radiant ready basement

jack z

I recently bought a house(old) that needs a ton of work. I put a 20 x 30 foot addition on and am getting ready to pour the basement floor. I think it would be smart to put tubing in the floor for future use. I am not making any other changes to the heating system now due to lack of funds. We are going to hear the addition with a wood stove ffor the time being. My plan is to use insultarp under the slab, 2" foam insulation around the slab perimeter, and 6x6 wire mesh to zip tie the tubing to. Any information on pex tubing size, loop design, manifold type, and any other tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot for your help.

Alan(CaliforniaRadiant)Forbes

Good idea

to put the tubing in now.

Much of the information you're asking for depends on:

1) how difficult it's going to be to heat the space and for this, you should have heat loss calculations which will tell you how many BTU's you need to keep the room at 68° on the coldest average day in your area. How high are your ceilings, how much insulation are you putting in the walls, are your windows single or double glazed, what is the size of your windows, etc.

2) what kind of floor coverings you plan to put on top of the concrete.

Use ½" PEX tubing, no longer than 300' per loop; plastic zip ties or e-z clips (see picture); Rehau makes a great brass manifold and make sure you have at least 1" of concrete over the tubing.

Any other tips, you guys?

To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"

hr

A sound plan

Basements are typically a low loss area, regarding heat. But a heat loss calc would still be a good first step.

I usually find 1/2" pex 250- 300 foot loops 12" on center to be adequate for basements. Zone according to your floor plan. always nice to zone bedrooms seperately.

Run, or have some one run the calcs includuing any windows and most importantly floor coverings.

Carpet and pad changes everything.

Your insulation detail sounds fine, as well as the mesh for tie down. Happy heating!

hot rod

To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"

Weezbo

You got the right idea.

take your time and do it right:) I am big on insulation. inside under outside:)it is wonderful stuf:)

jack z

Lets see if my thinking is correct. I am going to make a diagram of my basement with 12x12 grids drawn in. I will calculate the total number of feet of tubing to cover the basement with the tubing 12" on center and then try to keep all the loops approximately the same length(200-250feet). The basement won't have any floor covering just finished. I will hook the loops up to a manifold to pressurize system. Does this sound like a plan? Designing this tubing this way now won't present a problem to the professional installing a new heating system for the house when we can afford it. As I envision it the new system will be a combination of staple up radiant and hot water baseboard. My concern is that the basement tubing will be compatible with the new system that probably won't be done for 1-2 years. Thanks a lot for all your help and advice.

Alan(CaliforniaRadiant)Forbes

Make sure

you take lots of pictures BEFORE the concrete is poured and keep the tubing and manifold pressurized throught the constuction process.

To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"