At UK Screeds we not only provide the finest liquid floor screeds that you can get, but we also install underfloor heating. We can undertake underfloor heating installation in Gloucestershire in both new build and refurbishment contracts.
Underfloor heating has many advantages over a radiator system. Not the least of these is that it heats the whole room perfectly evenly compared with a radiator which will leave cold spots. Furthermore, because the floor is warm it means that you could walk on a tile or wood floor with no slippers on if you choose, and this is a very good reason why it is popular in bathrooms.
Now there are two types of underfloor heating systems, water-based systems or electric. An electric underfloor heating system doesn’t require as much space as a water-based one because it uses a system of wires or a heating mat. It is also cheaper and quicker to install. In the case of a heating mat, it can simply be rolled out across the underfloor and connected to the electricity supply. However, that is where the benefits of electric systems end, and there are a couple of disadvantages. Not the least of them is that electric systems are more expensive to run than water-based and you are stuck with the tariff that your electricity supplier offers.
In addition, you can’t place furniture that is flat across the bottom on an area where the electric heating mat or cable is, which in most cases is all of the room, as it will restrict the airflow and cause thermal blocking. The same thing applies to things that have a tog value of over 1.5 such as rugs.
By contrast, a water-based system uses heating pipes through which is pumped water that is heated by your heat source which might be a boiler. However, it could equally be a ground source or air source heat pump or solar panels, which would reduce heating costs even further.
At UK Screeds we install water-based underfloor heating systems which we then cover with a liquid screed as opposed to a traditional sand and cement screed, as this has several advantages.
Just to begin with, a liquid screed can be installed far thinner than a sand and cement screed, so it will heat faster, using less energy to do so. It also saves on material costs. However, a very big plus for our liquid anhydrite screeds is that they have almost twice the thermal conductivity of sand and cement, which means that less energy is required to heat the room to the desired temperature and it will heat faster.
Another big advantage of our screeds is that they can be laid almost 20 times as fast as a sand and cement screed laid by hand by hand because they are premixed and delivered to site where we install them using a pump and hose. Perhaps more important is the fact that – because they are liquid – they will completely envelop the heating pipes. That means that you don’t get the voids and gaps which are common with sand and cement screeds, so the room heats perfectly evenly instead of having cold spots where the voids are.
Furthermore, our underfloor heating systems don’t spread dust around the room as a radiator system does. Dust can collect behind a radiator and it is very difficult to clean. So, underfloor heating is far better for people with breathing issues or asthma. Not only that, you simply don’t have the radiators. It is surprising just how much more space you have in a room without radiators and pipes, where you can push a sofa or bookcase right back against the wall.
People do wonder about what type of flooring you can use with underfloor heating, but in fact you can use pretty-well anything. Tile and stone are great because they have high thermal conductivity meaning the heat gets into the room quickly. They also store heat well which helps to make the system efficient.
Laminate is also good with thermal conductivity. Wood varies according to the density of the wood, with denser and thinner floorboards being the best. Carpet also varies and the total tog must not exceed 1.5 as mentioned earlier.
