It seems as though I’ve been remiss in posting the last few days. I usually compose my posts in the morning, while I’m getting ready for work at the house. These days that bit of spare time seems to have evaporated for various reasons. I’m also finding two opposing phenomenum when it comes to posting lately. Either I can’t think of anything to write, or I have several topics I want to write on, and can’t choose. Such is the case now..
We’ve started on the heating of the main floor. I think we’re on plan G H or I now. But what we’ve decided on for the time being anyway is a system of strapping with plywood and we’ll figure out how to keep the pipe in place when the subfloor goes on when we get to that point.
I’ve started on Travis’ room and essentially I started out by drawing out the two loops of pipes with different coloured crayons on the floor so I could figure out the lay out. Plywood was ripped to strips an inch and three quarter wide (for above the floor joists) and two inches (for the perimeter walls).
The next step is to nail these strips over the joists to make channels for the pipe to lay in, and to attach the heat transfer plates on. 
The strip is first glued along its length and then nailed and/or screwed to the floor above the joists. I’ve done that and next I’ll be nailing and gluing another strip of 3/4 inch plywood on top of that. That will make a space an inch and a half between the floors. Heat transfer plates will be stapled to the plywood strips and more plywood blocks will be used to support the other sides of the heat transfer plates.
The heating pipes will then run along the groove in these heat transfer plates and be secured in place some how (this is the part of the plan that worries me). The next step is to nail and glue sheets of plywood on top of the strips and the pipe (this is the part of the plan that really worries me, one errant nail and we’ve ruined the pipe). There is a lot of glue involved but we should end up with a floor that doesn’t squeak.
And a very thick floor. Starting from the bottow there is 3/8’s plywood, 11 7/8 inch joists, 3/4 inch plywood, two strips of 3/4 inch plywood, 5/8’s plywood, 5/8’s plywood subfloor and then depending on the room, underlay and carpet (bedrooms), composite tiles (baths), or a commercial flooring made of plastic but looking like hardwood called icor (everywhere else). That makes a floor at least 16 1/4 inches thick. The joist space is insulated with two layers of R20 fiberglass, and in some spots with an additional inch and a half of styrofoam insulation (R7.5). There is tyvek between the underside of the joists and the 3/8’s plywood and strapping will go over the seams of the plywood. It’s incredible just how much wood goes into a house, and how much detail there is.
And glue. Lots of glue. By the time I’m done with the 40 or so tubes of glue left for the floor I should look like Lloyd Bridges in Airplane.