Problems With Tie Tubing To Wire Mesh In Floor Heating

There are two types of radiant floor heating electric and water based systems.

Problems with tie tubing to wire mesh in floor heating.

We tied our pex tubing to the wire mesh. Metal bend supports are most common for concrete slabs. This works well if you use equipment and have a crew that can pour the slab without trampling the pex mesh. Staple nail and screw down clips allow the installer to hold tubing to wood floors joists and studs.

We use mesh pedestals and zip tie the pex to the top of mesh. Warm water systems run hot water through pipes to create heat whereas electric underfloor heating heats wiring beneath the floor to generate heat. My problem with this method is the 6 mil visqueen is on the the cool side of the insulation. The hydronic heating tubing can be fastened directly onto the wire mesh with zip ties wire ties or specialized tie systems with an automated tool.

Much cheaper and faster than zip ties and no ends to deal with. Pex bend supports used to provide smooth 90 degree bends of pex pipe where needed. Using the outside edge of the mesh come over a square and a half and then tie tubing approximately every 1 2 feet keeping it as straight as possible. Guys that tie rebar for bridges or swimming pools are incrediably fast with coiled wire.

Now my heating contractor tells me that he prefers to use staples to hold the pex to the 2 insulation. Concrete floor slabs in shops and garages typically carry heavier loads which is why these concrete slabs typically get reinforced with wire mesh. Aid in getting the mesh off the ground. Clips for hold tubing down to rewire or rebar in radiant slabs greatly speed up a radiant project.

We then installed 2 of r 10 insulation and wire mesh as structural reinforcement local building standards. These clips are removable and can slide along the wire to adjust tubing spacing as needed. Help to support mesh above the membrane before and during pouring. Regular tie wire in a dispensor on you belt is fast and quick if you have ever watched a pro use one.

Designed to receive 6 8 and 10 wire mesh the flexible plastic support chair mesh up helps solve the problems of concrete slabs at grade will. We like putting the pex on top of the mesh because this makes it easier to repair any pex that gets damaged during the pour or that develops a leak sometime in the future. Much like you would tie a bread bag. Both provide heating in a room from the floor up for consistent efficient warmth.

Sometimes the tubing and reinforcing mesh it is attached to gets lifted into the thickness of the slab as the concrete is placed. Other times the masons trample over the tubing and mesh as if it is not even there. And since they are clips they allow the tubing to be repositioned for better coverage. Anyone who has installed hydronic floor heating has likely watched as his or her neatly placed tubing circuits get buried in concrete.