On Mar 1, 3:47 pm, Freud wrote:
We'll probably put in ceramic tile, but we haven't decided yet. I'm
going to try to find out how hot my boiler runs.

Warm tile sounds nice but tile may be one of the least flexible
flooring and prone to cracking if real hot water is used
intermittently underneath. There is laminate flooring which is
popular in plastic,real wood, bamboo, vinyl and god knows what all.

They attach to each other and not to the floor allowing them to
float. Resiliant flooring like vinyl are time tested and cost-
effective. New flooring products are coming out every day it seems
especially with the floating floors . It's not as durable or water
resistant as tiles probably and maybe not the best choice in a bath or
kitchen. I know that they are constantly improving and upgrading this
type of flooring since it seems to be a popular choice. Some come
with great warranties for whatever it's worth.

The pipes will be thermostatically controlled so they would have to
cycle on and off more often. Some flooring may not stand up to such
hot pipes or such frequent changes. A mixing valve is not a big deal
from what I understand.

Since our system just pumps the hot water around in a sealed loop (aside
from a pressure relief valve), I think that it could be a problem as
Rich pointed out above. But it might not be a dealbreaker if the floor
can take it. The other concern, of course, would be that we don't want
the floor too be too hot or we'll be jumping around like cats on a hot
tin roof!

Haha, it's always a good idea to talk to a real plumber to give you
an opinion before you decide. One concern is the capacity of the
boiler and what the maximum usage of that capacity may be during the
coldest possible weather. My guess is that it can be done if the
boiler is big enough. Since you have a boiler in place I think it
makes you a better candidate for hydronic heat than not.

Of course you do the work in the summer. You have to shut down the
system and drain it down before you can work on it. You can cut the
pipe and tee off the main loop to the mixing loop. You likely use an
anti back flow device at that point. Then you can build or install
the mixing loop before the water entering the floor. The
thermostatically controlled valve can come after the mixer. Pete C.
gave a superb explanation of how the mixing works. You should take his
advice and run your ideas past some pros.