Advice - PEX Tubing

I am researching a boiler/water heater combo that heats water
for shower sink etc and also heats and pumps water through a radiant
floor heating system. I would like to avoid baseboard units in the
basement (existing slab-unfinished basement). Has anyone heard of laying down treated sleepers on the slab,
running the PEX tubing in the bays and installing plywood over that? Is
there a way to heat the basement with this radiant system of tubing and
fins without the exposed fixtures?
I found the supplies on Houseneeds.com and they have a really good deal. I just wanted to make sure that this was the best solution to my problem. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

wirsbo pex is good

you can do about anything you want to do
with the pex......

although it would certainly seem cheaper and
easier to justt install base board heaters
on the walls instead of going to all that trouble.
of building up the floor with plywood.


go tothe wirsbo site and you can see many different
applications of their stuff

You might want to spring for one of the track systems that has the (usually aluminum) heat diffuser built in that accepts the tubing. You also may want to consider some insulation on the floor. You'd need someone to run the calculations for you, but yes, you should be able to heat the space in this manner. The key is getting the tubing spacing, loop lengths, flow, and supply temps correct. Depending on the area, you may need multiple loops in order to keep the temperature even, and if you don't insulate the floor, will waste a lot of heat making the slab (and the subsoil beneath it) warmer. If the boiler is being used for other areas of the house, you will need a mixing valve or manifold system to temper the water going to the in-floor system...normally, you don't want that water warmer than around 120 and the surface of the floor much over 80. Also depends on the covering on the floor - wood, carpet, tile, sheet material - all will affect the design temp and the heat output.

I'd consider maybe some EasyMat in the thickest sheet, then the track system, and a subfloor of ply, or possibly a finished floor, depending on what you're planning (like a solid wood could go right over the track system). Note, fastening things can get to be a pain on a slab. Depends somewhat on the amount of height you have available and your needs.

I would suggest that you use a water sealer on the concrete to prevent moisture from rotting the plywood.

Next I would suggest adding insulation. One thought would be to use foam and route groves in it for the pex and heat spreaders.

Hi Guys.. Thanks for the suggestion.. Will bear the same in mind and let you know the out come.. Thanks