Process
From floor plan to first fire
Tubing goes down before the concrete, the tile or the boards, so each step has to be done in order. This is the order we work in.
- 01
Step 1: You send plans and the floor schedule
A floor plan, the wall and ceiling insulation, the flooring in each room and the heat source if you have one in mind. A phone photo of a hand sketch is enough to start.
- 02
Step 2: We draw the loops
Heat loss for each room, tube spacing, loop lengths and where the manifold goes. You get the drawing and the questions we still have. Nothing is ordered until you have seen it.
- 03
Step 3: You get a written scope and price
Written from the drawing: what is included, what is not, what the other trades need to do around the loops.
- 04
Step 4: Rough-in
Tubing laid to the drawing and the manifold hung. Every loop is pressure-tested before it is covered, and photographed with the drawing.
- 05
Step 5: The pour or the finish floor
Pressure stays on the loops while the concrete, thin pour or tile goes over them, so a nicked tube shows at once and can be fixed before the floor is closed.
- 06
Step 6: Boiler, controls, fire-up
The mechanical room is piped, the system filled and purged, and each flow meter set to the drawing. We show you the thermostats and leave you the drawing.
- 07
Step 7: A visit after the heating season starts
Once the system has run in cold weather we come back, trim the settings and answer what you noticed.
At the bench
The manifold is built before it is hung
Copper and brass fittings are cut, bent and fitted at the shop bench, then taken to site and hung on the wall you chose.
That keeps the mess out of your house, and it means the first thing we do on site is check the drawing against your wall.
About the order of work
When should I send plans?
As early as you have a floor plan. We draw before framing is closed in, because the manifold needs a wall and the loops need to know where the doors are.
What if my floor plan changes?
Tell us. Loops are drawn per room, so a moved wall changes one or two loops, not the whole system. Changes to the drawing and the price go in writing.
Who else has to work around the loops?
The concrete, tile and flooring crews. We give you a one-page note for each trade about where not to drive a screw or a nail.
Ready to send the plans?
A photo of a sketch is a fine place to start.