Results 1 to 12 of 12

Thread: Underfloor Heating - Anyone done it before?

  1. #1
    Seething Cauldron of Hatred TheAnimus's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Posts
    17,164
    Thanks
    803
    Thanked
    2,152 times in 1,408 posts

    Underfloor Heating - Anyone done it before?

    I'm reading the kitchen and my bathroom in our flat, and because of the size of both rooms, i'm thinking under-floor heating. In both, they are going to have tiles/slate above, and below that chipboard excuse for floorboarding.

    Underfloor Heating :: Discount Floor Heating Under laminate, wood and tiles

    Seam nice and cheap. But here are my questions

    Wire vrs Matt. Pro's and Con's, is the matting that much eaiser than the wire? Surely the wire means you use it all, where as the matt you end up wasting some off?

    Underlay/insulation. Do i need any? Is that themal (rubberised?) paint stuff snake oil?

    Thermostat, should i have simply a wall one, or one that has both wall + floor temp?

    Someone here must of done all this before
    throw new ArgumentException (String, String, Exception)

  2. #2
    HEXUS.social member 99Flake's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Posts
    1,713
    Thanks
    30
    Thanked
    94 times in 60 posts

    Re: Underfloor Heating - Anyone done it before?

    Only way I have ever seen it done is using normal central heating pipes run under the floor, then the floor goes on as usual to my knowledge.

    Is a lovely thing for cold kitchen/bathroom floors.

  3. #3
    Seething Cauldron of Hatred TheAnimus's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Posts
    17,164
    Thanks
    803
    Thanked
    2,152 times in 1,408 posts

    Re: Underfloor Heating - Anyone done it before?

    I've stayed in a hotel which had electric underfloor in the bathroom which was slate, so i'm not worried about going for the electric option, over the water.

    Its more the installation of it.
    throw new ArgumentException (String, String, Exception)

  4. #4
    Administrator Moby-Dick's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    There's no place like ::1 (IPv6 version)
    Posts
    10,665
    Thanks
    53
    Thanked
    385 times in 314 posts

    Re: Underfloor Heating - Anyone done it before?

    A friend of mine had a big problem with the wire based one when there was a break in the wire ( probably cased by some flex in the floor ) , but troubleshooting it was a nightmare.

    A water based ones would be ideal , but what about somethign like this ?

    Underfloor Heating Carbon Film for wood and Laminate floors
    my Virtualisation Blog http://jfvi.co.uk Virtualisation Podcast http://vsoup.net

  5. #5
    Seething Cauldron of Hatred TheAnimus's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Posts
    17,164
    Thanks
    803
    Thanked
    2,152 times in 1,408 posts

    Re: Underfloor Heating - Anyone done it before?

    Hmm i rang them up and spoke to a very helpful guy, he recomeneded the wire in mat form, as my kitchen is a perfect rectangle:
    Handyheat Suppliers Electric Underfloor Heating Cable Mats

    Looks nice and easy to lay, might even try this one myself And cram on as much heating tile as possible by high restriction.

    The carbon film one looks cooler, but regretably isn't ok for tile/slate.

    I think the eletric will win, based on the lack of a need for height, less messing with the floor, and if i only need a ~1kw system, thats like 7p an hour to heat. I'm game for 3 hours of that in the morning!
    throw new ArgumentException (String, String, Exception)

  6. #6
    sneaks quietly away. schmunk's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    Wiki Wiki Wild West side... of Sussex
    Posts
    4,424
    Thanks
    40
    Thanked
    163 times in 121 posts
    • schmunk's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Abit NF7-S v2.0
      • CPU:
      • AMD Athlon-M 2500+
      • Memory:
      • 1GB of Corsair BH-5 and 512MB of something else
      • Storage:
      • 160GB Seagate Barracuda
      • Graphics card(s):
      • ATI Radeon X800Pro, flashed to XT
      • PSU:
      • Hiper Type-M ~400W
      • Case:
      • Antec cheapy
      • Monitor(s):
      • AG Neovo F19 LCD
      • Internet:
      • Virgin Media 4MB/s

    Re: Underfloor Heating - Anyone done it before?

    My inlaws have water-based underfloor heating, and it is a great thing, although it seems to be a bit difficult to properly regulate (having a huge latency in the control system), so their house can get a bit toasty when it's been on for a while (e.g. 25degC when you're aiming at 21).

