Thank you sir! I appreciate you watching!

@shake jones Thank you for your compliments! 😀

Thanks @John Guerrero I really appreciate your compliments!

Sorry it took me so long to make it! Much more to come! :)

Thanks ian tol! Appreciate having you as a subscriber!

Thanks Matt! It's comments like yours and ottoFRAGGER2's that inspire me to take the time to make the videos and post them. I'm editing part 2 now (which may also have a part 3). On a side note, we are getting a nice snowfall as I type this (should be around 1-1.5" total). Instead of just doing my normal time-lapse, I recorded a "start-up" video on this one first. You guys will be able to see how I start up the snowmelt, and how quickly it reacts (BTU's, Temperatures, Flow, Etc). I setup the time-lapse afterwards (which is running now), so you'll still be able to see it melt :) Thanks again for watching, being a subscriber, and for the kind comments!

Thanks Sudeep Raj! Unfortunately I wouldn't have been able to help yet early last year. While I replaced the driveway in the summer of 2019, I didn't start the heater install until January of 2020, and didn't start posting a majority of my videos until February of 2021. Yes, it took me almost an entire year to build it 😁 but I did it all myself and it works great! Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment! -Chris

Thanks tc! I appreciate your comment!

You got it Antonio! Lots more to come! Thanks for the comment and thanks for watching!

Thanks Michael!!

Thanks! 😊

Thanks Michelle! 😊

@@DeckerChristopherJ it's so well designed and installed. What's your professional background? My grandson thinks you're an engineer.

I do have an engineering background, but I’m actually in the IT field 😉.

Thanks man I appreciate you taking the time to watch and comment!!

Thanks Brady. If I can do it, you can do it too, and my playlist will pretty much walk you through the entire process step by step: kzfaq.info/sun/PLdWeMRuZcbQjekwiBk_uy39IS6JFWYORD I had never soldered before in my life before this project. I had some leaks, but I got better as time went on and learned a ton. I am now super comfortable doing it, obviously! 😂. Thanks for watching!

Thanks!! 😊

Thanks man, I really appreciate your comments! I appreciate your edit too, and I am in no way a master plumber! Before doing this I had soldered twice in my life! I just took my time and worked my plan. I had plenty of solder leaks (uploading those videos soon), and made a few mistakes (wait for the videos of filling the system!), but the beauty of doing it all myself is the only thing I really lost was my time to go back and fix it, no big deal. I now know exactly how everything works, and if something breaks, I can fix it. Thanks for watching, and I hope you come back to watch more!

Thanks for the kind comments! I'm already editing Part 2, look for it on Monday! I may need to split that one up as well. I will also start to slowly upload all of the video I have from the start of the mechanical room, and I will gladly make a design video on how to do the math and calculations if you decide to design your own system. We are expecting another snow storm in the next couple of days, so there will be another melt time-lapse as well. I might try to combine a time-lapse with a start-up video in the mechanical room, to show how I power it up and how it reacts for the first hour. Stay tuned, and thanks for watching!!

@@DeckerChristopherJ I would love all of this as well and I've been hanging out in a lot of the same forums as you as a lurker like garage forum and some of the HVAC ones. I've done a lot of DIY stuff over the years that put the pros to shame seems like we have the same inclination. Hire out what you can't do and do everything else yourself have it done exactly the way you want. We actually happened to be in your neighborhood last weekend my wife has an aunt and uncle that live in Clarence. We are over in Cleveland so we get quite a bit of snow here, I've also lived in Michigan and Chicago and the last few years down in South Carolina where we had the best snow melt system living far enough south where it doesn't happen but unfortunately we're going to be here for the long haul so I've got to do something because I'm not going to continue running the snow blower.

Matt, you are correct, we sound a lot alike! And it shows how small of a world it is that you were in Clarence last weekend! I would imagine that Cleveland gets it fair share of snow, just as Buffalo does. All depends on the wind direction across Lake Erie! I am glad to share everything I have done and learned with you guys. I'm sure there will be negative comments, but it's people like you and ottoFRAGGER2 that inspire me to continue uploading! I think you're both in for a treat, I just fired the system up for a 1-1.5" snowfall we're currently getting. Before setting up the time-lapse, I took a "startup" video. I'll think you'll both enjoy it. We are also slated for another 9"+ storm on Monday-Tuesday. At some point I will make a video on all of the data logging I take when the system is operating. You'll both be blown away at just how efficient and functional it is!

