Choosing your floor covering for Under Floor Heating

Pretty much all floor coverings can be used with an underfloor heating system but you should be aware that some will work better than others.

Some of the best surfaces for underfloor heating are ceramic floor tiles, natural stone and similar materials. These are good transmitters of radiant heat, don’t expand and contract to any great degree and are generally stuck directly on to the sub-floor with tile adhesive, which also aids the transmission of heat. Under tile heating systems have become popular over the past few years, as people move back towards natural flooring materials for their kitchen’s, conservatories and bathrooms.

Timbers and laminates will also work well but care needs to be taken to make sure they are compatible with underfloor heating, for example it is widely accepted that beech and maple are not suitable for use with underfloor heating. Talk to both your underfloor heating supplier and your flooring supplier to ensure compatibility.

The same is true for Lino, Marmoleum, PVC’s, cushion floors and the like; these should work fine with underfloor heating but get your flooring supplier and underfloor heating supplier to talk to each other.

The most popular floor covering in the UK; carpet will also work well with underfloor heating so long as a few simple rules are followed; a low TOG value carpet and underlay should be used (combined value of less than 2.0). Consult your carpet supplier for guidance, they should be able to point you in the right direction.

Whichever floor finish you select, consulting an underfloor heating specialist will help ensure you get the best out of your underfloor heating installation.