Re: Heating pad

[Apostle Keith Brown]

Hi, Since her porch is semi-heated, maybe she only needs to build a closet around her washer/dryer and insulate it, and place another heater inside. If she wants to go to greater expense, then she might consider insulating the porch, or extending her heating system.

I'm at my mother's house and she is thinking of moving her washer/ > dryer to a semi-heated porch off of her kitchen. Great idea with only > a few problems. The biggest one is that is sometimes get below > freezing in there and she doesn't want to heat it all winter. > > I was thinking I could lift up the rug and put down some tile with > embedded, electric, radiant heat just under the washer to keep it from > freezing. But I was wondering if anyone has ever seen any pre-fab > anything that I could put down there and accomplish the same thing -- > you know, sort of a heating pad. > > Pat.

[RicodJour]

Probably not the best way to heat the space. Having a heavy item, with a distinct possibility of some water on the ground, sitting on an electric mat is sketchy at best. If you could close off the area immediately around the machines - create a tent-like arrangement - you could heat the interior with a light bulb.

R

[Michael Bulatovich]

Why not just heat the space?

[RicodJour]

I would imagine that it has something to do with money and not wanting to continuously heat a space that is used only a couple of times a week. That's why I was suggesting reducing the volume to be heated to the point that it could be heated very cheaply and simply.

R

[Michael Bulatovich]

Might be simpler to move something not temperature sensitive, instead of plumbing, then. (He said it's "semi-heated" already.)

[Michael (LS)]

Well, since nobody else has mentioned it I'll bring it up.....

You said that it "sometimes get below freezing in there". That could be a big problem if the plumbing freezes!

I've spec'd electric in-floor radiant heat many times in everything from bathrooms to porches. Water isn't an issue as long as the flooring is appropriate (i.e. tile). While they're not the most efficient way to heat a space, they work great for areas that don't need to be constantly kept heated. But they aren't going to heat a large space from 40* up to 70* in minutes.

As long as the room keeps the plumbing at a safe temp. you could consider a heated rug/pad. I've seen some (2'x4') rubberized ones with electric heat coils. I've never used one so I don't know how well they work, but if the volume of the space is small enough I'd be willing to bet they' work fine. Another good option is a heating lamp. I put one up in my garage and use a

500watt heat bulb (get the white color bulbs not the red ones - unless you like to feel stoned all the time!). The bulb probably keeps my workbench area (roughly a 3'x8' area) 5-8 degrees warmer. The main benefit is my tools are actually a little warmer and I can avoid freezing my hand when grabbing a wrench.

HTH,

Michael (LS)

[++]

Radiant heat can be great for people with arthritis and I think there is an added benefit whenever you are on the second or third floor of a radiant heated structure. You would not believe how wonderfully plants grow on a mid floor of a building with radiant heat on the floor and affecting from above, depending on the plenum. People do nicely, too. Done right, they can be cheaply maintainable.

Anyone designed a solar radiant system?

[Troppo]

RicodJour wrote in news: [e-mail]:

What about lining the space with industrial freezer panelling? Not that cheap new ($A40/m2) but might be available at scrap yards/recyclers. Extractor in an external wall wired to the light switch. Trapped waste in the floor to carry away leaks/spills (assuming there is fall to the outside of course).

[Kris Krieger]

Pat wrote in news:f3ad7077-8a87-411a-8b10- [e-mail]:

Yes, but it was some months ago, so I can't remember what exactly the product was, or really anything else about it, other than that I saw it. It's stuff you can put tile on top of, as a DIY thing. nIt *was* made for bathrooms, tho'. The weight of a washer and dryer might be a problem, but you could always put the stuff down only under the surrounding areas, maybe build a low "platform" for the waser and dryer to help delineate the space.

I have no idea how expensive it might be. Have you also considered a protable heater? Tile the floor (non-flammable) with some insulationg stuff under it (to conserve the heat) and set up a portable so it points towards the floor.

Sorry but that's all Ican recall about the under-tile heating coil unit, you'll have to search...

[Michael (LS)]

This stuff?

[++]

Could put a floor drain under the unit....

[Kris Krieger]

"Michael \\(LS\\)" wrote in news:tsGdnQXQ8IPRztDanZ2dnUVZ [e-mail]:

I'm not sure - I'd seen it on HGTV =8-o about a year ago, but I'm sure that is mroe than one permutation. THe stuff I'd seen (which does seem to look like the little pic, from what I can tell) consisted of a heating element sandwiched between 2 layers of protective material, prob. soem sort of plastic/vinyl. You could plug a series of panels/mats one into the other, like holiday lights, to cover a large area. THey had to be covered with some sort fo waterproof flooring, or else installed where water drips were not going to occur.

Nifty item, esp. if you live up North and have a house built on a slab.

[RicodJour]

Check out Warmzone. Good people to deal with and good products.

R

[Kris Krieger]

"Don" wrote in news: [e-mail]:

I'm wondering (have to look) whetehr there is something like a heated carpet, similar to a heated matrass pad - there was no under-floor heating option when thise place was built, not going to rip up a tile floor that's only 18 months old, but a heated carpet could be nice in the bathroom on a chilly day.

[RicodJour]

The optimal installation is to have the radiant under the tile. The retrofit stuff works, but the subfloor plywood acts as insulation and it's not as efficient of an installation and it doesn't warm up as fast nor hold the heat as well.

If you've never stepped on a warm radiant floor on a cold night, you're in for a treat. It's a damn fine feeling. The programmable thermostats are well worth the money. Some of them learn the response time of your floor installation - if you want the floor to be at a certain temperature at a certain time, it'll turn on the juice ahead of time so it'll be the right temp at the right time.

R

[Kris Krieger]

"Don" wrote in news: [e-mail]:

[snipped for bandwidth]

Thanks =:-D ! I was trying to search, glad I decided to pop into the newsgroup!

This will be a great Solstice ;) present for seomone I know who refuses to drop hints (but complains about cold floor tiles in the morning).