Opinion hydronic slab heating with engineered floorboards

mboy · Oct 12, 2017 10:01 pm

Hi all

I would be grateful on your opinion on my house build.
Double storey in Melbourne. Love hydronic heating. Slab for ground and radiators panels for top.
We love floorboards and want this on the ground floor, and now there is a lot of installers who are happy to support engineered floorboards as a covering.

Most internet experience I can find on hydronic slab heating relates to polish concrete or tiles covering, but not engineered floorboards.

Can I ask if anyone has any experience/thoughts on this - particularly the technology is much better, with even heat designed boards that conduct better?

If so, can anyone recommend floor board companies that sell good products in Melbourne?

Many thanks
MB

arcadelt · Oct 12, 2017 10:12 pm

Closest I can talk about is hydronic heating over re-milled hardwood. Based on discussions with my supplier, it depends on the heat source for your hydronic heating. In our case we are using a heat pump, so the water temperature will not exceed 55°C. If your heat source is gas you'll need to be careful of the maximum temperature as high temperature may warp your timber floors.

mboy · Oct 13, 2017 9:18 pm

Thanks very much. How effective did you find the heating through wood in terms of keeping the house warm?

There are these new engineered boards where the base is made of stone and meant to conduct heat as close enough to tiles? and I wonder how they compare to other engineered boards that have wood on either side of the ply.

arcadelt · Oct 14, 2017 8:56 am

mboy

Thanks very much. How effective did you find the heating through wood in terms of keeping the house warm?

We're not there yet so I can’t comment. However, due to the insulative properties of timber, we have put the coils very close to the surface of the underlying slab. That said, our house design mostly keeps the house warm and the heating is just for any long sunless periods in winter.

mboy

There are these new engineered boards where the base is made of stone and meant to conduct heat as close enough to tiles? and I wonder how they compare to other engineered boards that have wood on either side of the ply.

That sounds like a very good idea. They will also add to the thermal mass of the floor.

mboy · Oct 15, 2017 1:35 pm

Good luck with the build. Saw a house for sale with hydronic wood floor heating installed: pity the weather was warm: would have love them to have switched it on

Did you work out whether the cost to run per day would be cheaper than gas ducted heating ( excluding initial outlay costs?)

arcadelt · Oct 15, 2017 1:37 pm

mboy

Did you work out whether the cost to run per day would be cheaper than gas ducted heating ( excluding initial outlay costs?)

Gas is not an option for us in any form as we are building in a rural location.

Hillsbuilds · Oct 15, 2017 4:24 pm

mboy

Thanks very much. How effective did you find the heating through wood in terms of keeping the house warm?

There are these new engineered boards where the base is made of stone and meant to conduct heat as close enough to tiles? and I wonder how they compare to other engineered boards that have wood on either side of the ply.

Hi mboy, these stone based engineered boards sound intriguing. I googled them (heatboard) but couldn't find a price. Any idea how the cost compares to normal engineered boards?

mboy · Oct 15, 2017 6:37 pm

Good timing - Ive been asking around!

Heatwood: reconstituted stone based with 3-4mm wood board lining : ~ $150 per m2 (240mm wide)

The other one is Mafi: you get wood on both sides with ply in the middle $170 per m2 (235mm wide).. I believe having wood on both sides makes everything 'more evenly' distributed and you get more wood!

Both products looks fantastic. You get a loss less wood with Mafi, but it make sense to have the poor conductive properties of wood kept to a minimum to be similar to tiles/polished concrete.

The limited experience I can find about hydronic slab heating with wood seems to be so variable, and I guess there are so many variables with the products and installation.

Unfortunately I cant find any personal experience to gauge which would be better.

alexp79 · Oct 17, 2017 6:50 pm

Hmm... Hardwood engineered floors supply are generally below $100/per sqm, you can find some options for $60/per sqm.

Although hardwood is not the worst insulator, as long as it not very thick (e.g. below 15 mm) - it should be doing okay, as any insulator - just delaying the heat transfer, but once heated - it should be fine.

mboy · Oct 18, 2017 8:26 pm

I think another challenge is whether the builder is happy to install this on their slab and insure for it as part of warranty.
I think its not very common to do hydronic slab engineered board heating, and some builders have no experience in this.
They are more comfortable with panels or polished concrete/tile.
Thats another challenge!

arcadelt · Oct 18, 2017 9:01 pm

Most Australian builders have no experience with hydronic heating, full stop!