Heated Floors

6stringmason

Can anyone tell me what it would run to put in heated floors in a new home?

I realize that prices vary and so do alot of other things, but I just need a general idea please. It would be for about 1400 sq ft.

I would like a price on materials and labor. Im also not sure if you need sturdier trusses or not? I've seen the stuff with poured concrete on the pipes.

My wife and I are in the process of building a vacation home up north and we're trying to decide on whether heated floors is cheaper, or me doing a block basement.

Thanks

__________________
Kamps Masonry & Concrete Countertop Design Green Bay, WI
920-680-3195
Visit our website @
http://www.concretecountertopsdesign.com/

rex

radiant is awsome heat just rember you will probly want to cool the space to so forced air maybe the cheapest......

1400sqft ran off a combi core heater.....you will be maxing out the heater but figure 2k for heater 1.5k for pump switching relay and misc copper and manifolds probly around 800 for tubing.....id charge about 4500 for labor if it needs glycol it will be more...plus the permit....

you could also go with a 90% boiler and boiler mate domestic hot water for some more money probly 1-2k.....

foam and wire to be supplied and installed by others....

im giving you the prices id charge i can buy the stuff much cheaper

MattCoops

We use a mat system with self leveling compound poured over and tile on top.
a 3' x 20' mat can be daisy chained up to 3 on one thermostat - they cost $780.00ea
and the thermostat is $157

But for an area that big, a hot water system that is run through pipes would be a far better system.

__________________
Matt with Cupan Custom Tile & Paint of Lowell, Massachusetts
Design and installation of ceramic tile and natural stone for floor, wall, and countertops
(978) 601-8774 | cupantile@gmail.com | view tile pictures and more

Aframe

6 String, you should post this in plumbing forum also, for pricing

Electric would kill your wallet.

Radiant hot water would be my choice. You do not need to embed in a slab, there are grooved plywood panels with alumium reflectors installed in them, you would put on these top of your subfloor
Run tubing in grooves.
Then finish flooring over this, tile is the best for heat transfer but "pergo" type flooring, can also be used

TimNJ

I have a radiant slab on the 1st floor of my house and I think it is the greatest. However, if this is a vacation home: 1) just how much time are you going to spend there 2) are you going to be renting it out as a "vacation home".

Warmsmeallup

I don't know where "up north" is yet. Post where you plan to build and I'll get back with costs.

6stringmason

High Falls Flowage area, about 20 minutes outside Crivitz,WI

__________________
Kamps Masonry & Concrete Countertop Design Green Bay, WI
920-680-3195
Visit our website @
http://www.concretecountertopsdesign.com/

ODDBALLS

I agree with TimNJ. How often are you going to be using the "vacation" house. If you are on the fence. "Yeah we might use it enough to offset the price but.....", then I would do what MattCoops said and put down the mats. I like Nuheat for the mats. Very flexable, and can be custom made to fit any area you want.

__________________
I want to make a million dollars, and I want to only work one day a week.

cleveman

The materials and what not won't break the bank, but you may want to put in a furnass anyway if you want central air as well. If you don't need the air conditioning, then put in a wood stove or something to heat it up in the early fall and late spring when you don't want to run the whole system.

Why choose between a basement and radiant heat? Put in a basement with radiant heat (your concrete block walls) and radiant heat on the upper floor as well. Frame the floor, pour a slab, and disassemble the framing.

Warmsmeallup

Since we only install low voltage radiant systems, I will quote what we would charge, though we don't work in WI. The only information I could get for the cost for electricity in/near Crivitz WI was about 10 cents per kilowatt hour. If you installed a low voltage radiant system, your materials/labor would probably run around $11-$12.00psf and using an average temp setting of 68 (average for radiant heating) you would probably spend around $200.00 per month to heat it, depending of course on how you zone it and tstat settings.

Benefits: No maintenance! No cost to have it if the tstat is not calling for heat. Using "Zmesh" you would have nail-through capabilty anywhere and could use ANY flooring over the top with no extra structural changes from the norm. No poured concrete, extra support to hold it or water leaks!

There are many more benefits, seek and ye shall find. Most important, don't listen to old school about electric being too expensive. We're not talkin' baseboard here. Low voltage systems are competitive with hydronics over the long run, depending on where you are located.

