Choosing the right type of floor when it comes in-floor heating is very crucial. In the past, most people would only have the option of putting tiles on top when it came to radiant floor heating. However, TruHeat has changed up the game with our innovative in-floor heating systems which not only allow users to place tiles on top of our system but also be able to put floating floors on top without the use of concrete. One is no longer restricted to tiles anymore when it comes to floor heating systems.
1. DURABILITY VS. FUNCTIONALITY
What is the point of having nice cork floors which will block all the heat since cork is a natural insulator?
Often times people want the best of both worlds but as we know this can’t always be when it comes to real life situations. When choosing the right type of flooring for your heated floors, you always want to make sure the floor you are choosing will actually conduct the heat you are trying to place underneath it. What is the point of having nice cork floors which will block all the heat since cork is a natural insulator? Obviously, the best conductor is tiles/stone floors but if one is to want floating floors then there are far better options than cork. Flooring such as laminate or click engineered floors work great with TruHeat systems in conducting the heat underneath. So, make sure you choose a floor which is not a natural insulator and doesn’t have a high thermal resistance value when installing heated floors. A quick call to your TruHeat representative can always help get you pointed in the right direction.
2. WHAT ARE YOU HEATING EXPECTATIONS?
Gone are the days when the heated floors were just for a bathroom. With the TruHeat systems you can actually use them to heat your entire home way more efficiently compared to forced air systems. This is why it is important to ask yourself if you are planning on using the floor heating system as a primary heat source or just a supplementary one. When trying to use the in-floor heating system as a primary heat source, always go for the type of flooring which will retain heat. We recommend going with tiles or laminate flooring. If these options aren’t for you, then you can always cover the heating systems with a layer of self-levelling cement which will create a heat sink. This will allow the concrete layer above the heating systems to absorb all the heat and retain it much longer.
3. IS VINYL PLANK REALLY GOOD FOR HEATED FLOORS?
These days, vinyl plank flooring or LVP is the latest craze in the flooring world due to it being scratch and water resistant. However, the LVP flooring doesn’t come without its flaws. The locking system of the planks is not the strongest and most LVP manufacturers will tell you to never have anything soft underneath their flooring otherwise it will crack the locking system. When it comes to the TruHeat systems, we always recommend placing an insulating underlayment under our heating systems to ensure maximum efficiency. Since the use of an underlayment can create problems with the locking system of the LVP flooring, always make sure to choose an LVP flooring if you really want to put one down as a floating flooring on top of our systems which is a rigid core floor and can take some sort of underlayment underneath. To be on the safe side, we recommend always flooring our in-floor heating system with a thin layer of self-levelling cement and then installing the LVP floor to ensure nothing happens to the floors over time.
