Retrofitting a house with Infloor Heat

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on the temperatures. Low temperature plate systems,which generally run below 120° temperatures, have not a problem for me. We have done dozens of retro fits on older hardwood and most have that felt layer underneath. some installers still us asphalt impregnated felt as a "slip sheet"

I did have one smell issue on my brother in laws home. It was a high temperature rubber staple up in an old home. One weekend he cranked the system to 190, opened all the windows, and let it cook out. The smell did FINALLY leave and it was fine after that.

I'm not sure I would depend on that method, however :)

hot rod

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Eric Viken

Retrofitting a house with Infloor Heat

I was planning on replacing my radiators with infloor heat during a remodel using the Ultra fins on Wirsbo in the joist spaces. The only other option to infloor heat for me is fin tube radiation because of layout issues. The floors are composed of a wood subfloor, maple hardwood floor on top, and a layer of tar paper sandwiched in between. I'm concerned that the tar paper may be an issue.

I read in article that you should avoid using any paper containing tar or horsehair under a wood floor. The article said that they "can give off an odor when the heat comes on. And the smel can stay with you fo a long, long time. Use red resin paper instead, and if you're doing a retrofit, under-the-floor job drill up through the floor to check for that tarpaper or horsehair."

Does anyone have any experience with retrofitting under-the-floor where there is a layer of tar paper involved? I don't know if the age of the tar paper would make a difference but if it does my house is aproximately 100 years old. I really want to have in floor heat but not if it will cause any significant odor or potential health issues. Does anyone have any experience with tar paper but a retro-fit of infloor heat?

Al Letellier

tar paper

The very first radiant job we did was a staple up in an enclosed porch area that the owner liked to use for relaxing and doing paperwork. We did the job, and it worked very well, until the odor showed up about a week later. We hunted everywhere for a dried trap or a dead creature and never found the source of the odor. It went away about 1/2 way through the second heating season and he did say that it only happened when the heat was on. Being on constant circulation and that clue led us to the tar paper....lesson learned. To top it all off, it was a touchy one as the owner is a federal judge.......also one of the nicest people you could ever meet. He worked with us and was patient enough to let us figure it out, and he's still a customer today. If your sure there's tar paper, remove it or go another root

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Craig_8

i put staple up in my 70 year old vacation cabin that has tar paper between the floor. it runs at 120-160 degrees because of the 3 layers of subfloor with carpeting on top. never had a problem with any smells or problems related to the paper