Underfloor heating installation in Bedlington

What the customer wanted

Nathan asked for underfloor heating throughout the downstairs and wanted the radiators gone completely. That frees up every wall in the room and gives a much more even heat than a couple of radiators fighting a big open space.

Because the radiators were coming out, the downstairs pipework was redesigned around the new manifold rather than patched into what was already there.

Setting out the loops

Insulation boards went down across the floor with edge insulation round the perimeter, so the heat goes up into the room rather than into the ground or the walls. Loops were planned room by room and clipped at even centres, tighter along the cold outside walls where more output is needed.

Each loop is one continuous length of pipe back to the manifold, so there are no joints buried under the floor that could ever leak.

Manifold and controls

The manifold is mounted where it can actually be reached, with a flow meter on every circuit so each room can be balanced properly, plus isolation valves, pump and blending valve to keep the floor at a safe temperature.

Screed, testing and commissioning

The system was filled and pressure tested and left under pressure while the screed went down, so any damage from another trade shows up straight away rather than months later.

Once the screed had gone off, I commissioned the system, balanced the flow rates on each loop and set the controls up room by room. Start to finish it was a week to ten days.