Browse Forums Heating, Cooling & Insulation Re: Opinion hydronic slab heating with engineered floorboard 3Oct 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. Re: Opinion hydronic slab heating with engineered floorboard 4Oct 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. Re: Opinion hydronic slab heating with engineered floorboard 5Oct 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?) Re: Opinion hydronic slab heating with engineered floorboard 6Oct 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. Re: Opinion hydronic slab heating with engineered floorboard 7Oct 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? Re: Opinion hydronic slab heating with engineered floorboard 8Oct 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. Re: Opinion hydronic slab heating with engineered floorboard 9Oct 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. Re: Opinion hydronic slab heating with engineered floorboard 10Oct 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! Does anyone have a suggestion for a good hydronic in slab heating speacialist who may be able to help me with an existing system and wether or not it may need a seperator… 0 5539 Currently renovating, and our main lounge is 5m x 10m, with a cathedral roof peaking at 6.5m high. Currently have tiles on concrete slab. Room is very hard to heat. I am… 0 5429 Engineering timber is certainly a less fuss option, times cheaper to supply and install and better withstands humidity. 1 16769 |