Do It Yourself Hydraunic Floor Heating On Existing Concrete Floor

This installation is generally placed over an existing concrete slab.

Do it yourself hydraunic floor heating on existing concrete floor.

Between joists in a concrete slab under hardwood or tile etc. Radiant air floors don t hold large amount of heat and for this reason they are used mainly in commercial buildings. Large warehouses to tiny bathrooms lavish homes to well used workshops. The thermofin u heat transfer plates are easier to install if the fins are down against the subfloor and plywood sleepers on the fins.

There are several manufacturers of electric radiant floor heating systems that can be placed directly on top of an existing concrete slab. Its success with carpeted floors depends on the length of the weave thick carpets or those with thick pads won t work well as heat generated by the system will. Radiant heating works well with ceramic tile and vinyl but not with wood floors. With a floor sensor controlling the radiant zone independent of the room s air temperature the floor maintains whatever baseline temperature you desire and the other heat sources if used can make up the difference.

Hydronic or liquid floors these cost less and are therefore used more often in residential construction. This is the best choice for new construction and areas receiving new slabs. In floor heating works well heating spaces of all size and use. So when installing a floor sensor thermistor never embed the thermistor itself into the concrete.

Our do it yourself kits can be installed and utilized in all sorts of spaces with all sorts of materials. I don t particularly like them however because they re not very energy efficient. Some look like wire fencing that you roll out over the floor. In a wet installation the heating panels are installed on the floor and a thin layer of concrete or gypsum is spread over the installation sandwiching the cables or tubing between two layers of either flooring or concrete.

Heating up the mass of concrete is not necessarily a good thing when you want the entire surface floor to be warmed. Electric radiant floors do a great job at heating any kind of home but they re extremely expensive.