What type of house is these?

Is there any way to tell what type of tubing has been used in a house with hydronic radiant floor heat?

• We are in the market for a new house. We recently toured a house that we liked and it had radiant floor heat. The owner has alzheimer's and his son did not have any answers to our questions. The house was built in the 50's. It is a concrete slab and has hydronic radiant heat. We don't know if the radiant heat is original to the house or was added at a later point. Since the lime in the concrete likes to eat away copper, is there any way to figure out what type of tubing was laid in the floor? I know that we can do an air pressure test to make sure there are no leaks, but I want to know the material of the tubing so that we can work replacing it in to our offer/bid if necessary. Thanks!

• Answer:

  Most probably copper, and it is past its expiration date! Plan on replacing the entire heating system with forced air, for you do not want to tear up the entire slab. I suspect that the plumbing is running through the slab also, and the same for it...reroute thorugh attic, insulate the lines very well and place insulation OVER them so house heat will not allow them to freeze! I think you may be biting off more than you want to chew...just because the pipe withstands pressure today does not mean it will tomorrow...it is past its prime, for sure!