I am installing base board heat in my living room area today 20 feet for now. I am making the install as near as perfect as I can. So I'm running from the rear to the front on the curb side then running pex across the front all hidden behind S.S. panels and beneath the flooring to the drivers side then running back along the top of a wire chase I need to leave in because it contains the wiring for my DDEC and some other stuff then return back to my manifold through a bay. When I got to my shifter tower it became obvious I had a monkey wrench thrown in my plans. So I stopped the heating project to tear out the shifter tower and move my shifter control to the left side of my drivers seat which I had wanted to do for a while and relocate my emergency brake elsewhere. I have an ATEC Allison so moving that is pretty simple, the E. Brake is a little more challenging but not that big of deal just deciding where I want to put it.
Charley,
That is reminisicent of EVERYTHING I do!!! One little job.........never is. ;)
I was kicking around taking a router to my floor and putting in Hydronic heat in the middle of the floor. I know base board at the walls is the accepted best way, but I don't really have any wall space where the heat can get out. ( too much s**t at the walls) How do you have space or room or whatever to put it by the walls?
Good luck,
Chaz
p.s. the shifter on the left side is a cool idea too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What do you have at the walls that is in the way? If it's movable furniture just run it behind it, if its fixed cabinetry put it in the toe kick. Feel free to call me any time for help. 2392921750
Ron.
Quote from: Chaz on December 01, 2007, 01:50:14 PM
Charley,
That is reminisicent of EVERYTHING I do!!! One little job.........never is. ;)
I was kicking around taking a router to my floor and putting in Hydronic heat in the middle of the floor.
Perhaps you could laydown a layer of foam insulation, then route out the foam and put the pex in th grooves, maybe a thin sheet of aluminum to spread the heat, then underlayment and then floor covering.
easy to fix if you mess up,
may add a little height to floor but from your comments i dont believe your bumping your head on the cieling :P :D,
plus your feets will be warm
not taking up floor space.
DIYW!!
Charley,
Actually, that is exactly what is there, cabinets and sofas. But the sofas are boxed in at the bottom so they are essentially cabinets.
I have hydronic heat in the floor of my house and when I did it the engineer said you want to keep as much heat as you can where there is a loss, i.e. the walls. So I thought maybe the baseboards should be right at the walls. But since I really can't get at them, I figured I'd run it in the floor.
My floor is already 2 layers of 3/4" plywood. I was kinda wanting to pull up the top layer to see what the bottom layer looks like, but just like you said "ONE THINGS LEADS TO ANOTHER" ;D LOLOL But I still may. But either way, if I do it, I was going to do some sort of thin high performing insulation under the tubes and then spread out the heat on top with thin aluminum.
I will check with the guy who helped design my house and see if there is some sort of preferred method right now. (things change fairly rapidly nowadays)
Oh, and in case you are curious, I put the hydronic heat OVER top of my slab. I mapped it on the floor with a 3/4" magic marker and cut Durock concrete board to fit inside of the lines. "Buttered" (mortared) the bottom of the board stuck it down and drilled a couple 3/32" holes thru it into the concrete and dropped in a length of concrete tie wire and drove in a long roofing nail to help hold it. Then I mortared in the tub in the groove and made it smooth on top. I put Mexican Clay Saltillo Tile over the top. Works great.
I may use some of the same principles here too. But either way, a person can retro fit their house like that. I've even seen sheets of plywood already set up with the grooves in it. All you have to do is nail it down. But hell, they probably get an arm and left testicle for it and I have a table and radial arm saw! ;D
I love it when my feet are warm,
Chaz