Hello. New to this forum and looking for some advice.

 We are in the process of doing a major reno to our basement and are looking into the possibility of a radiant floor.
 approx 2000 sq feet. Walk out basement. Slab is not insulated. House is approx 10 years old
Ceiling is between 8 to 9 feet high so loss of a few inches not too much of an issue except for the stairs (may need to redo staircase x 2 ) because of difference in height of last step.

I was looking at going hydronic with gypcrete overpour(has been suggested to me by 2 contractors)  but some of the concerns I have is using gyprete in the basement, particularly around the issue of water and what any water damage could do to gypcrete(we have never had any water issues in our basement though)
Any other alternative forms of concrete that are recommended besides gypcrete for basement appliocation?

The other alternative would be to use electric radiant and I have been looking at the Alcatel product for floor heating. Any one used this product before. Cost wise it is much more reasonable than some of the heating mats available.
Thanks

If you have never had water in the basement, then it is'nt an issues is it? Concrete: 2" minimum, is another possibility. 2" XPS at the perimeter.

If you want concrete as a finished floor or just to build up from then any line voltage or low voltage cable will work fine. Alcatel doesn't really have anything special over the others.

We use Danfoss cables for line voltage and Heatizon for low voltage. You have another choice; Zmesh is a low voltage bronze screen that can be installed directly under any type of flooring without the need for an SLC or gypcrete. If you want to put carpet or linoleum over the top, you'll need a to lay luon over the screen to prevent it from "showing through".

Since you have the space, I would recommend an insulator/vapor barrier on top of your existing slab and then a plywood subfloor over the top. That way you'll have a faster response time and more general control over the temps.

I have gone the rounds with radiant options rinial and I would recommend Warm Ribbon from Warmzone. I think it is a straight $6/square foot no matter how big or small. So you can have efficient climate control by adding as many thermostats as you want, no floor height issues and is a dry installation. You can use it under any floor covering and don't need extra materials to work around it.

See another post I wrote with a photo of a small project using Warm Ribbon: http://www.greenbuildingtalk.com/Forums/tabid/53/forumid/12/postid/38690/view/topic/Default.aspx

Let us know what you decide.

You could build out around the bottom of the stairs to make a "landing". This would avoid the first step problem. Might not fit your plans/aesthetics, but just a thought if you don't want to rebuild the staircase (or you could do a landing for now and a staircase whenever you get around to it).