This looks to be the only place for this question...
Does anyone have experience, insight, or tips on the best way to build and heat a concrete slab?? I've seen some articles on different heat zones, ie. inside slab vs. outside slab... also various types of pipe for durability.
Basically we want to put a heated slab off the back of our building, the main area will be open, with a small building on one end for 5 or 6 runs. I wish cost weren't a factor, but it is! :rolleyes:
Also, we are located in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada where the temperatures go from +30 Celsius in the summer to -30 Celsius in the winter!
Anyway, I look forward to some input... if anyone prefers to email, plans, websites etc... I can be reached at ourpassion@leidenschaftkennels.com<br />Tammy

we have heated floors here in our kennel, offices and whelping rooms, but only on the inside. It's great! The dogs love it. We have it in the house too on the lower level.

I don't think it's feasible to do outdoors in our type of climate...and I think ours is similar to yours..

Ed isn't here to answer the technical part of your question, but he may check the board from his laptop..

is it spring yet?? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

If you find that the heated concrete using the hot water piping isn't feasible, it is probably not your only option.

I have a friend here who has a heated tar driveway. No plowing! There are wire elements every 6 or 8 inches that are set up to come on at a certain temperature. lol.. Pretty cool stuff, but I have NO idea what that cost him.

I just finished a 40x88 shop with radiant floor heat. I found that a hydronic system was going to be the most efficient way of doing this. Depending on how much square feet you have, a simple hot water heater may do the job. Zones are made by using separate circuits of piping that are controlled by valves and/or manifolds. I live in Wisconsin and found that the system could more than keep up with the cold last winter. Jason

When I was the canine trainer at Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota, we had a 16 dog kennel. That kennel had a heated floor. The winters there can be very harsh and the floor kept the kennel a "comfortable" 50 degrees.

DFrost

This is all good... keep it coming! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Being that the heated slab is outside, you want to run your circuits of piping closer together with smaller runs. This means that the liquid can only cool down so much before it is cycled back to the heat source. Use coolant instead of water so it will buy you more time to repair the system if you happen to loose the heat source. Since the area will be adjacent to the building, I would put the water heater/boiler in there along with the manifolds and valves. The only other thing to consider is the cost of operating it. I used Wirsbo piping and manifolds then mixed and matched the other components. The cost for my project was somewhere around $7500.00. There are so many variables, however, that you probably do not want to use this as any type of guide as to how much your project will cost. Good Luck...Jason

bumping this to the top again... hoping to get some more input! Rather learn this one from others' experience! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Tammy,

You could use the radiant floor tubes but utilize a solar panel for the hot water instead of an electric water heater. The only monthly cost after installation would be what it costs to run a small recirculating pump. Its the cheapest way to go that I can think of.

Howard

Originally posted by Tammy Dempsey:
This looks to be the only place for this question...
Does anyone have experience, insight, or tips on the best way to build and heat a concrete slab?? Hi Tammy,

Since you have already decided to go with concrete, you might want to ask your cement supplier about dyed concrete. If you were to get black dyed concrete poured, you would get some benefit heat-wise from the sun. You might have a hard time finding a company that will dye the concrete in the mixer though. Most of the concrete suppliers around here frown on selling dyed concrete because it is a royal SOB to clean out of the truck's mixer drum. Just food for thought.

As to heating a concrete slab, I would go with a propane or natural gas fired boiler system with piping inside the slab. The reason I suggest the boiler style system is that it uses the same water over and over and just adds a little bit of fresh water when you lose some through pressure relief or vents. It also has the side benefit that it's not heating totally cold fresh water but is reheating already warm water. That will probably save you a bit on your water bill too.

I'm not sure how well or if this would work in Canada but, you might also consider a geothermal heat pump type system that circulates water underground to capture some heat from the soil. It might not be 80*F heat but 45-50* is still a lot warmer than zero. I'm not sure how deep the permafrost is up there or if it would work at all but around here that is one option for home heating that a lot of people use.