Comments on: Let there be heat

By: Gene

Gene — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 23:55:51 +0000

What a great story and thanks for the pictures – makes all the difference. I think your plywood ‘finished’ floor is fantastic. Kudos to you for joining the spiders in your crawlspace! I’ve had 2500′ of PEX sitting in my garage for about 8 months, waiting to be installed underfloor in this very same manner. I hired an expert to do the heat loss calculations for me and the system design – I do the rest. He suggested OSB (oriented strand-board) for the sleepers which is cheaper than plywood. Since my subfloor (concrete) has no moisture problems, I think it will work fine especially since the finished floor will probably be glued down onto the sleepers instead of nailed. If anyone is considering a new radiant system, give serious consideration to using a hot water heater since most boilers are overkill with today’s tighter-built homes (NB: this is a controversial subject among plumbing professionals – lots of territory to protect). Apparently oversized boilers “short-cycle” when they’re under-used which significantly shortens their lifespan. I’ve even seen systems here in Seattle that have two water heaters: one for potable (sinks, showers) and another for heating. A few new townhomes here are going even one better with on-demand heaters to heat water for both uses (incredibly space-efficient).

By: creede

creede — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 21:51:33 +0000

MatD, I didn’t use anything special for the sleepers, mostly just cheap old pine plywood from homedepot. I don’t see that it should matter much. If you are stuck on birch for some reason, check your local specialty plywood dealer. Ours Mac Beath usually has piles of reject/damaged plywood that is plenty good for sleepers. I got all mine for $8 a sheet.

By: MatD

MatD — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 15:45:59 +0000

What kind of plywood did you use for the sleepers? I am going to do the same sort of thing in my house. I notice one company has a system that uses birch plywood, and they specify this is supreme for fastener holding for the plank wood flooring I will put on top. Birch is expensive for something that is going to be hidden. I can’t seem to find out if other (less expensive plywood types would) be acceptable.

By: creede

creede — Wed, 28 Jun 2006 04:17:23 +0000

mfojas, go to hear there are others like me out there. Nice pics on your flicker site. Where are you living now?

By: mfojas

mfojas — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 07:10:58 +0000

The more I read about your demolishing/rebuilding, the more kinship I feel towards you and your wife. Definitely, we have the same DIY spirit, affinity for simple, clean design and understanding wives… This blog is really an inspiration for when we finally make our way back to the States and own our own small space again…

By: DavidM

DavidM — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 23:05:56 +0000

Great, creative idea on the flooring. Necessity…mother of invention and all that. Please keep documenting the process for the sake of all of us who read and appreciate but don’t often comment.

By: Bryce

Bryce — Mon, 05 Jun 2006 22:45:52 +0000

Radiant heat is fantastic. We had radiant (though not under floor) heat in the house I lived in from age 4 to 8. It was in a part of Colorado that got really cold in winter, but I never noticed it. The house was always evenly heated and pleasant. If I ever build or buy a house in a place that dips below 50°F during the winter it will have radiant under floor heating. Having warm feet on bare surfaces would be lovely. Your wife must be very patient.

By: emily

emily — Sat, 03 Jun 2006 18:50:48 +0000

I continuously think you are the most genius, and determined I have met. Constantly amazed, I didn’t see this in action, though Jon did, after reading this description, I am floored (no pun intended)… Congratulations. When we come over, I will treasure every bit of your heating from now on!

By: mattS

mattS — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 17:55:38 +0000

Trial and error with your one and only house takes some serious stones! I’m getting nervous just thinking about replacing our old thermostats with digital units. And I imagine your $5k in expenses has added far more than that in value, not to mention how freaking cool it is that you’ve got radiant heat.

By: creede

creede — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 00:41:54 +0000

I read a lot online, and the rest is kinda trial and error. I ask a lot of questions whenever I go places too. That was one of the things that convinced me to buy everything local. It gave me a real person I could call who could walk me through the things I didn’t know.