Thanks Waseem, appreciate your comments!

Thanks man! I absolutely will! Thanks again for watching!

Thanks Kanga! Unfortunately you wouldn't make any money with me! I'm a little OCD and like to make things perfect, but that also means it takes me FOREVER! :) I started installing the heaters in December of 2019, finally had them up and running to handle the domestic in October of 2020, and just finished the snowmelt and radiant on 1-30-2021! Thanks for the kind comments and thanks for watching!

Hey T Willey! Thanks for the compliments, it means a lot! So my primary job is in the IT sector. I've always enjoyed woodworking, even as a kid, and that eventually led to me remodeling our house, etc. I would say my first major project was when I built my detached garage back in 2010. That was also my first experience installing radiant. I spent hours reading online through forums like garagejournal.com and heatinghelp.com watching how others built their systems! Don't be afraid to make mistakes (I certainly did, which you'll see in upcoming videos). Hopefully my videos can help you and others gain the confidence to DIY your own systems! Thanks again for watching!!

@Bob Hope I would love to show it to him! I'm also a fan of his channel! Thanks for watching mine, hopefully you liked and subscribed, I've got a lot more coming that Matt would like as well 😁

@Teodor Kostadinov absolutely! This is actually going to be in an upcoming video. I was thinking I'll do another spreadsheet style video like the February cost report that runs down my list of everything and cost. The affiliate link setup is a great idea, I may have to look into that. Unfortunately I purchased most of my supplies form SupplyHouse.com and I don't think they have such a program. Worth me taking some time to research though! 😀. Thanks again for the compliments and thanks for watching! Stay tuned for that list!

Hi Binali Bulut. I'm not in GTA but I'm close. I'm just over the border in Buffalo, NY. The heaters are Takagi model T-H3-DV-N. The 3-Way Bypass valves are made by Belimo. The tank is an HTP, and the pumps are all Taco. The aquastats are made by Ranco. If you need me to identify something specific that I didn't mention, just ask. Thanks for watching!

Disregard... I just watched Part 2. Wow. What a smart system!

Hey @Leon Gurevich. So it sounds like my other videos answered your question, but I can explain a bit in detail. What I really should do is make a video with the plywood cover off the box under the tankless units. That is the 100-Plate Flat Plate Heat Exchanger which keeps the glycol on the heating / snowmelt side desperate from the domestic hot water on the primary side that flows through the tankless units and tank. It's enclosed in that insulated box I built, so it's easy to miss. My future videos will explain ALOT when it comes to the glycol. You can watch me fill the system, and test its freeze protection as I dilute it. With my current mix, its good down to -22ºF before it starts to freeze, but it still can be pumped down to -37ºF, and it won't burst the pex until below -60ºF. If your interested in this, I hope your subscribed. You'll love the videos coming within the next couple of months!! Thanks again for watching!

@@DeckerChristopherJ Christopher, is there any way to ask you for a schematic of the system? I realize this might be asking a lot. Also, I am curious why you placed the insulating board over the PEX lines... wouldn't that just isolate the heat carried by the lines, and put more pressure on them with the weight of the cement? Any reason you can't just encase them directly in cement?

Hey Waseem! So both the radiant and snow melt can be turned on by physically tapping the smart switch in the utility room, or through an app on my phone. Once on, the aqua stats sense the return glycol temperatures and control the primary loop pump which activates the heaters. You might find this video informative: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/oNl4pLN_utqdZI0.html Regarding maintenance, just the occasional cleaning of the inlet filters on the tankless units, and an annual flush of the heat exchangers is all I do! The driveway also gets re-sealed every 2-3 years. Hope that helps, thanks for watching!

