Demand Careful Planning John Siegenthaler remembers a time he was asked to price a hydronic floor-heating system in a home that had just been framed. But the framing couldn't handle the weight, and the doors and windows hadn't been sized to accommodate the slab's thickness. Adjusting the original design would have been easy enough, but making the needed changes after construction started was too expensive. In the end, he opted to install panel radiators. The story makes an important point.
Floor heating requires more planning by the builder than other heating systems.
Siegenthaler has 18 years experience as a heating engineer, but he is limited by the building design. Installation details are often dictated by the floor structure. It's okay to wheel the concrete over the tubing, but put a plywood scrap beneath the nose of the wheelbarrow as you empty it. The plywood protects the tubing from the wheelbarrow's steel noise piece. Despite these complications, hydronic radiant floor heat is growing in popularity.