I want to overboard a draughty, uneven floor.

And as I could do with raising it about an inch I was thinking about a
thick insulation inbetween.

Then I started thinking about UFH and there are pre-grooved polystyrene
panels that would be ideal.

So just wondering if anyone has any experience of DIY UFH or any
opinions of UFH in general.

On 20/05/2019 16:38, R D S wrote:
I want to overboard a draughty, uneven floor.

And as I could do with raising it about an inch I was thinking about a
thick insulation inbetween.

Then I started thinking about UFH and there are pre-grooved polystyrene
panels that would be ideal.

So just wondering if anyone has any experience of DIY UFH or any
opinions of UFH in general.

The system we have in the conservatory is embedded in the screed, but
could have been used as you mention.

Our add-on system runs off the normal central heating, via a motorised
valve and unvalved return (like a radiator), but that is far too hot, so
there is a blending valve and a separate pump.

Water is circulated by the dedicated pump, from the floor, through the
blending valve and back to the floor. If the water is too cool, the
blending valve mixes it with some from the main central heating and the
excess naturally exits to the main system.

It works well, but there is about 4" of screed, so warm-up and cool down
are slow. You need to have the heating on well before you need the room
and off well before you finish using it.

Cats love it though!

SteveW

On 20/05/2019 16:38, R D S wrote:
I want to overboard a draughty, uneven floor.

And as I could do with raising it about an inch I was thinking about a
thick insulation inbetween.

Then I started thinking about UFH and there are pre-grooved polystyrene
panels that would be ideal.

So just wondering if anyone has any experience of DIY UFH or any
opinions of UFH in general.

yes and yes.

First though is te floora groud floor. 1" of insulation is not enough
for a ground floor. 6" minimumum



--
€œA leader is best When people barely know he exists. Of a good leader,
who talks little,When his work is done, his aim fulfilled,They will say,
€œWe did this ourselves.€�

ۥ Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

On 20/05/2019 19:49, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

First though is te floora groud floor. 1" of insulation is not enough
for a ground floor. 6" minimumum


It is a ground floor, is that right? That would be disappointing, though
I can see the danger of heating the space under the house.

On 20/05/19 16:55, Steve Walker wrote:
On 20/05/2019 16:38, R D S wrote:
I want to overboard a draughty, uneven floor.

And as I could do with raising it about an inch I was thinking about a
thick insulation inbetween.

Then I started thinking about UFH and there are pre-grooved polystyrene
panels that would be ideal.

So just wondering if anyone has any experience of DIY UFH or any
opinions of UFH in general.

The system we have in the conservatory is embedded in the screed, but
could have been used as you mention.

Our add-on system runs off the normal central heating, via a motorised
valve and unvalved return (like a radiator), but that is far too hot, so
there is a blending valve and a separate pump.

Water is circulated by the dedicated pump, from the floor, through the
blending valve and back to the floor. If the water is too cool, the
blending valve mixes it with some from the main central heating and the
excess naturally exits to the main system.

It works well, but there is about 4" of screed, so warm-up and cool down
are slow. You need to have the heating on well before you need the room
and off well before you finish using it.

Cats love it though!

We had a conservatory put up about 5 years ago. Floating floor with
concrete beams and breeze block, covered with screed and 75 or 100 mm of
Celotex (I can't remember the actual thickness). Then laminate.

The UF heating was by electric film - 1.8kW. At the time, we considered
hot water - either UFH or radiators, but connecting it up to the current
HW system required approval, and the boiler was running pretty near to
capacity anyway. But we find the UFH is not sufficient to keep the
conservatory warm in winter, and is very expensive to run. Really, there
aren't enough decent days in winter to merit using the conservatory
anyway, and when it is sunny that will supply a useful amount of heat,
and it can be supplemented with a fan heater. I'm not sure that any type
of UFH in a conservatory is justified unless the conservatory is triple
or quadruple glazed.

--

Jeff

On 20/05/2019 21:43, Jeff Layman wrote:
On 20/05/19 16:55, Steve Walker wrote:
On 20/05/2019 16:38, R D S wrote:
I want to overboard a draughty, uneven floor.