Hi @D. I'm not sure about your area, but here Natural Gas is significantly cheaper than electric. I never considered an electric system, but I'm assuming to melt the square footage I am, I would probably need at LEAST a 400 Amp service, probably more, and it would cost me at least twice if not 3x more to operate. I would still need some sort of mechanical room for my domestic hot water, but your right, it would most certainly be less complicated. The only required maintenance for this system is an annual flushing of the heat exchangers with vinegar. Takes me 10 minutes to set up and the pump does all of the work for a couple hours 😁. Anyways, thanks for the comment, it definitely gives others something to research and think about, and thanks for watching!

Yep, I did all of it myself. Everything except for the concrete work, I hired that out. I think I mentioned this in one of the mechanical room videos, but before I started this, I had soldered twice in my life. 😀 Most of my plumbing experience was with pex. Believe it or not, I designed this by spending a lot of time at night and on weekends reading articles, forums and browsing the internet. I also met some great people in forums and became good friends with some of them that helped me immensely. I started this channel to pay that same gratitude forward to others, just as they had done to me. I taught myself how to solder by watching KZfaq! Subscribe to channels like @steven lavimoniere and @My Garage Build. Adam over at My Garage Build reminded me a lot of myself, and after watching his videos several times and watching him build his heating system, I knew I could do mine too. In the end I couldn't be happier with the setup, and I'm glad I did it all myself. I am no longer intimidated by soldering, in fact, it's somewhat enjoyable and fun to me now. I know every square inch of this setup, every joint, and every part, because I did it all myself. If something breaks, I don't need to call anyone, I can fix it! Thanks again for subscribing and watching, there is a lot more to come!

Hi Michael! So when my heated driveway is on, the Taco 0013 pump for the snowmelt zone runs continuous 24/7 until I turn the driveway off. I have a Ranco ETC-111000 Digital Temperature Control: amzn.to/3HknvNj on the return, that does 2 things. When it senses the return glycol has dropped below 65ºF, it turns on the Taco 0013 primary loop pump, and also energizes the Belimo 3-way bypass valve, which allows the driveway zone to start picking up heat form the flat plate. If you don't have any other radiant zones or anything else besides your snowmelt, the bypass valve won't be necessary for you. I have my aquastat set to turn on the primary loop pump (and therefore, the heaters) when the return glycol drops below 65ºF, and it turns the pump / heaters off when the return glycol hits 80ºF. This keeps the surface temperature of my slab around 45ºF. I also installed an "override" switch that overrides the aqaustat if necessary, and keeps the primary loop and heaters on constantly (similar to your current setup). I have used that during some of our Buffalo Lake Effect storms, or when I notice its falling behind. I would think you could easily add the aquastat to your system and save a bunch of energy / fuel, while still keeping the driveway plenty warm enough to melt the snow. Hope this helps, let me know if you need anything else!

@@DeckerChristopherJ it does thank you for your response. So basically I'll mess with it and see what works. I have a very simple system. I plan on putting the aqua stat on the return line set for a temperature and deadband that will just turn the boiler off and on. I plan on letting the circulator run the entire time. One more question, I was planning on using a Johnson Controls A421GBF-02 24V SPDT for the thermostatic control on my return. Any recommendations for installation or temperature sensor? I suppose I can just tape or adhere the thermistor to the return pipe. Thank you in advance.

Yup, that’s exactly what I did. I used a conductive aluminum foil type tape (like for sealing ductwork) and taped the sensors right to the pipe. I have found it to be very accurate. I also insulated over them with pipe insulation. Actually, if you watch this video: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/gap0obid19bQZIU.html you will see how I attached the sensors for my heat exchanger gauges, and my aquastat sensors are attached the exact same way. Hope this helps!

@@DeckerChristopherJ sorry to keep asking questions but your responses have been extremely helpful. I have a very old manifold with half inch tubing attached to a barbed manifold. And heats a very large concrete driveway on a steep grade. There is no flow control or measurement at the manifold and it's very noticeable that there are areas of the driveway that are not getting as much flow as others. Do you have any recommendations for valving or flow measurement for a barbed manifold and 1/2" rubber tubing? I'd send a picture but I'm not sure how to do that in this forum.

