When you are in the process of constructing a new building, one of the most important factors is the flatness of the floor. It needs to be as level as possible, and for this reason you don’t want to fit it directly to a concrete substrate which is itself not level. For this reason, it is necessary to cover the substrate with a screed, either the traditional sand and cement variety or the modern liquid screed which uses anhydrous calcium sulphate in place of the cement as a binder.
More and more projects today specify a liquid screed because of the many advantages it has over and above sand and cement. This is particularly true when you are installingunderfloor heating.
However, some people do question if there are any types of flooring that cannot be used in conjunction with underfloor heating. In fact, the good news is that you can use pretty well any type of flooring that you wish. The only thing that you really have to remember is that when laying carpet, the overall tog of the carpet and any underlay should not exceed 1.5 because otherwise it will interfere with the heating.
Tile And Stone
Tile and stone are perfect for use with underfloor heating because they have a high thermal conductivity meaning that the heat is transferred from the heating pipes to the floor surface efficiently. This is also another advantage of using our liquid screed in Bristol because it has almost double the thermal conductivity of a sand and cement screed. Tile and stone also retain the heat well, so it heats up more quickly and uses less energy.
If you are installing a wood floor there are no rules for how thick the wood should be, but the thinner and denser the wood, the better the thermal conductivity will be. For this reason, it is recommended that the thickness of the wood should not exceed 18mm. In addition, a wood flooring should not be heated above 27°C.
You can use underfloor heating in conjunction with vinyl flooring, but again the temperature must not exceed 27°C. If the vinyl flooring manufacturer states that it must be used with an underlay, the underlay must be no more than 6mm thick and it must be breathable, and the overall tog should not exceed 1.5.
Polished concrete flooring is another option, and it has a high thermal mass. This gives quick heat up times, and the concrete also stores heat well in the same way as tile and stone.
