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How to have warm feet without in-floor heat? C. Bailey 07-28-2005
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Posted by meirman on July 28, 2005, 10:19 am


In alt.home.repair on Thu, 28 Jul 2005 03:12:25 GMT "C. Bailey"

>Every house I have ever owned had cold floors in the basement (even when

Because that's the way it is supposed to be.

>carpeted). The last house we bought does not have in-floor heat. The
>basement is unfinished with the exception of being framed. We could pour
>another 3" of concrete on the floor and put the right plumbing in the floor
>for heat, but I am curious if there are simpler options (besides wearing
>slippers).
>
>Chris

I have no experience, but I would think trying to heat the cement
would also end up trying to heat the dirt and mud below the cement,
and that could take endless heat. It never occurred to me before
about other homes built on slabs with heat in the floor.

Do they use something to insulate the slab from the moist dirt?

Or is the dirt less moist when it is at ground level, than it would be
below a basement? Yes, I think that is it. The wet soil 4 to 6 feet
down is never going to be heated unless you set fire to the basement.

Regardless, energy prices are going to continue to rise, and fuel
prices are going to continue to get us into wars. Wear socks, wear
slippers, weara slipper socks. My parents would never have considered
trying to heat a *basement* floor.


Meirman
--
If emailing, please let me know whether
or not you are posting the same letter.
Change domain to erols.com, if necessary.


Posted by HeatMan on July 28, 2005, 8:37 pm



> In alt.home.repair on Thu, 28 Jul 2005 03:12:25 GMT "C. Bailey"
>
> >Every house I have ever owned had cold floors in the basement (even when
>
> Because that's the way it is supposed to be.
>
> >carpeted). The last house we bought does not have in-floor heat. The
> >basement is unfinished with the exception of being framed. We could pour
> >another 3" of concrete on the floor and put the right plumbing in the
floor
> >for heat, but I am curious if there are simpler options (besides wearing
> >slippers).
> >
> >Chris
>
> I have no experience, but I would think trying to heat the cement
> would also end up trying to heat the dirt and mud below the cement,
> and that could take endless heat. It never occurred to me before
> about other homes built on slabs with heat in the floor.
>
> Do they use something to insulate the slab from the moist dirt?
>
> Or is the dirt less moist when it is at ground level, than it would be
> below a basement? Yes, I think that is it. The wet soil 4 to 6 feet
> down is never going to be heated unless you set fire to the basement.
>
> Regardless, energy prices are going to continue to rise, and fuel
> prices are going to continue to get us into wars. Wear socks, wear
> slippers, weara slipper socks. My parents would never have considered
> trying to heat a *basement* floor.
>

For what it's worth, forced air is sometimes calcluated at 65 BTU's per
square foot and radiant is calculated at 25 BTU's per square foot.

Besides, a 3/4" piece of pipe can carry the same amout of BTU's that 8X12
duct can carry.



Meirman
> --
> If emailing, please let me know whether
> or not you are posting the same letter.
> Change domain to erols.com, if necessary.




Posted by HerHusband on July 29, 2005, 9:26 am


> Every house I have ever owned had cold floors in the basement (even
> when carpeted). The last house we bought does not have in-floor heat.
> The basement is unfinished with the exception of being framed. We could
> pour another 3" of concrete on the floor and put the right plumbing in
> the floor for heat, but I am curious if there are simpler options

It sounds like you have a little extra headroom, so why not build an
insulated floor on top of the slab?

You could lay down a 6 mil plastic vapor barrier to keep ground moisture
from coming up into the floor. Then install 2x4 floor joists, install
insulation between them, and top them with plywood. You can then add
whatever floor covering you wish. If it were me, I would use pressure
treated lumber for the floor joists. No need to attach the joists to the
slab, just let the floor "float".

If headroom is a concern, you could switch to 2x2's as the floor joists, or
lay the 2x4's on their sides, and use rigid foam insulation between them.
In fact, you might be able to skip the joists entirely, and use adhesives
to stick the foam insulation to the slab, and then stick the plywood to the
foam.

Of course, this method won't heat the room, but it will provide a warmer
floor if you provide another heat source (electric wall heaters maybe).

This also assumes your basement is dry, with no water seepage.

If you are tiling the floor, another option is electric floor warming mats.
They get set right in the thinset when the tile is installed. Minimal
thickness, and it's a source of heat too.

Anthony


Posted by Fletcher Long on July 28, 2005, 3:23 pm



"C. Bailey" wrote
> Every house I have ever owned had cold floors in the basement (even when
> carpeted).
> but I am curious if there are simpler options (besides wearing
> slippers).

The only other option simpler than putting slippers on, would be, not to go
into the basement at all.




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