Concrete overpour and radiant heating?

[perchking]

5 hours ago, Wanderer said:

Perchking might be willing to keep the heat on over the winter, just turned down when he's not there.  

 

I agree, Tom is right, if you're just going for the weekend and aren't leaving the heat on, forced air should be the only serious option.

 

The other thing to consider with in floor heat is your floor finish.  Tile is the best to not impede the heat transfer.  Carpet is about the worst.  So consider that as well.

You are both  correct, the recovery time may be to long.  I think I am going to scrap the whole idea and just go to forced air simply for that reason. THis is a 4 season place and ultimatally My retirement place I think in 15 years for at least 9 months out of the year. . WE do currently keep it set to 50 during the colder months when we aren't  there and plan on doing that again when this place is completed. 

[Moon Lake Refuge]

15 hours ago, perchking said:

You are both  correct, the recovery time may be to long.  I think I am going to scrap the whole idea and just go to forced air simply for that reason. THis is a 4 season place and ultimatally My retirement place I think in 15 years for at least 9 months out of the year. . WE do currently keep it set to 50 during the colder months when we aren't  there and plan on doing that again when this place is completed. 

If you do really like the in floor idea, but are worried about recovery, adjustable thermostats are pretty cheap.  You could definitely have it warm by the time you get up there, I just wonder if cycling like that would even be worth it on a weekly basis vs. just leaving it at temp.  The alternative is getting wifi and a wireless thermostat to just turn up ahead of time, but if just for heating, the wifi will probably bring you back up to the cost of the heating bill anyhow. 

[BoxMN]

So I think I read through all posts, hopefully not re-writing what others have said here... Also not sure how much you want to spend on everything...

 

Here is what we have - forced gas furnace and gas fireplace, and dual-fuel electric boiler for in floor (in walkout basement). We leave boiler at about 55, and furnace at 54, and fireplace off when we are gone. If people are up we turn basement up to 66ish and the basement is warm within a few hours. (1200 foot footprint)

 

We turn on furnace to 68 and also the fireplace and it gets to that in under an hour. Then we turn the furnace down to sleeping temps of 63 and pretty much just use the fireplace after that, as even on low it pretty much heats the upstairs to the 70s and we need to turn it off. The basement heat comes up (if we have it raised to 60's) and keeps the upstairs warm so the furnace just doesn't come on except those really cold days. (I don't think I would rely on just the infloor heat for reasons mentioned above, but it doesn't really take too long to heat up at least the lower level.)

 

Anyway, the infloor is very nice, and cheap to run and keeps your gas bill down. You can always grind some grout lines for cool pattern in slab and stain the concrete, it looks cool, fairly easy to do, and cheap floor "covering" that lets the heat through easy. But at 3-4k for a fireplace, 3-4k for a boiler, and the cost of a forced air furnace, it might be just easier, and definitely cheaper,  to use just a forced air furnace and call it a day  (Oh yeah, the gas fireplace always has the pilot light on, so even when power is out we still can have the heat of the fireplace, which is nice.)

[swamptiger]

3 hours ago, BoxMN said:

Anyway, the infloor is very nice, and cheap to run and keeps your gas bill down. You can always grind some grout lines for cool pattern in slab and stain the concrete, it looks cool, fairly easy to do, and cheap floor "covering" that lets the heat through easy. But at 3-4k for a fireplace, 3-4k for a boiler, and the cost of a forced air furnace, it might be just easier, and definitely cheaper,  to use just a forced air furnace and call it a day  (Oh yeah, the gas fireplace always has the pilot light on, so even when power is out we still can have the heat of the fireplace, which is nice.)

 

You could really simplify things if you just bought a couple of barrel stove kits for $50 each.

 

The wife could be trained to cut and split firewood and fire the stoves while you're out fishing.

 

 

[Tom7227]

BoxMN

Your system may work well but what are the economics?  Paying for both the furnace an in-floor had to cost a lot.  Maybe comfort over road the economics but it seems to me that it can't work out from that standpoint.

[BoxMN]

Honestly, I didn't care about the economics when we did it. I stood on a heated concrete floor in the winter at a buddies, and said "We are doing that!!!!" So we did. The added cost for the boiler, tube, antifreeze, electrical, insulation, and all installation was under 5k when added together. The furnace is a furnace, you need one anyway, so no additional cost there. 

 

Not sure how much I "save" in a year due to the floor, but the walkout basement is a WARM and pleasure to walk on even in December through March and everybody remarks how nice it is. Also, my largest gas bill ever has been about $70 and that was a frigid month in a frigid year, and includes using the gas fireplace a lot in the winter. Usually it is much less, and only service charge for half the year. Between electric and gas, I would average it at about $120 a month, that includes A/C in summer. We use the cabin about 3 days a week on average, so not full time. Maybe the reduced usage will make the furnace last longer, who knows...

 

Best bang for buck is a barrel stove, but I save my wood for campfires, and like the "flip the switch" warmth so I can fish more

Edited April 6, 2017 by BoxMN