And as I could do with raising it about an inch I was thinking about a
thick insulation inbetween.

Then I started thinking about UFH and there are pre-grooved polystyrene
panels that would be ideal.

So just wondering if anyone has any experience of DIY UFH or any
opinions of UFH in general.

The system we have in the conservatory is embedded in the screed, but
could have been used as you mention.

Our add-on system runs off the normal central heating, via a motorised
valve and unvalved return (like a radiator), but that is far too hot, so
there is a blending valve and a separate pump.

Water is circulated by the dedicated pump, from the floor, through the
blending valve and back to the floor. If the water is too cool, the
blending valve mixes it with some from the main central heating and the
excess naturally exits to the main system.

It works well, but there is about 4" of screed, so warm-up and cool down
are slow. You need to have the heating on well before you need the room
and off well before you finish using it.

Cats love it though!

We had a conservatory put up about 5 years ago. Floating floor with
concrete beams and breeze block, covered with screed and 75 or 100 mm of
Celotex (I can't remember the actual thickness). Then laminate.

The UF heating was by electric film - 1.8kW. At the time, we considered
hot water - either UFH or radiators, but connecting it up to the current
HW system required approval, and the boiler was running pretty near to
capacity anyway. But we find the UFH is not sufficient to keep the
conservatory warm in winter, and is very expensive to run. Really, there
aren't enough decent days in winter to merit using the conservatory
anyway, and when it is sunny that will supply a useful amount of heat,
and it can be supplemented with a fan heater. I'm not sure that any type
of UFH in a conservatory is justified unless the conservatory is triple
or quadruple glazed.


Jeff, I have yet to find any justification for a conservatory.

--
Adam

On 20/05/2019 22:12, ARW wrote:
On 20/05/2019 21:43, Jeff Layman wrote:
On 20/05/19 16:55, Steve Walker wrote:
On 20/05/2019 16:38, R D S wrote:
I want to overboard a draughty, uneven floor.

And as I could do with raising it about an inch I was thinking about a
thick insulation inbetween.

Then I started thinking about UFH and there are pre-grooved polystyrene
panels that would be ideal.

So just wondering if anyone has any experience of DIY UFH or any
opinions of UFH in general.

The system we have in the conservatory is embedded in the screed, but
could have been used as you mention.

Our add-on system runs off the normal central heating, via a motorised
valve and unvalved return (like a radiator), but that is far too hot, so
there is a blending valve and a separate pump.

Water is circulated by the dedicated pump, from the floor, through the
blending valve and back to the floor. If the water is too cool, the
blending valve mixes it with some from the main central heating and the
excess naturally exits to the main system.

It works well, but there is about 4" of screed, so warm-up and cool down
are slow. You need to have the heating on well before you need the room
and off well before you finish using it.

Cats love it though!

We had a conservatory put up about 5 years ago. Floating floor with
concrete beams and breeze block, covered with screed and 75 or 100 mm
of Celotex (I can't remember the actual thickness). Then laminate.

The UF heating was by electric film - 1.8kW. At the time, we
considered hot water - either UFH or radiators, but connecting it up
to the current HW system required approval, and the boiler was running
pretty near to capacity anyway. But we find the UFH is not sufficient
to keep the conservatory warm in winter, and is very expensive to run.
Really, there aren't enough decent days in winter to merit using the
conservatory anyway, and when it is sunny that will supply a useful
amount of heat, and it can be supplemented with a fan heater. I'm not
sure that any type of UFH in a conservatory is justified unless the
conservatory is triple or quadruple glazed.


Jeff, I have yet to find any justification for a conservatory.

When you have a house with a hall, kitchen (small and only for cooking,
not eating) and a through living room, plus three children, you want
another downstairs space! Self-building a conservatory was the cheapest
option and, at the time, the only financially practical one. Insulated
cavity walls, partial solid roof, double glazing, triple-wall roofing,
blinds all round and under-floor heating, make it practical to use for
almost all the year - hot summer days are the only problem.

As the rules have changed, we may change the roof to keep some of the
sun out.