Hey Michael! No worries at all, glad I can help! Just remember though that I am not a professional or a plumber, just a DIY guy, so the only "official" advice I can give is to seek professional guidance. 😉 With that being said, I have a good friend who owns an old car wash with rubber tubing in the floors for the snow / ice melt. I know what he did was add ball valves to one of the manifolds. I think he re-built the manifold and soldered the valves directly to it on one end, then went to the barb fitting on the other, but I'm sure you can find a 1/2" full port ball valve with barb fitting on both ends, just might just take some hunting. Unfortunately you will need to drain down the system and re-purge / re-fill afterwards, but I would think adding in the valves would definitely let you balance things out easily. I am slowly uploading my old (2020) installation videos, and I have several on how I filled and purged everything. If it were me, and I was not sure how old the glycol is in the system now, I would wait until summer, drain everything down, give it a good flush, add in the valves, and re-fill with new propylene glycol. I went with 40% ratio of Cryotek-100 on mine, you'll see in future videos. I realize that is not as easy as it sounds, but it sounds like you want to fix it and you asked for my recommendation! 😀 Here is a link to my friends setup at the car wash. About half way through, you can see how he added the valves to his 1/2" rubber tubing. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/eKqloa2axuCuoWQ.html Hope that helps?

Hey Avybomb. It’s 100’ from the garage door to the sidewalk. It’s longer if you include the width of the sidewalk and the apron, but those are not heated. The heated portion is 100’ long and 12’ wide in front, then widens to 20’ in the back, and 27’ for a get feet before the garage door. Hope that answers your question, and thanks for watching!

Hi Chance! Thats a great question, and to be completely honest I don't have enough run time on the system to give you an honest answer yet. I finally got everything going on 1/31/21, and spent most of February dialing in the snow melt with the radiant off. I did use the radiant for a couple of weeks in March, but I actually found that some of the rooms were getting to warm! I really need to dial it in more, but from my little bit of usage everything was heating GREAT! The staple-up floors were all warm and toasty and my wife absolutely loved it. I'll let you know this winter, but I think its going to be just fine without the plates. Thanks for watching!

Hey John. I explain the answers to those questions here if you're interested: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/sNx_hLaCzsfVhKs.html Thanks for watching!

Hi @Doug Taylor. So back in 2010 when I built the garage, and 2011 when I re-poured the basement floor, I used a very expensive pex-a with Oxygen Barrier from HouseNeeds.com. I think back then I had read somewhere that Pex-a was the best, so that's what I bought. Later, in 2015 when I started doing the staple-up and in 2019 when I did the driveway, I learned that pex-b was pretty much just as good, but a lot less expensive, so I started using that from EverHot. All of the staple-up is 1/2", and all of the driveway is 5/8". Hope that helps, and thanks for watching!

@@DeckerChristopherJ When I rebuilt after the 2011 tornadoes I installed an acid stained concrete floor in the house and installed a radiant heating system through out the house. The company that designed the system sold me pex-c from NIBCO. Over the years the pex tubing has developed leaks to the point that I'm ready to shut it down and by-pass the radiant system. When it was working it was great. I hope you have better luck with yours

@Doug Taylor UGH!! I'm sorry to hear that man, both the fact that you had to rebuild after a tornado, and that your pex is failing. 🙁. That sucks! We get our fair share of snow here in Buffalo, but we don't typically get Tornadoes! I do know that they make a leak-stop additive you can add. I once read someone was mounting an air compressor to their floor and hit their pex line drilling the hole for the tapcon. They gave a leak stop a shot and it worked! I can't remember the name, hydro something, but it may me worth a shot before you completely abandon it. If I can find the name I'll post back here....

Hi Rutexas. When the system is running, it costs between $0.50 and $1.00 per hour to run. It is more expensive during initial startup, as it runs harder to bring the driveway up to temperature. After that it only runs as heat is lost from the slab, and is usually closer to the $0.50 per hour number. The longer it runs, the cheaper it is per hour to operate. Hopefully that makes sense. It is only turned on when needed to melt snow and does not run all the time. In February of 2021 we had several snow events and it cost me about $100 extra in Natural Gas for the month to operate. You can watch my video on that cost breakdown here: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/jNWkfaiCzs24m6s.html. Hopefully that answered your question. Thanks for watching!

@@DeckerChristopherJ ok, not as expensive as I imagined.