Installing Hardwood Flooring Over Radiant Floor Heat

Porcelain ceramic and natural stone are the best flooring materials for radiant heating as they encompass all four factors.

Installing hardwood flooring over radiant floor heat.

With the right experience moisture testing understanding of the radiant heat system and knowledge about the wood flooring being used contractors can make wood flooring over radiant heat work even work extremely well. On top of it tile tends to feel colder than other types of flooring so the need for radiant heating underneath it is greatest. The author of this article endorses warmboard a manufacturer of alternative floor heating systems. Plywood 5 8 or oriented strand board 3 4 make good candidates for subfloor materials in radiant installations.

Direct contact of the tubing with the flooring is not recommended. Here are the top 4 flooring options for use over radiant heat. If you re considering the installation of a radiant heat system some flooring options work better than others. As a hardwood floor installer it is your responsibility to install the hardwood floor perfectly to the radiant heat system.

This gently warms the floor under your feet. The subfloors shown here are recommended for hardwood floor installations. Under floor radiant heating systems work by running hot water through pipes or electricity through resistance wires which are installed under the finished floor. Solid hardwood can easily be damaged by heat and moisture.

While radiant heat is not in the realm of a novice wood flooring contractor wood floors are installed over radiant heat with success every day. The cut and thickness of the wear layer lamina peeled sliced or sawn may also affect how the floor performs over radiant heat. You should communicate with the homeowner and let them know the best conditions for a stable hardwood floor over radiant heat. Engineered flooring with a less stable wear layer species such as hickory beech and maple are not normally best suited over radiant heat unless otherwise suggested by the flooring manufacturer.

Installing over radiant heat get the moisture numbers right the key to a successful wood flooring installation over radiant heat is to pay meticulous attention to the moisture content of the wood flooring subfloor concrete slab and other surrounding materials as well as the interior environment of the structure. Floating radiant systems however can remove the risk. Let the homeowner know that hardwood floors will work best when they maintain a relative humidity between 30 50 and an inside temperature of 60 80f. Particleboard subfloors are not recommended by radiant heat companies.

Porcelain and ceramic tile are great conductors of heat so your home will get the full benefit of the radiant heating system. 85 f is not a physical limitation but rather a human physiology limitation.