Considerations When Using Amtico Flooring with Underfloor Heating
One increasingly popular means of keeping your house warm is underfloor heating. This approach to meeting a home's heating requirements is much more efficient at transferring the energy around your living space, when compared to conventional central heating systems. Underfloor heating also creates a completely different warmth profile- rooms simply glow gently, without dead zones of chill or excessive heat piling to the ceiling. Such a system also makes the need for fitted carpets less; floors are naturally warm, and so the gorgeous bare floor laminate solutions, as offered by Amtico flooring, are an ideal complement.
But if you are planning to install your Amtico flooring over an existing underfloor heating system, there are a few things that you need to bear in mind. Firstly, the accepted forms of underfloor heating are those that use hot water or electrical heating elements embedded directly into the underfloor. The laminate flooring can't be a structural support over externally mounted heating systems.
Next, you must ensure you have fully read, and follow, all the details of the flooring installation instructions. Laminate flooring should also be installed as a floating floor, not a glued one, as the underfloor heating can activate glue vapours and loosen the bond. An underlay of a reasonable thickness is recommended- it should have a plastic film on one side. If not, a separate 6mm poly sheet should be laid down first, and care should be taken that any joints for multiple sheets are overlapped.
You must also check the heat resistance value of the flooring to be installed. A generally accepted maximum for the entire floor covering is in the region of 0.85 hour-sq. feet-F/BTU. Some flooring solutions from Amtico may exceed this value, especially if they involve boarding as a component. Because underfloor heating exerts a greater thermal stress on the laminate flooring, causing it to expand and contract to a greater extent, you should allow for a larger expansion gap, between ¼ and ½ inch (6-12mm).
Finally, during installation, the initial heating from the floor should be restricted- generally it is best to keep it at less than 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Keep the system at this lower temperature for a day, and then gradually increase, in 5 F increments, each day, until you reach your desired floor temperature. Manufacturers recommend that the temperature should not exceed 82 F, as this may cause damage to your laminate boards.
So as you can see, the use of underfloor heating and Amtico flooring requires a little careful consideration during installation, and some common sense in operation. But when you see, and feel, the combined effect of the two, working in tandem you'll appreciate paying attention to those details. Together they create a wonderfully warm ambience, uncluttered by radiators, and just exuding a gorgeous and timeless, but modern, appeal.