SteveW

On 20/05/2019 21:27, R D S wrote:
On 20/05/2019 19:49, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

First though is te floora groud floor. 1" of insulation is not enough
for a ground floor. 6" minimumum


It is a ground floor, is that right? That would be disappointing, though
I can see the danger of heating the space under the house.

Ah. You didn't mention it was a suspended floor.

Lift it, and put 6" celotex between the joists, tape over, and then lay
your pipes on top

No need for poly ,poulding. Just use big plastic staples to located them
to the celotex If the joists are stable you can screed/tile or else
overboard with ply and engineered wood.

Aim for a spacing of around 4" between pipes to get best output.

--
Gun Control: The law that ensures that only criminals have guns.

I've often wondered why, given that its being heated and cooled, does this
not result in either creaking noises or if in a rigid material eventually
concrete cracking or leaky pipes?
Brian

--
----- --
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...

Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!
"Steve Walker" wrote in message
...
On 20/05/2019 16:38, R D S wrote:
I want to overboard a draughty, uneven floor.

And as I could do with raising it about an inch I was thinking about a
thick insulation inbetween.

Then I started thinking about UFH and there are pre-grooved polystyrene
panels that would be ideal.

So just wondering if anyone has any experience of DIY UFH or any opinions
of UFH in general.

The system we have in the conservatory is embedded in the screed, but
could have been used as you mention.

Our add-on system runs off the normal central heating, via a motorised
valve and unvalved return (like a radiator), but that is far too hot, so
there is a blending valve and a separate pump.

Water is circulated by the dedicated pump, from the floor, through the
blending valve and back to the floor. If the water is too cool, the
blending valve mixes it with some from the main central heating and the
excess naturally exits to the main system.

It works well, but there is about 4" of screed, so warm-up and cool down
are slow. You need to have the heating on well before you need the room
and off well before you finish using it.

Cats love it though!

SteveW

No not in the uk really. Its a slightly less cold version of outside where
it does not rain.
Brian

--
----- --
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...

Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!
"ARW" wrote in message
...
On 20/05/2019 21:43, Jeff Layman wrote:
On 20/05/19 16:55, Steve Walker wrote:
On 20/05/2019 16:38, R D S wrote:
I want to overboard a draughty, uneven floor.

And as I could do with raising it about an inch I was thinking about a
thick insulation inbetween.

Then I started thinking about UFH and there are pre-grooved polystyrene
panels that would be ideal.

So just wondering if anyone has any experience of DIY UFH or any
opinions of UFH in general.

The system we have in the conservatory is embedded in the screed, but
could have been used as you mention.

Our add-on system runs off the normal central heating, via a motorised
valve and unvalved return (like a radiator), but that is far too hot, so
there is a blending valve and a separate pump.

Water is circulated by the dedicated pump, from the floor, through the
blending valve and back to the floor. If the water is too cool, the
blending valve mixes it with some from the main central heating and the
excess naturally exits to the main system.

It works well, but there is about 4" of screed, so warm-up and cool down
are slow. You need to have the heating on well before you need the room
and off well before you finish using it.

Cats love it though!

We had a conservatory put up about 5 years ago. Floating floor with
concrete beams and breeze block, covered with screed and 75 or 100 mm of
Celotex (I can't remember the actual thickness). Then laminate.

The UF heating was by electric film - 1.8kW. At the time, we considered
hot water - either UFH or radiators, but connecting it up to the current
HW system required approval, and the boiler was running pretty near to
capacity anyway. But we find the UFH is not sufficient to keep the
conservatory warm in winter, and is very expensive to run. Really, there
aren't enough decent days in winter to merit using the conservatory
anyway, and when it is sunny that will supply a useful amount of heat,
and it can be supplemented with a fan heater. I'm not sure that any type
of UFH in a conservatory is justified unless the conservatory is triple
or quadruple glazed.


Jeff, I have yet to find any justification for a conservatory.

--
Adam

In message , The Natural Philosopher
writes
On 20/05/2019 21:27, R D S wrote:
On 20/05/2019 19:49, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

First though is te floora groud floor. 1" of insulation is not
enough for a ground floor. 6" minimumum

It is a ground floor, is that right? That would be disappointing,
though I can see the danger of heating the space under the house.

