Underfloor Heating & Wooden Flooring
1. PREVENTION OF MOVEMENT & SHRINKAGE IN SOLID FLOORS: Good practice is to lay out the wooden floors over the (heated) floor loosely (usually for about five days or more) to dry out or ‘acclimatise’ the timber, before final fixing. This will help to stop gaps appearing in between the boards as the wood is then pre-shrunk’. Even if the wood is kiln dried it can absorb moisture during storage and transportation, so the safest method is simply to allow the wood to acclimatise to its surroundings. Moisture content will be down to around 7% when right. Floor heating is a gentle heat, like sunshine in a room, and will not adversely affect wood once it is correctly dried. (Typical floor heating temperatures are only in the region of 25-28ºC)
2. LAMINATED OR ‘ENGINEERED’ FLOORS: Because they are so stable and dry by nature, generally they do not need to be acclimatised, but check with your supplier! Another benefit of this type of floor over solid floors is that may be simply glued on the tongue & groove and laid out as a ‘floating floor’ over concrete on a recycled paper or thin foam underlay. This eliminates the need for battens or special fixings and speeds up your construction.
3. MOISTURE IN NEW CONCRETE FLOORS: Be careful not to fit timber over a new concrete floor construction without first running the system to dry out the moisture still trapped in the structure.
4. WOODEN FLOOR THICKNESS: Refer to our fixing details for fitting wooden floors. We can assure you of excellent performance with woods not exceeding ¾” or 22mm in thickness. I.E. don’t cover a floor with plywood and then expect to add another layer for your boards! If what we have shown you does not suit or can’t seem to fit, call us; we may have an easy solution that will work.
5. SUSPENDED TIMBER FLOORS (Screed Infill) Ensure that insulation boards are set at the correct height on supporting battens (top of the board is usually 25mm from top of the joist) and properly sealed from the cold air below. The insulation type and heights will vary depending on whether the floor is at ground floor level (50mm+) or an intermediate floor (25mm), and also whether an in-fill (8:1 sand & cement) material is to be used for increased output, soundproofing etc. Foil-faced polyurethane insulation is recommended.
6. SUSPENDED TIMBER FLOORS (Heat Plates) Unipipe can also supply aluminium heat diffusion plates, which are nailed to the top of the joists. The pipes are then mounted in the grooves in the plates. It is important if using the diffusion plates that they are in good contact with the floor above and are well enough supported so that they do not get bent downwards with construction traffic etc., and again the heated area sealed from drafts below.
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