I want shop pictures..

Well, since I have no real life skills, it looks like if I ever get the cash to build a shop, it's not going to be heated LOL Maybe a torpedo heater, I can plug those in just fine.
 
I got another quote today... $7 sq/ft for the concrete with 2" pink foam board and pex tubing in the concrete. So, 40x64 is nearly $18,000...so, the pex/insulation adds about $8,000 extra if you figure a little over $4 sq/ft for just concrete.

I've worked in both shops with floor heat and radiant tube and see pros and cons of both. I'm not sure if the $7-8k is going to be worth it.

Thoughts?
 
Can anyone explain the insulation theory? To me it seems pointless...put insulation between 50+* ground and 55* concrete. I just put insulation on the sides to keep it from the frozen ground outside the shed and it's working just the same as others w/o the added expense
 
Make the manifolds yourself and buy the pex wherever you can find a screaming deal on it... eBay, craigslist, etc...
 
JoeySlushr said:
Can anyone explain the insulation theory? To me it seems pointless...put insulation between 50+* ground and 55* concrete. I just put insulation on the sides to keep it from the frozen ground outside the shed and it's working just the same as others w/o the added expense
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Where do you get this 50+ ground temp? So you think the ground under the concrete doesn't get cold? Does your way work, yeah I am sure it does although your efficiency blows. The insulation is so the ground does not suck all the heat out of the concrete.
 
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Lucky Jeff said:
How about geothermal heat? Anyone try that route yet?
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My Buddy works for a local heating/cooling company and they talked his parents into Geo and they aren't to thrilled. They went with horizontal Geo due to having the property to do it and cost. It was a decent deal seeings with all the gov. help and tax rebates it only cost a little over a third of what it should have. That being said he still uses a lot of alternative heat sources.
 
How do you suppose the ground under a heated slab would get colder. Ground temperature stabilizes at 50-55*. In the winter there's a frozen crust but even in the harshest winters it's only a 3 or 4 feet deep unless it's in the road If you can keep the heat from escaping outward the loss in efficiency would pry be very little. I doubt it would justify 8000$ worth of pink foam. You would be better off with that reflective bubble wrap as a thermal break or even better 1" of spray foam
 
JoeySlushr said:
How do you suppose the ground under a heated slab would get colder. Ground temperature stabilizes at 50-55*. In the winter there's a frozen crust but even in the harshest winters it's only a 3 or 4 feet deep unless it's in the road If you can keep the heat from escaping outward the loss in efficiency would pry be very little. I doubt it would justify 8000$ worth of pink foam. You would be better off with that reflective bubble wrap as a thermal break or even better 1" of spray foam
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No **** the ground under a heated slab would be warm, due to the fact it is taking the heat from the heated concrete.. You use the insulation for Efficiency. I take it it isnt worth insulating you exterior walls in your house either? Because by your theory the air space between the walls would be heated by the inside so the air space between inside and outside walls would be stabilized also.I understand the ground temp stabilizes at 4 ft, the reason behind Geothermal Energy :nail:....
 
Look for a commercial roofing company in your area, when they do tear offs on older flat roofs they used to be sheated with 3" foam with osb on one side in 4x4 panels. I paid them .50 a sheet I had to lay down a 6 mil poly over the top but it was still dirt cheap.
 
I haven't ever talked to anyone with geothermal that has been really impressed with it.
 
6.4 F-350 said:
Look for a commercial roofing company in your area, when they do tear offs on older flat roofs they used to be sheated with 3" foam with osb on one side in 4x4 panels. I paid them .50 a sheet I had to lay down a 6 mil poly over the top but it was still dirt cheap.
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This! Our local school redid there flat roof, we took half dozen gooseneck loads of it. The big down fall is that was 4yrs ago and we sold it and gave a bunch to our buddies. Now I need it for my floor. :doh:
 
bradley59dzl said:
This! Our local school redid there flat roof, we took half dozen gooseneck loads of it. The big down fall is that was 4yrs ago and we sold it and gave a bunch to our buddies. Now I need it for my floor. :doh:
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:hehe: That's how it always works out. I lucked out and a friend of mine had a van trailer and I dropped it off and got it loaded one week and we split the load, it was enough to do 2 shops and cost less for the whole load than it cost me for pink when I added on 20X60 onto the West end for my office.
 
Started on my 40x60x14 this weekend.

Friday picked up all the steel and 2x6x10' along with trusses getting deliverd. Rented a bobcat. Saturday morning the 3 of us got rocking and rolling. By the end of the day we had drilled 20 24" holes 7ft down and got both 60ft wall post in the ground squared up and back filled.
Sunday we finshed the 40ft walls cleaned up and back filled.

4k worth of footings in the bed and another 4k in steel on the trailer. Good thing I only had a mile to go.
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Where it sits now
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JoeySlushr said:
How do you suppose the ground under a heated slab would get colder. Ground temperature stabilizes at 50-55*. In the winter there's a frozen crust but even in the harshest winters it's only a 3 or 4 feet deep unless it's in the road If you can keep the heat from escaping outward the loss in efficiency would pry be very little. I doubt it would justify 8000$ worth of pink foam. You would be better off with that reflective bubble wrap as a thermal break or even better 1" of spray foam
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I can guaran-damn-tee you that insulation under the slab makes a HUGE difference in heating efficiency.

I'm heating a 12,000 sq ft shop and a 6,400 sq ft shop with a natural gas boiler. I ran the 12,000 sq ft shop for a winter by itself before plumbing the 6,400 into the same boiler....6,400 not insulated under the slab, 12,000 has 1" "Creatherm" insulation. My heating bill doubled by bringing on another 50% of area, and you can feel the difference in air temperature between the two shops.


IMHO, if you are spending the money it takes to do radiant floor heat, you are wasting a good portion of it by not putting the most amount of insulation under the slab as you can. Would you build a house and not insulate it, or only use a vapor barrier?


Chris
 
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