  7. #7
    Seething Cauldron of Hatred TheAnimus's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Posts
    17,164
    Thanks
    803
    Thanked
    2,152 times in 1,408 posts

    Re: Underfloor Heating - Anyone done it before?

    hmm i'd consider water in my bathroom, but the kitchen is normally very easy to heat, and is soley to keep the floor warm. Where as my bathroom, well the toastier the better
    throw new ArgumentException (String, String, Exception)

  8. #8
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Posts
    3
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    0 times in 0 posts

    Re: Underfloor Heating - Anyone done it before?

    Hey once you have experianced the differeence between warm feet and not, you will never go back.
    I have seen some small heated mats that just plug in, can't remember where though.!

  9. #9
    WEEEEEEEEEEEEE! MadduckUK's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Lytham St. Annes
    Posts
    17,297
    Thanks
    653
    Thanked
    1,580 times in 1,006 posts
    • MadduckUK's system
      • Motherboard:
      • MSI B450M Mortar
      • CPU:
      • AMD Ryzen 5 3600
      • Memory:
      • 32GB 3200 DDR4
      • Storage:
      • 1x480GB SSD, 1x 2TB Hybrid, 1x 3TB Rust Spinner
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Radeon 5700XT
      • PSU:
      • Corsair TX750w
      • Case:
      • Phanteks Enthoo Evolv mATX
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10 x64
      • Monitor(s):
      • Samsung SJ55W, DELL S2409W
      • Internet:
      • Plusnet 80

    Re: Underfloor Heating - Anyone done it before?

    im sure we will find out in a moment...
    Quote Originally Posted by Ephesians
    Do not be drunk with wine, which will ruin you, but be filled with the Spirit
    Vodka

  10. #10
    The late but legendary peterb - Onward and Upward peterb's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Looking down & checking on swearing
    Posts
    19,378
    Thanks
    2,892
    Thanked
    3,403 times in 2,693 posts

    Re: Underfloor Heating - Anyone done it before?

    I installed electric underfloor heating in a conservatory. I used the mat version - you need to measure carefully as the mat has tio be used completely. I used two pieces of mat (the cables cannot be cut, but the mat backing can) and connected them in parallel. The thermostat is wall mounted, but has a sensor that is embedded in the floor, so it monitors floor and air temperature.

    The floor was concrete with thermal insulation under it. I laid thermal board on top of that (using tile adhesive, and laid the mat on top of that securing it with pieces of double sided tape. I then had the tiler pour self smoothing compund on top of the mat to embed it, and then had the tiles laid on that.

    It works really well. However, had I been able to tap into the hot water heating system, I would probably have gone for that as I think it is more efficient - but it was easy to do and works well in my situtation. Not cheap though when all the parts were added up - water would probably have been about the same cost though, and essential to test it for leaks before it is sealed in!

    I used this for the thermal board

    http://www.screwfix.com/prods/93806/...tion-Pack-of-5 (On offer when I bought it!)

    http://www.screwfix.com/prods/34441/...t-150W-10-sq-m This for the mat (and I also bought (iirc) the 4sq mtr version to get the total coverage) You might want to download the installation instructuions first to get an idea about the job. I suspect that the stuff used on wooden floors probably is worth it, the installation instructions may give you more guidance.

    And this thermostat http://www.screwfix.com/prods/39460/...ermostat-Probe

    Hope that helps.
    Last edited by peterb; 08-12-2009 at 11:31 AM.
    (\__/)
    (='.'=)
    (")_(")

    Been helped or just 'Like' a post? Use the Thanks button!
    My broadband speed - 750 Meganibbles/minute

  11. #11
    Banned
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    Blackpool
    Posts
    983
    Thanks
    15
    Thanked
    38 times in 20 posts

    Re: Underfloor Heating - Anyone done it before?

    Yep, with peterb on this one.

    Electric underfloor heating is good, and quite efficient too (A 300W mat covered our small bathroom, which heats the floor and the entire room).

    Plumbed underfloor heating is good but alot more work, and the depth you will use after all boarding will change the goalposts somewhat.

    Make sure that you lay some nice thick ply, or a sheet of plasterboard, on top of your floorboards. Screw it every 20 cm or so in a grid. You do not want ANY movement in the board, as any flexing will allow movement in the grout and cause cracking (As happened with me, sheet of ply was too thin or not fixed enough).

    Laying the mat is easy enough, just dont cut or damage the wire.

    Have fun

  12. #12
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Posts
    3
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    0 times in 0 posts

    Re: Underfloor Heating - Anyone done it before?

    I agree simple to fit so long as you have reasonable DIY skills, I used a small online firm very helpfull, had to call them and they were happy to spend the time talking me through my issue. Not a big fan of Screwfix, had a problem with them once and nobody seem'd to have a clue.
    Merry Christmas

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •