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PEX radiant floor heating?

1:37 PM 02/17/2013

 

deancollins

Brooklyn, NY

Does anyone on the list have PEX in floor radiant heating?

What are thoughts, any tips on its installation? what would you do differently etc?

Basically we are about to gut renovate our master bathroom, because we are moving a few different items around the existing hot water radiator needs to be removed. The GC has suggested in floor radiant heating but i'm unsure if it gets hot enough etc.

Looking for any feedback or advice (and no using electric isnt an option we've consider.

 

 

Plumbers and Plumbing
11 answers
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  • vote

    phfamily

    Prospect Heights, NY

    We have PEX radiant floor heating throughout. It is wonderful and certainly does get warm/ht enough. Installation was pretty easy.... Good luck!

    3:49 PM 02/17/2013 | 0 Votes

     

     

  • vote

    mtadstudio

    South Slope, NY

    radiant is great. and pex is fine. The only real question is how this loop of piping will integrate with the existing system. Do you have hot water radiators? Steam radiators? I believe that the water temperature used for radiant heat in a motar bed under tiles is different from the water temperature used for a radiator etc. And any additional pumps / valves etc that may be requred? 
    get a complete number for all that is involved from GC before going down this road. 

    9:34 PM 02/17/2013 | 0 Votes

     

     

  • vote

    deancollins

    Brooklyn, NY

    we have hot water radiators, though each radiator can be controlled by a manual valve to determine heat so curious why the valve couldnt be left higher/lower.

    Do you know for a fact that floor heating with inslab pex under porcelain tiles is a different temperature to central baseboard radiator heating or is this just something you've heard?

    11:22 PM 02/17/2013 | 0 Votes

     

     

    Comments (1)

    • masterplvmber

      New York, NY

      The temperatures are much different: ~170-180 for baseboard radiators and about ~110-120 for masonry flooring.

      6:58 AM 02/18/2013

          

  • vote

    deancollins

    Brooklyn, NY

    so whats the trick for having them run on the same radiator/supply lines you mentioned in the other post?

    8:39 AM 02/18/2013 | 0 Votes

     

     

    Comments (1)

    • masterplvmber

      New York, NY

      Sorry, Dean. Plumbing class ends here. There's too much to get into, too many options and it's a techy conversation involving many terms that are likely to be brand new to the non-pro.

      9:03 AM 02/18/2013

          

  • vote

    deancollins

    Brooklyn, NY

    gee thanks for all your help. lol.

    an expert is soemone who doesnt need to consider their art black magic but hey like i said you arent getting paid so fair enough but dont try and make out its too complicated to understand by a lay person.

    12:26 PM 02/18/2013 | 0 Votes

     

     

    Comments (1)

  • vote

    sandyman

    In MP's defense, it is kind of complicated and you've provided pretty limited info. In short, it seems you want to run two systems (Pex in floor and hot water baseboard) off of one heat source. Each of these systems require different water temperatures pex is a low temp heat and baseboard at high temp. So, you either need to figure out a way to have your boiler modulate between the demands and close off circuits depending on which system is in use. I don't know how you do it and it would probably require a new boiler and a lot of expensive plumbing. The alternative may be to use low-temp panel heaters (runtel is one brand) so that your heating temp requirements are the same through out your house. Final thought would be to use electric heat source, though, I think those are mostly used in bathrooms. You can check out radiantec.com for info.

    5:56 PM 02/18/2013 | 0 Votes

     

     

  • vote

    cmu

    Trick? Mixing valve, return water, recirculation of. Not rocket science.
    http://tekmarcontrols.com/prod...
    Personally I'd save a lot of money by reinstallng a radiator since I hate warm bathroom floors, but I know that's way unusual.
     

    5:57 PM 02/18/2013 | 1 Votes

     

     

    Comments (3)

    • sandyman

      there you go.

      6:07 PM 02/18/2013

          

    • deancollins

      Brooklyn, NY

      CMU, we are trying to go to radiant floors instead of radiators as we have a location problem (eg the new vanity is going where the baseboard radiator currently is.

      6:18 PM 02/18/2013

          

    • masterplvmber

      New York, NY

      This is gonna be awesome. Go, CMU!

