Customer rating!
Project summary
We recently received stunning before-and-after photos from a customer who self-installed our SpeeTherm15 dry construction system on the live-aboard houseboat Impala. The residents of Impala share their experiences installing the SpeeTherm15 system.
After they insulated the floor, they:
1. Installed the manifold
2. Placed the EPS panels
3. Installed the AluTherm aluminum heat-conducting profiles
4. Ran in the SpeeTube10 heating pipe
5. Connected the SpeeTube heating pipe to the manifold
For the finish, the customer installed Heat-Foil and then an oak floor with a smoked oak coating.
A few questions for the residents of Impala:
Why did you choose a low-temperature hydronic heating and cooling system?
We want to be completely self-sufficient and make the houseboat more sustainable. Part of that is the heat pump we plan to install, which requires low-temperature heating. Plus, it’s very comfortable.
Do you think sustainability is important? Why or why not?
We certainly think it’s important to keep our ecological footprint as small as possible and try to live as consciously as we can. To combat global warming and protect nature and animals around us. This feeling is probably amplified by living on a boat. You really feel one with nature.
Do you have specific sustainability goals for the future?
We hope to install a heat pump and solar panels this autumn, which will get us well on our way to full self-sufficiency. Later, we’d like to renovate and better insulate the wheelhouse.
Who or what convinced you to choose self-installation?
The explanations on the website and the installation videos, as well as the cost savings, of course. We’re both quite handy and work well together. After reviewing the requirements, information and videos, we were convinced we could install it ourselves.
How did you experience the installation overall?
Great! It’s an easy system, and if you think calmly and take your time to lay everything correctly, it’s perfectly manageable. Because no rooms on a boat are square and everything is sloped, skewed or round, the installation was a bit more challenging for us. We had to adjust the layout plan and cut and torch the EPS panels extensively. All in all, it took us longer and required more thought. In a square room it would go down in no time!
Which aspects were easier than expected?
Laying the pipes into the omega profiles: we made a DIY roller (a hard-plastic paint-roller head attached to a broom handle). One person laid the pipe over the aluminium profile and the other rolled it in. It was super-fast!
Which aspects required extra effort?
Cutting and fitting the EPS panels so that the runs would align perfectly where the pipes meet the manifold. The sloped floors, tapered walls and rounded shapes made this quite tricky.
Did you use the installation tools and instruction videos? If so, how helpful were they?
Definitely! We watched everything several times in advance to fully understand how the system fits together. We especially referred to the layout plan.