Dave,
Removing the old floor would probably be a real job! If you can spare the
headroom, an overpour would be much easier. Besides, the old concrete has
stabilized over the years and probably isn't going anywhere.
What is CS pipe and why wouldn't you use pex pipe which is the tried and
proven pipe (30+ years experience) for this application? You can probably
use 1/2" pex for this application. Don't use metal pipe, whatever you do.
Concrete causes electolytic corrosion of virtually all metals, and limited
lifetime is the result. Pex pipe's projected life is 100+ years in concrete
(full 25 year warranty).
Try to get a bit of insulation between the slabs to prevent downward heat
loss. rFoil (another company I rep for) makes a 5/16" thick
bubble/foil/bubble insulation designed for under concrete which can provide
an effective barrier to heat flow (about r-8). Note that the aluminum foil
is protected from contact with the concrete by a double layer of
polyethylene bubbles. Use a flat mat 6"x6" #10 wire mesh to reinforce the
new slab and provide a grid to attach the pex tubing with wire ties.
John Lehman
Ohio Regional Office
J.C. Mottinger Associates, Inc.
Manufacturers' Representatives
1008 Crook St., Grafton, OH 44044
Ph: (440) 926-2404 Fax (440 ) 926-1194
JELehman@ix.netcom.com www.Wirsbo.com
> OK lets try this one. I've recently moved and I'm
> planning to convert an old 20 X 40' drive shed
> to a workshop. The existing cement floor has some
> deep cracks and to remove this floor would be darn
> near impossible, and I also want to install radiant floor
> heating. So how about building a grid of say 3/4"
> CS pipe to carry the glycol and reinforce the floor
> at the same time? Then maybe 4" of new cement
> over that?
>
> Thanks John L for your earlier communications.
>
>
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