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Penetrating a concrete floor...with radiant heat?

14 years ago

I have a 20' X 20' room that is finished and plumbed in one corner for a bathroom. I'm going to put a toilet, sink, and shower in that corner in about an 8' X 8' space. The room is tall: 9' high walls and sloped ceilings with a 16' peak down the middle. I'm not planning on running the new walls up to the sloped ceiling; they'll be 8' high and have a flat, interior ceiling. (Imagine an 8' cube planted in the corner of the room.)

I'm experienced with framing, but the studio sits on a concrete slab that has radiant heating tubes embedded in it and I'm reluctant to punch into the floor to mechanically fasten down the bottom plates of the two new walls. With my luck, I'd be sure to penetrate one of the tubes!

Is a construction adhesive adequate for the job of affixing the bottom plates to the slab? Or does someone have a better suggestion? I thought about locating the radiant heating tubes with an infrared imager, but figured it would be expensive.

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Comments (5)

dave777_2009
14 years ago
I have seen construction adhesive (Liquid Nails) fail. I am no longer impressed with it - but I do still use it, and another brand.

Mechanical fasteners are required for a good wall.

It would be EXTRMELY unwise to just fasten down the bottom plates, without knowing where the tubes are... Fixing the floor heat would be mucho dollars.

See if you can find out who did the floor. Maybe they have pictures or a layout plan.

Otherwise - your idea of an infrared imager seems excellent. Or possibly a plumber might be able to help you out... You think imaging is expensive... how much to fix the floor?? after you kill the heat? So your first inclination is best. Find out first where they are...
homebound
14 years ago
What could go wrong by using only adhesive for such a small room, esp. if you tie the wall corners together? I would think that as long as the corners are securely joined, and it's tied into the existing house walls, it's not going to move at all. Is this an earthquake zone or something?
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Well I think your making it out to be harder then it is.JMO. The bottom plate it held down by the glue and the pressure from the studs and top plate fastened against the floor joists.Mine has held without failure for 3 years now.Do what you want just trying to give another way of doing thing without possibly hitting tubing in floor.
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A low-VOC heavy duty construction adhesive should do the job. PL is one widely used brand. Jam the framing as tightly as possible on top of a moisture barrier and let set to recommended curing time before installing finish surface. I've used powder-actuated fasteners set to just 1/2" maximum penetration where I had the radiant installed and was sure it was near the bottom of the concrete. You could also anchor end pieces to the walls; if the walls are hollow block, anchor to the webs only.
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brickeyee
14 years ago
The polyurethane structural adhesives are far better than liquid nails.

An interior non-weight bearing wall with a corner and solidly attached to the existing walls should not need that much fastening.

If it makes you feel better, use double top and bottom plates and some Simpson hardware.
worthy
14 years ago
In a home I built with a basement hydronic system, the plates for the basement walls were ramset with 1/2" penetration. But I knew the PEX was set near the bottom of 5" of concrete.

Flying blind, stick to adhesives on the floor.
kudzu9
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks, everyone. Brickeyee: I think, if I incorporate your ideas, I'll be comfortable with the result.

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