I am in the initial planning stages of building a new home. It is going to be a typical woodframe construction with a basement (3500-4500 sq.ft)(2 story or ranch). No plans are drawn yet. However,I am positive that I want Radiant Hydronic In-floor heat in the entire house. Unfortunately, the builders in our area in Madison, WI have no knowledge about Radiant Heating systems except that they are prohibitively expensive.There are a couple of heating contractors who have installed some radiant heat floors in the basement and I am planning to meet with them soon.
I have done research on the Internet and read the public bulletin of the rpa (which is very useful) and need some help:
1) It looks that a 'dry' installation is the way to go. Any suggestions as to which of the three panels - Warmboard, Stadler-Viega or Wirsbro Quik Trak work best. How do they compare in cost and ease of installation and relaibility so far.
2) I am hoping to intall wooden flooring. It appears that a laminated/engineered wood floor is the best way to go because of stability in the ling run. Which option is best - nails. screws or floating method. Some have suggested a Junckers solid hardwood floor. Why will it behave differently from other hardwoods ?
3) I was planning to install the radiant tubing in the concrete slab in the basenment as is common. Can these same climate panels be installed over the concrete (just like over the subfloor in the other floors). If they can does it make sense to do that ?
4) What is the best boiler to use for the radiant heating system ? As I am hoping to install tankless water heaters throughout the house I may not have a large water heater. Also, my research shows that a separate boiler is best.
5) Danny Waite in Washington: You had chosen Warmboard installation. Did you finally do that. And did you get any tubing damage in the installation method recommended by the manufacturers. If not, what precautions to take to prevent damage to tubing.
6) Any help and suggestions will be welcome. I am hoping I can get radiant heat without the cost becoming too high.
Thanks
gkumar

There are probably some very good radiant installers in your area you just need to find them.I believe Mike Ward is in your state,just how far from you I don't know. Try looking in the contractor locator in this site.You can also contact a manufacturer like Wirsbo and ask for a list of factory trained installers.Supply houses can also be a fairly good resorce.

As far as dry systems go we've done quite a few of them with great success.Stadler's climate panel and Wirsbo's quick track are the same product.Warm board is a bit different as it is the sub floor as well as the heating panel.The only trouble I see with that product is it needs to be installed by the fraiming crew and everyone needs to be on the same page very early in the construction process.Also the fraimers are somewhat reluctant to want to install the panels.They get a little moody about anything that might slow them down.I'm sure it can all be worked out just something to think about.

As far as flooring goes a enginered floating floor will be more stable than "real wood" and looks just as good.Your ability to resand it is somewhat limited because of it's thickness,but how often would you need to resand and finish a floor.

I wouldn't use climate panel or quick track on top of a concrete floor unless it were a retro fit.The tubing embeded in the concrete is a much better installation as far as new construction is concerned.It's much cheaper as well.

My first choice for a boiler would be a Viessmann.They are a true low temperature high mass boiler that is very well suited for radiant heating.Most any boiler can be utilized with the proper piping and controls.

Good luck with your project.I think you will be very happy you chose to heat your home radiantly.

John http://www.betterheat.com

John Felciano;
Thank you very much for your input. I will try to locate the contractor you mentioned.
At what stage of construction/framing are the Stadler or Wirsbro climate panels installed ? The warmboard panels being a replacement for the subfloor are installed before the walls go up and the tubing has to be installed soon after, thus making it susceptible to damage.
Thanks
gkumar

We install climate panel/quick track after drywall and first coat of paint.At this point most of the chances of damage are past.

We have installed it on the rough-in phase and covered it with cheap plywood,but this adds an extra expense.

John

gkumar,
At this time we have not yet installed the Warmboard or even started the house. Still waiting for a complete set of plans--been over a year now. Friggin' architects!
Read through the posts above as I noticed some respondents have experience with Warmboard and also the Wirsbo and Stadler systems.

I am interested in your learnings on radiant floor heating. I need to warm the floor tiles in a new bathroom I am installing over an existing basement concrete slab. Is Quik Trak a good product for this application?

I am considering purchase of a tankless hw heater to replace our exiting 40 gallon unit, and hope to use it for this small heating application as well.

Your thoughts will be appreciated.

for a small one room addition like that, you might want to think electric radiant. by the time you put in a heat exchanger and such, making a heat source dual-use just for that seems a little unnecessary, to me at least.

I am adding a master bedroom over my garage. The space is built, just haven't used it till now. Garage ceiling is already insulated and sheetrocked. The new room has an existing subfloor, which is a 6" step down from the hallway leading to it.

Can I have radiant tubing installed in a layer of concrete? It would seem to be a lot less expensive than say Quick track panels, would would cost around $2300 for the panels alone. Is this a good solution?

Is the weight of the concrete a concern? I'm not sure if the floor joists are 2x8 or 2x10 (probably 2x10 - there is a steel center beam). House is 8 yrs old, garage and room are 24x28. I plan to have wood flooring.

weight can be a concern, yes. it's not always a problem, but it is something that must be considered.

there is nothing wrong with gypcrete systems. If you can float wood over it, it's an easier installation, but sleepers can be used as well.

How about instead of pouring concrete, I add sleepers, loop the pex around & between the sleepers, then cover it all with 5/8" plywood and 3/8" laminate flooring? In other words, sandwich the pex between the existing wood subfloor and a second subfloor?

In that scenario, assuming we're using 1/2" pex, what height should the cavity be? Can the sleepers just be strips of 3/4" plywood? Or should there be more air in there, using 2x3 sleepers either on their sides or on edges? There's no problem building this tall, as it's a 6" step down into this new room from the main house.

do a search for "sandwich" on these forums and you'll get lots of info on that method.