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Do's And Don'ts Of Installing
Radiant Heating
How to Install Radiant Heat Underneath a
Hardwood Floor
By: Mark J. Donovan
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When radiant heat first came out decades ago there
were many horror stories on its negative effects on hardwood
flooring. In yesteryear, hardwood floors with radiant heat
installed underneath them, would undergo dramatic expansion and
contraction, which led to buckling and cracking of the floor. The
main reason for the damage to the hardwood floors was the high
temperatures that were associated with the radiant heat. Due to
the fact that the hardwood floors were not very well insulated the
radiant heat system had to be set to a very high temperature,
which unfortunately adversely affected the hardwood floors. |
The floors would dramatically expand and contract with the changes
in the floor temperature caused by the radiant heat. The root cause of
the problem was that the installed radiant heat would dry out the
hardwood, causing it to shrink and crack. As a result, large gaps
could be seen between the wood boards. When the radiant heat system
was turned off, the moisture levels would increase in the hardwood
flooring and the boards would expand again. This constant contraction
and expansion would cause havoc on the hardwood floor.
Fortunately, over the decades new methods have been implemented to
better insulate floors and to delay the installation of the hardwood
flooring until the subfloor has dried out sufficiently. Making sure
the subfloor is adequately dried out is a major concern when the
subfloor is concrete. The concrete needs to cure for a sufficient
amount of time to ensure that the moisture is adequately out of the
concrete. It can take up to 3 months for the concrete to totally cure
and the moisture content sufficiently reduced As a result of these new
installation methods, installed radiant heat no longer needs to be
turned up so high such that it dries out the hardwood flooring to the
same level.
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When it comes to the actual installation of the hardwood flooring over
a radiant heat system, manufacturers recommend the hardwood flooring
stock have at least 72 hours to acclimate to the temperature and
humidity levels in the room that it is to be installed in. Prior to
installing the hardwood flooring, the installer should check the
moisture level of the subfloor and the hardwood flooring material to
ensure that they are at similar levels. By doing this they can help to
ensure that the hardwood floor will expand and contract at similar
rates to the subfloor.
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A moisture barrier is also now installed with most radiant heat
installations. This helps protect both the radiant heat system as well
as the hardwood flooring. No moisture can penetrate up through the
subfloor to the hardwood flooring as the radiant heating system warms
up. Likewise, no moisture can penetrate downwards to potentially
damage the radiant heating system.
Also, hardwood flooring is now always installed perpendicular to the
radiant heating system tubing or electrical wires, depending upon the
type of radiant heating system installed, to ensure that the hardwood
flooring is evenly heated.
In addition, there has been new guidance on how to turn on the radiant
heat system at the beginning of the heating season to ensure that the
hardwood flooring can adjust at a rate that protects it from drying
out and cracking. By gradually turning on the radiant heat system at
the start of the winter months the hardwood flooring has more time to
adjust and acclimate to the warmer floor temperatures.
Finally, by better insulating the subflooring the temperature levels
required to heat the hardwood flooring are much lower. This helps to
not stress the hardwood flooring as much.
For information on maximizing your
wood stove’s home heating efficiency see
the “Installation
of Hood over Wood Stove Ebook”.
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