DIY Hydronic Installation

Can anyone advise me on the installation of hydronic coils before a slab is poured ?

We are building a new home and I have costed the Rehau 16mm PEX totalling $6,000 for 550 sqm. This is working on 5m per sqm equalling 2750m.

On a sqm basis this is approx $11 however every quotation I have received is approx $50-$55 per sqm to supply & lay the pipe prior to having the slab poured.

So it will cost me upwards of $21,450 for the installer to design the layout and attach the pipe to the mesh prior to the pour !

As it cannot be rocket science and well worth the savings are there any DIY guides available for potential pitfalls and design etc.

Thanks in advance...

Reply to
mchenry
Loading thread data ...

You got it Buck Rodgers............so take the Rocket and start tying the hose to the mesh

Reply to
daytona°

Just remember, when you do it wrong...

IT WILL BE VERY EXPENSIVE TO REDO!!!!!!!!!!!

Reply to
<kjpro

Not WHEN but only IF

Reply to
mchenry

I looked on Amazon and there is at least one book on radiant floor heat. Also, Fine Homebuilding or the Journal of Light Construction might have articles on it. You&#39;re right, it isn&#39;t rocket science. You will need to come up with a design, though this typically is tubing run 12" oc and no loops over 300 feet. I think the reverse spiral is the prefered layout. I prefer to staple the tubes to the foam and put any reinforement over the tubes--this lessens the chance of a tube floating up and later being hit by a drill or something. Good Luck.

Reply to
marson

Found this that may be of use to anyone in the same situation as me... thinking of DIY :)

formatting link

Reply to
mchenry

Think about it junior. $21,450 to do your job. A lot of money? I wonder why? You&#39;re thinking $11 per sqm but low and behold all the professionals are right about the same at $50 to $55 per sqm. Gee, maybe they all got together and fixed their prices just so they could screw you? Seems logical.......................you dolt. Keep this in mind. YOU are going to design and install your own $21,450 job that of which you have never done before. I hope you understand how much fun busting up all that concrete and redoing it again the right way will cost. It ought to make $21,450 look like pocket change. Bubba

Reply to
Bubba

formatting link

Reply to
gofish

Please provide example of a screw up that would cause a slab with radiant heat to need to be jackhammered up.

Reply to
marson

do your own homework... and as far as the screw ups?? you&#39;ll find out soon enough when you DIY. Its no rocket science, its more complicated than that.

Reply to
Noon-Air

Reply to
marson

examples of screw ups?

Reply to
marson

cracks, kinks, holes, leaks, loose fittings, bad connections, sizes, lengths, placement, attachment, depth, insulation, ignornace, stupidity, etc. and once the slab is poured, if there is a problem, your f***ed. If its done by a pro, they have insurance to take care of their mistakes, and they will make it right on their dime.

Now go piss up a rope and suck on the bitter end.

Reply to
Noon-Air

Thank&#39;s for making me laugh marson. "Its no rocket science, its more complicated than that" That was a great screw up example. ROFL

Reply to
Danny G.

Well, I am a contractor, not a plumber. I have personally installed 6 hydronic radiant floor systems. I have two friends who have done their own installs (non-contractors), and can think of about 4 other projects that were done by contractors, not plumbers. All have worked. twice I&#39;ve installed systems with a plumber working by my side. The plumber was the first to tell me it ain&#39;t rocket science. I&#39;ve never seen pex cracked. I air test mine, though when I did it with a plumber, he didn&#39;t air test his. He didn&#39;t inspect it for cracks, either. I&#39;ve read that if you kink pex, it can be returned to it&#39;s original shape with a torch. But in the 6 I have done, I have found that kinks are easy to avoid if you use common sense. I&#39;ve never seen anyone get a kink. If you&#39;re stupid enough to put a hole in it while you are installing it, then you truly are stupid. Course, it is possible that it will be damaged during the pour, but that is just as likely as if you had a team of master plumbers installing the stuff. Loose fitting and bad connections only occur around fittings and fittings don&#39;t get buried in the pour. Attachment, depth, insulation should be dealt with by the designer. I&#39;m not going to suggest the OP does this cold without some design help. But for a competent DIYer, it&#39;s one of the easier parts of the building process.

In the last 15 years or so that radiant slabs have been around my area, I know of two major screw ups. One, a DIYer tried to test a radiant heat system he had installed in an outside slab with water from a garden hose, and left the water in over the winter. Ruined it through stupidity. Another time, a professional plumber on a house I was building fired up the system while the slab was still too cold, and froze a loop, though it thawed and all was well.

telling me to "go piss up a rope" only undermines your credibility.

Reply to
marson

Actually not, because you come trolling in here like a homeowner that just thinks he is gonna DIY and "save a bundle" without giving *ANY* indication of your vocation, or experience. This leads us to believe that your nothing more than some computer weenie or even worse, and EE. If your are experienced as you say, then you already know what possible problems your going to run into and how to avoid them.

Now, troll.....I refer you to the last statement in my previous post.

*PLONK*
Reply to
Noon-Air

and when did I represent myself as a homeowner? You ain&#39;t doing your credibility any good here.

Reply to
marson

Go over to the OP&#39;s and look at his when he is done. That will be one of them. If you&#39;ve got to ask, yo&#39;veu obviously not installed or serviced any of them and I dont believe you&#39;ve done 6. I think you may have seen six of them done after you showed up. Ive seen lots of screw ups. The majority of them would be the homeowners trying to do it "on the cheap". That&#39;s what makes "Service" so wonderful. Bubba

Reply to
Bubba

I don&#39;t spew BS like some people seem to. I&#39;m done with this thread. The OP can see if he can make any use of your asinine flames. Grow up would be my advice.

Reply to
marson

Thanks for the pointers, after much research I am confident to proceed.

After reading many of the replies to this thread I can also appreciate why many would consider this "rocket science" however most of these individuals would also consider the complexity of tying their shoe laces rocket science.

DIY at

formatting link

Reply to
mchenry

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.