Underfloor heating

Illberich

Has anyone ever installed/had installed underfloor heating that connects into the existing central heating?

Is it any good???

We're going to knock down the wall dividing the Kitchen & Dining room to make a big kitchen diner and this wall has the dining room radiator on it so seems like a good idea to replace this with underfloor heating. Any opinions?

nicka99

yes and yes. we had an extension that has 'wet' UF heating whilst the rest of the house uses conventional rads. you need some extra kit however as you cant just pipe it off the existing circuit as the water is way too hot for UF and you'll burn your feet, crack the screed etc. you need a manifold, separate pump and mixer valve (amongst other bits!) - this mixes the hot water from your boiler (75 deg c ish) with the cooler water circulating through the UF pipes to maintain approx 55 deg c. you'll need space for the kit to go somewhere in a cupboard that allows access in case of problems. it will also need its own controls. you can buy the whole lot as a kit e.g. from here http://www.theunderfloorheatingstore-onlineshop.com/standard-water-kits-98-c.asp

the floor you have will dictate how easy this will be to fit.

brig001

Yes and yes as nicka99 said.
You need to know what sort of central heating you have and what sort of floor you have.
The pipework and controls will depend on the central heating system you have.
If you have timber floor, I would use spreader plates and insulate under the floor. If it is concrete, you will have a fair bit of digging to do to get enough insulation under there. I wouldn't skimp on insulation if you want it to be economical to run.

HTH,
Brian.

Itismehonest

Yes & yes here, too.
Watch your height level if you're in an existing building, though. Ours was in a new extension.

Illberich

Hi all, thanks a lot for the advice.

Good to know that it is a possibility, and that it is a good option.

Nicka99, thanks for the heads-up about the water temp, and I'll need to work out if it's practical because the existing floor is concrete and I hadn't considered getting insulation under the heating (and a raised floor isn't really an option due to the height of the room) - thanks brig001 & itsmehonest. You've given me lots to consider.

If anyone else has any advice it would be much appreciated.

PeterZ_2

We looked into it a while back but didnt go ahead as we had problems with the floor levels. We had concrete floors and by the time we would of added the insulation it would have meant to large a step. Shame, as I think UF heating is great.

Illberich

Hmmm, sounds like we might be in the same situation PeterZ

Robs_barn_conversion

Have a word with Robbens Systems underfloor heating. They do single room packs for extensions and conservatories.
They even have 10% off with a voucher code which you can get from their website.

Illberich

Thanks Robs barn conversion - I'll give them a go.