[Strawbale] PEX tubing in floors

Mon Apr 30 12:41:46 CDT 2007

Alan Mason said:
"The problem with photos is that its hard to pull an accurate
measurement off of them, but they are probably not a bad idea as in
addition to a drawing with measurements on it."

I just purchased a new program called "iphotoMEASURE"
(http://www.iphotomeasure.com/) for $120 U.S.  With this program you
place a "DigiTARGET" on the area you wish to measure and snap a digital
photograph.  After downloading the photo you open it up in the
iphotoMEASURE program and you can accurately measure any area on the
photo...I found it accurate to within 1/16".  It works for all aspects
of homebuilding (Both interior and exterior), as well as landscape and
garden layouts. It has been well worth the money!!
~ Jon 

-----Original Message-----
From: strawbale-bounces at listserv.repp.org
[mailto:strawbale-bounces at listserv.repp.org] On Behalf Of Alan Mason
Sent: Sunday, April 29, 2007 7:00 PM
To: strawbale at listserv.repp.org
Subject: Re: [Strawbale] PEX tubing in floors

Kathy,

I see you've already gotten lots of good feedback here, but having had
the
"pleasure" of personally installing a radiant floor for a client,
thought
I'd throw my two cents in.

First, and someone correct me here if I'm wrong, I think that any time
you
have a temperature differential between the concrete and the pex tubing,
you
are going to get condensation. Since the concrete will tend to want to
cool
towards the temperature of the earth underneath in summer or winter
(approx
55 F)  you may actually get less condensation running cool water through
it
than hot.

Second, yes the tubing will want to float when you pour. We did not
charge
the system before pouring, as Shody suggests, but I'm not sure it would
have
helped, as the concrete is still a much denser material. Be sure to
secure
the heck out of it. We used zip ties (NOT tie wire) to tie it to the top
of
the rebar per the manufacturers instructions, especially in areas where
there were walls and at all the bends which will want to float more than
straight runs. .We still got a couple floaters, and had to repair a
couple
of leaks. Fortunately they were under walls or in other places where the
patch in the concrete didn't show. Charge the system as soon as the
concrete
is reasonably cured to see if you have any leaks due to damage during
the
pour as well as when you are putting the walls up to find out if you
have
hit a tube. Its a pain to have to rip the concrete up to repair a leak,
but
its not the end of the world. Be sure to order some tubing repair kits
when
you order your pex.

We marked the location of the pex by laying a long 1 x 4 down in the
different rooms and marking where the tubing was. The dealer who sold us
our
system provided a drawing showing where the tubes should be laid. If
your
dealer does this, I recommend you mark up a copy of that with exact
measurements of where the pex is - it will take longer but be much more
accurate than a stick. Still no guarantee of not hitting a tube, but it
will
help. The problem with photos is that its hard to pull an accurate
measurement off of them, but they are probably not a bad idea as in
addition
to a drawing with measurements on it.

As others have said, avoid running tubing under cabinets, refrigerators
and
other appliances, near toilets (the wax sealing ring  will melt) or any
other place you can conveniently avoid that doesn't require heat. This
will
also reduce the size of your system.

Finally, I don't know where you live, but you might ask yourself if you
really need a radiant floor. I just talked with the client I installed
the
radiant floor for, and he has used his system a total of 3 times since
Feb,
2006. We are in southern California, but his house is at the same
elevation
as mine, about 3700 feet, and it got well below freezing here on at
least 8
days. . During the same period I have had at least 60 heating days here
in
my stick built non-strawbale.See
http://www.oregon.gov/ENERGY/CONS/RES/tax/Radiant.shtml for more
thoughts in
this subject.

Good luck.

@

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <Raftercat5 at aol.com>
To: <strawbale at listserv.repp.org>
Sent: Saturday, April 28, 2007 9:15 PM
Subject: Re: [Strawbale] PEX tubing in floors

> I'm hoping to get some good feedback from all you guys (and girls)
that
are
> knowledgeable in this department.  When we get ready to pour our
concrete
> flooring for the SB house, we'll be putting in PEX tubing.  We plan to
use
solar
> hot water, run by a solar pump, to heat the floors in the winter.
When
the
> sun is not shining, it will automatically kick over to propane heating
the
> water.  My question is:  Can it work to cool the floors in  the summer
by
> pumping cold well water thru the PEX tubing too?  I'm  wondering if
there
would be
> any kind of moisture problem from  condensation.  I think not, as
where
would
> the moisture come from, if it's  not in the ground where the PEX will
be,
which
> is on top of plastic sheeting,  and under concrete?
> Also, I'm concerned about the depth of the tubing into the concrete.
Would
> there be a chance it could work its way toward the surface of the
concrete
> right after it's poured, thus leaving it vulnerable to nails when the
interior
> walls are built?  My husband said we would mark with string where the
> interior walls will be put before we lay the tubing down, so that
won't be
a
> problem.  I just hope we don't screw it up.  One mistake is all that's
needed.....
> - Kathy
>
>
>
> ************************************** See what's free at
http://www.aol.com.
>
>
>
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