Articles


Radiant Floor Heat Installation - Luxurious Comfort

by Doug Watson

A person's home is a refuge, and should be pleasant and comforting. If it's is too cold inside, it will not be comfortable. When it is cold outside as in the winter, it's nice to be warm and comfy indoors. A popular theme of holiday cards is to show folks and their animals looking all snuggly and comfy indoors, looking out to a cold, snowy landscape.

There are a many ways to heat your house. You can use a fireplace or wood stove to burn firewood. You can turn on your natural gas forced-air heating system. You can also utilize in floor radiant heat for extra luxury. Floor heating can be used alone or as an adjunct to your primary heating system.

If you choose to go with in-floor radiant heating, you will need to decide if you want to buy a house with it already installed or if you would rather retrofit a your home to accommodate its installation. You need to know that radiant floor heat installation is not inexpensive or simple.

It costs thousands of dollars more to install radiant floor heating than to put in a forced-air heating system. When houses had tubing encased in concrete, it was virtually impossible to retrofit them. At that time, a home had to be built with in-floor radiant heating in mind if the homeowner wanted such a system. Today's advances in material science and heating systems make it much easier to get a radiant floor heat installation.

Assuming your contractor will agree, a committed amateur can help cut the cost of radiant heat installation. Based on your contractor's design, you can install the radiant tubing by yourself which will save labor costs considerably. Then, you can let the contractor install the boiler and leave him to deal with the controls and piping.

During the process of installing your in-floor heating, you should work together with your contractor. The contractor knows what kind of materials are best suited to be used as your tubing, and he will know professional who can provide the best radiant floor heat installation. Make sure that you ask around for referrals and references before the installation actually starts, and that you read and understand all contracts that you are shown before you sign anything. You don't have to break the bank to enjoy a comfortable heated floor.

There are several ways to heat your home. You can burn wood in a fireplace or even a wood stove. If you have one, you can turn on your natural gas forced-air system, or you can try luxurious in floor radiant heat as your main source of heat. During the process of installing your in-floor heating, you should work together with your contractor. The contractor knows what kind of materials are best suited for use as your tubing, and he will know professionals who can provide the best radiant floor heat installation.

Published January 5th, 2008

Filed in Family, Home