Help withRadiant hard sell

oilwizard

It looks like in a few months I will be building a house for the wife and kids. I know the benifits of radiant heat and have installed it for other people, but for me to tell my wife, she thinks I don't know what I'm talking about. So I need some good hard facts why radiant should be put in. I really want to do the garage floor since our bed room will be over the garage but she thinks there is no benifit to having a room over a heated space vs a nonheated space, after all, the whole hose is over the basement and that is not heated. I'm also working on trying to find her a house that is all radiant that she can go into and "feel" how the heat works, so if anyone is around Bristol/Terryville CT that has a radiant house and wouldn't mind letting us in for a few minutes that would be great. The few jobs I have done are like a hour drive and that wont do. Thanks in advance.
Joe

Bill NTSG

Joe,

If you ever get to the other side of the state look me up. I could find a dozen or so customers who would be willing to show off their systems. When you take your car in and out of that garage under the bed room......or when you kid leaves the garage door open, that bedroom floor will be mighty cold. So with 100°water you can heat your garage, have a nice warm snow/ice free car, and a warmer bedroom. If you can't afford it just yet, bury the tube and the insulation. Hook it up later. You only get one chance before the concrete is placed.

hr

Nothing like a

working demo to convince those "on the fence"!

Or consider a bribe. "Honey if you are not happy with the radiant floors after a winter, I'll take you to Hawaii for two weeks" or a diamond, possibly a new car. Whatever pushes her button

Or send her to the inlaws for a weekend and "sneek in the radiant when she's not looking"

Don't take no for an answer. Stand strong on this issue! Put her on the phone, I'll put the fear of ice cold floors into 'er!

Whatever you do, never ever build, or remodel, without including radiant floors and towel bars in the bathrooms. Also kitchen floors. Oughta be a law against that. Where's Dave Yates

hot rod

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Dave Yates (PAH)

Right here!

And wondering if I should jump on the crazy post from CA down The Wall a bit(G).

But to answer this post - have your wife speak to my wife and son who, just this past week, found out how cold unheated floors really feel! No power for several days & one chilly floor system - radiant cooling at its finest(G). Poor Mike, he's never had to suffer cold floors till this past week(G). Now they're both wondering around barefooted and saying "Ahhhhhhhhhhhh" every time they meet up with the tiled flooring.

Then there's the back loss issues. Divide the square footage by the R-value of the insulation & multiply that by the delta-T between indoor & outdoor design-day conditions to see graphically how much extra heat you'll need to offset the Btu losses.

Master suite over the garage? Master bathroom too??? It never fails that we will see at least one such set up suffer thousands in damage from ruptured lines each year. If you heat the garage floor - even to low temps - that won't happen.

Then there's the car devoid of snow & ice in the AM because you deliberately left a void in the under-floor insulation where she parks her car so that a nice earth heat sink was created to give up its stored energy to that ton of steel(G).

But - best of all - there's the desire she'll have to rip off your clothes and make wild passionate love on those heated floors!

If that's not good enough, you can tell her about how you can crank up the fluid temps to - oh let's say 180 - to get rid of unwanted house guests(G).

She'll be able to proof bread - anywhere there's a warm floor!

Throw a pillow on the floor & wait five minutes. Stick those cold piggies into that space & watch for the look of pure joy. The ahhhhh factor.

I'd sooner live in an unheated igloo than a home devoid of radiant heating. I've lived in homes with CI rads (both steam & hot water), several with scorched air (both oil & gas) - with & without humidifiers and even one that had wall mounted space heaters, a vintage house trailor that had an oil fired pot burner & was so small you could soak your feet in the tub while sitting on the loo, brush your teeth in the lav sink, answer the phone and cook dinner - all at the same time. I'll never go back to any of those after living in a home that's 100% radiantly heated.



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kevin_5

My top 5 (or more) selling benefits

Your wife is welcome to visit our home in Nebraska, (our state motto is, "Bring Something to Do")or just call my wife. She didn't know what she was missing, and when we remodeled our house, I had to work hard to justify the extra up-front cost and now she would have nothing else. Ask your wife like I asked mine. "How can I honestly expect someone to buy something from me that I wouldn't have myself?" So you see, it's an INVESTMENT in your own business because it will help you be a far more credible salesman/contractor. Aside from that you'll also enjoy:
#1 Saving up to 40% on monthly heating bills. (This piece of the pie gets bigger every year as fuel costs rise)
#2 Room by room temperature control. (I admit, I over-zone)
#3 No dust, allergens or drafts blowing around your home.
#4 Comfort unparalled by anything else. She won't know what she's missing until she experiences it.
#5 100% FREEDOM of furniture placement! No duct holes in the floor that can't get covered up by that new sectional.
#6 Won't dry out your winter air and give you nosebleeds.
#7 If the baby comes very suddenly and you gotta use the floor for birthing; radiant tile is the only way to go.
(That last one is not a joke.) Maria will be happy to talk to your wife. After living with radiant for three years, we're very passionate about it. Email us if you like and we can give you a phone number if it will help. As Hot Rod said, promise your wife ANYTHING. She is blind to the benefits, and it's your solemn duty to see that she gets what she deserves! Your helpful "radiant evangelist" Kevin O. Pulver

kevin_5

This southern girl

would freeze to death if it wasn't for radiant heat. Yes sireee! My husband told the truth. I grew up in Louisiana where an awful winter day was 30.

Your feet are the thermostat of your body. I don't know why but it is true; if they are cold you are cold and uncomfortable. Women are plagued by cold feet. Radiant takes care of that problem with warm floors.

After dragging my feet not wanting the full meal deal and up front cost, I don't want to trade it. Literally, my husband wants to trade our home in town for a farm house and I said I would not consider it unless we could remodel with radiant heat.

Another selling factor would be if you have any babies or grandbabies that will be visiting your home. As she will know, these little ones usually have to play on "The Floor". Wouldn't it be nice if the floor were warm and you wouldn't feel concerned about bundling them up enough and worrying they might get a runny nose and cold from being at YOUR house.
Sincerely, Maria (Kevin's wife that gave birth on the radiant floor)

Duncan_2

There you have it , Joe.

The voice of truth from the sisterhood.

I feel your pain, brother! Beware, brother, beware! Your wife's not gonna believe what you say anyway. She needs to hear it from someone else besides you, right? At least that's how it works in my home. That's the key! You need someone besides you to tell her how good it is. Your idea of 'feeling is believing' is on track. When confronted by a being of superior cunning and intelligence, only subterfuge, psychological warfare and careful scheming can win the day.

In addition to OTHERS extolling the benefits, you must also plant the seed of doubt. Can you IMAGINE how FREEZING COLD a floor over an unheated garage would be?

I think I need to get out more, don't you?

Craig_2

Of unheated basements

The line about the whole house being over an unheated basement is a good one. Insulate the basement walls and you'd be amazed how much heat loss that prevents. It's much more noticeable in an old house. It made a dramatic difference in my friend's house so now I'm looking to do it too. Once you feel the difference, you'd never consider a room over an unheated garage again. I wish I could offer more than anecdotal evidence. Good luck.
-cf

joel_14

here you go!!!

When Ibuilt my house I only did it in a few rooms. The first cold week we where in the house my wife FREAKED OUT, that I did not put it in the whole house. Of course before we biult when i suggested it she didn't get it either.....

oilwizard

Thanks

Thanks to all who responded, it was very helpful and the tides are turning in my favor.
Joe