Ah. You didn't mention it was a suspended floor.

Lift it, and put 6" celotex between the joists, tape over, and then lay
your pipes on top

No need for poly ,poulding. Just use big plastic staples to located
them to the celotex If the joists are stable you can screed/tile or
else overboard with ply and engineered wood.

Aim for a spacing of around 4" between pipes to get best output.

Umm.. you have to slot the joists for the pipe return. An alternative is
to use the pre-formed 22mm slotted flooring chip plus your choice of
overboard. If you fancy ceramic floor tiles there are cement based
boards for this.

Have a look in here or one of their many competitors
https://www.thefloorheatingwarehouse.co.uk/


--
Tim Lamb

On 21/05/2019 08:32, Brian Gaff wrote:
I've often wondered why, given that its being heated and cooled, does this
not result in either creaking noises or if in a rigid material eventually
concrete cracking or leaky pipes?
Brian

The pipes are plastic and able to cope with a little flexing and do it
silently, even with minor misalignment at a slight crack. The screed as
a whole sits on insulation and stops just short (25mm or so) of the
walls due to insulation being placed around the edges before laying the
screed. That gives some space to expand and contract slightly without
significant forces being generated.

As to how likely things are to fail. It has been done that way for
decades and there doesn't seem to be big fuss about failures, so it must
work. Certainly ours does.

As for the type that is laid within insulation panels, perhaps with
spreader plates to distribute the heat. I would assume that the
insulation flex stops creaking noises and the floor on top is a floating
floor, so that can freely move too and is little different to the
expansion and contraction of a laminate floor.

SteveW

On 20/05/19 22:12, ARW wrote:
On 20/05/2019 21:43, Jeff Layman wrote:
On 20/05/19 16:55, Steve Walker wrote:
On 20/05/2019 16:38, R D S wrote:
I want to overboard a draughty, uneven floor.

And as I could do with raising it about an inch I was thinking about a
thick insulation inbetween.

Then I started thinking about UFH and there are pre-grooved polystyrene
panels that would be ideal.

So just wondering if anyone has any experience of DIY UFH or any
opinions of UFH in general.

The system we have in the conservatory is embedded in the screed, but
could have been used as you mention.

Our add-on system runs off the normal central heating, via a motorised
valve and unvalved return (like a radiator), but that is far too hot, so
there is a blending valve and a separate pump.

Water is circulated by the dedicated pump, from the floor, through the
blending valve and back to the floor. If the water is too cool, the
blending valve mixes it with some from the main central heating and the
excess naturally exits to the main system.

It works well, but there is about 4" of screed, so warm-up and cool down
are slow. You need to have the heating on well before you need the room
and off well before you finish using it.

Cats love it though!

We had a conservatory put up about 5 years ago. Floating floor with
concrete beams and breeze block, covered with screed and 75 or 100 mm of
Celotex (I can't remember the actual thickness). Then laminate.

The UF heating was by electric film - 1.8kW. At the time, we considered
hot water - either UFH or radiators, but connecting it up to the current
HW system required approval, and the boiler was running pretty near to
capacity anyway. But we find the UFH is not sufficient to keep the
conservatory warm in winter, and is very expensive to run. Really, there
aren't enough decent days in winter to merit using the conservatory
anyway, and when it is sunny that will supply a useful amount of heat,
and it can be supplemented with a fan heater. I'm not sure that any type
of UFH in a conservatory is justified unless the conservatory is triple
or quadruple glazed.


Jeff, I have yet to find any justification for a conservatory.

I'm an avid plant grower, so it's more of a greenhouse attached to the
house than a conservatory! And, having one side of it as a house wall,
means it's a bit cheaper to heat than a greenhouse, and it keeps one
wall of the house a little warmer.

But it's somewhat true what you say. As a "room" it is usually too cold
in winter and too hot in summer. Nice in spring and autumn, though.

--

Jeff

On 21/05/2019 09:24, Tim Lamb wrote:
In message , The Natural Philosopher
writes
On 20/05/2019 21:27, R D S wrote:
On 20/05/2019 19:49, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

First though is te floora groud floor. 1" of insulation is not
enoughÂ* for a ground floor. 6" minimumum

Â*It is a ground floor, is that right? That would be disappointing,
thoughÂ* I can see the danger of heating the space under the house.

