radiant ceiling and floor

larry_30

We have a two story home with electric baseboard heat now and would like to put in radiant heating on both floors. We have 2" x 8" floor joists for the second floor. Most of the lower level has existing sheetrock ceiling. I would like to install radiant ceiling for the lower level and radiant flooring for the upper floor. Has anyone installed tubing above the sheetrock, installed insulation and then installed tubing for the second floor in a 2" x 8" joist space?? Someone told me that if we did the radiant piping above the sheetrock, the sheetrock would deteriorate in a short period of time. We are planning on removing the existing flooring on the second floor to accomplish our piping. Each floor would be a separate zone. Anybody tried this or had any experience with radiant ceiling with existing sheetrock??
thanks.

Darin Cook_5

Darin

Josh_10

Hi Larry, you have excellent questions. Here is a link to an article written by John Barba in plumbing and mechanical magazine that should answer all of your concerns.

http://www.pmmag.com/CDA/Archives/1d25f083b5fc7010VgnVCM100000f932a8c0____

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hr

First step

would be to do a good heat load calc for each space. Be sure to include the proposed floor covering into the calc. You need to treat the installation as two systems.

Be ideal if you could use a transfer plate for the ceiling and floor. This would allow you to use the lowest possible supply temperature and help with the R-value requirement between the two. Be a tough go to get two systems and an r-19 between in a 7-1/2" joist depth.

I'm not sure how transfer plates could be installed from the top of the sheetrock. Any way to add the ceiling radiant under the current sheetrock?

Whatever you do don't try to heat upper and lower with just one tube install, this becomes a real control nightmare.

Be interesting to see what you come up with.

hot rod

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