Friday, August 22, 2014

Radiant Floors

Radiant flooring is becoming more and more popular. People are installing them in their new houses as a source of an efficient way to heat the home.  Being that this is the way that the construction is moving, being a individual that is involved in the flooring industry education is the best thing that I can offer when you start looking for a flooring.

Radiant flooring…

Until recently radiant floors was a type of floor that we knew about to  a point, but we were not very educated on the flooring Do’s and Do Not’s until a recent client was looking into the flooring and enlightened me with a bit of information.  At that point I needed a bit more so that I could share it with you!
There are a few different types of radiant flooring but whatever the type not all flooring loves to be installed over radiant flooring.
First off, if you have a radiant floor and you aren’t sure about the compatibility be sure to contact the manufacturer for their recommendations.  This will ensure your warranty and allow the manufacturer to let you know how they would recommend the install of your flooring.
1.       The first and ideal choice is TILE or STONE.  These flooring's conduct heat very well, and they do not expand or contract and are very resistant to warping or cracking.
2.       CARPET works well for radiant flooring.  Although they do not conduct heat as well as the tile and stone.  Low pile carpet with a thick pad is ideal.
3.       LAMINATE flooring;s should be used with caution.  Installation is important to make sure that the underlying concrete is dry for minimal changes due to heat and moisture.  This should help avoid getting warps and cracks in the flooring.  The adhesives are also important to consider when thinking about the install of your flooring.
4.       Although vinyl is not an ideal choice for heat conduction there are some vinyl flooring's that can be installed on radiant floors.  The radiant flooring needs to be set to the manufactures specifications that will limit the temperature.
5.       The last choice that should be considered is WOOD and BAMBOO.  This isn’t saying that wood and bamboo cannot be used. It is just stating that you need to be very careful, and keep temperature/ humidity control.  Wood is not a static material meaning that it can swell and contract with temperature and moisture in the air, causing warping or cracking.  Knowing this if you let your flooring acclimate accurately, letting your radiant floor run for 72 hours before taking the delivery of the flooring but the heat for the flooring should never exceed 85 degrees.  Then store the flooring in the room that it will be installed with the radiant floor turned on helping the floor acclimatize to the moisture content in the air.  Another thing to take into consideration is that not all wood species are ideal.  Look at what species suits you and your needs best.  For example moisture fluxes affect maple different than it does Oak or even Brazilian Cherry.  Another thing to consider is narrow planks adjust better to the heat than the wide plank flooring, that is ¾ inch thick. 
a.       Recommended wood flooring's are OAK, MESQUITE, TEAK, AMERICAN WALNUT, AMERICAN CHERRY these woods are more hard and resistant to the moisture fluxes.  Soft woods like pines and firs are less resilient/ stable with the moisture but are easier to secure to your floor
                                                               i.      ENGINEERED WOOD is made up of several different layers of wood or fiberboard that is much like plywood or particle board.  The way that this floor is constructed makes this a better option because most of this type of floor can be ‘floated’ and use a moisture barrier pad, this can make the install over concrete ideal.  Make sure you check the adhesive and wood construction will be compatible with your floor. 

ALWAYS consult the manufacturer to determine whether your flooring type is suitable for installation over radiant flooring and whether the installation over the radiant floor will affect product warranty. 

There are so many sites with so much information... These are just a few that I used.

Sources:
Thanks to google.com for the images
http://www.hoskinghardwood.com/radiant-heat/
http://learn.builddirect.com/flooring-info/heat/radiant-heating/
http://www.ehow.com/info_8031097_flooring-radiant-heat.html

7 comments:

  1. What kind of flooring can you have radiant flooring underneath. I love having super warm flooring because my feet get very cold in the winter. I have been talking to some carpet stores and they have said that it may be possible to have radiomen flooring under carpet. Is is true? it would love to have nice warm carpet. http://www.nationalcarpetmilloutlet.com/Carpet.aspx

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  2. Thats a very nice and informative blog which provides a great info about carpet discount.I would like to thanks to share such a great blog with us and want to continue with your blogs.

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  3. I have been replacing all the flooring in the house with carpeting. I kept the kitchen the same and the entrances to the house, but everything else is going to be carpet. I just keep getting cold feet on the wood floors. I hope this can help things.

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  4. Good article. Systems that provide radiant floor heat also depends on the property of radiant heat transfer. This property operates via infrared radiation.

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  5. Very interesting article about radiant floors. I did not know that these were even available! Would they work with carpet, or would the carpet catch on fire? http://www.carpetcornercarpetonesanger.com/Carpet

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  6. My friend recently built a house and they had these floors installed. I had never heard of them before, but after going over there and feeling what a difference it actually makes. Now I really want these installed in my house and I hope that I can convince my husband that we need them. http://www.stadiumfloorstx.com/carpeting.asp

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  7. These are wonderful photos, congratulations! My wife and I just renovated our house and we decided to get carpet installed. We both love hardwood flooring and carpet, so it was tough decision. But in the end, we both agreed that we like the feel of carpet better than hard wood flooring. It is not as easy to clean, but we are okay with that.

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