Radiant Heat and Wood
Floors
We are often asked whether
its “safe” to install a solid wood floor over radiant heat.
The simple answer is  that when the recommended acclimation
procedure is followed flitch sawn solid wood flooring is an excellent choice over radiant heat.
If the flooring is not
properly acclimated and installed, the problems that can be expected
anyway will simply develop more rapidly and therefore appear to be caused
by the radiant heat and not the true cause, the improper acclimation
and/or installation of the flooring itself.
We
have seen our wood flooring installed with radiant heat over a span of ten
years without a problem. |
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By following these simple
steps, explained in more detail in the acclimation instructions you will
receive with your order, you can install any solid wood floor over radiant heat with
confidence.
Be certain that there is no excess moisture in the subfloor.
We have seen subfloors come directly from the building supply
source with a moisture content
(MC) as high as 17% - an accident waiting to happen. When a finish floor
is attached to a wet subfloor and the heat then turned on for the first
time, the moisture is forced into the flooring and serious problems can
result.
Be sure the
flooring you get from Vermont Timberfloor is properly acclimated using the
steps outlined in the instructions that come with your order.
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Notes from
the field
Some
flooring installers believe that only quarter sawn flooring is suitable
for installation over radiant heat.
While every piece of a timbersawn floor is not technically
quartersawn, our
flitch sawn flooring
has the same stability of a quartersawn floor with a lot more
natural beauty and wider individual pieces .
This is most easily seen by examining the flooring samples in
our showroom in Guilford, Vermont. |
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If
you choose to glue the Timberfloor to the subfloor, a step we feel is
unnecessary but also not harmful, be sure you specify that the glue to be
used will be a flexible type and not a rigid type, to insure that the
natural contraction and expansion of the subfloor and finish floor do not
“fight” with each other and create unnecessary stress between the two
layers.
Be
sure the installer leaves an expansion area of at least one half inch at
every edge of your new floor to allow the entire floor to expand during
the humid summer season. This area will lie
under the mopboard and not be seen. Wood
floor problems caused by the lack of an expansion zone may also be blamed
on, but not caused by, radiant heat.
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