For radiant under floor heating how close should the plastic pipe be to the underside of the subfloor? Is the reflective bubble insulation better or fiberglass bating? My plumber installed the piping 5"-8" below the subfloor and I have open web joists. It will be very difficult to insulate with the foil-bubble insulation now. Should I insist that he re-attach it closer to the subfloor? Thanks for any opinions.
Im no Hvac pro but the ones I have seen the pipe is touching the underneath of the floor above. Again I dont know what is commonly done but foil bubbe wrap insulates little. Go by proven-tested R value raings, those bubble wraps are expensive per R value and I have never seen a true rating , only the BS they print saying ' it is like R5 " for ex. Fiberglass has a commonly known and proven R per inch, apx 3.5 R " . Bubble wrap doesn`t.
Does the air space come into play. If the plastic pipe is 1" under the subfloor and then insulation or if the pipe is 8" under and then insulation will they heat the floor the same? My joists are 16" deep.
My recommendatrion is that if this is how your plumber left a completed job, take lots of pictures, have them examined by the manufacturer of the tubing. Wait for their reply. I would then ask the plumber to remove all of his work and return all of your money. If he will not, sue his ass in small claims court. THIS IS NOT A PROPER WAY TO INSTALL PEX TUBING FOR UNDER SUBFLOOR APPLICATION. You do not want him to return to your home and reinstall it. You don't want this plumber to use your house as his on the job training.
In Line....
The best way is for the tubing to be in contact with the subfloor.
I'd go with the fiberglass. After a couple of years, the insulating value of the bubble stuff will go away as it gets coated with dust.
the foil-bubble insulation now. Should I insist that he re- > attach it closer to the subfloor? Thanks for any opinions.
See my above response....
Using some kind of joist plates will give you the best heat transfer.
[snip]
If your plumber installed the PEX 5-8 inches below the floor without any insulation, I suspect that you're not getting any heat at all from the installation. Does the floor even get warm?
Here's a picture of what a good installation should look like, using the heat transfer plates that HeatMan mentioned:
What I have seen is stapled to the floors ceiling and covered by a sheet of aluminum or steel with a round recess that fully covers the pipe and is stapled to the ceiling, then fiberglass is used if called for, by design. Did he use Pex, as Bob said Photograph everything and call the manufacturer and follow their guidlines.
If he screwed this up there is no telling what else he totaly botched-hacked in. Was a load calculation done? , Proper fittings? proper spaced staples or brackets, valving, boiler size, pump, manifold, air bleeding, etc etc etc. It is not a job for someone to learn on or guess.
Is he using PEX and not another type?
The pipe is made by Wirsbo. It is PEX
Usually Wirsbo is pretty responsive.
I'm a member of their Advantage team. I've gone through additional training and use their services quite a bit.
What exactly does the tubing say on it?
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