Insulating Boards for underfloor heating

tpt

Hi there, sorry for the delay in answering. i've been away for a few days.

an ecoflex loose wire system would cost you £107.95 +vat (3.9m coverage). on top of this you would need a thermostat at £60 + vat.

Not sure how this compares to ebay ??

becks92

About the same really TPT its £164.95 with free delivery

My real query was re insualtion boards whether the cheaper ones were less efficient.

any thoughts??

tpt

yep ok.

its difficult to say as i doubt there are any specifications if they are just cheap imports. The branded ones definitely make a large difference on concrete floors, but not much on wooden floors.

My personal opinion is that either boards are a waste of money onto wood. Is it a tongue and groove bathroom floor?

becks92

The floor at the mo is carpeted and beneath that are floorboards on joists.

tpt

ok, so just forgetting the underfloor heating for a moment you will need to consider that your tiling onto a wooden floor. Assuming the floorboards are stable and not flexing all over the place you can either overboard the floorboards with ply (at least 12mm) or use a 6mm backerboard, such as no more ply. Both of these have to be glued and screwed down properly and in both cases you must then use a flexible, single part adhesive and grout. use a decent manufacturer like granfix or BAL.

Our choice would be the no more ply option and in this case this does offer a decent amount of insulation (heat and sound). If your going over a wooden floor then i would recommend using a backer board specifically designed for that purpose from a decent manufacturer as if your tiles crack or lift you wont have a leg to stand on if you have used a no brand option.

If your tiler isnt talking about one of these options (3rd being to lift floorboards and ply with 25mm ply) then you should be concerned. you cant tile straight onto floorboards.

if you want to speak to someone verbally then let me know. we supply tilers though so i cant help you on that score!