I've designed a 40 by 60 shop that has a hydronic system. Now that I'm forming the foundation, I am forced to confront the details of construction of the hydronic system. I have the pex and the Wirsbo expansion tool. But there are a number of details that I don't know. Is there a source for the basics? Things like how to stub up the tubing? I know it should be sleeved, but I really want to see diagrams. And I'm not exactly sure how to configure my plumbing in my mechanical closet. Things like how the pex stubs out and connects to the heating circuit. It seems trivial, but the fact that this is all happening in a substance that will shortly be rock hard has me a little nervous. I just want to know what the proper ways to do this is. I have the 90 degree tubing supports. But I also see people using 90 degree electrical sweeps, or just straight pvc tubing as sleeves. But there are going to be other things that I am not aware of yet that I want to see in advance. Such as the most convenient way to stub up all of the pex ends. Things like how far apart they should stub up. Where they should stub up in the room. I've worked for two years on this shop, and want it to be perfect. Which is why I've been doing the work myself. Unfortunately, this is one of those things that is a relatively obscure artform.

Great forum. I"ve been lurking for about a year.

Thanks,

Gregg

PS- I'd be grateful to hear about anything I SHOULD be asking.

I just stumbled across this site:

Radiant Heat From Radiant Floor Company - DIY Radiant Floor Heating

They have a design and installation book in PDF format that you can download, as well as some videos.

Rick

Thank you!

That's the kind of thing I was looking for. And after reading their web pages, I see that some of my questions weren't even necessary. I'm a little closer to getting this job done now.

the PVC bends make a lot more sense than some of the "subslab manifolds" some of those places advocate, which I find a bit silly, frankly; they only make sense if you are using unnecessarily huge tubing so making the bend is harder. with much more typical 1/2" pipe the bend is easy and a regular wall mounted manifold makes a lot more sense.

You do have to decide where you want the manifold though, and the answer in this kind of a situation is TYPICALLY "in the mechanical space, near the heat source".

Thanks Rob.

You've given me one more detail to work with. I like the wall mount as it could serve as a support structure. However, I do wonder if it could serve as an obstruction.
I think my next step will be ordering a manifold, and then working toward further solutions afterward.

I bought the 90 degree bend supports, but I also think the pvc sweeps are the way to go. I don't like the idea of bare pex at the cement interface.

another big problem with putting the manifold in the floor is that you can not really service the system, if and when your fitting leaks captured in the slab the way the do it will not afford any elbow room for you or your mechanic to work. Further a quality manifold will have a tap to remove air and water right on the manifold, this is essential for purging out the system and working air out of high spots.
Rob is right, 1/2 inch pipe is proper and considerably easier to work.
Bare pex generally is not a problem if your concrete finishers are cautious.
Dan

Is the only point of the PVC sleeve to protect the tubing during concrete finishing?

the turns help with the 90 deg bend, but there are metal snap on turns for about 1/2 the price, or you can make the turns with out the bends by using rebar in slab to tie to .
Are they essential. No.
Dan