Solid Wooden Flooring with Electric Heating

[NODIYHIT]

I am contemplating having a solid wooden floor (18mm thick) with electric underfloor heating (DEVImat system) in my living room. However, this little project raises a lot of questions as I do not know anything about wooden flooring.

After searching the net, my questions are as follows:

1. How do you install insulation, DPM and soundproofing if the floor is glued down?
2. If the floor is secretly nailed to the floor what about the DPM and Soundproofing? Does nailing through them not defeat the purpose?
3. Can an 18mm solid floor be floating?
4. What would be the optimum solution in terms of the different layers underneath the floor?
5. Will it be enough to secretly nail the floor to the insulation backer boards if they are glued down?
6. Any good tips/experience in for installing underfloor heating in connection with wooden flooring?

Hope someone has the answer to all the

[WoodYouLike]

Ho nodiyhit, welcome

I will try to answer your questions a best as possible
One thing upfront: with underfloor heating it's much better to use Wood-Engineered flooring than solid. WE is much more stable.

1) you don't
2) Nailed to what kind of underfloor? And yes, it will render the DPM useless.
3) Yes, depending on the width of the room and the width of the boards, but once again we recommend Wood-Engineered boards on underfloor heating.
4) Depends on the underfloor heating system and the installation method you're using
5) Don't really understand the question, sorry
6) see here

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[NODIYHIT]

Thanks for the answers

I want to go for solid as I have found a walnut floor (Plank) that I like. I have searched for walnut in WE, but so far I have not had much success as it is either not as good looking as the walnut I have seen or it 2 or 3 strip, which I do not like (It must be plank).

A few other things:

When you answer to question 1 is no, would that then mean that you cannot soundproof a solid floor? or if you can how?

If I understand your answer to my question 2 correct, so will the soundproofing work ok, but the DPM will be useless?

Also by question 5. I mean: Glue down insulation backer boards (5.5 or 10mm thick) on concrete floor and then nail the solid floor to the insulation backer boards. Would this be possible and stable enough?

Hope you can help

[WoodYouLike]

NODIYHIT wrote:

I want to go for solid as I have found a walnut floor (Plank) that I like. I have searched for walnut in WE, but so far I have not had much success as it is either not as good looking as the walnut I have seen or it 2 or 3 strip, which I do not like (It must be plank).

We do do a for underfloor heating suitable full-plank (bevelled) Walnut Engineered board (Prime and Rustic, see here)

NODIYHIT wrote:

When you answer to question 1 is no, would that then mean that you cannot soundproof a solid floor? or if you can how?

The bonding of the wooden floor (solid or WE) directly to the underfloor is your 'sound proofing', you wont have echoing sounds.

NODIYHIT wrote:

Also by question 5. I mean: Glue down insulation backer boards (5.5 or 10mm thick) on concrete floor and then nail the solid floor to the insulation backer boards. Would this be possible and stable enough?

For secretly nailing you need 50mm nails to do it properly, so there you go I'm afraid.

There are underfloor heating systems that will allow you to install the wooden flooring directly onto the system, either floating on a subfloor or on battens placed between the underfloor heating.

Hope this helps

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