Kevin Smalls
DIY
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We are replacing the flooring for the whole ground floor - it is a circa-2000-build house with concrete slab.
We're taking the opportunity to put in UFH at the same time. As it is a retro-fit, we are going with electric to keep the floor raise to a minimum.
Going with 150W/m2 heating - which for some rooms, exceeds the 3600W limitations of most thermostats, so, will require some contactors.
My preference is to house a new distribution board in space under stairs & house all thermostats / contactors there too. That requires:
That said, for a couple of rooms, the cold tails won't be long enough. Nor will the standard temperature probe wires.
(1)
My question is what will be the best way to "extend" the cold tails? I guess I could locate the join in a wall-space, then route the extended tail along with the rest of the UFH wiring (in the decoupling mat). That seems better to me than burying any join under the tile adhesive (and attendant problems keeping that join free from moisture).
Or, would a better option be to dig a channel in the concrete & run conduit? (But that doesn't seem to solve the water ingress problem with the joined wires).
Would much appreciate it if someone with experience can chime in with some wisdom.
(2)
For temp probe wires , I presume I could extend them in the same way I extend the cold tails - or are there vendors that sell longer temp probe wires with std resistance specs?.
(3)
Now, for getting the additional power supply to the space under the stairs - the existing distribution board (and meter box) is on an exterior wall that is a straight run from the stairs (obv distribution panel is inside, meter box is outside)
The electrician who is quoting for this job initially suggested running the 6mm cable along the corner of ceiling - from meter box to stairs (straight run). I understood he intended to run it in a cable-duct. I didn't like that option because I really dislike seeing cabling/wiring/duct on walls.
His other suggestion was to dig a channel in the newly exposed floor after tiles are removed. Seems simple enough - again, it is a straight run- are there any particular considerations when doing so - regarding the type/size/depth of conduit ? Any other suggestions or advice?
Many thanks
We're taking the opportunity to put in UFH at the same time. As it is a retro-fit, we are going with electric to keep the floor raise to a minimum.
Going with 150W/m2 heating - which for some rooms, exceeds the 3600W limitations of most thermostats, so, will require some contactors.
My preference is to house a new distribution board in space under stairs & house all thermostats / contactors there too. That requires:
- Bringing all cold tails back to space under stairs
- Bringing all temperature probe wiring back to space under stairs
- Bringing in a new supply (from meter box) to space under stairs.
That said, for a couple of rooms, the cold tails won't be long enough. Nor will the standard temperature probe wires.
(1)
My question is what will be the best way to "extend" the cold tails? I guess I could locate the join in a wall-space, then route the extended tail along with the rest of the UFH wiring (in the decoupling mat). That seems better to me than burying any join under the tile adhesive (and attendant problems keeping that join free from moisture).
Or, would a better option be to dig a channel in the concrete & run conduit? (But that doesn't seem to solve the water ingress problem with the joined wires).
Would much appreciate it if someone with experience can chime in with some wisdom.
(2)
For temp probe wires , I presume I could extend them in the same way I extend the cold tails - or are there vendors that sell longer temp probe wires with std resistance specs?.
(3)
Now, for getting the additional power supply to the space under the stairs - the existing distribution board (and meter box) is on an exterior wall that is a straight run from the stairs (obv distribution panel is inside, meter box is outside)
The electrician who is quoting for this job initially suggested running the 6mm cable along the corner of ceiling - from meter box to stairs (straight run). I understood he intended to run it in a cable-duct. I didn't like that option because I really dislike seeing cabling/wiring/duct on walls.
His other suggestion was to dig a channel in the newly exposed floor after tiles are removed. Seems simple enough - again, it is a straight run- are there any particular considerations when doing so - regarding the type/size/depth of conduit ? Any other suggestions or advice?
Many thanks
- TL;DR
- I want to centralise the UFH controls, but what is the best way to route/extend the cables/supply?
