Under floor heating

keithbr13 · Oct 21, 2012

Hi everyone, i have had a couple of enquiries about electric underfloor heating and would just like some advice as to which is the best product to useI am looking at warmup and heatmat at the moment. if youve installed any how well does it work ? and how easy was it to install ? thanks

pjcomp · Oct 21, 2012

Both those manufacturers are acceptable. Easy to install, as long as you're careful about the area measurements and don't end up with heating mat left over as you can't cut it off and the overspill has to go somewhere. Make sure you don't lay any of the cable across itself - it'll burn out. How well does it work? Depends what's on top of it and underneath it. You need to insulate well below otherwise you'll be heating that instead of the room. Laminate or thin tiles are usually OK, but thick tiles kill it - you'll spend all your time and money trying to heat the tiles and the heat'll never get through.

Before you buy, call the maker and tell them what you want it for (primary heating fo the room, secondary, just to keep the feet warm) and get them to recommend the size and type of heat mat/wire.

PJ

guinnessgixer · Oct 21, 2012

Hi,
I fit quite a lot of ufh I always buy it from Underfloor Heating and Electric Floor Heating Installers
Russell is excellent just ring him he'll give you all the info you need on which system to use, i.e primary or secondry heat etc, also tell him your the spark on the job and he'll do you a trade discount on his prices,
you can lay it on ply if its a cheap budget, minimum 9mm and screw it every 150mm, but its best to lay it on the insulated boards, this sends the heat up a lot better than the ply, once one of these has been layed prime the area with a good quality synthetic primer (comes in the kit from russell) once dry lay the matt down, it has self adehsive tape attatched so sticks down nice, any wires sticking up a little want tapeing down with small strips of gaffa tape, then take a continuity reading and insulation reading on the matt, and log it in the booklet, then you must screed it in with latex so that the wires are completely covered and its just a lovely level floor, never leave it to the tiler or electriciansforums as they'll damage the cable guaranteed !! once screeded in take a continuity reading again to ensure all good !!

dansk · Oct 21, 2012

Russel here, thanks for the reccomendation, Warm up and Heat mat are both ok companies. the products seem ok too, we use VARME products, these are tried and tested and once installed correctly its a fit and forget system. We travel the country and cannot afford snags and callbacks and I can say in 9 years fitting this product we have never had one fail under its own accord.

I agree with the above and use a good latex levelling compound over the top, and another tip is to use a can of spray glue as a primer if you find the mat/cables won't stick down as much as you would like.

Anther little tip is to install two floor probes, connect one the stat and leave the second coiled up behind the stat, then in the unlikely event the probe fails you already have a sspare one in the floor. The kits come with conduit for sensor replacement but it's ok pulling the old probe out, it's hard to push the new one in.

Take a look here for some ideas of laying cables. Gallery

If you need my help please do not hesitate to ask.