestions, sound like you have a plan.
    Bob "hot rod" Rohr
    trainer for Caleffi NA
    Living the hydronic dream
  • Adk1guy
    Adk1guy Member Posts: 61
    edited November 2022
    Changing the existing floor elevation is not desirable or feasible which I thought I was making clear.