Staple up Radiant Heat and Long Sub floor nails!!

hot_rod

I've tried all the above methods. If you grind take care to use proper face and eye protection, long sleeves and gloves! A fire extinquisher is a good idea also :) A 4-1/2" angle grinder with a thin ferrous wheel is the fastest easiest to handle power tool between joists. Much faster than a Dremel, I feel. A bit more HP, also.

Did you calculate the load? Some times a suspended tube method works with a lot less blood, sweat, and tears! Yeah it will cost you a few more supply degrees, but it actually does a nice job of even floor warming.

140F max. temperature against sheetrock, if you go that route. Make sure you still meet the load with subfloor and sheetrock build up at or below that supply temperature.

hot rod

PeterL

Staple up Radiant Heat and Long Sub floor nails!!

I am about to do a staple up radiant floor, under a kitchen where the sub floor layers were attached using over-length flooring nails, hundreds of them. I have spent many hours cutting off the exposed points, however with end and side nail cutters there is no such thing as a flush cut to the boards. To protect the PEX, what do you recommend as a layer between the 7/8th inch 1920s tongue and groove original sub floor, and the PEX tubing?
.
My current thinking is to use 3/8th drywall screwed into place against the underside of the subfloor, and the PEX held in place with aluminium heat transmission plates, also screwed in place, with the right length screws.
Is drywall a reasonable material? Will it act as a good enough conductor through to the floor? Is there a better way of doing this?

I have thought of;-
1. angle grinding the tips down - too much fire risk in an old house,
2. hammering the nails sideways - potential for raising nail heads through the untouchable vinyl flooring above
3. cement board (instead of drywall) - too rigid to get a good contact with the sub floor for heat conduction

Any ideas and suggestions will be gratefully received.
Many thanks Cheers PeterL Toronto Ontario,

Unknown

Grinder gets my vote

That's the only way I've seen guys deal with it, up to now.

I, too, am curious about a better way.

Noel

kevin_5

some ideas

All your reasoning is very well thought out. As far as drywall being a good conductor- yes, it's very good; as attested to by radiant ceiling performance numbers.
As far as it being practical to install in this application, I doubt it, but who knows? I like your willingness to think outside the box. Of course the rock could very easily be cut to width. If you could easily get it up in the joists, a piece of 3/4" plywood with a couple of 2X6 glued to it would give you something stiff to use your sledge hammer against in order to drive the rock onto the nails without breaking it , but it seems it would be very difficult to get the rock up without an air gap between it and the floor. Millions of ceilings tell us that the rock will stay up there with just a few screws. I still think the grinder would be the much easier way to go. Take a fire extinguiser and a spray bottle of water down there with you. How about a pump up garden sprayer to dampen the joists where you will be grinding? It would be cheap, quick, easy, dry quickly, and give you a good level of protection and peace of mind. I have never had this problem, as all my staple up has been the Wirsbo hanging variety (mostly without plates, and tubing not contacting the floor) I know plates are great, but these jobs were "budget" and work great without them. It was either that or forced air for these customers, so surely all you guys would admit "plateless" is the lesser of two evils wouldn't you? Let us know what you do. Kevin

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Unknown

I’ve been thinking about the nails protruding through my family room subfloor and how to remove them for a staple up. Here’s my untried idea – use a Dremel tool. You can buy cut-off wheels for Dremel tools, allowing the cut right at the surface of the subfloor. Cutting off, rather than grinding down, results in far less sparks than an angle grinder. Also, the Dremel is lighter.

There are two types of cut-off wheels – reinforced and un-reinforced. I like the un-reinforced, because they are thinner, so they cut faster with less sparks. However, the big tradeoff is that they shatter if a side-force is added, whereas the reinforced are far more durable. The wheels are so small and light, that when they shatter, no damage to me or the surronding materials ever occured. I’ve cut off rusted nuts and/or bolts this way, numerous times. But doing the nails will be a first.

Mark J Strawcutter

I see a business opportunity...

power (hydraulic) nippers that clip the nail to within 1/6 or 1/8in of the floor

transfer plates with 1/8in thick gooey heat conductive compound factory on the back and a peel-off protective cover. "peel and stick" then run a couple screws in for good measure.

the compound should ideally stay pliable but not turn liquid under 250degF or so. I'm imagining something like the rubber ice dam they use on roofs, or mastic but with good thermal conductivity characteristics

might also want to put some "dimples" on the back of the transfer plate so that when you screw it up it doesn't push the nails up thru the floor.

Mark

eleft_4

Grinder & Grunting

It's a good warm up for the fastening of the plates. It let's you know what over-head really is (G)
get a magnet on a stick to help clean up

al

Randy_2

I have

come across the same problem a couple of times. I like the Wirsbo clips. I have used an angle grinder, with a garden hose nearby - never had to use it.

Boilerpro_3

How about trying Watts radiant hose

You can just weave it between the nails and installation is very fast, but tubing is more expensive.

Boilerpro

Cosmo

I agree with Hot Rod

I have always just used my 4 1/2" angle grinder, after doing it a while you can really cut those nails away fast. I use a full deflection face shield, of course fire extinguisher nearby, and careful where the sparks fly. And as much as I hate to admit it, (heatboy will strangle me next time he sees me) I have given up and used suspended tube to quickly do small kitchens/etc. But only after I fully explain to the customer the tradeoff in efficiency.


Cosmo Valavanis
Dependable P.H.C. Inc.
Plumbing Heating Cooling

hot_rod

If you feel the need for speed

this die grinder spins 12,000 rpms. You don't have to worry about getting shocked, and, unlike electric motors, it actually gets cooler the longer it runs.

Use a 1/16" muffler cutter wheel, and use ear plugs!

hot rod