If you are going to install underfloor heating in a new building in High Wycombe, or anywhere else, one of the questions that we often get asked at UK Screeds is if it is compatible with such and such a final floor surface, and the answer is almost always “yes”.
When you are installing underfloor heating, you need it to be covered with a screed, and you want the screed surface to be as flat and level as possible. This is particularly important when you are going to use something like tile or stone which has to be attached with an adhesive. If the surface on which the tile or stone is attached is not flat, then there is a serious danger of the tiles fracturing when they are walked on.
This is one of the benefits of using a liquid screed when carrying out floor preparation in High Wycombe. A sand and cement screed has to be laid by hand, and it is very difficult, if not impossible, to get it as flat and level as a liquid screed, because the latter is self-levelling. At UK Screeds, we deliver the liquid screed to site ready mixed, attach a pump and a hose to the lorry, and simply pump it into position. As it is liquid, it very quickly levels itself out. All we need to do is to go over it with a dappling bar in order to remove any air bubbles.
Tile And Stone
Once the screed is fully dry, you can then attach the final flooring. Two of the best floor surfaces for use with underfloor heating are tile and stone. This is because they heat up quickly and they retain the heat, letting it into the room slowly once the required temperature has been reached, so less energy is required to produce the same level of heat as a radiator. A liquid screed also has nearly double the thermal conductivity of sand and cement screeds, so the tiles will heat faster using less power. Concrete flooring is similar.
You can use underfloor heating with laminate flooring, and here the thermal conductivity is better when the laminate is dense. Much the same can be said of wood flooring: the thinner and denser the wood is, the less energy is required to heat the room.
Carpet can also be used in combination with underfloor heating, but here the aim is that the total tog of carpet, underlay, or overlay, must not exceed 1.5 tog because otherwise it will interfere with the heat output.
