Abandoned copper-in-concrete radiant in-floor rehabilitation?

brucewo1b

Yes I must agree with Grumpy its slim to none on salvaing old copper in concrete as the lime in the concrete eats the copper pipe. I have just one out of about 15 of these systems that still has the cooper radiation in the concrete from the mid forties and I know its just a matter of time

Pete Caruso

Abandoned copper-in-concrete radiant in-floor rehabilitation?

Baseboard with 100 Mbh Teledyne Lars. 50-year-old single-level flat-roofed house on slab.

Homeowner asked me to visit to advise strategy for itegration of condensing boiler into planned renovation to include solar and radiant floor.

Examination of mech room shows abandoned 1" hard copper supply main feeding six 1/2" soft copper lines dropping into the original copper-in-concrete radiant system, abandoned when baseboard was installed.

1" hard copper return? pipe coming up out of slab next to soft copper lines.

My questions:

1) Was it common to have a conventional manifold in the mech room, but have the returns join under-slab?

2) What are the odds that it is better to fix the copper system in place than to put a whole new radiant system above the existing slab?

3) What's the best way to locate the leak point(s) presuming that it was a leak that scuttled the old system? (The loss of the old system could have been the resut of something as simple as the addition of carpet.)

Owner plans to air-pressure test the existing radiant system to see if it has integrity.

Any advice?

Thanks!

Pete

Don \"Grumpy\" Walsh

Slim to None

We have several hundred homes like that in this area. Of the 30-35 of them that I have been called in on, none were salvagable. The concrete had interacted with the copper to an extent that it was hopeless to go further. Lots of "quick-trac" being installed in this area of homes. Had to cut off all the enterior door bottoms and raise the thresholds on the entry doors, but aside from that, rather easy installs. Also did radiant ceilings in two of these houses. That worked out to be the least intrusive and most economical to do.

It was a comon practice to have soldered joints below the floor, here at least. Most of the failures that were located were not at a soldered joint, but in the copper tubing itself, and usually on the inside of the loop bends.