Another log house (SE)

[Deleted User]

I don't think you'll get many btus outta the chinking. Just not a whole lot of surface area. Plus, with the thermal expansion and contraction you'll be up there re-chinking every 30 days!

What about a hide-a-vector in the floor?

Log homes do present some serious heating issues.

ME

Steve Ebels

Another log house (SE)

Well kinda log and kinda not. It's a sandwich. Half log on the outside, 2x4 stud in the middle, and half log again on the inside.

Here's the problem. Another one of those wall-o-windows type constructions that puts btu/ft well over 40. The ceiling is monolithic type constuction (roof-ceiling combo) can't put tube there. The half log construction on the inside wall is up to 6" thick making a typical radiant wall application dicey at best. HO does not want any visisble rads or baseboard. (Nothing like working with you huh?)

So here's the only idea I've come up with so far. Install tube at the chinking joint between each of the 1/2 logs on the interior wall (this would be only about 1" of material over the tube) and cover it with the chinking. I have no idea how much this would put out so I'm pondering doing every sq ft available and setting it up as a second stage that comes on only when the floor reaches its limit. Also considering installing plates of some type at the chinking joint and covering them with the log. This would leave the channel portion of the plate exposed to snap in the tube after the logs are nailed. The tube could then be covered with the chinking.

Comments.

Suggestions.

Alternatives.

Or am I barking up the wrong tree?

Floyd_2

How bout.....

Unico with a hydro coil.... am doing that with a log home that wanted A/C.... can get wood covers for the vents and stain them to match the flooring.....

My guy liked the idea because he wants to heat the house up faster than it would heat with just radiant, when he comes up on the weekends and wants to heat it up fast.

Am figuring to set it up two stage... radiant 1st then hydro 2nd....

May work for you.....

Steve Eayrs

How about radiant floors and.............

fintube, w/ custom wood fronts and top, to match the log.
Leave a space at the top, against wall, and another space, about an inch, between the overlapping horzonal top board, and the vertical front board. As long as they are off the floor enough for air flow it will work. I did this on one log house and the owners liked it. They woudl have never gone for the tin baseboards, but this matched fairly good. I didn't make the covers, a carpenter did. I installed the fin tube setting on small 90 deg. brackets, and they made brackets to hold their boards up.
Steve

hot_rod

I've used

the concept ME proposed. On a timber frame "wall o glass"we
I selected VRV Quiet Ones in the floor mount boxes. I controlled all 4 of them with one setpoint control. As the outdoor reset ramped up the temperature, the setpoint control would sense this and kick on the power to allthe floor vectors.

When it comes to "bang for your bucks" forced convection will provide lot's of BTUs/ hr. from a very small and unobtrusive package. The owners will have to compromise and give you some "space to meet the load" SOMEWHERE

Good luck, you always seem to come up with creative hydronicology!

hot rod

bruce pirger

I would not put tubing behind the chinking. The temperature extremes will do unfriendly things to the log siding. Good chinking these days is very flexible....BUT...I wouldn't want to push this.

I have heard of combo radiant/forced air with large open rooms.

Is there a large fireplace being installed? That might be a possibility....warming that entire structure. Kinda like a big Russian fireplace but heated with water (all the time) and maybe wood when they want.

The one thought I was working on when thinking about my big "wall of glass" project was blowing warm air up across the glass. Guarantees no condensation...and provides warmth. I was going to have (will have) window seats beneath the glass would have the warm air exit from behind these...through a wooden grill...blowing up. Need to work out the coil placement and blower...as you don't want noise. May be best to duct in the warm air through from below...then a duct "burried" in the window seat. Would completely prevent the "down draft" associated with the tall windows.

Good luck! Please let us know what you end up with.

Steve Ebels

No options

On the floor. It's an existing slab on grade.

tombig

Seems like floor mount covectors are the way... meaning you have to cut the slab for hydronic and electric lines. Either that or a monster cast stove in the middle of the room 'like the old days'. Maybe, instead of trying to hide the heating distribution, pipe it all exposed with iron pipe and cast fittings, maybe even some salvaged radiators. If this fits with the architectural scheme it could be a solution.




Tom Goebig