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Can't Believe It

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judow

judow

Darth Vader - R.I.P
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Sometimes you make a decision and justify it by just by convincing yourself that it's a smart decision. Doug and I had to replace a 20 year old concrete pad in front of the garage. Frivolously I decided I wanted it to match the roof and decorative rock so had it colored. When we talked Doug said we should have it heated so that we didn't have to shovel or chisel the inevitable ice buildup. We did. Pricey - yes. Justification - amortize it over the next 20 years and we were being brilliant. I also can't believe that we are still grinning.

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When I first glanced at that I thought "what odd re-bar" (with welded wire below it)... but, dang, that's heat! Wow. Sure looks nice.
 
Looks great! Sure hope there's a drain on that pad somewhere, so the melted snow doesn't just sit and re-freeze into an ice sheet, or build up against the four sides where it isn't heated. (My Yankee paranoia ...)

T.
 
WOW, heated driveway. The color is great. Looks like terra cotta.
 
NutmegCT said:
Looks great! Sure hope there's a drain on that pad somewhere, so the melted snow doesn't just sit and re-freeze into an ice sheet, or build up against the four sides where it isn't heated. (My Yankee paranoia ...)

T.
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Picture #3 shows a fair grade to the pad for drainage. I don't think a drain would add anything. As seen from my non-engineer trained eyes.
 
Hi Greg - that's one of the things that worried me. If the water rolls downhill, to that *un-heated* gravel/stone, wouldn't it just make an ice wall at the bottom of the driveway?

Edit: seems there should at least be a heated area in the gravel itself where it joins the pavement, so there's always an unfrozen area for drainage.
 
Looks great, Judy. I've seen a few Garage Mahals around here where radiant heat is installed in the floor. Must be nice and comfy. Our first house was a Campanelli ranch built in the '60s. (being from Mass. you probably know the name) Some of the homes (not ours) were built on slabs with copper tubing embedded in the floors for heat. 20 yrs later lots of the tubes began springing leaks and folks had to have guys with jackhammers come in to replace the leaky pipes or just install baseboard electrics. PEX piping has solved that problem. BTW, you have a beautiful home.
 
Thanks for the comments. No drainage needed as when sun cones out because of elevation, I think, it's almost an instant evaporation. We are quite dry. Never have had water problem. Indeed we run with hudifiers. The forever problem has been snow melt from the roof as the snow slides down, sun melts it and ice pack develops. We have snow stoppers or whatever it is called that help but don't totally control. We have a metal roof, probably should have said that. The heating elements are electrical and therefore not hot water. Rick, several of our friends with heated floors have had that problem. Sad to have your floor just about destroyed. Sometimes you get lucky and opt for forced hot air which reverses for evaporative cooler air in the summer. We also have crawl space in place of a concrete slab. Wished we had done a real cellar but... anyway we are grinning. Thanks for the compliment.
 
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