New construction
Installation Service for Nanaimo B.C. and area
New construction including design and installation. Below are some installation methods and recommendations from my research and experience.
Installation Methods and Recommendations
1. In Concrete Slab - typically perimeter 2" insulation 2 ' vertically, vapour barrier. 2" under slab. 6"square mesh. Then pex attached to mesh, Notes on interior walls 1. Don’t put pex under walls 2. Put threaded rod into slab for attaching plate or glue plate on concrete, without nails...
Notes : Probably easiest and cheapest form of radiant installation
2. Joistspace - can use talon clips, pex staples, hangers, aluminum plates. reflective insulation with air gap to pex and Batt insulation.
Although labour intensive, material cost is lower than other systems and the sub floor is not affected.
Notes: Radiant tubes in an air void (such as in a joist space) or anything that has heat, emit invisible energy called infrared rays travelling at the speed of light. These rays travel mostly freely in air in all directions from the heat source and transmit their energy to a colder surface when they reach it, (in our example the wood sub floor). This energy then conducts through the sub floor and finished flooring (which has insulating properties). Combined with reflective radiant barrier insulation with an air gap below the tubing to direct this energy towards the floor is all that you need. The reflective surface will reflect the energy back where we want it. Plates work by converting heat transfer to conduction or direct contact I think any designed system will work just fine But I recommend talon clips, staples on the side of floor joists, or hangers off sub floor, or simply drilling holes in the floor joists as the cheapest simplest method with the clear advantage of avoiding existing or future nails!!!! (with any system exposed to air there is a combination of radiant, conduction from direct contact and also convective air currents)
3. Sleepers over framed floor - 1x3 or 1x4 or 2x3 or 2x4 or 1" plywood strips first around perimeter, then spacing as per tubing plan could be 6" 8" 12" with proper direction for hardwood, can have sub floor over this or not. Reflective insulation ideally with air gap. Batt insulation in floorjoist.
4. Concrete over pour over framed sub floor. Determine if floor joist can handle weight of concrete. Requires double plates, - (one size larger plates recommended for nailing surface) on all walls. Knockouts anywhere that plumbing is required, and also sleepers may be used for nailed down hardwood, then vapour barrier then tubing with pex staples, talon clips or rail track then concrete, Batt insulation in Floor joists. Has the advantage of noise suppression between floors.
Installing radiant very likely will be your favourite feature in your new home,,, but if you cannot do a complete radiant installation initially, then consider installing rough in radiant tubing in your innaccessable areas, "in your Concrete slab and joistspace if covering" for future conversion to radiant.
For more information on installing Radiant Barrier Insulation for Nanaimo BC and area www.radiantdesign.ca/content/reflective-barrier-attic-insulation
www.radiantdesign.ca/content/reflective-barrier-insulation-joist-space