Ah. You didn't mentionÂ* it was a suspended floor.

Lift it, and put 6" celotex between the joists, tape over, and then
lay your pipes on top

No need for poly ,poulding. Just use big plastic staples to located
them to the celotex If the joists are stable you can screed/tile or
else overboard with ply and engineered wood.

Aim for a spacing of around 4" between pipes to get best output.

Umm.. you have to slot the joists for the pipe return.
What about 'I need the floor and inch higher' did you not get? simply
add 1" batten to the joists after the pipes ate laid in between the pipes.

An alternative is
to use the pre-formed 22mm slotted flooring chip plus your choice of
overboard. If you fancy ceramic floor tiles there are cement based
boards for this.


Those laternatives only make sene if yuopu have a team of three on 200 a
day each and te labour saving is worth the cost of the special board.


Have a look in here or one of their many competitors
Â*https://www.thefloorheatingwarehouse.co.uk/




--
Socialism is the philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance and the
gospel of envy.

Its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.

Winston Churchill

In message , Steve Walker
writes
On 21/05/2019 08:32, Brian Gaff wrote:
I've often wondered why, given that its being heated and cooled, does this
not result in either creaking noises or if in a rigid material eventually
concrete cracking or leaky pipes?
Brian

The pipes are plastic and able to cope with a little flexing and do it
silently, even with minor misalignment at a slight crack. The screed as
a whole sits on insulation and stops just short (25mm or so) of the
walls due to insulation being placed around the edges before laying the
screed. That gives some space to expand and contract slightly without
significant forces being generated.

As to how likely things are to fail. It has been done that way for
decades and there doesn't seem to be big fuss about failures, so it
must work. Certainly ours does.

As for the type that is laid within insulation panels, perhaps with
spreader plates to distribute the heat. I would assume that the
insulation flex stops creaking noises and the floor on top is a
floating floor, so that can freely move too and is little different to
the expansion and contraction of a laminate floor.

I put a 3mm foam underlay between the spreader plates and the 12mm
plywood floor. No creaks or noise you assume are copper pipes moving
with expansion in a radiator set up.

In message , The Natural Philosopher
writes
On 21/05/2019 09:24, Tim Lamb wrote:
In message , The Natural Philosopher
writes
On 20/05/2019 21:27, R D S wrote:
On 20/05/2019 19:49, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

First though is te floora groud floor. 1" of insulation is not
enough* for a ground floor. 6" minimumum

*It is a ground floor, is that right? That would be disappointing,
though* I can see the danger of heating the space under the house.

Ah. You didn't mention* it was a suspended floor.

Lift it, and put 6" celotex between the joists, tape over, and then
lay your pipes on top

No need for poly ,poulding. Just use big plastic staples to located
them to the celotex If the joists are stable you can screed/tile or
else overboard with ply and engineered wood.

Aim for a spacing of around 4" between pipes to get best output.
Umm.. you have to slot the joists for the pipe return.
What about 'I need the floor and inch higher' did you not get? simply
add 1" batten to the joists after the pipes ate laid in between the
pipes.

An alternative is
to use the pre-formed 22mm slotted flooring chip plus your choice of
overboard. If you fancy ceramic floor tiles there are cement based
boards for this.


Those laternatives only make sene if yuopu have a team of three on 200
a day each and te labour saving is worth the cost of the special board.
:-)
I laid the pipe and Angela managed the pipe reel. Which is now redundant
and available for a few beer tokens.


Have a look in here or one of their many competitors
*https://www.thefloorheatingwarehouse.co.uk/

--
Tim Lamb

On 20/05/2019 16:38, R D S wrote:
I want to overboard a draughty, uneven floor.

And as I could do with raising it about an inch I was thinking about a
thick insulation inbetween.

Then I started thinking about UFH and there are pre-grooved polystyrene
panels that would be ideal.

So just wondering if anyone has any experience of DIY UFH or any
opinions of UFH in general.

