Project Highlights
- Located in the Arbor at Villebois neighborhood in Wilsonville, Ore., the 2008 Cooking Light FitHouse is designed to serve as a model of healthy, low-maintenance and energy-efficient living.
- A key aspect of its commitment to efficiency and sustainability is the use of an Uponor radiant floor heating system throughout the 3,798-square-foot, single-family residence.
- Comfort, safety and peace of mind are also core values of the home, which also features an Uponor AQUASAFE® Residential Fire Safety System. This multi-purpose system uses the same tubing network that provides potable cold water to the home’s plumbing fixtures.
Background
Cooking Light, the nation’s largest food and fitness magazine, recently opened a new idea home in Wilsonville, Oregon. The 3,798-square-foot residence is a living showcase for a wide range of state-of-the-art products and systems that address the organizer’s core values of health and safety, low maintenance and energy-efficiency.
The builder, Arbor Custom Homes of Portland, became involved, in part, for the opportunity to work with products and systems “we haven’t used in the past and that can offer net value to the buyer,” says Brad Hosmar, director of product development at Arbor. One of these was an Uponor radiant floor system for heating the entire home.
“Our challenge was that construction was already well underway when we chose to use radiant, so it was very much a ‘retrofit’ application,” Hosmar recalls. To cover the 3,400 square feet of floor space on two levels, installer Wolcott Plumbing of Troutdale, Ore., opted to use Uponor Quik Trak® radiant panels.
“We were able to incorporate these systems even as the rest of the home was being built around them,” says Hosmar. “Uponor showed us some real flexibility under difficult circumstances.”
This was the first time Arbor has worked with radiant floors, but thanks to local ordinances mandating residential fire sprinklers, they and Wolcott Plumbing are well-seasoned advocates of the Uponor AQUASAFE® Network Residential Fire Safety System.
“What we like most is the PEX tubing itself,” says Hosmar. “It’s a clean system without the contaminant and corrosion issues of other materials, making it a healthy addition to the home. Also, its flexibility makes it much easier to install compared to rigid pipe.”
The FitHouse incorporated Uponor Quik Trak® panels for the radiant floor heating system.
Benefits
Flexible
Using the Uponor Quik Trak system allowed the installers to incorporate radiant floor heating even after construction had already begun on the house.
Consistently Comfortable
Energy Efficient
Dependable
Project Data
AQUAPEX® Tubing:
3,500 feet of ½"; 700 feet of 1"
Fire Safety System:
AQUASAFE® Network System
hePEX™ plus Tubing:
5,500 feet of 5/16"; 600 feet of ¾"
Number of Sprinkler Heads:
40
Structure Size:
3,798 square feet
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