Warmboard Radiant Heat?

Bodger

I have installed a radiant heat floor system into my current project. The architect specified, sold to the HO, and insisted on a system which utilizes a product called Warmboard.

If you're not familiar with it, it is a 1 1/8" plywood sub-floor that has grooves routed into it, and then a sheet metal skin applied to the top which is embossed into the grooves.

Plastic pipe is then snapped into these grooves and warm water piped through. The sub floor product obviously goes in like any other, then the pipes are laid into it, and then you can begin framing your walls, all interior and exterior sole plates have to installed while paying close attention to where the tubing is so as not to penetrate the tubing, which is holding water at 75 PSI just in case, so if you hit it, it leaks to let you know.

I have never dealt with anything on any job that has been this big a pain in the arse. I have paid out over $500 for having the system repaired from screw, nail, and other penetrations.

Anyone ever used this system?

orson

I haven't used the product but I've researched it and I think it looks like a top notch product. Of course, it ought to at 5 to 7 bucks a SF.

If your framers and flooring installers can't see a 1/2" PEX pipe plainly visible from the topside of the subfloor I would suggest you need to find some more competent people.

How would they ever deal with a more conventional installation where the pipe isn't visible at all?

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Bodger

The problem with the visibility on the pipe was that the architect made changes to the floor plan AFTER the Warmboard and and the tubing was installed. This required framing to go over the actual channels and tubing, something that was not supposed to happen because the plan for the tubing is designed around the proposed framing and is routed to miss it.

I personally laid the new sole plates and admonished all subs to check for tubing before they made any penetrations. Of course, as you pointed out, competency is an issue, and in SOCal these days, that's a problem.

The one thing I don't like about it is that the tubing has to withstand all construction that goes on after sub-floor. I haven't done radiant heat before except in bathroom floors. If I recall, the tubing was stapled down after all construction was finished except the tile, and then floated. So there really wasn't much going on after that where anyone needed to avoid tubing.

And yes, Warmboard goes off at about $175 per sheet plus Roadway freight. All in all, I would personnally avoid this product for use in a 2800 sq. ft. floor plan in two story construction. Too much potential for problems during and after construction.

rbaugh

I love this stuff