I’ve got a design for a master bath that has its tub and adjacent shower in a corner with windows. I am thinking of ways to get some more heat into the space.
We’ll heat the house with hydronic radiant, under the floor. Have any of you had any success running the tubing up into the shower walls and under the tub deck? I though if I did, I could get those tiled surfaces acting as radiators, in addition to the floor.
Replies
bob, I ran the tubes under the deck for the tub and around the perimeter of the plaster set below the fibreglass tub. Not a big heat source, but takes the chill off the tile and wife says, keeps the water warmer longer than in the summer. Drys the tile quicker too. As to the walls, didn't try that.
edit: remember too installing one of those electric towel warmers, customer likes that for a minor heat source and the warm quicker drying towels. Some are costly, some not.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
Quittin' Time
Edited 8/29/2004 8:06 pm ET by calvin
An alternative to more heat is more insulation. Before installing the wallboard you can install 1/2" foam over the ceiling joists and 1" foam to the outside walls. That will keep the room nice and toasty.
If you use low-e glass in the windows you'll reduce condensation, though in a bathroom you can't eliminate it. Make sure that the part of the sash that contacts the glass is vinyl, not wood. There will always be a bit of moisture on the very corners of the glass in the winter and no wood will hold up to it. On the window trim, seal the back sides, too, with something like shellac before installing it on the windows.
There have some reports that putting pex tubing in the walls has left yellow stains on the walls. I would guess that this was because of the paint not being meant to handle that amount of heat. I would talk to someone at a place like Sherwin Williams and maybe they would have some insight on what paint to use. On my house, I will be running the tubing through the walls and also making a design of running tubing through some decorative pipes that is to be used as a towel warmer. By using the pex tubing from the boiler anyways is a lot cheaper than buying a towel warmer. Get creative with your pex just remember to keep it a little ways away from your toilet as I have seen the wax rings melt because of the heat. Also, under your refrigerator is a bad location for the pex.
Hope this link works
http://www.hydronicpros.com/TechnicalCorner/techCorner.pdf