Installing Radiant Floor Heating In Concrete Slab

The workers in the photograph at page top where our concrete slab.

Installing radiant floor heating in concrete slab.

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. You can step onto a warm and inviting floor even one built on a concrete slab by adding in floor heating. Qualified system installer the company who designs the radiant floor heating system may also install the system. The system works via pex pipe a small pump a water heater and a thermostat.

Radiant heat can be an electrical heating element embedded into a very thin concrete overlay then tiled carpeted or have wood flooring installed over it. So even if there are no existing plans for the radiant floor heating or a snow melting system installing pex tubing in it may turn out to be a good decision. This is about installing hydronic radiant floor heating in a slab floor system. Another option for radiant floor heating that is energy efficient are systems that circulate hot water through small tubes under the floor.

While it was done as a new house was being built in my last house i poured a concrete floor on top of a wood framed floor system and could have put radiant heat in that as well. Radiant heating system design or installation mistakes that must be avoided. Basic materials for radiant floor heat installation in a slab remember since you will only have 1 chance to pour the concrete slab you will only have 1 chance to put the pex tubing in it. These radiant floor heating systems can also be installed on top of a slab before the flooring goes down.

This article explains how to avoid some fatal mistakes when installing radiant heat in a concrete floor slab by describing an incompetent radiant heat floor installation along with an explanation of why things went wrong and how to avoid these errors. How to add floor heating over existing concrete. Check out our video how to install radiant floor heat tubing in a slab on grade and read this page for a full description.