Radiant floor heating system has major leak, need to replace

[hoekzebs]

Hello. I have a 46 year old home on a concrete slab that has a radiant floor heating system. It's a long 1 level house at about 3700 sq ft. We have identified that our radiant floor system has a major (4x normal water bills) water leak, and we were told that it would be very difficult to locate/repair the leak(s) in our house (since there are no visual signs of a leak right now).

I would like to know what economical and energy efficient options we have to replace it? The gas heated boiler approach seems to be very energy efficient, but I'm assuming we have to scrap the floor heating system. Would an above floor radiant heating system (baseboard + wall + standing units) be a good option? I think there is enough space in all the rooms to run pipes along or in the walls without jeopardizing the space or visual appearence. But I dont know if this is a good option, since you dont see many more of the above floor systems being installed today. What do you recommend?

FYI, We got a quote to replace the boiler system with high efficiency gas furnances (qty 2) plus make the duct work more efficient, but that quote was way too much (~$40k).

Thanks for your perspective!

[paul52446m]

Hello. I have a 46 year old home on a concrete slab that has a radiant floor heating system. It's a long 1 level house at about 3700 sq ft. We have identified that our radiant floor system has a major (4x normal water bills) water leak, and we were told that it would be very difficult to locate/repair the leak(s) in our house (since there are no visual signs of a leak right now).

I would like to know what economical and energy efficient options we have to replace it? The gas heated boiler approach seems to be very energy efficient, but I'm assuming we have to scrap the floor heating system. Would an above floor radiant heating system (baseboard + wall + standing units) be a good option? I think there is enough space in all the rooms to run pipes along or in the walls without jeopardizing the space or visual appearence. But I dont know if this is a good option, since you dont see many more of the above floor systems being installed today. What do you recommend?

FYI, We got a quote to replace the boiler system with high efficiency gas furnances (qty 2) plus make the duct work more efficient, but that quote was way too much (~$40k).

Thanks for your perspective!

I would guess that your in floor heating will keep popping more leaks so it is done. I have done jobs like yours where we run piping in the attic. We came down in closets, some drywall had to be removed to run pipes down walls. This can all be done, but it will be very important to have a good boiler man that knows what he is doing to engineer out your system and pipe it so it will work right. Make sure you see a heat loss for every room. Keep in mind that the cooler the water temp you heat with, the more eff. the boiler will be.
This means adding more radiation so you can use less water temp on the boiler If you use a indoor outdoor temp controller you can heat with just the water them you need. Remember the installer is a very important of a heating system. Paul

[brettyg]

They make under the floor pads that can be used for radient floor heating. These get laid down before the flooring gets laid and water runs through them. Very good and worth while check them out.

Chicago Heating And Air Conditioning Repair Service

[hoekzebs]

Got quotes back, leading option appears to be boiler & water/fan coil combo

Thanks for your comments to my thread. We gotten a handful of quotes for replacing our radiant floor heating system, and the options range from just replacing the boiler and locating/repairing the pipe leaks -to- installing a new boiler that pumps water to fan coils in our existing AC air output -to- installing heat pump / gas furnace combinations.

Based on what we know so far, the leading option (from a cost & efficiency perspective) is to install a new boiler that pumps water to fan coils in the AC air output. The quote calls for a 96% Weil McLain gas boiler. I have questions about how effective this will be for heating the air, but the licensed installer says he has installed many systems like this already. Also, I'm wondering if my existing ductwork is efficient enough to comfortably heat our house...considering that it was installed 47 years ago to be used for AC only and the vents/registers and cold air return are in the ceiling.

I was just curious if anyone has experience with a boiler/water coil heating system? And if there are any watchouts based on the situation I'm in? Thanks for any perspective you can provide!


P.S.
1- The reason why this is the leading option is because of cost (est. $15k for the job, no ductwork repair included) and efficiency/energy consumption (gas boiler seems to be most effective for our 1 level 3700 sq ft home).
2- Our home has 3 AC units to accomodate the 3700 sq ft and awkward layout, so the quote assumes that they will install the heated water coils in these systems to provide hot air to the home.
3- I live in Cincinnati Ohio and we get 4 full seasons year round. Heating is usually on from November - mid April.

[jking]

Since you weren't able to find the leak, are you sure that it's definitely in your heating system?

Hello. I have a 46 year old home on a concrete slab that has a radiant floor heating system. It's a long 1 level house at about 3700 sq ft. We have identified that our radiant floor system has a major (4x normal water bills) water leak, and we were told that it would be very difficult to locate/repair the leak(s) in our house (since there are no visual signs of a leak right now).

I would like to know what economical and energy efficient options we have to replace it? The gas heated boiler approach seems to be very energy efficient, but I'm assuming we have to scrap the floor heating system. Would an above floor radiant heating system (baseboard + wall + standing units) be a good option? I think there is enough space in all the rooms to run pipes along or in the walls without jeopardizing the space or visual appearence. But I dont know if this is a good option, since you dont see many more of the above floor systems being installed today. What do you recommend?

FYI, We got a quote to replace the boiler system with high efficiency gas furnances (qty 2) plus make the duct work more efficient, but that quote was way too much (~$40k).

Thanks for your perspective!

[GDH]

I have a similar problem in Alaska. House was built in 1984, 2X6 construction, and built very well, about 5000 sqft. Problem is half of house is on slab inground with radiant, and 3 car garage with radiant. Tubing used was probably first radiant produced in 1984. Tubes are black rubber about 1/4 inch in diameter. In garage, a down spout has poured water down along edge of garage for last 30 years. A large section of slab 10X10 is angled down from probable drainage from down spout. My suspicion is that tubes are stretched and are sucking air into my system from the cracked garage floor. This heating system has been a maintenance night mare continuously, and I have replace the circulating pump (at $380 more times than I care). I love the infloor heat, but my system keeps getting air locks, requiring me to bleed the air every couple of weeks to month. When I bought house, had 1000 sq ft unfinished, and when I finished it, I used 1/2 " pex, in the floor. It works perfect. I have been unable to locate who made the old 1/4" old rubber tubing or how to fix it, probably out of business now. I would prefer to fix it before completely abandoning it. Second option if I can't fix is to run a Unit hydronic heater in the garage off the boiler, but I like the radiant heat in the garage if there is a way to repair.
Any suggestions.

Thanks

[HayZee518]

check out mc master carr industrial supply. they have every type of hose imaginable