Hydronic heating and bamboo floors

Does hydronic in-slab heating work with bamboo flooring? More specifically will the heat transfer effectively through the bamboo and over time will the bamboo warp or be affected by the continuous heat?

Hi Huy,

we have installed in-slab hydronic systems where the clients have then laid bamboo (or various other types of flooring) over the top. It does work....just not as effectively as uncovered concrete. As a precaution, we reduced the water temperature running through the pipes to reduce the risk of warping/shrinkage. We went back a year later and the client was happy, but from the look of the boiler, had tried to raise the water temperature (we over-ride the boiler controls with another device to prevent this). There are other products around now (composite 'tectonic' flooring) that supposedly allows heat transfer without warping, etc. Not sure if they are are available with a bamboo finish.

Good luck

Thanks Loosh, that is excellent info... off to google 'tectonic' flooring and the cost now! I like the idea of in slab heating... but prefer the look of timber floors over tiles or concrete and didnt want to get in slab if the heat wouldnt transfer through well (kinda defeats the purpose)... so this seems like excellent solution... might come down to budget though.

Hi,
We built our house in the UK 5 years ago and fitted wet underfloor heating in the concrete floor screed and laid bamboo flooring over the top and have had no problems with the flooring warping or with heat transfer and I suspect we use it more than the average Aus home !
I am also looking at a new product that has just been released in the UK which can be retrofitted. It is only 15mm thick and can be tiled over, or "floated" with laminate, natural timber or engineered flooring, or even carpeted with a layer over 4mm ply as an underlay. It is much faster to respond to as it is closer to the surface.
I'll have to see if I can acquire a sample to bring over to Perth in November.

Chardy - what's this new product called? sounds interesting!

Hi,

We had a similar issue when we owner built our house in SA. We had the conflicting requirements of wanting timber flooring but also under-floor heating (UFH). After some research we came up with the solution of timber-look porcelain tiles. At the time there was not much choice around Adelaide and the cost was prohibitive (about $150/m2). Eventually, after much searching, a friend arranged an import for us at a good price and we laid them throughout the whole house ourselves.

We used a herringbone pattern for the tiles and they look great. Visitors cannot believe the floor is not real timber.
Of course the heat transfer from the in-slab UFH is excellent as opposed to the insulation characteristics of timber products. The tiles add thermal mass and there are no concerns over timber warping etc. or ongoing maintenance.

The guy who helped us import the tiles, now commercially imports the timber-look tiles into SA. He sells through Gumtree and has a display in the Adelaide Home Ideas Centre on Anzac Highway. They sell for about $40/m2 (I think).

Good luck with your decisions.