Heat tape required for house?

pauljferraro · Oct 15, 2007

I have a couple of questions that I am looking for a recommendation. My house configuration is the following: House (2-story) is on the ocean in Massachusetts with a foundation of steel pilings (house 5' off ground) with open lattice around house (skirting), house has a main 3/4" copper water line which exists a well tile and enters the floor joists then splits (Pex) off into different locations of the 1st floor (bath, kitchen, laundry, etcâ€¦). The piping that runs along the open floor joists is Pex attached to the plywood sub floor which brings water to the different parts of the house. The floor joists have fiberglass (pink) insulation and a membrane protecting the Pex piping. The house is a new house that we have applied heat tape to the main 3/4" water line with fiberglass insulation to the point the water line splits off to the Pex piping. My questions are can Pex piping and the Pex pipe clamps attached to the plywood flooring have heat tape applied? Is it required/recommend heat tape be applied to this type of configuration? It does get very cold at the house location but I have heard differing recommendations. Some say the insulation and membrane will protect the Pex from freezing and that the heat tape manufactures don't support this type of configuration. Help with my situation most welcome.

Thank You
Paul

Patrick88 · Oct 16, 2007

pauljferraro said:
I have a couple of questions that I am looking for a recommendation. My house configuration is the following: House (2-story) is on the ocean in Massachusetts with a foundation of steel pilings (house 5' off ground) with open lattice around house (skirting), house has a main 3/4" copper water line which exists a well tile and enters the floor joists then splits (Pex) off into different locations of the 1st floor (bath, kitchen, laundry, etcâ€¦). The piping that runs along the open floor joists is Pex attached to the plywood sub floor which brings water to the different parts of the house. The floor joists have fiberglass (pink) insulation and a membrane protecting the Pex piping. The house is a new house that we have applied heat tape to the main 3/4" water line with fiberglass insulation to the point the water line splits off to the Pex piping. My questions are can Pex piping and the Pex pipe clamps attached to the plywood flooring have heat tape applied? Is it required/recommend heat tape be applied to this type of configuration? It does get very cold at the house location but I have heard differing recommendations. Some say the insulation and membrane will protect the Pex from freezing and that the heat tape manufactures don't support this type of configuration. Help with my situation most welcome.

Thank You
Paul

You can use heat tape on pex, but you need to follow the manufactures recommendations. There is no real good way of telling if you need more for your pipes. Most of the time if your water lines are covered they should be fine.

Heat tape required for house?

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