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Radiant
Walls: The upstanding choice in retrofit applications
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Radiant walls enable the retrofit of spaces
without having to destroy ceiling heights and ceiling and
floor finishes. It's the perfect way to remodel a finished
space
in our opinion. Having worked and lived with radiant
walls as well as floors, I can say the walls are a close
second to the floors and ceilings for thermal comfort. No doubt
the radiant walls we have in our basement renovation are
simply superb during cold months.
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The wall in the background is heated to about 9ft and is the primary
source of heat for our living room. Many people get bent out of
shape regarding hanging pictures and piercing pipe but proper
construction surveying and recording of the supporting framing members
solves this problem. Also note we
humidify the room year round
for our musical instruments and other moisture sensitive items using a constant
low flow air handler with a
steam humidifier. In extreme conditions we use the heating coil
in the air handler as a second stage of heat (see
Figure 2 from the hybrid page.).
 
I've shown these images to point out that pictures and moulding
(molding for my US friends) can retain their integrity over the
long term (going on 9 years of exposure to a heated wall). These paintings by
Anthony Law were back lined with
bubble
insulation (likely one of the only good applications for the
stuff)...if I were to do this again I would include this
add-on as part of the picture framing contract...(they much
better than I at the minutia of presenting art) you can't see
the insulation unless you get to the perspective that these
photo were taken.
Many ways to handle the electrical...in this case we framed out the
heated wall above the existing receptacles. Makes for
interesting shadows under evening lighting.
For the heated wainscoting the electrical was incorporated as it
would with any other type of wall using a deep receptacle box.
Radiant heated wainscoting - basement office...the nice part of
the wall heating in the office is how it enables the body
to retain its heat resulting in a very nice warming sensation. A
stark contrast to cold basement walls.
Radiant heated wainscoting - basement bathroom...simply a superb
method of conditioning a bathroom renovation.
Radiant heated wainscoting in our basement laundry
room.
Radiant heated wall (right side of photo)- basement: clothes
drying and storage
room...I don't know a person who doesn't love this room...we use
this HRV for moisture control for this room and the basement.
Radiant heated wainscoting - basement entrance
area...this is the heated sidewall as you come into the basement
through the garage stairs...even in -40°F/C this wall can
maintain comfort in the space when moving supplies and waste in
and out of the basement.
This is an image from a finite element analysis
project we've
completed for below grade heated wall.
Shown is the PEX-a tube installed in the tracking panel - sandwiched
between the outer drywall and the plywood backing just barely
visible to the right of the tube. The plywood
backing served as a nailer for the tracking panels and wainscoting.
Shown is the wall "story board"...in the event its necessary to
locate tubes these guides will show us where they have
been placed in the wall.
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Recommended
total exterior wall insulation:
