Installing Electric Radiant Floor Heating Under Hardwood

Its success with carpeted floors depends on the length of the weave thick carpets or those with thick pads won t work well as heat generated by the system will stay trapped in the floor.

Installing electric radiant floor heating under hardwood.

Electric radiant underfloor heating systems can be installed under wood floors by working from the basement or from a basement crawlspace. Unlike most other systems this laminate radiant floor heating system installs. Retroheat radiant floor heating system. Engineered wood flooring works better for radiant heating than under solid hardwood.

These are strips of wood or plywood typically 3 8 to 1 2 thick and are 1 2 wide which are installed between in parallel to the heating cable runs to create a surface for nailing the hardwood flooring onto. Since wood flooring cannot be nailed to the cement floors the solution is to install so called wood sleepers. The retroheat system can be installed to heat tile hardwood laminates. Radiant heating works well with ceramic tile and vinyl but not with wood floors.

Despite all your precautions there is a high probability the user will not be satisfied. But if you do wish to put radiant heating under solid hardwood use quarter sawn wood flooring instead of plain sawn wood flooring. With radiant heat systems it s not just the responsibility of the hardwood floor professional to be on top of their game. Installing electric radiant heat under nailed hardwood can seem like a daunting task but if you know the right way to install it there s nothing to fear.

Thermofloor is a 4 in 1 heating insulating noise reducing moisture abating radiant floor heating underlayment specifically designed for laminate glue down and floating hardwood and engineered wood floors. So if you have open access to your floor joists now you can add the comfort and efficiency of radiant floor heat to your home. The type of wood flooring that you install over the radiant heat mechanism will ultimately determine your temperature guidelines. It is also the responsibility of the general contractor plumber and hvac systems professional to put care into the installation of a radiant heat system so that all flooring substrates perform well and look great for years.

Some manufactures would recommend that you maintain a consistent temperature ideally between 78 and 80 degrees. There are some limitations on the type of wood flooring that can be used with radiant heat. The heating element should be embedded within a sleeper system subfloor under a traditional subfloor or embedded within concrete. The retroheat floor heating system was designed specifically for providing electric radiant heat to existing floors by accessing the floor joists below.

It isn t recommended to use radiant floor heating under plank flooring wider than 3. Thermofloor radiant floor heating installation.