Underfloor heating

strret00

I may at one point want to install underfloor heating retrospectively. I was wondering whether anyone could answer the following questions:
1. There are natural stone tiles in the kitchen/hall. I want to install underfloor heating that is connected to the central heating (i.e. using hot water), not electrical. I know that I would have to remove the stone floor and dig out the concrete floor. How deep would I have to dig? (I seem to remember reading somewhere 20-25 centimetres. Is that right?) Also, how much would that cost for approx. 15 square metres? (I live in London SE17.)
2. I may want to convert the garage into an additional room & install underfloor heating there as well. The garage is about 17 centimetres lower than the hall/kitchen. Would that be enough, or would I still need to dig deeper? (Again - I don't want electrical underfloor heating.)
3. How much is it to install underfloor heating (labour + materials) per square metre?
(It's a total of around 32 square metres: 15 for kitchen/hall plus approx 17 for the garage.)
I don't want to have this done anytime soon - I just want to know how much it would cost.
Cheers!

keystone

Allow iro £ 80 per m^2 for the kitchen and you'll have change. Edit: If you do the garage at the same time then the incremental cost will be of the order of £ 40 per m^2.

Practically you remove the stone floor and lay your UFH on the existing concrete. Thinking about skimming "n" cm from the top of a concrete slab in either case is total madness tbh.

You'll have to put up with the floor level being raised when you have put your tiles or whatever on top of the UFH.

Cheers

strret00

Raising the floor level is not an option. I would end up with a half-step at the bottom of the stairs. I'd also have to raise all the doors, replace the French windows at the back of the house, raise the kitchen cupboards and work surface, and as there is already a 20cm step at the front door, I'd end up with a 40cm step just to get into the house.

I'll have to find a way to dig deep enough to fit the underfloor heating or do without it.

phill99

Why not go with electric uf heating? Doesn't require any significant raise in floor levels. Also fairly cheap to run, typically 200 - 300 watts.

maintenanceman

Wet underfloor heating.
http://www.nu-heat.co.uk/

strret00

I already have electric uf heating in the kitchen. Costs shitloads of money to use, esp. because you have to turn it on an hour before you want the floor to be warm. Really unimpressed with it.

keystone

strret00 wrote: »

I'll have to find a way to dig deep enough to fit the underfloor heating or do without it.

You'll be doing without it then.

Cheers

bugbyte_2

Sorry to resurrect an old thread - It looks like the disadvantages far outweigh advantages for you.

I'm in a slightly different position - We've got an extension being built at the moment. The kitchen is wood subfloor and the extension is concrete. We are having tiles laid over the whole lot. The original plan was to have a radiator in the extension, but the other option is electric underfloor under the whole lot. It would be £700 more expensive.

Is it actually worth it? - Is anyone impressed with underfloor? or is it just an expensive, slow luxury?