We`re still building our 71 coupe in sunny Florida, but in a couple years, we plan to take it to the mountains in NC.... and it will be in a heated garage...... with radiant heat in the slab. Will there be any ill affects to the tires sitting on a heated slab? Anybody have a similar setting that can share first-hand experience? THANKS!
(We`re still building the cabin, and I`m wondering if it will be a good idea to heat the garage floor also.)

 

Heated floors are the way to go for comfort. It's also usually cheaper on the heating bill. Same for the garage.

 

How warm does the floor get? I would suspect it's actually a good thing...

 

I wouldn't think that the floor would ever exceed the tires' operating temp range. Might even reduce flat spotting when parked over a period of time.

 

In our case, it`s actually easier to include the garage than to try to pipe around it!
That is a good question. Everything I can find on it suggests about 75 to 80 at floor level.
Well, it sure won`t be nearly as hot as concrete or asphalt in Florida on a summer day!

 

You will look forward to working underneath the Vette in the winter!
It will not affect your tires, or anything else. Also it is not like a gas operated unit heater to dry everything out, or fumes or fire from combustion.
When I do these systems, typically we only run 110-120* water through the tubing, your floor will most likely be around 75-85*. The tubing is super strong and the weight is no issue. Find out thought if they are running water or a glycol in the system. Glycol is better.
The picture I sent is of a job I just completed this summer. We are running a Lochnivar boiler, the zone piping to the left with isolation valves and pumps. The large tank is for domestic hot water. The orange tubing on the left is for sidewalk snow melt. There is a Honeywell boiler control working with the three furnaces that have hot water coils for secondary heat and AC.
It is possible you have a slab sensor in the garage slab to monitor temps at a t-stat.
Any other questions, just ask.

 

A cabin with a heated garage floor!?

I thought cabins were supposed to be rustic little get away places with few creature comforts.

 

I'd forgo wifi for heated floors in a cabin.

 

Midigike,
That plumbing job is amazing. Like looking at the church organ.
It's a thing of beauty. You do some nice work.
That is one spoiled home owner with heated side walks.
My 109' driveway I dread every winter snow blowing.
Sure wish I could have afforded a heated drive
A heated slab in a garage would be the cats meow.
I'm pretty well done in November for tinkering.
If I can see my breath in the garage it waits till spring time.
2017 is it, Maderia Beech, FL ater that.
Marshal

 

This will be our retirement hideout. The magazines always show the fancy stuff in the multi-million dollar log castles. We decided to put some of those features into our smaller cabin (1250 square feet).
And I`m sure I`ll be taking up your offer, and asking for more advice! We bought PEX with oxygen barrier because we`d really like to use an open system.... with valves to run the hot in the winter, and cold in the summer to keep the lines flushed out.

 

Once a slab radiant floor system has run for a few days and stabilized, all else the same the colder the weather the warmer the slab. Well designed systems will never find a surface temperature above about 85F in even the coldest weather as higher temperatures cause serious discomfort of the occupants. 85F is also the typical temperature of exposed human flesh. If wall-to-wall carpet is used the slab might be above 85F but the carpet won't as it is acting as an insulator (and quite ineffective radiator as well).

As the name implies, radiant systems heat primarily by radiating infrared heat to other (and colder) objects in the room. Compared to heating systems that directly heat air, radiant systems have extremely low convective currents. Even spaces with extremely high ceilings will find a remarkably even air temperature throughout the entire space--no need for ceiling fans to bring the hot air down from the ceiling If however you are accustomed to forced air heat and change to a radiant slab and set the thermostat for your "normal" setting you will probably feel overly warm and want a fan to get some air movement. You also cannot make large, frequent thermostat adjustments and expect either comfort or fuel economy. If you, like most, prefer bedrooms somewhat cooler than other rooms, either zone them separately using a conventional thermostat or if you do it right zone them with proportionally operating thermostatic valves. (FHV for "floor heat valve" is the trade lingo and while common--sometimes even required--in Europe they can be hard to find in the USA and even harder to find anyone who knows anything about them ) Another less elegant way to keep radiantly heated bedrooms a bit cooler is liberal use of area rugs.

On to your radiantly heated garage. Again, as long as it is properly designed and controlled there will not be any problem whatsoever with keeping a car there. You may however notice that the garage seems a bit cooler than the rest of the house because it will be covering most of the radiator and presuming it is driven daily it will be sucking up the radiant energy from the slab but never getting warm enough to itself radiate much energy to the walls and other objects in the space.

 

 

Sorry to get away from 'vettes, but radiant heat and proportional control systems are two of my passions. A great addition to a radiantly heated home that is frequently left empty for more than a few days at a time is a telephone interface to the system that allows you to call a couple days ahead to bring the house up to temperature. Some boilers have such a provision nearly built-in; with others it gets more difficult--especially if you've zoned using wall thermostat controlled circulators or digital (on-off) valves. If you're really interested, send me a private mail to include some details of your system like make/model of boiler and general control system (pumps/valves). Good job ensuring that your PEX piping has an oxygen barrier

 

Funny you should mention that.... I thought about a connection to the phone for control &/or monitoring.
We`re still in the early stages of planning.... we bought the tubing so as to get the slab poured.... the rest of the system details are still in the works, so I`m open to suggestions!

 

Hi OldGTO,
Just bought a 71 in sunny florida. One day hope to have a cabin in NC. I was in a hotel room in Finland with bathroom heated floors. It was the most awesome thing in the world. I called my wife while I was sitting on the floor and told her the next house or remodel we're doing this. Go for it in the garage.

 

BTW over in Melbourne/Suntree area. Hope to get some advise or see you around at shows.

 

Send me a PM next time you head over to Orlando... I`ll give you a tour of our "museum"!

 

Make sure that along with the tubing you're running, in a zig zag type pattern, roughly 8-12" apart that you also run a tube separate from those to about the middle of the room, this will be for an optional sensor wire. Just tape the end well, run that tube with the others to the distribution manifold. If you need you have it, it way harder to do after the floor is poured.

For controls we normally use Tekmar, or for a great option use the new Honeywell Redlink tstats with Internet capability. It will connect to you're mobile device and give you system alerts.

Swampeastmike, sounds like he is a Mechanical Engineer, so he can design it and I can install it

 

Can this tube be more of a straight shot to the center... to make it easier to put the wire in? The wire will just stop at the taped end? Is there a smaller, or different type of tube for the sensor wire, or just use the same PEX?

 

Yes, absolutely a strait shot for the sensor. The sensor does not need to go all the way to the end, as far as you can get it. You use the same pex tube for the sensor.