Wooden (engineered)FLoor with wet under floor heating

[TDiddy]

Sorry about the overlap with previous thread of mine, but wanted to know if anyone actually has wooden floor with (wet) underfloor heating. Some of the advice says not to as wood is an insulator. Some of the "experts" that I spoke to says it works fine as long as you don't expect to create a sudden blast in heat.

Would be grateful for your experience/insight

thank you v much wilbur and sillyold wilbur - last question (you have been so helpful) - it is the wooden floor that inhibits the heat and not the fact that you have a lightweight coincrete screed below, right? I am asking because my builder has persuaded me that I just need a lightweight screed below the wood and not a solid concrete floor.

thank you so much. It is good to hear from people who are using this type of system.

A lightweight screed would work as well but we had this in our old house and the concrete is definitely more efficient at conducting the heat (seems to hold it a wee bit longer)

sillyoldfatcatpuss- thanks. In hind sight would you have spent the difference ( a few thousdand) for concrete under the wooden floor instead of the lightweight screed. PS thank you for putting up with my enquiries

No I don't think it would be worth spending that much more.

No probs

thanks again. It is all happening quickly here.

Yes, it's the wood - it's just not as good a conductor, but as I say, it works well for us. Obv a full on concrete floor in the living room was not an option for us as it is a raised ground floor and Victorian joists - if we'd had concrete we'd no doubt have plummeted to the room below by now. The house is now very open plan as well, living area open to staircase, and we use the upstairs radiators less too.

thanks Wilbur- you wouldn't believe that I studied engineering once upon a time

Nice house, yours sounds like.

Ha ha! But then, I used to be a technician in a video editing company and it took me FOREVER too get to grips with getting dh's new tv system to play a DVD.

Hope your building work goes well.

cheers Wilbur. Ah electronic devices- isn't that for the kids to handle.

wilbur and sillyold - lightweight screed floor now laid with underfloor heating plus insulation below. Waiting for wooden floors + hallway tiles to be laid.

Did you have any sort of underlay between the screed floor and the wood?

bump

wilbur and sillyold ?

We have electric underfloor, under oak engineered. Between the screed and the wood we do have a thin board, but can't remember what it's caled. Hope that helps.

We installed wet underfloor heating throughout the ground floor of our period house almost 10 years ago now. Hardboard cut into strips with aluminium channels between (to contain the plastic water pipes and to spread the heat) laid on top of the original floorboards, then a wood laminate flooring laid on top. This floor looks like wide floorboards, grooves and everything.

We have had no problems with the floor, but I do remember that we had to be careful which type we went for as the heating can warp some types of flooring. I think it had to be laminate, with the grains of the different layers going in different directions. Solid wood was out (too insulating/prone to warping) and so was laminate where the layers are too aligned grain-wise (too likely to warp). The type we went for works fantastically, there has never been even a sniff of warping. DH did all the hardwood/pipelaying himself but we got a carpenter in to fit the laminate.

I love it, it's fantastic to walk on a warm floor. Because the whole of the ground floor has it and there are no hot or cold spots, there are no draughts any more (it was pretty bad before). And the lack of radiators gives us much more flexibility with where we can place furniture. We have high ceilings too, but the rooms never feel cold. And having the same flooring throughout the ground floor looks really good!

Thanks Frosty and WhereYouL- we are going for the enginneered wood for the reasons you said above. Insulation and screed is now laid waiting on wood and hall tiles to arrive. Builder said that wood supplier recommended a special underlay under the wood. WIll cross fingers on that. Can't wait to have a warm floor in period house with high ceilings etc.

cheers