Underfloor heating

[Arianna1]

Hi mums! Does any of you have underfloor heating? If so do you think it's wor it? Thank you!

What floor did you have underneath ? We have screed and were told we'll be losing a lot of heat into the earth

Did you have to dig out the screed before putting Nu Heat, or just put it on top ? Different builders tell us different things. How much height did you lose with Nu Heat?

Not sure about the fitting of the NU Heat as it was already laid but judging by the difference in height between rooms, they didn't dig down too far! It's not laid through your the ground floor unfortunately

When we looked at it for the doer upper we were told to take up the concrete floor and dig down, lay insulation then screed and lay pipe work. It was stripped bare at the time so doable but the retro fit Wundafloor was less faff. The house was well insulated elsewhere so end result was fab

Wunda
Ours was the Overfloor system but they pretty much do it all. Couldn't have been more helpful

You need to make sure the floors will be level after installing the underfloor heating
so accurate measurements re depth of excavation and pipes etc are imperative. There should not be changes in levels between new and existing floors. You can get insulation between the screed and the water pipes. It acts as a barrier ensuring the heat goes up not down into the screed. A builder who doesn’t know this is a bit lacking in expertise. Check out the web sites of the manufacturers for the best info. We have mostly wet and have ceramic tiles and engineered wood. You have to allow for the depth of the flooring too because that’s variable. Both work well though. We have electric in an upstairs bathroom which is also great.

This is a wierd question, but how do pets manage with underfloor heating? Would a dog, for instance, just find it too uncomfortably hot to lie on?

My cat loves the UFH, it’s one of his favourite things in life. It doesn’t get that hot, just feels a bit warm on your feet so the room temperature is nice and comfortable.

I am about to have under floor heating installed. Just wondered what flooring you went for and whether there are any pitfalls to be avoided?

We put water UFH in our kitchen diner extension and we have said it was one of the larger expenditures that we are most pleased with.
Still grappling with using it. Even on lowest setting it is very warm. No idea how much it will cost yet...

We have got tiles. I wanted wood but that would’ve made the floor level higher than the rest of the house.

we have nu heat throughout the house and have had for 10 years without hitch. the thing to bear in mind is that it interacts with different flooring types and i find it a little too warm under ceramic tile (can cause lifting of grout for eg) but the cats don't complain. Have wood elsewhere, and carpet in one room where it's least effective. Our bills are monstrous but it's because the house is a barn conversion with boiler at one end of a very long building / 3 floors in one part / etc.

Not hot for pets - it's a different type of heat than say touching a radiator

Cat loves it and the UFH goes on just for her from September! She knows exactly where the warmest spots are

...agree shouldn't have different levels if done properly. Ours obviously wasn't (previous owners) but too much work to put right but adds character to an old building
Also, don't lay it under kitchen cupboards, esp where fridges and freezers will sit

Our dog is fine with it but we do notice he likes draughtier places occasionally - by the French windows! When you get used to it, you really don’t want it too warm. It gives an all over warm (ish) heat and certainly won’t damage grout unless you have it on warp factor 10! If you want a heating boost when it’s extra cold, get a wood burner (if possible of course).

the overheating / grout issue arises when things go wrong - there's a limiter attached to the manifold where the water feeds in, also the thermostat - those can fail adn that's when it can get too hot / cause cracking or grout to fail. Those things can break / fail even if correctly installed in the first place. And like chish/fips says, it can be incredibly difficult to put right.
Don't know anyone who's had a leak from a wet system but it must happen? Don't want to imagine the hassle of dealing with that.

You can't put solid wood over it but you can put engineered flooring over it.

But why would you put wood over UFH - it's not conductive! It is like putting in a traditional radiator with a build-in, permanent blanket over it.
Esp when porcelain wood-effect tiles are so accurate-looking now, it doesn't really seem necessary??

The heat will get through eventually even with wood over it, it'll just take longer. As long as there's a lot more insulation under than over it'll be ok.
And some people do put those decorative covers over radiators I've noticed, because they don't like the look of them.

I have wet UF heating under stone slabs in a barn converted 13 years ago. Cannot fault it. The house is divided into zones with individual thermostats, and no time control. Found it terrifying at first to hear the heating coming on at 3 am and was so worried about the bills. Been here three years now and energy costs are very reasonable, though I have a wood burner too. I’ve never been warmer or less worried about heating bills

I've got oak over mine and it heats up beautifully