Hydronic Heating Under Wood Floors

The room heats up when warm water circulates through the continuous tube circuit.

Hydronic heating under wood floors.

And again i would suggest a heavy 1 plywood subfloor be installed. Solid hardwood flooring. These products which we do carry typically have a layer of aluminum on the surface. The tubes connect to a central location called a supply manifold which in turn connects to a boiler or water heater.

But if you do wish to put radiant heating under solid hardwood use quarter sawn wood flooring instead of plain sawn wood flooring. Quartersawn is a method of cutting the boards from the log so that the direction of the. It is recommended that you do not glue or nail down your wood floors. Finally solid hardwood flooring will swell and shrink with the heating cooling process especially in homes that use a humidifier during winter.

The heating element should be embedded within a sleeper system subfloor under a traditional subfloor. The best way to incorporate radiant heat under wood floors is with a hydronic system. Floating floors work best. This system involves attaching a tubing circuit to the subfloor.

But most folks seem to want a strip floor installed on the hydronic heating system that runs under a wooden subfloor. In most houses the only place to do this is on a first floor where joist bays are open to the space below. The best way to retrofit radiant floor heating without disturbing an existing floor is to do it from below against the underside of the subfloor. The heat may discolor the vinyl or cause the off gassing of chemicals.

Which is why the most efficent way to use radiant heat under your wood floors is to use a hardwood with a low r value. Engineered wood flooring works better for radiant heating than under solid hardwood. If a solid 3 4 thick wood floor is desired it is recommended to use quartersawn flooring not usually available factory prefinished. It is also important to consider the heat transfer qualities of the sub flooring used the sub floor and wood floor should be within 2 3 degrees of each other.

Species both in solid and engineered flooring options certain species are known for their inherent dimensional stability such as mesquite black cherry black walnut and others. If you choose to have radiant heat installed beneath your wood floors the next step is planning the installation. Can 3 4 solid wood flooring be used over radiant heat systems. You don t want to invest in pricey hardwood flooring only to have it cup buckle crown and crack.

Many people ask the question how can i install radiant heat if i don t have access to the floor from below one way is to go with a manufactured grooved board system that you can put down and simply lay the pex in it. This factor varies with wood species as well as the flooring manufacture. For more information about engineered flooring see our article all about engineered wood floors.