Heating the new shop

[Bobby Hatfield]

Anybody have experience with radiant floor heating in a new concrete floor ? Thinking of using it for heat in new shop, with 16' ceiling with the open attic, to heat the shop with stoves will cost more than the shop. Curious about zone heating, like heating the area with machines only on days when milling parts, then assembly when needed.

[Glenn Clabo]

New shop? Did I miss the announcement moment?

Radiant floor heating is, IMHO, the best heat for a shop. I once worked in a building that had radiant heat and it was always comfortable. I liked the feeling of warmth coming up through my feet instead over my head.

Now...are you going to pad it in anyway...the old knees ya know? I don't know how that affects it.

Now what's with the new shop?

[Dennis Peacock]

So what's this about a NEW SHOP?!?

Radiant floor heating is really neat and most of the warmth is near YOU and not up around the roof line. The concrete is a great heat sink and will release the heat more evenly than forced air heating. Sure wish I had radiant floor heating in my bathrooms in the house..!!!!

[G.C. Wagner]

I've got it in mine. I don't have any separate zones since I don't have anything but one big (30x40) open space. I have a steel truss building with 10 foot walls so it's open to the roof peak which is about15 feet.

It stays very comfortable and best of all there isn't a blower to send dust everywhere. I think that I would do it again if I were to build another shop. The only thing that I would do diferent would be to insist on insulation under the slab and keep looking until I found a concrete contractor willing to do it that way.

In short, I love it.

Gerry

[Chris Padilla]

...The only thing that I would do diferent would be to insist on insulation under the slab and keep looking until I found a concrete contractor willing to do it that way.

Gerry

Gerry,

Could you explain a bit what you mean by "insulation under the slab" and why you had difficulty having it done?

Thanks

[Bobby Hatfield]

Gerry, come again on that insulation under the slab. I was wondering about something like that and also insulation around the edges between the footing and slab.

[Bobby Hatfield]

Yeah, Glenn, when the rent goes up too much I think, I could use that to pay for my own building, I want a place to keep and work on the bus too. I think I will try some of Terry's horse stall mats for the ole knees and hip joints.

[Bob Marino]

Bobby,

From what I understand, radiant floor heating is the most comfortable way to heat a shop.

Bob

[G.C. Wagner]

Chris,
I don't remember the exact thickness but the people that sold me the system said that you should use foam insulation under the slab to keep from having to heat up the fill and earth under it. I'm sure that I probably use more LP gas because of not having it.

As to the reason I didn't get it done that way, the guy I hired had the reputation of being "the best" in the county and while he did the best finishing work I've ever seen, he was also living back in the dark ages. He wouldn't even think about it. Didn't believe in fiberglass strands in concrete and would send back the truck if it arrived with any evidence of fiberglass having been added to the last load the truck hauled. Non of this new-fangled stuff for him!

To be fair, the floor only has hairline cracks in it after 5 years.

Gerry

[G.C. Wagner]

Bobby,
I bought the system from a company in Minnesota. Can't remember the name but if you're interested I'm sure I've still got the receipts and info on it. I think it would be a good idea to insulate around the outside also. Yesterday we had ice everywhere and it was melted away about a foot around the building where there is concrete. So you know that some of my heat is being wasted heating up the ground around the shop.

Bob Marino is right about it being comfortable. It is a very even heat without any cold areas.

I have some of Terry's horse stall mats also. I'm 66 and my joints and especially the knees sure do appreciate them.

Gerry

[Joe Breid]

I have infloor heat in my basement shop. The main reason that I put this in was so that I could seal the shop from the rest of the house. It works great.

The heat source is a gas fired hot water heater.

There is one zone for the shop and two for the living area in the rest of the basement.

The installation included 2 inch foam board with the water pipes laid on top of the insulation and the concrete poured on top of this.
Because the concrete is a big heat sink there is a long lag period from when the thermostat calls for heat to when the floor warms up. I try to set the water temperature so the zones run more than half of the time.

I would put this in again in a heartbeat,

joe

[Chris Padilla]

Joe/Gerry,

Excellent posts...thanks so much for the information. I am kicking around adding a basement to my existing home and putting in-floor heat is a fantastic idea. The insulation under the concrete also sounds like a good idea.

[Bobby Hatfield]

I've got it in mine. I don't have any separate zones since I don't have anything but one big (30x40) open space. I have a steel truss building with 10 foot walls so it's open to the roof peak which is about15 feet.

Gerry

Gerry, how big is the boiler for your system ? I hope to build a 40'X80' with 14' center asile without pipes in it, it will need to support heavy vehicles, so I will divide each side into 2 zones each and arrange tools to zones in like kind operations, cutting/shaping, sanding/assembly, with finishing being done in center aisle, downdraft booth with permanant side walls and doors that close on each end for use.

[Terry Quiram]

Bobby

My shop is 32x44 with radiant heat. I heat the building with a 50 gal water heater. Insulation blanket under the slab was supplied by a radiant contractor. I will get a name and phone number if you want. Insulate around the floor between the wall. A radiant contractor can "design" your layout so the runs are equal. I have 5, 150' runs. Tubing is attached with plastic cable ties every foot. I did that labor and saved a bunch. (Oh my aching back ). The contractor hooked up the mechinacals. Be glad to answer specific questions. I keep my thermostat set on 62 and it is a very comfortable temp to work in.

Terry

[G.C. Wagner]

Bobby,

I've got a 110,000 BTU boiler but it's way more than I need although there's not much time between temperature changes in the floor. The people that designed the system said that 60,000 BTU would do it. This was sort of a desparation move since winter came on me and I had to grab something that would work. I tried a 60 gallon hot water heater at first but it was electric and wouldn't even come close when the weather really turned cold. It ran continously and just couldn't get the water hot enough before it circulated out in the floor. We don't have gas in this part of the county so I had to put in a 500 gallon LP tank for the boiler.

I've heard about a lot of people that have used hot water heaters but I'm sure they're gas. This might have worked for me if I had the insulation that I should have had. I keep things around 65 degrees and that's very comfortable.

I've got 4 sections with 300 feet of 1/2 inch tubing in each. I also did the labor tying it every foot so I can tell you Terry's right about the aching back. I also did all the mechanicals myself but I had really detailed instructions. Of course you do a lot of things yourself when you can't find anyone that understands what you're trying to do. Every time I tried to talk about it around here people got that "deer in the headlight look" so it was a little hard.

Sorry about the long winded post but if nothing else, remember this one word, INSULATE. Oh, did I mention INSULATE. Don't make the same costly mistakes I made.

Gerry