Question about in-floor heat in garage

[Mitch]

We looked at a house last week that has a working water heater in the garage. Next to it, sticking out of the concrete, are several plastic tubes.

The home description say that "some more parts are needed for the system to work."

Anyone know what?

It's really weird, too. The house is immaculate inside and out. The owner is the builder himself. It's one of the most perfect homes we've looked at. Seems strange that he would leave an unfinished project.

Here's the house:

[S. Barker]

start here:

s

[ythread]

The description of the house doesn't say a thing about the water heater in the garage. Sounds like a Radiant floor heating system.

Is the owner still alive or is he incapacitated in anyway? Maybe the house killed him. ;-)

[RBM]

It is probably pex tubing for radiant heat. It will probably need a manifold, zone valves, circulator, relay and thermostat... and a plumber

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Probably unfinished because he realized the folly of heating the garage at the cost of energy today.

The tubes are likely PEX for radiant heat. You need some controls, manifold, circulator, heat source, and a large pile of money to keep it working.

[Mitch]

Folly is such a perfacet word! LOL.

I have a corner furnace in my own garage, but I keep it at 40 degrees. Everyone I know who has any kind of in-floor heating...has turned it off.l

[Mitch]

"Perfect." I never learned to type.

[ythread]

It could be anything from radiant heat to a pool warmer. Who knows. Go ask the realtor. If it's part of the heating system, then find out how they're heating it without a working system.

Just being "tubes" with no further info, it could also be electrical

-- part of an alarm system or conduit to bring more power into the garage or a video system. Go ask the people who know.

True enough but still "sounds" like a in floor system for garage. The house has central a/c/heat as described. Description doesn't say anything about a pool. With the sign and the waterheater it's pretty much a given. I'll admit strange place to ask.

[hallerb]

has the home been inspected? by a home inspector?

[Wayne Boatwright]

On Thu 19 Jun 2008 06:39:02p, told us...

Lovely home. If the owner is the builder himself, why not ask him what parts are needed to the system to work? Who better would know?

[Mitch]

"I checked with the sellers and they have a quote from a plumber to finish the radiant heating system in the garage. RC Black in Cortland gave them a price to install the recirculating pump, backflow preventer, thermostat, connect water supply and get the system up and running. The total cost was $1,430 plus the cost of adding anti-freeze to the system."

[Mitch]

Hey, Wayne!

Yeah, we really like it. I posted it a while back in the cooking group, because we love the kitchen so much. Some of the grouches (ahem...Sheldon) didn't like it, but we sure do.

With house prices dropping like crazy in that area, we don't really need to go above $300k to find something good. This guy is 100% firm on his price. He's already rejected offers over $300k. he might just be testing the waters, and not really serious about selling.

We can get quite a bit more living space for $275k, and not have to take out a mortgage. Most homes we've looked at have finished basements...this one doesn't. We're even looking at stuff for $225k, to have no mortgage, plus cash in the bank. We'll see.

We've lived in such a big house for 9 years, we're really looking forward to downsizing. Look at the yardwork I have to contend with:

By the way, the piano is for sale. :) And my Mustang. Downsizing is fun.

[Lou]

Get that in writing. If this is a freind of the owner he maybe quoting a low price to help his buddy sell the house. If you buy it without the quote in writing and decide to finish the install, the price may go up. Lou

[phaeton]

Just curious, Mitch... What do you do for a living?

That is a magnificent home you have.

thx

[ythread]

makes my little 1800sqft house look a little humble. :-) Now that's downsizing.

[Mitch]

Wow. I never thought of it that way. We added an addition to give it a 4th bedroom, we added tile in the basement, and my wife and I laid every brick of that patio.

As far as the huge lot, we're in the sticks. Our house is on a double lot, and i think they were only about $15k for a 3/4 acre lot at the time.

My wife works for IBM, and I just do what I do. I freelance. We're not doctors or anything, we just saved and put in sweat equity wherever we could.

I was an electrical engineer, composer, sound designer, audio engineer, piano teacher, and now I'm going into information security.

I hope the house sells so we can move on to the next chapter. We really want to move closer to better opportunities for us and our kids.

[Wayne Boatwright]

On Fri 20 Jun 2008 06:03:52p, told us...

Well, we all know what an ass Sheldon is. Nuff said. :-)

Lovely home, Mitch, and it shows you put a lot of yourselves into it.

We had a home of comparable size back in Ohio on a 1-1/2 acre wooded lot. When we first moved to AZ we downsized to a somewhat smaller house of 2400 sq. ft. As we were making a cross country move, it made since to reduce much of what we were moving.

Six years later we decided to move from that two story house and downsize further to a single floor of 1600 sq. ft. It's worked out quite well. With this last move I also sold my grand piano. Recently bought an electronic. We've made a lot of adjustments along the way, but we're quite happy with the results. We have plenty of house for just the two of us.

Best of luck with all your plans...

[Mitch]

Are you still in AZ? What part? How do you like it? When my wife and I were ready to graduate, we both tried desperately to find jobs in Phoenix. But it was the crash of the defense industry, and the market was flooded with experienced engineers.

How are the housing and job situations out there?

[Wayne Boatwright]

On Tue 24 Jun 2008 05:27:43a, told us...

We live in East Mesa, ~36 miles from the center of Phoenix. We love living here, and I would never care to go back to Ohio to live. I think if we ever did make a move, it might be to Washington State, but I doubt that will ever happen. Like most folks in AZ, we hide for the intense summer heat, but the rest of the year we absolutely love the climate.

The job market is better here than in most othe parts of the country. Our jobless rate is one of the lowest. Housing prices can be good since the mortgage crisis, as many people are having to sell. Still, they are continuing to build high-end homes like there was never a problem. A friend at work just bought a very nice 3-bedroom 2 year old home for $159K that would have sold for around $200K last year. It's pretty much a buyer's market right now.