[Cob] RE: Solar radiant floor

[Amanda Peck]

Never tried this, so I'm guessing.

any or all of several possibilities.

a) Sand has some nice properties.  If it's small and pretty uniform it will 
protect the radiant tubing from cuts and deformation. Can be leveled for the 
floor above it.  May have some desirable heat transfer/storage properties as 
well.  Drains, doesn't wick.

b) Soil, by contrast, may wick water up from the ground.  If it's clay, or 
good organic dirt, you've probably got better uses for it than letting it 
sit under the house.  If it's silt, not much structure--goes from hard 
beyond belief to something with the texture of slip without any problems.

c) Not at all sure if you want your floor at ground level, and the plumbing 
BELOW it.  I do like houses on not more than a slight rise from the ground, 
but I live in an area that gets saturated soil easily, parts only dried from 
pre-Christmas rains and floods this weekend.  There may still be some water 
perking through the soil down at the barn--or will be as soon as it thaws.  
There's been a thread here about moldy linseed oil floors.  Humidity from 
above or water from below?  I don't know, but I wouldn't want to chance it.
.................
Peter wrote:
   >---
   I guess I'm missing something - why sand ? Why not just dig down as
   far as necessary, lay in the "plimbing" and put back the earth you dug
   out in the first place ?
   I don't see why one would go to the effort and expense of removing
   that earth and replacing it with something else.  From my seat it
   sounds like an unnecessary complication, so if there is some
   convincing argument for the sand approach, I would be interested in
   hearing it...

   Peter
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