      7:57 PM 02/18/2013

          

  • vote

    brucef

    Cobble Hill, NY

    Dean,

    If your vamity is somewhat conventional (big box), you can get an under cabinet unit that blows out the kick. It uses same temp as radiator, no muss, no fuss.

    What did you ever do to conquer pulling wires through walls?

    Bruce

    10:53 PM 02/18/2013 | 0 Votes

     

     

    Comments (4)

    • masterplvmber

      New York, NY

      He's an IT guy so I'm sure he's convinced himself his own definition of "technical" extends to flow rates, head loss, mix temps, pressure drops, deltaT, control wiring of low and line voltage, selecting injection pumps, ranges of tempering valves, manifolds, tubing types, anchoring hardware, mechanical couplings, communication from floor/room temps to the boiler in his multi-family, and the list goes on. Me? I'm not telling how to do it because I'm "not getting paid". As if I don't spend half my life answering questions on Brownstoner for free.

      2:22 AM 02/19/2013

          

    • deancollins

      Brooklyn, NY

      Hi Bruce, i thought about running a baseboard under the vanity but wife wants double drawer vanity for space so worried about it being too close/hot.Other option is to just use towel rails and relocate door entrance but this would result in doorway looking straight onto the bath :(And no we never did pull the wires using the alternate basement route, basically co-op nixed the idea of opening up the hallway walls as too messy.

      10:18 AM 02/19/2013

          

    • deancollins

      Brooklyn, NY

      MVP Blah Blah Blah, you can always tell an insecure person when they try and convince themselves their own bullshit is magic.Yes i need a plumber/GC to implement this but all i was askign for was a basica explanation of why a separate run would be needed.Why dont you "mechanically couple" yourself somewhere else if you feel this question was beneath your magic.

      10:21 AM 02/19/2013

          

    • masterplvmber

      New York, NY

      I never felt it was "beneath my magic". I just recognized the signs the guy asking for it was. See how right I got it? Thanks.

      10:56 AM 02/19/2013

          

  • vote

    cmu

    Yeah, of COURSE you need a phD in plumbing to do an 80sqft radiant floor. I stand corrected.
    Seriously, though, MvP, I don't see why you 'spend half your life' on this site if mostly all you do is alternate telling us how  knowlegable you are while coyly withholding information, and denigrating others' (ok, my) attempts to give simple answers. In any profession, naturally there are intricate details but you cite them like mantra when the posters want generalized answers so they can do their research or make an informed decision. No one's asking you to design plumbing systems on the web for free.

    9:12 AM 02/19/2013 | 1 Votes

     

     

  • vote

    hansdelbruck

    Brooklyn, NY

    Considering radiant flooring in my bathroom too. Found quite a bit of very viable electrical based systems online and at the big stores. Sounds less involved then going the route of a water based system.

    9:31 AM 02/19/2013 | 0 Votes

     

     

  • vote

    arch_tect

    Brooklyn, NY

    Dean,
    As a home-owner who has hydronic radiant heating throughout my house, I can say without a doubt that it is the most comfortable type of heating you can install.  Very efficient as well.  However, given that you would be installing it in just one area of your apartment, AND especially because it is a co-op, I would not go this route.  Having lived in co-op in the past, I don't see you getting this kind of installation approved by them.  I would try to stick within the basic system type.
    I would make sure you've exhausted every possilibity of getting a hot-water radiator or towel warmer to fit somewhere in the room.  There are a lot of options of sizes and profiles today.  
    I've worked many times with Heating Depot in the city.  They source many different types, sizes and shapes of radiators.
    Good luck.

    2:19 PM 02/19/2013 | 0 Votes

     

     

    Comments (2)

    • deancollins

      Brooklyn, NY

      Hi Arch tect,we could put in a towel warmer though i'm not sure it would put out enough heat and would involve routing the heating lines to the other side of the bathroom etc.The co-op itself doesnt care if we put in radiant floor heating as long as it doesnt affect other owners.

      4:06 PM 02/19/2013

          

    • arch_tect

      Brooklyn, NY

      I don't see how adding a loop for radiant heating is going to be any easier than routing lines to the other side of the bathroom. Like mentioned in the above posts, you will need a mixing valve that lowers the temperature for the floor heat. So that means somehow adding a cold water line to the heating line.But I have no clue exactly what your space looks like, so maybe I'm thinking it's a bigger deal than it really is.

      9:01 PM 02/19/2013

          

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