Bathroom over screened porch - how to stop pipes from freezing

AGS

Building a bathroom over screened porch ( with storms ) in Northeast and concerned about pipes freezing. Considering radiant heating in bathroom floor and porch floor, but concerned that it won't be enough. Suggestions?

Josh M.

I would suggest for starters puting a low limit aquastat set at 36 degrees F. Set it to cycle the water if there is a risk of freezing. Also you could consider Glycol in the system which is an anti-freeze. However Glycol changes the properties of the liquid so you might have to upsize your pipes. Other than that insulate well and sleeve it in pvc where possible.

flange

you are concerned about the domestic piping or the heating pipes? i'm assuming the domestic.

AGS

Yes correct - the domestic pipes.

[Deleted User]

Cheap Insurance

I spent 18 years in Alaska, North Slope in fact. All buidings were on pilings, and plumbing ran in floor joists. Very much like what you are planning. We ran all plumbing lines, hot and cold domestic water and drain lines with self regulating heat tape, and glycol lines. Glycol lines were pex so we could wrap them around the pipe. The heat tape was also wrapped around everything. We hung the tape out where we could get to it, or even wired it to a switch with pilot light. The self regulating heat tape was our back-up, if they glycol lines failed. You just turn on the heat tape and within a couple hours, you were back in business, no tear outs, or pipe thawing. Cheapest insurance you can put in!

Steve Eayrs

Nothing like insulation.

Up here (Alaska), there is really only one answer. Insulate. Vapor barrior is very imoprtant too. You can have good insulated area, and have one little hole where the wind can blow in, and after figuring the chill factor in you have frozen pipes. Even if it means having a double floor, don't do it without insulating.
If you make sure all your plumbing is inside the well sealed vapor barrier you should not have a problem.

I've seen heated little additions that took as much btu to heat as the whole rest of the house together. What a waste of energy dollars. Also seen where thy have only been able to use this addition seasonally, and winterize it the rest of the year.

Steve

Steve Eayrs

The north slope in Alaska

of course is a whole different enviroment. And you have maintinance personel running all over the place to keep all this stuff working right. Even the best heat tape can go out, and most residentual places, would find the frozen pipes to be too big of a inconvenience, even if you only had to plug it in a wait a while before running again.

Unless you have a budget similar to an oil company, just insulate it right and be done with it.

Steve

ScottMP

AGS

I would install your pipes tight against the floor of the bathroom, insulate them, and then put insulation under them. That way the downward loss of the radiant would help keep that space alittle warm.

Now install a vapor barrier over the joist with plastic. Then a layer of 2" foil backed board insulation. Now put your plywood over all this, then what ever your finished surface will be. That sandwich should stop any infiltration. We work in the Northeast on the coast and do this all the time.

By the way, what do you mean by radiant in the porch floor ?

good luck

Scott


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