Well, I guess that just goes to show that those are not the right companies for us. At any rate, ten days ago we met with Roth Green Energy, a division of Leo J. Roth corporation. We actually got connected to them through my searches for a metal roof installer, during which I found Leo J. Roth Corp. These guys seemed like everything we're looking for - the gentleman I spoke to was very knowledgeable, answered all my questions, and gave me a lot of great information about the types of metal roofs I should consider for solar panels - except, unfortunately, it turns out they are a commercial installer and their insurance does not cover residential. Rats. Even so, the helpful gentleman told me about their Green Energy division, which led to our meeting 10 days ago. At this meeting we learned all about the services Roth Green Energy offers, including geothermal and solar. Much of our researched knowledge was confirmed and our questions answered. Even better, their engineer is part of the installation process, which makes us more confident in the quality of their work. And best of all, we chatted at-length about our overall house plans, which they thought were very clever, logical, and well-informed. It felt nice to finally have some of our ideas reinforced, rather than being looked at like we're crazy. They even took us on a tour of their facilities, even though it was a Saturday. (For future reference, they also have a crane for hire. That could come in handy later.) The meeting overall was incredibly encouraging and invigorating - now this is more like it!
Based on our discussions in that meeting, we asked for estimates for a geothermal radiant baseboard system, a geothermal radiant slab system, and as large and powerful a solar array could be achieved on the dimensions of our south-facing roof, aiming for ~10kw. Earlier this evening we met up at the site to go over the topography, after which we went to my parents' house to discuss the project estimates. Since we haven't signed anything official or made any deposits yet, I won't go into detail about the quotes, but I will say that we were very happy with them. Matt and I were both expecting the out-of-pocket expense for the solar to be three times as much as estimated, so that came as a very pleasant surprise. The geothermal quotes were pretty much as expected, though the part that surprised us was that the in-slab radiant actually came out slightly cheaper in comparison to baseboard. We had expected the in-slab to be more expensive, so now we have more to consider when it comes to deciding which radiant approach to take.
We are now quite certain that we will be getting geothermal and solar, both installed by Roth Green Energy. Next up, we need to decide whether we want to go with radiant slab or baseboard heat, after which we can agree on the contracts, put down deposits, and finalize drawings and parts lists for final review. At that point I'll go into more detail about the systems we're going with and the reasoning behind them.
So, readers: Does anyone have radiant in-floor heating? The fact that it is so permanent and inaccessible makes me kind of nervous. How likely is a slab on-grade to ever crack; and if it does, what possible ramifications would there be on the in-floor radiant system and on the house structure as a whole? Also, how do we deal with doorways or floor transitions (i.e., wood to carpet, etc.) where something would need to be nailed down? I must admit that I am leaning towards the radiant slab, but it complicates things to a point where we will have to rely on others to do the job (whereas before we were planning to do much of the concrete work ourselves).
Have you guys done concrete work before? If not you may wish to consider contracting it out. Perhaps you know that the curing of cement is a chemical process and if left on the skin will burn you. Also you should know a thing about vibrating, screeding, and floating your concrete.
ReplyDeleteIf you are still thinking about doing your own concrete you should read up on the 90 minutes rule regarding concrete which basically says that after 90 minutes of being mixed your concrete is setting up. you should find a concrete supplier close who can mix at the yard delivery and pour the concrete with enough time for you to work the concrete in under 90 minutes. They'll sell you on chemical additives to make the concrete easier to work with but once you hit that 90 minute mark you shouldn't be moving your concrete that is setting up. You also need to keep an eye on your concrete truck operator, make sure he/she does not add a ton of water to the mix at your site. The mixture of water and cement will determine the strength. If he/she adds a bunch of water your strength will decrease.
Also people may try to sell you on fly ash additive as a "green" decision. However I would recommend against using this product in any form. Fly ash is the waste product of combustion, largely coal. Fly ash not used in concrete needs to be stored in special chemical sites as they contain trace level of dangerous elements. The question out there is if you need to specially store this product to keep from creating an environmental hazard why would you use it in your house?
Sub-grade work. I've mentioned this before the key to a good slab is a well compacted sub-grade made of compact crusher run. A walk behind Wacker Tamper http://flic.kr/p/dLHLCE is the way to go.
Food for thought.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fly_ash#Environmental_problems
http://transparency.perkinswill.com/assets/Whitepapers/FlyAsh_WhitePaper.pdf
Also some pictures for you:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/matthewjfuller/sets/72157632522081487/
Also didn't mention it before but adding metal to your concrete in the form of rebar or mesh helps reinforce against compression and such. short of catastrophic failures I having seen a reinforced piece of concrete sheer, which I think would be your main concern with tubing buried in the slab.
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