If you are like me, you don't enjoy having cold feet all winter. That is exactly how our family felt after a couple years in our home with cold floors. It was time to upgrade our heating system.
I looked into solar water heating, but our northern climate doesn't get much sun in the winter. I researched electric floor radiant heating and decided it wasn't cost effective for me. Overall, it was looking like DIY hydronic radiant floor heating with an outdoor wood boiler would be the way I wanted to go.
The first thing I needed to do was find how much I would pay for the radiant heat supplies. I made up a plan of my diy installation and took the list down to the nearest local hardware and home improvement center. Everything looked like it was achievable, so I order the materials.
I had thought about placing my hydronic heating inside the house, on top of the underlay. This would require me to remove all the existing floor covering and replace it. It would also add up to 2" to the floor, and this just wasn't acceptable. This method also sounded like way more work.
That left applying the PEX tubing from the underside of the floor. This meant I was gong to spend hours on my back in the crawlspace, drilling holes and placing tubing. Easy work compared to refinishing all of my floor covering!
Fortunately I had room for the holding tank, pumps, controls and thermostatic connections in our utility room. If there hadn't been enough room I would have had to fit them in the crawlspace somehow. The insulated lines running from the boiler were buried over 8' underground, well below the frost line.
The new heating system is well worth the effort I put into it. Not only do I save a ton of money burning wood in the boiler instead of using propane, I don't freeze my feet anymore. A diy installation of radiant heating isn't for everyone, although you can save a lot of money by taking care of it yourself. - 16035
I looked into solar water heating, but our northern climate doesn't get much sun in the winter. I researched electric floor radiant heating and decided it wasn't cost effective for me. Overall, it was looking like DIY hydronic radiant floor heating with an outdoor wood boiler would be the way I wanted to go.
The first thing I needed to do was find how much I would pay for the radiant heat supplies. I made up a plan of my diy installation and took the list down to the nearest local hardware and home improvement center. Everything looked like it was achievable, so I order the materials.
I had thought about placing my hydronic heating inside the house, on top of the underlay. This would require me to remove all the existing floor covering and replace it. It would also add up to 2" to the floor, and this just wasn't acceptable. This method also sounded like way more work.
That left applying the PEX tubing from the underside of the floor. This meant I was gong to spend hours on my back in the crawlspace, drilling holes and placing tubing. Easy work compared to refinishing all of my floor covering!
Fortunately I had room for the holding tank, pumps, controls and thermostatic connections in our utility room. If there hadn't been enough room I would have had to fit them in the crawlspace somehow. The insulated lines running from the boiler were buried over 8' underground, well below the frost line.
The new heating system is well worth the effort I put into it. Not only do I save a ton of money burning wood in the boiler instead of using propane, I don't freeze my feet anymore. A diy installation of radiant heating isn't for everyone, although you can save a lot of money by taking care of it yourself. - 16035
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hydronic radiant floor heating is an interesting alternative to traditional forced air systems. Have a look and see if DIY radiant heat is for you!