If you can only raise the level by 1", your options are very limited.
There's nowhere near enough room for a wet system, so it would have to
be electrical - which would be very expensive to run. Even then, there's
insufficient headroom for a decent amount of insulation.

When we converted an integral garage into a kitchen, we needed to raise
the floor level by 6". We installed a wet system but even 6" was tight
and only allowed for about 3" of insulation in order to make space for a
couple of inches of screed on top of the pipes.
--
Cheers,
Roger
____________
Please reply to Newsgroup. Whilst email address is valid, it is seldom
checked.

On 21/05/2019 21:46, Roger Mills wrote:
On 20/05/2019 16:38, R D S wrote:
I want to overboard a draughty, uneven floor.

And as I could do with raising it about an inch I was thinking about a
thick insulation inbetween.

Then I started thinking about UFH and there are pre-grooved polystyrene
panels that would be ideal.

So just wondering if anyone has any experience of DIY UFH or any
opinions of UFH in general.

If you can only raise the level by 1", your options are very limited.
There's nowhere near enough room for a wet system, so it would have to
be electrical - which would be very expensive to run. Even then, there's
insufficient headroom for a decent amount of insulation.

When we converted an integral garage into a kitchen, we needed to raise
the floor level by 6". We installed a wet system but even 6" was tight
and only allowed for about 3" of insulation in order to make space for a
couple of inches of screed on top of the pipes.

You don't have to use screed. There are systems that use thin, grooved
insulation on top of the existing floor, with the pipes in it and metal
spreader plates to spread the heat. With a few mm of laminate floor
underlay on top and then laminate. 1" might be more than a bit tight
though. Further insulation can be put between the floor joists.

SteveW

On 21/05/2019 21:46, Roger Mills wrote:
On 20/05/2019 16:38, R D S wrote:
I want to overboard a draughty, uneven floor.

And as I could do with raising it about an inch I was thinking about a
thick insulation inbetween.

Then I started thinking about UFH and there are pre-grooved polystyrene
panels that would be ideal.

So just wondering if anyone has any experience of DIY UFH or any
opinions of UFH in general.

If you can only raise the level by 1", your options are very limited.
There's nowhere near enough room for a wet system,

Ther is more than enough room for a wet system

The pipes are less than an inch diamter. Insulation goes below between
te joists.


--
New Socialism consists essentially in being seen to have your heart in
the right place whilst your head is in the clouds and your hand is in
someone else's pocket.

On 22/05/2019 07:42, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 21/05/2019 21:46, Roger Mills wrote:
On 20/05/2019 16:38, R D S wrote:
I want to overboard a draughty, uneven floor.

And as I could do with raising it about an inch I was thinking about a
thick insulation inbetween.

Then I started thinking about UFH and there are pre-grooved polystyrene
panels that would be ideal.

So just wondering if anyone has any experience of DIY UFH or any
opinions of UFH in general.

If you can only raise the level by 1", your options are very limited.
There's nowhere near enough room for a wet system,

Ther is more than enough room for a wet system

The pipes are less than an inch diamter. Insulation goes below between
te joists.



I was assuming it was a solid floor. If it's a suspended floor, there's
more chance - but still too tight in my view.
--
Cheers,
Roger
____________
Please reply to Newsgroup. Whilst email address is valid, it is seldom
checked.

On 22/05/2019 12:01, Roger Mills wrote:
On 22/05/2019 07:42, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 21/05/2019 21:46, Roger Mills wrote:
On 20/05/2019 16:38, R D S wrote:
I want to overboard a draughty, uneven floor.

And as I could do with raising it about an inch I was thinking about a
thick insulation inbetween.

Then I started thinking about UFH and there are pre-grooved polystyrene
panels that would be ideal.

So just wondering if anyone has any experience of DIY UFH or any
opinions of UFH in general.

If you can only raise the level by 1", your options are very limited.
There's nowhere near enough room for a wet system,

Ther is more than enough room for a wet system

The pipes are less than an inch diamter. Insulation goes below between
te joists.



I was assuming it was a solid floor. If it's a suspended floor, there's
more chance - but still too tight in my view.

