Please refer to the installation instructions found in every box of product or refer to our Floor Care, Installation section of our website.

We follow the guidelines of the NWFA which strongly suggest that if solid flooring is desired over a radiant heat system that it should be a quarter-sawn wood. This decision is at the sole discretion of the installer/home owner. Please refer to the NWFA for additional information of the proper installation of flooring over radiant heat.

Yes. there are products that will allow you to install hardwood flooring in any room in the house but care must be taken in choosing the right flooring product and also in ensuring the correct preparatory work on the sub-floor. Please see our page on using adhesive to fix solid wood flooring to concrete

Yes, your pets and hardwood floor can coexist peacefully. However, make sure you trim and file your pets' claws regularly. Also, choosing a satin finish can help hide small scratches your pets may leave.

In years past, some companies used high temperature boilers to send 180 degree water through radiant tubing. This excessive water temperature combined with a poorly insulated structure could cause warping or checking of hardwood floors. Because floor temperatures often exceeded 85 degrees as the floor vainly attempted to match the high heat loss of a poorly insulated structure, the result was high, wasteful energy consumption and damage to the floor.

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.

Since wood is an excellent conductor of heat, radiant heating is a great choice to use with wide plank flooring - and the even distribution of heat is actually beneficial to the wood. Be sure to tell the company installing your heating system that you plan to use wood as your flooring material and they will know how to adapt the system accordingly.

If you have a question that is not answered on this FAQs page, you may contact one of our member company's call centers that are listed on our Contact Us page with your specific question.

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. This is why light coloured clothing is cooler than dark coloured clothing.

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.

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.

Solid 3/4" Hardwood flooring cannot be installed below grade (below the soil line) or over concrete. When a solid product encounters moisture it reacts very negatively. Therefore, a laminate or engineered flooring must be used. Laminate flooring is constructed by fusing 4-plys of material together to form a product with unprecedented strength and durability. An engineered product is very similar with the exception that they usually have a real wood layer on top of the constructed core.

If you've ever read a warranty of any kind, you already know that there are a lot of loop holes associated with warranties. Hardwood flooring warranties are no different. Do not base your decision to purchase any type of flooring, whether its hardwood flooring, laminate flooring, engineered flooring, carpet, vinyl, or tile because it has a so-called "Warranty".

Our products can be found at leading flooring retail sites across the United States and Canada. For a specific retail location, please send us an email at info@bellefloor.com that includes your address and zip code and we will locate the nearest outlet for you within 48 hours.

This is flooring that has been finished with polyurethane in a special factory. This flooring can be installed and walked on the very same day!