Cork is a natural insulator so just by having a heated house; the floor will draw the warmth. If you still want to install radiant heat, it has posed no problems. The floor may take slightly longer warm up but the heat will be retained efficiently. Only floating floors should be installed over radiant heat systems. Floating floors tend to go through normal contraction and expansion as a unit since they are not attached to the sub-floor.

Depending upon the type of system you have, it is usually possible to install ceramic over radiant heat floors. Some applications will require a membrane in between the tile and subfloor. Ask your contractor what is best for you. One of the rubs against ceramic tile is that it is cold and hard. There are floor heating systems available to make your floor more comfortable to the touch, but in terms of hardness, yes, ceramic is much like hardwood in that it doesn’t have much give.

Because there is a higher probability of moisture in a basement slab, only floating floors are recommended. Tiles that are glued could delaminate and cup, therefore are not recommended. We recommend the use of the floating floor with a foam film underlayment as a moisture barrier underneath.

Yes, Mohawk Engineered & Longstrip (glueless) Hardwood Floors are suitable for installing over a radiant heated concrete slab. Caution: The slab surface must never exceed 85 degrees F in temperature. Before installing over a radiant heated floor, turn off heat and wait until the floor has reached room temperature. After installing the floor return the heat to the previous setting.

If you are handy, you probably can. Floating cork floors are literally a snap to install since we use a clic system. Cork tiles require a little more attention to preparation of the sub-floor, but can be installed successfully by the handy homeowner. Varnishing is as simple as carefully mopping a floor, and all our products are low-VOC, water-based and low-odor.

Most floor coverings can be used over a hydronic heating system, keeping in mind that the system is designed for that particular covering. Tile is the most efficient, since it is the most conductive. Hardwoods come next and then carpet and pad. Even vinyl or linoleum can be used. Typically the only design variance between these three common floor coverings is supply temperature.

Yes, but check with your local code enforcement department (some require boilers only) and make sure your water heater is sized correctly for the area you are heating. Set the water heater temperature control to high and make sure to install a thermostatic mixing valve and expansion tank.

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With radiant heat, the temperatures the floor temperatures tend to be stable and low. These are favorable conditions for wide pine floors. It is best to use material that has low humidity from the beginning. Probably not, if the building will be energy efficient. While heat will tend to rise, you are asking one floor to do the work of two and you may want to over design the first floor.

This is a concrete question more than a radiant heating question. All concrete applications must be structurally satisfactory. There is no important difference between concrete mixes from the heating standpoint.

Radiant heat is transmitted from a heat source via rays just like rays of sunlight. These rays pass through the air without heating it since only solid objects can absorb the heat they transmit. Dark colours absorb more radiant heat than lighter colours which reflect more of it. This is why light coloured clothing is cooler than dark coloured clothing. All our Napoleon Fireplaces are designed to generate radiant heat into your living room.

We can help your contractor with the knowledge needed to install a radiant floor heating system. Our Technicians not only know the products and procedures, but have actually installed them.

Yes, you can install a 3/4'' or 9/16'' solid wood floor over a radiant heating system, provided you know how the latter works and how it may react to flooring. Solid wood floors installed over such a system must meet certain specifications and recommendations.

The am-cor? system was developed with this type of heating in mind. It is our opinion that solar based radiant is the most efficient way to heat a structure, saving both cost of purchase and operation of HVAC equipment. Radiant floors and ceilings may be heated by a gas-fired boiler, or by solar panels with gas backup. So for a little more than the cost of a large water heater, gentle heat may be distributed throughout interiors via the structure itself.

It is not absolutely required, but it will greatly increase the efficiency and performance of your radiant floor heat system. We recommend 2" foam-board insulation under all radiant concrete slabs. Most builder supply yards stock it or can order it for you. There are also many foil-faced bubble type insulations available and the manufacturers claim they work well.

Yes, Mohawk Engineered & Longstrip (glueless) Hardwood Floors are suitable for installing over a radiant heated concrete slab. Caution: The slab surface must never exceed 85 degrees F in temperature. Before installing over a radiant heated floor, turn off heat and wait until the floor has reached room temperature. After installing the floor return the heat to the previous setting.

Yes, choose our clic floating cork floor and you can install directly over your existing flooring with very little surface preparation.

You first need to flatten the floor with a skim coat of a Portland cement based patching compound. Or, you can simply install a floating clic cork floor directly over the existing tile.

An Eichler radiant heat system that has copper pipes can be repaired and maintained indefinitely with a little periodic maintenance. However, if your radiant piping is made of steel, as was done in many mid-'50s Eichlers, it may not be repairable. In any case, be sure to recruit a qualified radiant heat specialist (and perhaps even a second opinion) to diagnose your situation and lay out your options. More information. Don't mess with it.

Far-infrared radiant (FIR) heat is a form of naturally occurring energy that heats objects by direct light conversion (DLC). DLC warms only the object and does not raise the temperature of the surrounding free air. All life requires FIR heat from the sun. FIR heat is not ultraviolet radiation but a narrow band of energy within the 5.6 to 15 micron level. This type of energy travels only 2-3" deep into the body to increase circulation and nourish damaged tissue.

Cork's natural insulating properties help a concrete radiant floor feel warm to the touch even when the heating system is off. A ceramic tile floor, however, becomes as cold as the concrete slab. Yes, cork slows the transmission of heat slightly from the slab below, but no more than a wood floor. Besides, a radiant floor heating system is not meant to be a fast-response heating system- but based on steady radiation from a thermal mass.

It is not recommended to use a set-back thermostat on a radiant heat system. Radiant heat systems do not respond as rapidly as a convection type heating system, mainly because a radiant floor heat system uses the mass of the building to store energy and to provide a more even heat.

Radiant floor heating is a comfortable and efficient form of heating where warm water circulates through flexible, specially designed tubing (PEX) installed under the floor. The heat radiates evenly up through the floor warming people and objects in the room and providing more comfort for less money.

One method is to use hot water pipes placed below the floor. The water tubing is connected to a water boiler. The hot water from the boiler is circulating through the tubing to generate the radiant heat. Hydronic systems require maintenance for pumps and valves, are difficult to use for smaller areas and for retrofits in an existing home. Another alternative is the use of electric cables. These systems are fixed wattage and carry higher voltage (100V - 230V).

There are professional installers in most areas of the United States and Canada that specialize in radiant systems. But, any professional building or plumbing person can install a radiant system.