Browse Forums Flooring & Floor Covering Re: Flooring dilemma - where to compromise? 6Jul 23, 2018 3:48 pm arcadelt seechange We will probably be using a Waterfurnace geothermal system. What type of floorboards did you use? Jarrah or Oak? they were the only one that one place said they might consider. All of the Australian species we really wanted (such as Spotted Gum or Blackbutt) were considered to unstable for heating. The geothermal part of your system would not raise the temperature sufficiently to cause damage to real timber, so the concern must be the booster (gas, electric, wood burning, etc), so what is the booster? We used blackbutt. Can I ask if the Blackbutt was from a specifc manufacturer/producer - I would be very interested in getting the detials so I could speak to them - may we can have our hardware after all! Flooring dilemma - where to compromise? 7Jul 23, 2018 8:21 pm seechange Can I ask if the Blackbutt was from a specifc manufacturer/producer - I would be very interested in getting the detials so I could speak to them - may we can have our hardware after all! The blackbutt was re-milled timber from Thor’s Hammer in Canberra. They don’t warrant the timber, they just supply it and what you do with it is up to you. The issue is this: most hydronic heating uses gas fired boilers, and the temperatures can get very high, especially if a mistake is made in setting thermostats. Our hydronic installer told us a horror story about a school where a new floor was laid in a school over gas-fired hydronic in-slab heating. Someone accidentally set the thermostat to high over a weekend, and when everyone got back on the following Monday the floor was buckled and a write-off. Our hydronic system is heated by heat pumps, so the water will never get above 55°C. Our discussions led to the conclusion that will not hurt the flooring. In order to do the same you'll need to get your timber supplier, builder and hydronic supplier in harmony, and you may need to take on the risk liability. Re: Flooring dilemma - where to compromise? 8Jul 27, 2018 10:18 pm We spoke to the local timber supplier again and they again strongly recommended not doing timber over the heated slab. We met with the heating/geothermal/sustainability engineer and have decided to go with tile - when we found out how much the other options (e.g. engineered oak and hybrid) were going to reduce the effectiveness of the hydronic slab it just didn't make sense. Will use rugs to soften the living areas 1000000% definitely add insulation. I have in my home and it makes a big difference minimising sound transfer. Insulation is pretty cheap and definitely worth it 2 6191 Engineering timber is certainly a less fuss option, times cheaper to supply and install and better withstands humidity. 1 15908 Hi there, I'm a conplete newbie to this, but I'm looking to put a floor down in my 6x9m shed. It's currently sitting on a 100mm thick concrete perimeter (dirt floor… 0 6467 |