[Dave57210]

WARNING! WARNING! Horrible puns ahead!

After a couple of years of having my 40X60 shop with only a dirt floor - I finally did it. Smooth. level. compacted sand, vapour (vapor to our US cousins!) barrier, 5 inch Hi density styrofoam, mesh plus rebar, and then lay in the PEX tubing for hydronic floor heat.

Then last Saturday, 5 and a half inches of 34 MPA concrete, with fibreglass strands mixed in, laid in, and machine finished and polished.

I was just "floored" by the amount of "concrete progress" and "mortarfied" that I hadn't done it sooner!

(I warned you!)

[wretched ratchet]

This post is usless without pics - - - -

[302 Z28]

Originally Posted by wretched ratchet

This post is usless without pics - - - -

Absolutely.

Vince

[Dave57210]

Now- just as soon as I can get my pix downsized from the current size to something that will attach, I'll even post 'em!

I had tried - a couple of shots of the floor with the pipes & styro showing (pre-adding re-bar) and a couple of the concrete pumpers etc, and a couple of the finished product

And every single one then said "file too large"

[wretched ratchet]

Looking forward to seeing that project, for sure, if you are using Photobucket, it will downsize them for you !

[Dave57210]

OK - I'll try again

[wretched ratchet]

WOW, I am throughly impressed - - - nice stuff, Dave

[302 Z28]

Man that is going to e one nice shop...congratulations and nice job.

Vince

[OLNOLAN]

Dave, I can't believe you're finishing up MY dream shop. How dare you! With floor heat! Who do you think you are? You ain't right! That was MY idea! Can't believe you're doing this to me! Getting yours finished while mine is still a dream just ain't fair! You stole my plans! Now I guess you're gonna fill it with cool hotrods and stuff! The nerve of some people! YADA,YADA,YADA olnolan

[boatbob2]

Hi Dave,very nice job !!! what do you use,to heat the water for the floor? i live in north florida,so,im just curious..

[Dave57210]

Well so far what I am using is - well - nothing.

HOWEVER long range (like maybe next year?) plans call for a small, hi-efficiency natural-gas fired boiler, with pumps, an expansion tank, valves, manifolds to distribute the hot water among the various loops, and manifolds to collect the cooler return water for it go back into the boiler. Valves to regulate how much hot water goes through each loop, etc. An Air/water separator is crucial.

The system is full of a 50/50 mix of Prestone automotive anti-freeze and water, and pressure-tested to 175 lb BEFORE I poured the concrete - leaks are never a good plan INSIDE the slab!

[MRGM]

very nice. enjoy that pex

[dinger]

Verrrrry nice! Now if you lived in Ca. you could use solar to heat that water...but then you wouldn't need the heat...never mind, it's early and I just ain't the brightest shop light in that shop this early.....I'll be up next January to help with the latest project.

[cobalt327]

Looks Great!

Does the floor have expansion joints or whatever you call them between the different segments? Or does having floor heat do away w/that?

And how did you (or did you even need to) 'grade' the slab for drainage, or is there a central drain, or? I know I will need to because it's outside.

Reason I ask, is I'd like to someday redo the shop's surrounding slab, and am obviously clueless.

Thanks.

[timothale]

I wish I had done the pex for radiant heat for my 40 X 60 shop on the working end. I have big woodstove and I was using the backhoe bucket or 2 load of firewood each day. And it would just thaw you out a little bit. I was spending the winters working in sunny Calif and forgot what 40 below was like up here. I don't know if it is efficient enough but some people have used solar heat on the cloudy Oregon coast to heat water to 70 degrees then a heat exchanger to bring the floor loop temp higher.