Best way to run heating pipes above garage


  #1  
Old 12-31-19, 03:26 PM
P
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: NY
Posts: 33
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Best way to run heating pipes above garage

Hello, I have an attached un-heated garage (32×24) and I am converting the attic space above to living space (3 bedrooms and hallway).* I am planning creating a new zone/loop for the three new bedrooms and had thought I would run all my piping below the floor through the joists (spaced 12" +/-) and come up through the floor only where my baseboards will be.* I will be insulating the garage, just no heat.

This is my first time doing this so I turned to my uncle who has personal experience and has built a few systems in the past.

His suggestion was to run copper above the floor around the perimeter in baseboards and only use fins where needed.* I have some closets planned along* the outside wall and would have to run this through them.* Is this an acceptable way or more of a hack way of running the loop?*

If I choose to go though my joists, I probably would need to run pex, will pex hold up to temps around 210?

Again. I am trying to learn as I go and any tips/advice are appreciated, thank you.
 
  #2  
Old 12-31-19, 06:07 PM
A
Member
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: USA
Posts: 4,523
Upvotes: 0
Received 278 Upvotes on 254 Posts
I would go with the above floor route, enclosed in baseboard radiators with finned pipe only where needed.

Less chance of freezing up compared with being inside the walls or under the floor.

And less complexity of having the pipe dip below the floor and rise up to the next finned section.

Now the materials cost of the above floor route might be greater due to the added length of baseboard enclosures.
 

Last edited by AllanJ; 12-31-19 at 06:25 PM.
  #3  
Old 12-31-19, 08:15 PM
PJmax's Avatar
Group Moderator
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Jersey
Posts: 64,939
Received 3,952 Upvotes on 3,545 Posts
Kind of tacky running the copper thru a closet. The outside walls of closets are not known for being terribly warm either. I'm more in favor of using PEX in the floor. It needs to be close to the floor and well insulated.
 
  #4  
Old 01-01-20, 08:02 AM
A
Member
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: USA
Posts: 4,523
Upvotes: 0
Received 278 Upvotes on 254 Posts
For water pipes within walls, floors, or ceilings bordering the outside or unheated space I suggest no insulation between the pipe and the warm side.

I'm not sure what the minimum distance (1-1/4" ?) from the joist edge closest to the floor surface the bored hole for the pipe is but running the pipe centered in the joists means even less insulation protection from the cold.
 
  #5  
Old 01-01-20, 08:26 AM
T
Member
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: Canada
Posts: 81
Received 4 Upvotes on 4 Posts
A possible advantage of PEX would be it's resistance to breaking if the line froze. It can be much more forgiving than copper.

At our old place with rads, the lines were PEX.
 
 

Thread Tools
Search this Thread
 
Ask a Question
Question Title:
Description:
Your question will be posted in: