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Posted by Kevin in Ohio on Saturday, December 22, 2007 at 23:49:41 :
In Reply to: This is off the subject, but... posted by Sam on Saturday, December 22, 2007 at 15:07:32 :
I radiant floor heat in my garage(2 zones) and use a heat exchanger tied into the houses existing fuel oil furnace. I kept the original furnace as a back up and only one tie in to the original system. I use it to heat my hot water as well. I'm in my 5th year and it paid for itself in 4 years based on JUST the fuel cost for the house, not counting the extra 36' X 50' garage it heats.
As others said, If you don't have a close source for wood, I wouldn't recommend it. If you don't like working, don't do it. I went with Central Boiler and like it very well. The only thing that needs to be improved is the ash removal (I'm working on that) They now have dual fuel(propane/natural gas so that's something to think about. I use at least 12 cord a year to give you an idea of what your looking at.
Do check with your local authorities on their policies. It does smoke a lot and if you have close neighbors it's something to consider.
There is more to it than just sticking tubing in the floor. You MUST insulate the slab as well and I'd HIGHLY recommend rebar. I used 1/2" 16" on center with 6 inches on concrete. I did not cut joints into as I didn't see the need for it. If your slab shifts your screwed so invest in the rebar. The other thing is that if you do put tubing in the floor you can't just run it when you want to IF you do not have antifreeze in the lines. You don't want it to burst ;)
As Ron said. The extra space is nice as you won't have the stove OR wood IN your shop taking up space. Also, you can paint in the Winter without the fear of blowing the roof off.
Reme,ber you'll need a back up generator as well. Doesn't take a lot of electric to run but if you get an ice storm with no electric it could get messy.
The biggest problem with radiant floor heat is that if your on your back on the floor under a vehicle you'll want to cuddle up and nod off :) Kevin