Underfloor heating - zoning advice

[TommyKnocker]

Currently planning an update/extension on our house, we are looking at having underfloor heating throughout. Just wondering how many different zones would be ideal - we have a large living room, main living/kitchen/diner, w/c, utility and hallway. When I say zones I mean individually controlled.

Would you have two zones - one being the living room (probably used mainly at the weekends, maybe evening and will be closed off from the other areas when not in use) and then the rest together? Or would you break it up more and have everything separate? Just chatting with a friend who is also looking at it and she said the more zones you have the more expensive it is.

We have underfloor throughout the house with lots of zones, so I'll try and help.

First point, "zones" do not all have to be individually controlled, for instance our bedroom and ensuite are both on the same thermostat but are 2 zones pipe wise.

I would have every separate room on an individual thermostat. So living room has one, open plan kitchen diner another; hallway another, utility another, and possibly separate for WC but depends on geography. (Our bathrooms and cloakroom are on shared stats, but have more pipes, so they are warmer.) If you only use your living room part time, you may want to keep it at a lower temp, likewise the utility/hall.
The thing with underfloor heating is that you need to leave it on for longer periods so that you don't keep having to reheat the slab. Once warm, it's very efficient, but you can't just flip it on for an hour and expect it to be hot. You will also need to make sure that your floor coverings will work efficiently with underfloor. No point putting shag pile and a thick rug down!

I love our underfloor and find it keeps the house very warm. You don't get cold spots the way you do with radiators.

@mateysmum thanks for the info, very helpful. Think it'll take a bit of getting used to but I'm looking forward to it, we currently have the most rubbish radiators which are definitely not adequate for the size of rooms.