Best Flooring For Over Radiant Heat

Tile and hardwood flooring work best when installed over a radiant heating system since these types of flooring feel cold in winter.

Best flooring for over radiant heat. Learn more about radiant heat and flooring options. It will also last 30 plus years if well maintained while a furnace lifespan runs from 10 15 years in most cases. Properties that make a floor covering good or bad for radiant heating systems tend to center around the thickness of the flooring the flooring s thermal conductive nature its tendency to expand and contract and whether it is prone to water and heat damage. Embedding radiant heat tubing within the concrete slab while pouring the concrete is an option for new constructions.

Installing radiant heating under carpeting on the other hand is not as effective. Visit a local floor dealer of mirage hardwood or some other great quality brand of hardwood and ask the associate which floors are allowed over radiant heat. Radiant floor heating is more efficient than a forced air system primarily because it does not lose any energy through ductwork. If you re planning to install comfortable efficient radiant heat your best choices for use with radiant heating are tile flooring laminate flooring engineered flooring and natural stone flooring.

Flooring has a maximum heat allowance. Plainsawn wood will move more than quartersawn especially when it is over 4 inches wide. Quartersawn wood flooring is always more stable under conditions of extreme moisture or heat and is always a good choice over radiant heat especially when going with flooring wider than 4 inches. Most of the flooring materials can fruitfully be used over radiant heat when properly installed although as we might all be aware hardwood flooring offers the best comfort levels in addition to the highest aesthetic value.

However not all engineered wood flooring is recommended or appropriate for use over radiant heating systems. The cut and thickness of the wear layer. Energy gov informative website run by the energy department that addresses energy and. There are many techniques used with regard to radiant heat flooring.

Engineered flooring with a less stable wear layer species such as hickory beech and maple are not normally best suited over radiant heat unless otherwise suggested by the flooring manufacturer. If you re going to put a wood floor on a radiant heat floor there are restrictions and. If you want to heat your whole house.