Aframe

I will agrre with that, I was basing my reply on ancient tech. I don't know how low voltage mat comapares long term cost wise to whole house radiant water system. We've mainly used radiant in bathrooms where locating a baseboard/radiator would be a tight fit.

I think being used in a place that is vacant for long stretches that using a system without a water line running throught out the house would have its advantages.

Warms, On a related note. have you any experience with low voltage heat systems intergrated with solar power systems?

JamesNLA

Radient with a tankless gas heater may be the most efficient in your parts depending on utility costs. You can go oil, but for a vacation home I personally would size it for one tankless for potable, and another for radient. That way, in the summer time there is no maintanence or interaction needed to shut off radient and still have potable (like if you had one tankless for everything). Radient is a great luxury to have, specially if you want to get away in the colder months...just makes the place a little nicer to go to. If it snows out there, you can also do your driveway / walkways aswell, but that is a little bit more of a job and can easilly skyrocket the overall costs. As for a price....I dunno. 7 - 12 grand maybe....retail pricing.

__________________
"....And then we all switch places when I ring the bell"
-Adrock

Warmsmeallup

Yes. I have several clients who have PV systems supporting their home/farm etc... The local EL company doesn't like you to be off the grid around here (New England). They make it so that if you have a PV system, you are actually selling the generated power back to them and they put a credit on your account. The electric you use goes towards that credit.

We now have 2 homes using our low voltage system as primary heating through out. Both are very happy and the thrid is in the design stage. We also have...I don't know, maybe 30 primary space installations that have no other source for heat. They were additions that were too costly to run ducting or install a boiler just for that area. We are actually cheaper to buy and use than hydronics in many applications.

I'll probably get it from the plumbers on ths one. But all they have to do is the homework to figure it out... Everyone still thinks baseboard electric is the same as "electric in-floor radiant"

ics_bill

I am about to price out a matting system for a customer and the material prices are similar to yours. Im out in the south burbs of Chicago. Im looking to price this out. Does $10-$12sq/ sound right(including material and leveling and electrical connections. Im going to use 2 of the above mats and thermostat. This is going over concrete slab. Do you tape the mats down, float the floor then come back with the thinset . Have you ever used ditra over this?

THanks

te12c02w

warmsmeallup, who makes lv radiant floor heat. I've never heard of it. Never mind, I just did a search and found a lot of it.

__________________
Jim R

Warmsmeallup

Though we chose to become a master distributor as well as install Heatizon Systems low voltage products, there's also Step Warmfloor. They both utilize lv but use very different elements.

Schmidt & Co

Will you be winterizing the house when not in use? My parents had a house in Door County. Most winters they would go someplace warm & drain all the pipes for the winter and shut off the heat. I would be nervous using a water radiant heat system.... What if I didnt drain all the water?

drako

There are two basic ways to supply this gentle, even warmth: hot water or electricity. Electric radiant, which uses zigzagging loops of resistance wire, is *generally retrofitted to a single room, such as a bathroom or kitchen. Hot-water systems are the most popular and cost effective way to heat an entire house. Circulate water from a boiler or water heater through loops of 1/2-inch polyethylene tubing. The flexible tubes can be installed in a variety of ways: on top of the subfloor in grooved panels or snap-in grids; clipped *into aluminum strips on the underside of the floor; or embedded in poured concrete. Once the system is in place, you can cover it with most types of finish flooring, including hardwood and tile. Carpet, however, can be tricky, especially if it has thick padding underneath. If the floor is too well insulated above the tubing, it can block the radiant heat.

Hot-water radiant costs more to install than other types of heating systems—from $6 to $15 per square foot depending on the method, whether you're starting from scratch or retrofitting, and where you live. (New builds where the tubes are buried in concrete slab tend to be the least expensive). And you'll still need a separate air-conditioning system for cooling. Once it's up and running, a radiant system can be up to 30 percent more efficient than forced-air heating, depending on how well insulated a house is. And there's no comparison when it comes to comfort. In that category, radiant always wins, feet down.

Warmsmeallup

Actually, that's line voltage radiant systems. There are better elements out now (look up Zmesh on the net. I'm not allowed to point you to our site) that can be installed directly under ..just about anything, that can be nailed, screwed, stapled through (go back and read the entire thread) that are much easier to install.