Marquette checking in.

The heated cement that lies between our main entry and parking lot is something I wouldn't want to live without. It's a high traffic area of course, but also the one spot where people can be guaranteed to have some traction to land wheelchairs, or pick up / drop off folks who can walk but have mobility issues. Also, if we put salt down immediately outside our main entry, it would create more of a mess when it is inevitably brought inside on the soles of boots.

Our system was installed in 2000. The brand we have is tekmar, which is still in business as a subsidiary of Watts. We recently had some issues with the outdoor sensor causing errors on the controller, but our maintenance person was able to fix it. Not sure exactly what your situation is, but if our system became non-operational, we would try to get replacement parts. Radiant pex tubing supposedly has a lifespan of 40-50 years. If we had to replace the system right now, we would work with a local vendor, consider reusing the existing piping, and plan for a complete replacement 20 years down the road. If your tubing is bad after 15 years, that's more difficult, and I can see why you'd consider a different solution, since it should really last longer than that.

Bruce MacDonald

Peter White Public Library

Marquette, Michigan

On Thu, Sep 9, 2021 at 4:56 PM Valerie Meyerson via Michlib-l <michlib-l@mcls.org> wrote:

Hello all –

Our snow melt system out front is in need of replacement. We are currently considering three options: 1. Do nothing and hire someone to manually remove snow and put salt down, 2. Replace the current system (hydronic tubes through concrete), 3. ThermaHexx – a pedestal mounted paver/stone system. We have been looking at the pros and cons of each system. And my board thought it would be nice to hear from other libraries that have heated sidewalks (especially libraries “up north” or in the UP with lots of snow!). Our first system failed after about 15 years. We are trying to decide if it’s worth the investment for a new system.

Thank you for any guidance you may have.

Valerie Meyerson (she/her)

Library Director

Petoskey District Library

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