Engineered Flooring over Under Floor Heating

All of our engineered wooden flooring is suitable for any type of underfloor heating (UFH). The following steps should be taken when considering UFH with a wooden floor. Wooden flooring is the most suitable material for UFH as it is natural, warm to the touch and environmentally friendly as it is renewable source. We recommend that you get a certificate from the company that fitted the UFH system to ensure that it is fully operational with controlled temperatures as the surface temperature must not exceed 27C at any time. The surface temperature of the screed can only be controlled with flow control valves (not thermostats). Choice of UFH System Choosing an UFH system depends on your current sub floors, height restrictions and your personal needs. There are a large number of systems available but it is always advisable to choose very carefully and ensure that your system fitter is fully qualified and follows the manufacturers requirements and advice thoroughly. Any system installed must have the pipe temperature controlled by valves rather than thermostats. The surface temperature of the screed for wood flooring must never exceed 27C. Choosing an Engineered Wood Floor We recommend that you choose an engineered floor dried down to a minimum of 8% moisture content. Our engineered wood floors are perfect with UFH and your choice is purely based on personal taste and what suits your budget and interior décor. Concrete and Anhydrite Screeds Anhydrite screeds are a mixture of screeding sand and binder and are more porous than concrete screeds. Because of these pores, anhydrite screeds should not be sealed with a damp-proof membrane (DPM) before installing the engineered floor as this type of screed is gypsum-based and any moisture kept in the screed will break down the structure. We recommend that you have a concrete screed that is kept as thin as possible: any thicker than about 40mm will considerably prolong drying time. General cement and anhydrite screeds dry out at a rate of 1mm per day. Sub Floors and Joists Prior to fitting the engineered flooring, you must insure that: The moisture content of the floor does not exceed 10% The moisture content of the screed is no higher than 1.8% The maximum tolerance of 3mm per linear metre where the maximum deviation in flatness in any direction is 3mm under a 3 metre straight edge The sub floor is closed with a self-supporting surface The sub floor is clean Any plywood or chipboard sub floor is of high quality and is sealed.