Installing Radiant Heat In Concrete Floor

The heating contractor laid out the pex tubing according to the zones that were established for heating the home.

Installing radiant heat in concrete floor.

Installing underfloor electric radiant heat. Tubes that circulate hot water or electrical heating elements are installed in the concrete slab when it s poured turning the thermal mass of the concrete into an inconspicuous radiator of warm even heat. 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 stay trapped in the floor. So even if there are no existing plans for the radiant floor heating or a snow melting system installing pex tubing in it may turn out to be a good decision.

We have a radiant floor heating system with a concrete slab and need to replace the wall to wall carpet in the bedroom with laminate flooring. While it was done as a new house was being built in my last house i poured a concrete floor on top of a wood framed floor system and could have put radiant heat in that as well. The rest of the house has clay tile. If it is not you can have a floor heating system that is inefficient costly to operate and may not work at all.

The concrete slab installation is one of the simplest and most efficient ways to install radiant heat. The science behind radiant floor heating is quite simple. There are two basic types. The system works via pex pipe a small pump a water heater and a thermostat.

While it is simple it is very important to do it correctly. This is about installing hydronic radiant floor heating in a slab floor system. The concrete was 4 thick and the insulation under the slab was 2 thick. Basic materials for radiant floor heat installation in a slab remember since you will only have 1 chance to pour the concrete slab you will only have 1 chance to put the pex tubing in it.

Radiant heating system design or installation mistakes that must be avoided. Radiant heating works well with ceramic tile and vinyl but not with wood floors. Very helpful information regarding flooring choices that go with radiant heat. The picture above shows a concrete floor we re about to pour with radiant heating tubes installed.