in floor heat????

Does anybody have in floor heat? Trying to decide if its worth the expense to put it in new shop. Compared to a hanging unit. Thanks

If you decide to do in floor heat make sure you insulate under the slab with a good r-value insulation!

I was going to put it in my last shop but decided not to due to cost. I didn't have a lot of money then and something had to go. I had one guy tell me it made his feet hot but I think he was on crack. The only downside I can see is lack of instant heat if for some reason the shop cool dramatically (like if you had the doors open for awhile). It takes time to re-heat the shop. I ended up using overhead radiant heaters. They work great and heat obstacles in the shop which help heat the air. I have some relatives that have them in their shops and they just love them. They say the floor gets heated then when you pull something in the shop the floor is warm.. The older I get the more I think infloor heating is better suited for houses where the temp does not have drastic changes in short time intervals. Btw, my uncle has it in his house and they like it.

jasonf wrote:I was going to put it in my last shop but decided not to due to cost. I didn't have a lot of money then and something had to go. I had one guy tell me it made his feet hot but I think he was on crack. The only downside I can see is lack of instant heat if for some reason the shop cool dramatically (like if you had the doors open for awhile). It takes time to re-heat the shop. I ended up using overhead radiant heaters. They work great and heat obstacles in the shop which help heat the air. I have some relatives that have them in their shops and they just love them. They say the floor gets heated then when you pull something in the shop the floor is warm.. The older I get the more I think infloor heating is better suited for houses where the temp does not have drastic changes in short time intervals. Btw, my uncle has it in his house and they like it.

These type heater are great we had them a the plant but what ever you use don't install the overhead heat above your work bench you will cook everything on it plus yourself if you stand under every long.

Yes I should have mentioned that they are for taller ceilings. Mine was 9 1/2' and technically it was too low but it was alright for me (it was that or nothing). But I wouldn't build a shop that low anyways, this was in my garage.

jasonf wrote:I was going to put it in my last shop but decided not to due to cost. I didn't have a lot of money then and something had to go. I had one guy tell me it made his feet hot but I think he was on crack. The only downside I can see is lack of instant heat if for some reason the shop cool dramatically (like if you had the doors open for awhile). It takes time to re-heat the shop. I ended up using overhead radiant heaters. They work great and heat obstacles in the shop which help heat the air. I have some relatives that have them in their shops and they just love them. They say the floor gets heated then when you pull something in the shop the floor is warm.. The older I get the more I think infloor heating is better suited for houses where the temp does not have drastic changes in short time intervals. Btw, my uncle has it in his house and they like it.

X2 on the overhead radiant heat. That's what we use at work and it works great! Remember, I'm in Minnesota and in the winter we are always opening the doors to move cars or air out welding smoke and the recovery time is very fast. My buddy put in floor heat in his Body Shop and regretted it, he ended up putting in hanging units to supplement it.

Thanks for the replies. I have a buddy that does hvac for a living who is pushing for the in floor. My worry is what you guys said. Takes to long to recover. Plus I don't heat all the time. Building has 14 foot ceilings. 42x72. I will check into the radiant heat. Only bonus I saw was heat for the paint booth. No flame or possible dirty air. Doesn't look like it willbe worth the cost

You can save a lot of money using radiate heat in the floor, The water doesn't need to be heated very hot, temperatures between 105 degrees to 120 degrees fahrenheit, which means much less therms of gas uses to maintain a comfortable working area. Not sure about if you have your door open a lot but if you use and over head heater, you are sure to have a high gas bill. Depending on the size of your garage you can use a hot water heater with a circulating pump some gycol, a temp control set at lets say 140 degree discharge water temp, and a return water line temp control (set) lower lets say 110 degrees to shut the burner off only, when circulation has be completed, with a 10 to 15 degree differential and the pump runing all the time, and still giving heat while the burner is off. A hot boiler is best the btu's depending on the area size being heated. It is use with great success in high rise buildings, the floor in them don't need to get any hotter than 108 degrees to heat and area to 85 degrees fahrenheit. Good luck.

You can use the floor heat for just the paint booth and over head for the rest, best of both worlds