underfloor heating advice needed

[yabai]

Hi,

At the moment our kitchen has ceramic tiles laid on top of a concrete screed. The screed sits on top of some wooden joists with insulation in the gaps.

I'd like to have underfloor heating and a wooden floor. It is about 20m square so I am thinking of a wet system but have the following queries;

- when i take up the tiles, would I need to re-screed?
- can you lay a wet system on top of the screed, if so do you need to cover with a new screed?
- is solid or engineered wood better?
- would you recommend removing the original screed to keep the floor height at an acceptable level?

Many thanks,
Mark

 

[DeltaT2]

If the height is an issue mate, then yes remove the existing screed, but to be frank it can't be much of a screed if it's on top of joists???

Why not lift the floor & fit your UFH in between the joist & then lay your engineered floor?? Your not on one of these daft air source heat pumps are you??

Skoolboy physics tells you; wood is not a great conductor of heat, but you just run your UFH at a higher temperature.

 

[dcawkwell]

Don't bother.

Underfloor heating is pretty expensive and c**p.

I'd have a radiators any day. Just been replacing an oil boiler in a barn conversion with underfloor. Put the heating on. 2 hours later underfloor heating -nothing- and still freezing. If it had been radiators the place would
have been roasting in 30 minutes.

 

[Norcon]

Fit a woodstove instead.

 

[Dan Robinson]

Underfloor heating is great as long as you install it properly.

 

[Mark Br]

I'd ask this question in the flooring section as well. There is a poster on there called Woodyoulike (runs a shop and knows what they are talking about), I'm sure I've read in the past that UFH and wooden floors is not recommended, but if you have to, then go with engineered wood.

 

[suts89]

Underfloor heating is great as long as you install it properly.

This is the correct answer, i have a Nu-Heat system which is excellent. Imagine a 53 Sq M radiator, thats what my kitchen floor is

 

[DeltaT2]

Don't bother.

Underfloor heating is pretty expensive and c**p.

I'd have a radiators any day. Just been replacing an oil boiler in a barn conversion with underfloor. Put the heating on. 2 hours later underfloor heating -nothing- and still freezing. If it had been radiators the place would
have been roasting in 30 minutes.

This is a statement by a chancer that has no clue what he's talking about.
Get educated mate, UFH is far, far better than radiators. If you live in a house with UFH, you'd never go back to radiators.

 

[yabai]

thank you all for your comments.

i do have to replace a boiler and we are on oil so i am considering an air source pump. i saw the comments against this and would like to ask why you think they are bad.

Normally swapping a boiler for a new one that costs £1000 compared to a air pump that costs £8000 doesn't add up but a new oil condensing boiler seems to be £2000 + the costs to move it to a new location. This makes the cost closer now and over the next few years.

UFH is recommended with a pump but I would also like the wall space so it seems a good way to go. I'll look at the Nu-Heat systems.

Thanks.

 

[DeltaT2]

The problem with air source haet pumps(ASHP) is when the temperature drops below 8C the effiency goes out the window. Any COP you're given is stated at an outdorr temperature of 8C. But last winter alone parts of the UK dropped to -20C, and that's when you need a lot of heating.
Stick with oil mate.

 

[dcawkwell]

Don't bother.

Underfloor heating is pretty expensive and c**p.

I'd have a radiators any day. Just been replacing an oil boiler in a barn conversion with underfloor. Put the heating on. 2 hours later underfloor heating -nothing- and still freezing. If it had been radiators the place would
have been roasting in 30 minutes.

This is a statement by a chancer that has no clue what he's talking about.
Get educated mate, UFH is far, far better than radiators. If you live in a house with UFH, you'd never go back to radiators.

Sadly the area I work in has very little underfloor heating. People don't
have the money to mess with it.
I speak as I find. In the building I was in 2 hours underfloor heating nothing, same place with radiators would have been roasting.
I can't vouch for how the underfloor was installed as I didn't look any further. Another house I went to with underfloor (again installed by someone else) where the customer had a leak. Nightmare!!! Where is it? Don't have anything like the same problem.
with radiators.

 

[DeltaT2]

Don't bother.

Underfloor heating is pretty expensive and c**p.

I'd have a radiators any day. Just been replacing an oil boiler in a barn conversion with underfloor. Put the heating on. 2 hours later underfloor heating -nothing- and still freezing. If it had been radiators the place would
have been roasting in 30 minutes.

This is a statement by a chancer that has no clue what he's talking about.
Get educated mate, UFH is far, far better than radiators. If you live in a house with UFH, you'd never go back to radiators.

Sadly the area I work in has very little underfloor heating. People don't
have the money to mess with it.
I speak as I find. In the building I was in 2 hours underfloor heating nothing, same place with radiators would have been roasting.
I can't vouch for how the underfloor was installed as I didn't look any further. Another house I went to with underfloor (again installed by someone else) where the customer had a leak. Nightmare!!! Where is it? Don't have anything like the same problem.
with radiators.

Fair enough mate, but please don't slag off a type of system that you have a limited knowledge of. We all learn something new every day, and with the internet, there has never been a better medium to educate ourselves with.

 

[matt1e]

Don't bother.

Underfloor heating is pretty expensive and c**p.

I'd have a radiators any day. Just been replacing an oil boiler in a barn conversion with underfloor. Put the heating on. 2 hours later underfloor heating -nothing- and still freezing. If it had been radiators the place would
have been roasting in 30 minutes.

This is a statement by a chancer that has no clue what he's talking about.
Get educated mate, UFH is far, far better than radiators. If you live in a house with UFH, you'd never go back to radiators.

Sadly the area I work in has very little underfloor heating. People don't
have the money to mess with it.
I speak as I find. In the building I was in 2 hours underfloor heating nothing, same place with radiators would have been roasting.
I can't vouch for how the underfloor was installed as I didn't look any further. Another house I went to with underfloor (again installed by someone else) where the customer had a leak. Nightmare!!! Where is it? Don't have anything like the same problem.
with radiators.

I'll second dan and deltas opinions (or is it third?)
properly installed and controlled ufh is far more beneficial then high temperature systems

Matt