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Original poster

Underfloor heating-should floor feel warm?

38 replies

BigBirthdayGloom · 15/10/2013 12:48

We're having a rubbish time at the end of a building project and the latest thing is that we fear the underfloor heating doesn't work. We have asked the builder to prove that it does. He claims that basically we wouldn't feel warmth on the floor, only in the air and that it is working.
I currently have the thermostat up to 26. The rest of the house's radiators are pumping out heat and it is roasting. The kitchen remains at 17.5 and I can feel nothing underfoot. I rang (paranoid) an underfloor heating company and they said the floor should feel warm to touch although the air may take a long time to warm up.

Could the builder be right? Could I have a cold floor and the underfloor heating be working?

OP posts:

SoupDragon · 15/10/2013 12:51

I would like to know how it can heat the air without heating the floor.

A friend has underfloor heating in her kitchen and she said it cooks an egg (slowly!) if you drop one on the floor.

stickyvicky71 · 15/10/2013 12:52

Well we have wet underfloor heating with slate over the top in our kitchen diner and it is toasty underfoot. We have thermostats in both parts of the room and can hear the heating clicking on and off as temperature changes.

What flooring do you have?

chebella · 15/10/2013 12:54

Watching with interest...our bathroom floor gets warm to the touch but downstairs (different tiles/large open plan space) only feels 'not cold'...

PigletJohn · 15/10/2013 12:57

it should feel slightly warm.

put a rug or carpet down for an hour. It will insulate the floor, preventing heat loss to the air, so when you put your hand under the rug, that section will be noticably warm. If it is a concrete floor, it may take a couple of hours to warm up.

It if it a tiled (waterproof) floor, mist it with a plant sprayer. It should dry off very fast on the heated section. You can often see the routes the pipes or wires take because the floor dries faster over them.

There should be a manifold of pipes or a blender valve. You should be able to feel that the incoming pipe is warm, and the outgoing pipe cooler.

There may be a separate thermostat for the floor.

If you turn off every other radiator in the house, the boiler should still run (occasionally) if it is heating the floor.

magichamster · 15/10/2013 12:58

Probably depends on what's on the floor. Where we have tiles it's lovely and toasty (there's a special place in the kitchen I stand to keep my toes warm!) but not so much where we have carpet. We have taken up the carpet in the hall and laid tiles and it's much warmer. The tiles also keep their heat for a day or so once warm.

What do you have on the floor in the kitchen? If it's tiles and the tiles are cold to the touch then it's not working. If the coldness has been taken off then it probably is, but not very well, or you don't have many elements under that bit.

Hope that helps. Feel free to ask anything else!

Original poster

BigBirthdayGloom · 15/10/2013 13:18

Thanks all. Feeling gloomy about it tbh. It's vinyl on the floor. The temperature has risen by 0.5 oC over two hours and frankly I think that's due to the radiators in the other rooms. I really, really hope there's a separate control for the underfloor heating that I'll just feel very stupid for not knowing about and that in an hour or do I'll be embarrassed. Otherwise it's a heck of a lot of money, plus ripping up the space that's only just got fit for human habitation again.

Luckily, the builder is acting as if we're being stupid and unreasonable. So perhaps I'll just find out how it works and all will be well.

Going to look at our amazing array of pipes, piglet. What should I be looking for to see which pipe is which?

Thanks all! Feels better on mumsnet even just with a post about it.

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PigletJohn · 15/10/2013 14:17

don't know. It will look different from normal, but if you don't know normal...

there might be a row of pipes with individual controls on them, possibly under or close to the boiler, with wires going to each control.

If you only have one room with UFH, not even that.

possibly something like this, it has more pipes on it than an ordinary CH pump as it blends the water to a lower temperature.

Dollybird99 · 15/10/2013 14:26

we have underfloor heating in our extension. In the larger room it works very well - the room feels warm but there are lots of coils underneath the tiles. In the bathroom the floor feels warm, but the air feels cold and apparently this is partly due to the bathroom having three external walls, and also - a very small floor space so not so many coils (so basically it's not up to heating the space), however the floor does (and should) feel warm. Hope that helps and hope you get it sorted.

PigletJohn · 15/10/2013 14:45

I am assuming that it is warm water UFH, is that right?

Or is it electric?

Is it a concrete floor?

Original poster

BigBirthdayGloom · 15/10/2013 14:45

Thanks. So-have just turned all the radiators down as they are clearly working. Scorching! Temp in main room with underfloor heating has gone up by a degree in three hours. Floor c

OP posts:

Original poster

BigBirthdayGloom · 15/10/2013 14:59

Sorry-floor still cold. I'm now really hoping that its something to do with the control that's wrong and not the pipes. Visions of floor being ripped up...

OP posts:

Original poster

BigBirthdayGloom · 15/10/2013 15:04

Builder's here. He is adamant that the floor won't feel warm. He has been fiddling with the thermostat for a while. Neither of us can get the temperature we ask for to stay put on the controller. Funnily, neither of us is a plumber either.

OP posts:

kitsmummy · 15/10/2013 15:10

He's talking bollocks, the floor would be warm (and so would the room, otherwise what's the point!)

Original poster

BigBirthdayGloom · 15/10/2013 15:12

Yep-I fear you are correct. Luckily, the payment for the underfloor heating is in our bank account ready for immediate transfer once it is proven to be in working order. Apparently, it's magic. The floor never feels warm. But the room is.

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HaveToWearHeels · 15/10/2013 16:34

How can the room feel warm but the floor not ?
That's like saying the room will be warm but the radiator not !

HormonalHousewife · 15/10/2013 16:37

He's fobbing you off.

UHF will feel warm to the bare foot - that's what it's supposed to do !

flipchart · 15/10/2013 16:43

Of course it should feel warm. That's the whole point of it.

I have underfloor heating in my bathroom and have just recently switched it back on now its gone colder. It's on a thermostat and I have it set at different temperatures and different times of the day.
It's lovely getting out of the bath or shower.

mateysmum · 15/10/2013 16:59

Your builder does not know what he is talking about. I have ufch in the whole house and the floor should definitely feel warm. It will take much longer to warmup than a radiator. You need to leave it on for 24hrs and then if the floor is still cold you have a problem. There should be a seperate valve for the ufch near the boiler.

InLoveWithDavidTennant · 15/10/2013 17:00

agree with the others. the floor should feel warm otherwise what would be the point? and how can the room be warm if the floor is cold?

dreams of underfloor heating

Rosa · 15/10/2013 17:06

When we put ours on it does take a good few hours and longer until the house warms up and then it sort of simmers keeping warm. You can feel where the pipes are not ( sort of where room divides) and the floor is cooler . We have wood in most of the house and tiles in kitchen and bathroom . I will happily stand on the tiles without socks as the floor is warm . I have been known to lie on the floor when coming in on a cold day to warm up !!!!! So ypur builder is talking bollocks..IMO

Original poster

BigBirthdayGloom · 15/10/2013 17:59

So, it turns out that I'm not an idiot (well not for this reason anyway). The builder has said he'll get the electrician and plumber in tomorrow to check that it's working as he thinks the underfloor heating isn't firing because of the controls. Then hopefully we'll get some heat flowing through.
I have learnt that the thermostat only controls the underfloor heating. And apparently the rest of the house is controlled by the radiator thermostats. This is also news to me. The plumber will not be leaving our house tomorrow until I understand our heating properly. Heating hostage .

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MelanieWiggles · 15/10/2013 20:53

Do we have the same builder ??!!

We were in the same position as you in June - build finished, floor cold even with the thermostat up at 30 degrees.

It turned out to be a "control problem", which seemed to be easily fixed. The floor is now toasty.

Do not let your plumber leave your house until it is mended!

PigletJohn · 16/10/2013 00:00

I'm a bit disappointed to hear there is no room stat for the radiators. That is not very efficient because, subject to the timer, the boiler will keep heating water and trying to pump it round the pipes, even when it is not wanted.

ask the heating engineer to explain why it was done that way (and if the builder explained it correctly)

Original poster

BigBirthdayGloom · 16/10/2013 00:06

I'm disappointed too-but holding fire til plumber comes. I believe two stats were on the original estimate/schedule for plumbing so I will be asking questions. The plumber has not been stellar to be honest-forgot to do plumbing for kitchen then left soil pipe from kitchen running into a puddle outside when he did do it. Hence our worry that underfloor heating issues might be pipe related and therefore huge. Be good to get him back on site.,,

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Isthiscorrect · 16/10/2013 14:57

Ufh should deffo make for a toasty floor. How experienced was the person who did your floor? I ask because my friend had a bloke who had never installed it before and the pipes were laid too deep after the floor tiles went over. So basically it was working but you couldn't feel it. Took a very long time to sort out, physically and financially. Good luck.

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