Cost of wet underfloor heating

maintenanceman

Emma18 wrote: »

Just found your thread on a search as we are contemplating UFH.

We are extending our house and the builders say the cost is reasonable for UFH in the new part as they have to build the floor up anyway, so easy to include the required insulation/damp-proof/pipes etc to today's standards.

However, the existing dining room and kitchen (1960's house) will become part of our new 'family room' and they say that the cost to do these areas in UFH is high, due to the digging out required.

We spoke to an UFH company at a recent home show and the product cost for the areas we ideally would like to do is around £2200. The builder has not been specific (as his quote for the whole extension just 'includes' supply and fit of UFH) but has indicated that the cost to dig out (and take away the debris which appears to be even more costly) is around £20k!!!!

It does sound quite expensive to me.............I'm tempted to hire the kango and lug it out myself!

What should I do? We really want the UFH - heard good things about it but can I really justify paying them so much money to dig out? They say they have to go down about 12" to do it properly. A rough guess we are looking at digging out about 36 square metres.

Any builders out there who can say if they are having a laugh.....or are they justified in this cost?

Thanks

I am not a builder but I had a very similar situation where a new extension was being built ant part of the new room was a suspended timber floor. In order to incorporate the wet underfloor heating wasn't a problem for the new extension. as it can be dealt with while building the new floor. My other part was a timber suspended floor which was easier to incorporate than if it was a solid concrete. floor.
Establish if the old part you want to renew is a timber suspended floor or concrete. Digging up a concrete floor is an absolute nightmare. Is it possible to work from the height of your existing concrete floor (if it is concrete).

Emma18

Thanks maintenanceman. Yes, unfortunately the existing floor part is concrete, not wooden joists. Re whether we can work from existing floor level, I'll check with builders, but I expect it will have too many implications on rest of downstairs. One of the things we really want is a level floor all the way through the downstairs as we used to have 'steps' in our old house and it bugged me.

Oh I'm really in a quandry as to what to do here now. this is going to be our home for next 20-30 years, so we feel generally that we want to do these 'one opportunity' jobs now, or we'll regret it later.

It's just committing the cash now and whether to have it will be worth it in the long run.

I've heard/read that its generally cheaper to run than radiatior system and it gives greater flexibility on your living space re furniture placement etc..........but is it worth the expense??? I don't know?!

maintenanceman

you are right it is a 'one opportunity' thing if you are going to live in the place for next 20/30 years.
I have also heard that it is more economical to run than rads, but have also heard that you have to run it all the time as the floor acts as a heat bank.
RE positiong of furniture I have not heard of but positioning of kitchen ubits and appliances is an issue.
I am abit unclear if the 36sqm is the total area to be covered by the cost of 22k , or is additional to the cost of the already included UFH for the new extension? Either way , if it were me, i would try to work out the cost per square meter for the installation of the additional UFH you want installed. put that against what you are paying for the new extension and see if that puts the cost of 22k into perspective, if you know what I mean.
There is also the golden rule of getting at least 3 quotes, and with UFH the opinion of specialist in UFH would probably be better than a builder (no disrespect to builders) and a specialist may also give you some other options. Ideally visit or talk to someone who already has, and is using a wet UFH system. Mine has been almost fully installed so I can't give that experience of a UFH customer.

Emma18

maintenanceman wrote: »

I am abit unclear if the 36sqm is the total area to be covered by the cost of 22k , or is additional to the cost of the already included UFH for the new extension? Either way , if it were me, i would try to work out the cost per square meter for the installation of the additional UFH you want installed. put that against what you are paying for the new extension and see if that puts the cost of 22k into perspective, if you know what I mean.

Lol - so am I now! I'm going to double check all my measurements tomorrow - but I think the 36sqm is an additional cost to putting the UFH in the new extension.
I'm going to ask builders tomorrow to go through all the various cost options again to clarify. At this moment, I don't think I have a separate cost to just put UFH in the new extension, as we always assumed we wouldn't do that as it will become one room - and it would be odd to have the heat suddenly stop randomly halfway across the floor. However, knowing that cost will help us determine exactly how much the UFH will cost in the existing parts......

Thanks for your comments. Will let you know how I get on!

maintenanceman

Emma18 Never assume anything when it comes to building works. Get it detailed . What you think is one thing. What the builder thinks is another. Also aboslutely get it in writing otherwise it's a case you said he said, promised and words mean nothing. Sorry to sound a bit harsh but as an example I had a roof done and asked the roofer to sign against every payment. He said that ewas a bit unusual. Last payment he said ohh you owe me xxx amount, I said 'No i owe you this amoun' and passed the book over to him to show him his signature against the payments paid.
the example is abit of note, against your reply, but you really have to be on the ball with these type of situations so that everything is clear between you and your builder. Sorry if that sounds heavy but it's worth it in the long run as it is simply business not friendship you want from your builder.
Wow I sound harsh, Sorry.

Emma18

No, you don't sound harsh - you are right. We will be getting them to sign against every payment received. It is hard, because they ARE nice guys and I want a good working relationship with them - but I don't want to be taken for a ride either!
Will get my 'business' hat on and go and speak to them!