# router bit for 5/16" i/d pex tubing



## roger22hornet (Mar 13, 2014)

Hi all, I am installing a radiant floor and need a 7/16" ball style router bit.
Is it available and where csn I get one.
Thanks, Roger


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

Hi Roger, welcome to the forum. I looked at several online catalogs I have downloaded and none have that size. 1/2" is as close as you'll come. If you could find an 11mm one it would be close, if they make such a thing. I am guessing that you'll be putting tile over it so why not use a little of the thinset to bed it into a 1/2" groove?


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## Semipro (Mar 22, 2013)

Hello Roger, really pleased to see you join the community, welcome to Router Forums!


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## old55 (Aug 11, 2013)

Welcome to the forum Roger.


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## olliecooper (Jul 18, 2013)

Does it have to be a ball bit? Wouldn't a core box bit do the same thing for you? If so, I Googled looking for one. The first response was a Bosch 5/16" core box bit at Lowes.


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## olliecooper (Jul 18, 2013)

Sorry, got the measurement wrong. Same thing applies to 7/16 inch.


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## Shop guy (Nov 22, 2012)

Welcome to the forum, Roger.


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## OPG3 (Jan 9, 2011)

Mr. Hornet, Welcome to the Router Forums! We are glad to count you among the membership.
Radiant heat is a fantastic way to provide heating - because heat rises and warm floors are nice to walk on. I collect reptiles and I have built-in cages with radiant heating in the concrete slab floors of said cages - it was a great move and has served them well.

Otis Guillebeau from Auburn, Georgia


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

olliecooper said:


> Does it have to be a ball bit? Wouldn't a core box bit do the same thing for you? If so, I Googled looking for one. The first response was a Bosch 5/16" core box bit at Lowes.


Ollie are you sure that the diameter is 7/16 and not the radius? I went on Bosch's web site and these are the only round nose bits they show. http://www.boschtools.com/Products/...uctListCategory.aspx?catId=1103&subCatId=1401


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## TWheels (May 26, 2006)

roger22hornet said:


> Hi all, I am installing a radiant floor and need a 7/16" ball style router bit.
> Is it available and where csn I get one.
> Thanks, Roger


Where can I learn more about radiant floor installation? can it be confined to one room?


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Hi, Tom; you have a choice of hot water radiant htg. or electric radiant htg.
If you're thinking of a bathroom, electric is by far the most practical, installation wise.
What kind of heating system do you currently have?
Scroll down at this link for a good description of the installation and costs...
Electric vs. Hydronic Radiant Heat Systems: The Family Handyman


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## subtleaccents (Nov 5, 2011)

mftha said:


> Where can I learn more about radiant floor installation? can it be confined to one room?


The answer is yes. Many homes have it placed under tile floors only just to keep the chill out of the floor.


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## fire65 (Oct 29, 2008)

Hopefully you do realize that you do not route a slot for the tubing. IF NOT, then get another installer.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

mftha said:


> Where can I learn more about radiant floor installation? can it be confined to one room?


If you are only ever going to do one room then electric will be cheaper to install by a mile. The operating cost will likely be a lot more as natural gas is plentiful and cheap compared to electric right now but it would take many years to recoup the difference in installation costs. If you were going to do more rooms then you might want to compare hydronic and yes it can be zoned. This company makes controls to do that and they are supposed to be world class. I helped build the owner's house back in the early 90s. Company If you check out their products you'll be able to learn a little more about what they can do.


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## MAFoElffen (Jun 8, 2012)

Cherryville Chuck said:


> If you are only ever going to do one room then electric will be cheaper to install by a mile. The operating cost will likely be a lot more as natural gas is plentiful and cheap compared to electric right now but it would take many years to recoup the difference in installation costs. If you were going to do more rooms then you might want to compare hydronic and yes it can be zoned. This company makes controls to do that and they are supposed to be world class. I helped build the owner's house back in the early 90s. Company If you check out their products you'll be able to learn a little more about what they can do.


I helped our tile guy install some of these. They were really easy to do. Very durable once installed. He tested every element before installing. Pain to replace if they don't work (pulling up the tile!). They are handled delicately because the elements are practically fragile _before_ they are installed.

Basically they are just thermal heating wires that are set under the tile, into the thinset. They run wired to the room's heating rheostat on the wall, so you can adjust how hot they get. 

They are much easier to install than pumped coolant based radiant heat that is pumped into... Those are installed poured into a concrete base... That is the only way I've personally seen that other installed. So that leaves questions about the OP and trying to figure out why he needs a router bit to install "radiant" heat... ??? The concrete and tile radiates the heat...

Am I confused with that? I was a building contractor, not an HVAC guy... Heated pipes into wood? Wood doesn't radiate heat well, it will absorb and dissipate it.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

I wondered about that too Mike. The guy at Tekmar that we built the house for was going to pour 1 1/2" of concrete over them. I suppose if the amount of lift was a concern then you could bury half the pipe and it should still work almost as well but cutting 1/2" deep into your subfloor could be a concern too. If you're going to tile a floor isn't supposed to be 1" to 1 1/8" thick? 
In the link that Dan gave there is one part where it shows piping being installed under a floor but I can't see that as being as efficient at heating the floor above it. A good percentage of the heat would go into the room or space where the piping is.


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

I was curious about that as well, Mike. The original question was re PEX, and for the life of me, I can't picture why PEX would need a routed channel? You certainly wouldn't want to degrade the subfloor's integrity by cutting channels in it, and if it was a hardwood floor over shiplap (for example) running a router through _that_ would be like entering a minefield.
A far easier solution would be to lay out the PEX and then fill in with plywood strips, if for some reason you couldn't pour lightweight concrete.
Just not enough info.


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## MAFoElffen (Jun 8, 2012)

Exactly... and the concrete layer (plus the installed tile) becomes an integral part of the heating element... If PEX installed into wood (and the wood dissipating that heat, only the top surface of the PEX touching a small part of some tiles), you would lose most of the heat transfer and not have that whole radiant layer.

+1... Agreed. Not enough info.

I do love how it _feels_ going into a home or room with radiant heat though. It feels different in the way it heats. And warm feet getting out of a shower! (Warm fuzzy's) Once heated to that temp, it takes very little to keep it that way. Very efficient.


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