Underfloor heating installation
Underfloor heating is the warmest floor you will ever walk on and the quietest heating you will ever own, but only if the groundwork is right. I install wet and electric systems across Northumberland and Newcastle, from a single bathroom to a whole ground floor.
Wet or electric, which one you want
Wet underfloor heating ties into your boiler or heat pump and is the cheaper system to run, so it makes sense for a whole floor, an extension or a new build where the floor is coming up anyway.
Electric mats are cheaper to fit and much easier to retrofit, so they are the sensible choice for one bathroom or a kitchen floor. They cost more per hour to run, which is fine for a room you heat for an hour a day and expensive for a room you heat all winter.
What the job actually involves
Insulation goes down first, because heating the concrete under your house is money out of the window. Then the loops get clipped at set centres, planned before a single pipe is laid so the runs balance and nothing is joined under the screed.
The manifold gets flow meters and zone valves so each loop can be set individually, and everything is pressure tested and left under pressure while the screed or the floor goes down. If a screwdriver goes through a pipe later, we know about it straight away.
Running costs and low profile retrofits
Underfloor heating runs at a much lower flow temperature than radiators, which is why it pairs well with a condensing boiler and even better with a heat pump. Set right, it is generally cheaper to run than radiators over the same floor area.
If you are retrofitting into an existing house without digging a floor out, low profile overlay boards add around 15 to 20mm and can go over an existing floor, allowing for the door heights.
Common questions
- How much does underfloor heating cost?
- It depends on the area, whether it is wet or electric and whether the floor is already up. Electric mats in a single bathroom are the cheapest way in; a wet system across a ground floor costs more but is far cheaper to run. I measure up and price the job properly rather than quoting a rate per square metre and adding to it later.
- Is underfloor heating better than radiators?
- For even heat, comfort and wall space, yes. Radiators still make more sense in rooms you heat in short bursts, and in houses where lifting the floor is not realistic. Plenty of the jobs I do are a mix: underfloor downstairs, radiators upstairs.
- Can you fit underfloor heating in an existing house?
- Yes. Either low profile overlay boards, or a full dig out and screed if the floor is coming up anyway. I will tell you honestly which one your house suits once I have seen the floor build up and the door heights.
- Can you fix underfloor heating that has stopped working?
- Yes. Most faults are the manifold, a seized actuator, a stuck pump or air in a loop rather than the pipework itself, and those are all fixable without touching the floor.
Need a price?
Tell me what you need and I will come and look at it. You get the price before I start.