Heated Drive and Walk

This is a project that we completed late last year.  We tore out the old asphalt driveway and apron.  We tore out a couple of walks and stairs.  We replaced the walks and drives with sand set pavers, cobblestone for the drive and brick for the walks, on a 12″ base of crushed limestone.  At the end of the drive at the road, we poured a 6″ thick concrete apron.  We poured another concrete apron at the approach to the garage. The stairs are pavers on a concrete base.  In the sand between the bottom of the pavers and the limestone base, we installed plastic tubing in 150′ to 200′ lengths.  We also ran the tubing through the concrete aprons and on the treads of the stairs.  These tubes were connected manifolds in boxes around the perimeter.  Then home run lines were connected back to the boiler system in the garage.

A glycol fluid mix is used in the system to prevent freezing when the system isn’t running.  Sensors in the pavers turn the system on when they detect moisture (snow, ice, freezing rain) and when the ambient air temperature is below freezing. The pictures here were taken Friday morning after the mix of snow and freezing rain we had Thursday night.  The driveway is in better shape than the State Highway it accesses!

The sensors were strategically (hopefully) placed to account for areas where there might be blowing snow accumulating when there might not be snow on the entire drive.  The system is also laid out in zones for better control.

The boilers are variable speed and can reduce speed and temperature when the load calls for that.  There are two boilers and there is also the capability to shut one off completely if the load isn’t there.

This has been a challenging project and we’re still working a few bugs out.  In the end, this driveway should never see another snow plow and the walks should always be clear.

Additional pictures below.