Well it's not directly stated, but as the first post referred to "a
draughty, uneven floor" and a later one to "I can see the danger of
heating the space under the house", I assumed that it was a suspended
floor. I could be wrong though.

SteveW

On 22/05/2019 17:14, Steve Walker wrote:

Well it's not directly stated, but as the first post referred to "a
draughty, uneven floor" and a later one to "I can see the danger of
heating the space under the house", I assumed that it was a suspended
floor. I could be wrong though.

Bingo.

I didn't like to be pedantic but as you've pointed it out

On 21/05/2019 10:51, Jeff Layman wrote:
On 20/05/19 22:12, ARW wrote:
On 20/05/2019 21:43, Jeff Layman wrote:
On 20/05/19 16:55, Steve Walker wrote:
On 20/05/2019 16:38, R D S wrote:
I want to overboard a draughty, uneven floor.

And as I could do with raising it about an inch I was thinking about a
thick insulation inbetween.

Then I started thinking about UFH and there are pre-grooved
polystyrene
panels that would be ideal.

So just wondering if anyone has any experience of DIY UFH or any
opinions of UFH in general.

The system we have in the conservatory is embedded in the screed, but
could have been used as you mention.

Our add-on system runs off the normal central heating, via a motorised
valve and unvalved return (like a radiator), but that is far too
hot, so
there is a blending valve and a separate pump.

Water is circulated by the dedicated pump, from the floor, through the
blending valve and back to the floor. If the water is too cool, the
blending valve mixes it with some from the main central heating and the
excess naturally exits to the main system.

It works well, but there is about 4" of screed, so warm-up and cool
down
are slow. You need to have the heating on well before you need the room
and off well before you finish using it.

Cats love it though!

We had a conservatory put up about 5 years ago. Floating floor with
concrete beams and breeze block, covered with screed and 75 or 100 mm of
Celotex (I can't remember the actual thickness). Then laminate.

The UF heating was by electric film - 1.8kW. At the time, we considered
hot water - either UFH or radiators, but connecting it up to the current
HW system required approval, and the boiler was running pretty near to
capacity anyway. But we find the UFH is not sufficient to keep the
conservatory warm in winter, and is very expensive to run. Really, there
aren't enough decent days in winter to merit using the conservatory
anyway, and when it is sunny that will supply a useful amount of heat,
and it can be supplemented with a fan heater. I'm not sure that any type
of UFH in a conservatory is justified unless the conservatory is triple
or quadruple glazed.


Jeff, I have yet to find any justification for a conservatory.

I'm an avid plant grower, so it's more of a greenhouse attached to the
house than a conservatory! And, having one side of it as a house wall,
means it's a bit cheaper to heat than a greenhouse, and it keeps one
wall of the house a little warmer.

But it's somewhat true what you say. As a "room" it is usually too cold
in winter and too hot in summer. Nice in spring and autumn, though.


Most of the plant growers I know use the loft:-)

--
Adam

On 21/05/2019 23:05, Steve Walker wrote:
On 21/05/2019 21:46, Roger Mills wrote:
On 20/05/2019 16:38, R D S wrote:
I want to overboard a draughty, uneven floor.

And as I could do with raising it about an inch I was thinking about a
thick insulation inbetween.

Then I started thinking about UFH and there are pre-grooved polystyrene
panels that would be ideal.

So just wondering if anyone has any experience of DIY UFH or any
opinions of UFH in general.

If you can only raise the level by 1", your options are very limited.
There's nowhere near enough room for a wet system, so it would have to
be electrical - which would be very expensive to run. Even then,
there's insufficient headroom for a decent amount of insulation.

When we converted an integral garage into a kitchen, we needed to
raise the floor level by 6". We installed a wet system but even 6" was
tight and only allowed for about 3" of insulation in order to make
space for a couple of inches of screed on top of the pipes.

You don't have to use screed. There are systems that use thin, grooved
insulation on top of the existing floor, with the pipes in it and metal
spreader plates to spread the heat. With a few mm of laminate floor
underlay on top and then laminate. 1" might be more than a bit tight
though. Further insulation can be put between the floor joists.


And then you have to alter the stairs.


--
Adam