Re: SB: Portable Radient Floor: OT

[Speireag Alden <Joshua.M.Alden.91@alum.dartmouth.org>]

Sgrìobh Travis Thornton:

>Question re. radient floor.  While we plan and build our strawbale 
>home in north central Washington, we plan on living in a yurt. 
>After the house is done, we expect that the yurt will move off the 
>property.  Thus, although we'd like to have radient heat, we don't 
>want to pour a slab.  What about this:  An insulated deck, on top of 
>which will be laid brick or those 4" thick solid concrete blocks on 
>a sand set.  Then, run the tubing on the blocks and float a wood 
>floor over the tubing.  That way, the whole shootin match can be 
>moved when/if needed.  Do you all think it would work, or would the 
>thin "slab" with wood over, combined with the not so stellar 
>insulation of the yurt itself, make such a system not worthwhile. 
>Thanks in advance for your imput.

     You may find that transmission of heat is a problem through a 
wooden floor, unless you attach the radiant tubing very tightly to 
the surface you want to heat.  For a portable situation, consider 
brick over sand instead.  Just lay down the sand, press the tubing 
into it, and lay down the brick or concrete pavers on top.  Should 
work fine, and it's completely portable.

     You'll probably want to insulate underneath it, but that's true 
of just about any radiant floor system.

-Speireag.
-- 
Speireag Alden, aka Joshua Macdonald Alden

If the biota, in the course of aeons, has built something we like but 
do not understand, then who but a fool would discard seemingly 
useless parts?  To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution 
of intelligent tinkering.   -- Aldo Leopold, _A Sand County Almanac_ 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe from the list, send a message to:
   <strawbale-unsubscribe@crest.org>

or for the digest to:
   <strawbale-digest-unsubscribe@crest.org>

Please send any list administration questions to
strawbale-owner@crest.org