Parquet flooring and underfloor heating. Rules of compatibility

Is there any point in using underfloor heating if you are installing hardwood flooring?

There is no single answer. A natural wooden floor is definitely warmer than ceramic tiles or stone. But if you want more comfort or your home has a very cold base, and you still decide to make underfloor heating and install parquet flooring, it is important to know and take into account some points.

We have prepared recommendations on the selection of parquet flooring, installation and use of parquet flooring with underfloor heating systems.

Choosing a parquet board

• Make sure the hardwood flooring is compatible with underfloor heating and this is noted by the manufacturer.
• Do not use maple, beech, jatoba, American walnut and other exotic woods with underfloor heating because they react strongly to temperature changes.
• Choose a two- or three-layer board for underfloor heating rather than a solid board.
• The bevel on the parquet board will help to disguise small cracks, if they suddenly appear due to low humidity. To avoid parquet drying out, keep the relative humidity in the room at 40-60% and the temperature at 18-24°C.
• Choose an oil coating for heated floors.

Mounting

• Parquet flooring can be installed with water or electric underfloor heating systems. It is important to observe the speed and maximum heating temperature.
• It is better to glue the engineered wood flooring directly to the subfloor, it eliminates the appearance of air gaps and uneven distribution of heat.
• To keep your floor warm and not your neighbor's ceiling, use thermal insulation under the underfloor heating system.
• After installing the parquet flooring, turn on the floor heating no earlier than 48 hours and increase the temperature gradually.
• Parquet can be laid as a single "carpet" in a room on several thermal circuits only if the floor heating is always the same. If the heat regimes differ, the "carpet" must be broken by an 8-10 mm expansion gap in the parquet.

Operation

• Do not allow the floor surface to get hotter than 26-27°C.
• The difference between the air and floor temperature in the room should not be more than 2°C, otherwise there may be drying or swelling of the parquet board.
• Heating should be uniform everywhere, with no more than 2°C difference in temperature between different areas of the floor.
• Do not place mats with a rubberized backing on a floor with the heating on. They act as heat insulators and cause uneven heating of the floor.
• Do not allow the floor surface temperature to vary by more than 5°C overnight.
• The care of heated parquet flooring is the same as for a regular parquet floor.

We hope that our recommendations will be useful to you. Follow them and help your parquet floor last for many years.

If you need professional advice on parquet flooring installation, our specialist will come to your site free of charge, assess the substrate and give the necessary recommendations.