Insulating Boards for underfloor heating

becks92

Hi Guys

We are on the verge of buying our underfloor heating and are debating between the brand name boards and a nondescript insulation board.

Are there any particular qualities we should look for and does the brand name board have better insulating qualities?? The ones we are looking at are Climatech and Warmup and the nondescript is

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/350442117279?ssPageName=STRK:MESINDXX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1436.l2649#ht_3018wt_905

In cost difference there is about £70 and every penny counts...
Thanks :-)

Oldsoak

I personally prefer to use Warmup UFH and insulation boards when necessary. It will be down to your own choice, I just like the guarantee and technical support when needed. Having said that, I'm installing it for customers, so I'm not paying for it.
If you intend to lay it youself then I advise you to put a plug on the heat mat or wire and test it before laying it, once layed and again after the final surface is applied. Only then should you get the electrician in to hard wire it into a fused connection.
Good luck.

becks92

Thanks for that oldsoak hadn't thought to test beforehand! Will def take that on board

andyhop

Oldsoak wrote: »

I personally prefer to use Warmup UFH and insulation boards when necessary. It will be down to your own choice, I just like the guarantee and technical support when needed. Having said that, I'm installing it for customers, so I'm not paying for it.
If you intend to lay it youself then I advise you to put a plug on the heat mat or wire and test it before laying it, once layed and again after the final surface is applied. Only then should you get the electrician in to hard wire it into a fused connection.
Good luck.

LOL

Get a multimeter and check resistance

If you have a suspended floor use kingspan type boards, far better at insulating than thin thermal tile backer boards

becks92

Hi Andyhop we only need 6mm to lay the wires on that go under the tiles and we are looking for the beat quality for the lowest price. Have had a look at kingspan and they are no where near thin enough.

Because they are so thin are the thermal properties really going to be that different?

andyhop

becks92 wrote: »

Hi Andyhop we only need 6mm to lay the wires on that go under the tiles and we are looking for the beat quality for the lowest price. Have had a look at kingspan and they are no where near thin enough.

Because they are so thin are the thermal properties really going to be that different?

Is it a suspended floor. If yes then lift the floor and install kingspan between joists

You can not compare 100mm kingspan to a 6mm board!!

The money you save in electric will be more than the cost of the extra labour and boards. You are better removing all heat losses and going over the top with the insulation so the floor retains the heat, Little point in heating the ceiling or flat below!!

becks92

Ok new to this, if by suspended you mean floorboards on joists then yes. We live in a 2 bed house with storage heaters and are steadily making it warmer. Upstairs isn't too bad as heat rises but downstairs is baltic. 1 storage heater for all downstairs so when we come to do the downstairs we want to install underfloor heating and a wood burner and take out the 1 storage heater and of couse we have cement floors downstairs.

Going back upstairs as mentioned we are about to do our bathroom which at the moment has a huge immersion heater and tank and have been struggling knowing what we should go for as our water heater. We are south facing and so were contemplating solar but can't afford it at the mo.

As we have storage heater all we need hot water for is washing and cleaning and not heating. Andy could I ask what your thoughts would be on the way to go?

Thanks

Bx

andyhop

becks92 wrote: »

Ok new to this, if by suspended you mean floorboards on joists then yes. We live in a 2 bed house with storage heaters and are steadily making it warmer. Upstairs isn't too bad as heat rises but downstairs is baltic. 1 storage heater for all downstairs so when we come to do the downstairs we want to install underfloor heating and a wood burner and take out the 1 storage heater and of couse we have cement floors downstairs.

Going back upstairs as mentioned we are about to do our bathroom which at the moment has a huge immersion heater and tank and have been struggling knowing what we should go for as our water heater. We are south facing and so were contemplating solar but can't afford it at the mo.

As we have storage heater all we need hot water for is washing and cleaning and not heating. Andy could I ask what your thoughts would be on the way to go?

Thanks

Bx

For downstairs it would need to be either boards or break out the floor

Hot water, Unvented cylinders if you have good mains pressure and flow. If Solar is something you are thinking about but cant afford currently i would still get a cylinder with a solar coil(£150 more) but atleast its there if you decide to go this route

Santons are my preffered brand, reliable , easy to install and have a good u values to retain heat. There are some unvented cylinders on the market that allow you to use the woodburner to heat the water

becks92

Thanks for that Andy, might be a tad expensive for us at the mo but definetly worth thinking about...

tpt

to be honest, if its an upstairs floor on floorboards then you wont need insulation boards.

what you will need however is a cement based backerboard and flexi adhesive to stop your tiles cracking - are you diy'ing and have you been advised about how to fit tiles to a wooden floor?

we have found ecoflex to be a good middle ground between warmup and non branded - mostly because they are cheaper but are uk made, guaranteed and also have the free technical support line.

becks92

Hi TPT, we are having the tiles and heating laid professionally but are sourcing the goods ourselves to cut costs as we are working to a tight budget. It would be Ceramic tiles laid on the underfloor heating. Am looking at getting a warmup loose wire system purchased off ebay with a 3ie unit. We only have a small bathroom so the actual floor coverage will be less than 4msquared