Slab On Grade Radient Floor Heating Warmboard

They re ideal for whole house heating but professionals suggest installing them during the home s construction because they can be difficult to retrofit if the home isn t already outfitted with the proper equipment.
Slab on grade radient floor heating warmboard. Many radiant heating methods specifically slab based systems inhibit your choice of finish flooring. I am planning to use 1 5 inches of foam board which gives me r 7 5. Irc 2015 figure r403 3 1 shows a frost protected slab on grade but has no insulation under or above the slab i e. While radiant floor heating was growing in the us so was a trend called passive.
Is that going to be enough r value. I m looking at a slab on grade using frost protected shallow foundation design and have a concern about incorporating radiant floor heat. Radiant heat is the most desired form of heating in the world. Radiant heating is very comfortable and there are really only minimal differences between the comfort that different systems will deliver i would base my choice of systems mostly on cost and ease of installation along with design considerations of the house.
14 years later still in good shape and seems to keep house warm and comfortable. Yes using warmboard for a radiant heating ceiling is a great option. Hydronic floor heating systems use hot water pumped through plastic tubing laid out in a serpentine pattern to heat the floor. In 1973 it has a concrete slab foundation with radiant heat water runs thru copper tubing within slab.
We wanted a wood floor and spent a lot of time talking to flooring experts. From a radiant heating perspective it doesn t matter if the slab is actually at grade or is poured several feet below grade as part of a full foundation. It is possible to cool with the warmboard panels but you still would need a secondary source for cooling in your part of the country. Warmboard sounds like a system worth considering if you desire radiant floor heat in upper floors as are other products but to answer.
Moisture concerns and the difficulty of fastening hardwood over concrete is both complicated and expensive while carpeting can actually prevent heat from entering your home. Check out our video how to install radiant floor heat tubing in a slab on grade and read this page for a full description. No insulation between the conditioned space and the earth underneath. I am renovating an older house and am installing radiant heating on top of the existing slab on grade.
However the history of radiant heating from a technology and performance standpoint is not ideal. It is energy efficient easy to control and incredibly comfortable.