Hi all, just about to start a small extension off the kitchen to be used as a utility room/dog sleeping area. i would like to fit water based underfloor heating to it and then progressively to the rest of the (downstairs) house. so this is my first time with UFH.
What is the collective opinion/recommendation of products to use and not to use? how easy is it to fit etc.
i have experience with plumbing, have moved boilers, added rads etc etc so am confident in my abilities!
In an existing house don't bother. It requires a tray of insulation, pipes then a screed on top. Have a Myson Kickspce in the kitchen. If you don't like rads get the designer rads that look neat.
What's the floor like? If you have a void under it, then UFH is easy. If you don't, then it can be a bugger.
It really depends on how your system is configured to the rest of the house as well, as the UFH can demand to much flow and reduce the rest of the system to almost luke warm. This is where the balancing act comes in to play with the use of regulator valves and things.
Our own UFH system here has a Thermostatic valve fitted on the skirting of each room, and a manually controlled regulator (gate valve, but regulator sounds more technical) fitted on the heating return. Between the two they keep the system balanced for even flow around the whole house and with reasonably even temperature throughout.
I would advise you to use copper pipe for the heating loops, and to steer clear of the these new plastic things. The plastic pipe doesn't, or can't so I've heard, be run continually at the temperatures needed to provide a good heating system of this type. So please use copper pipe if you want a decent UFH system. We used 12 mm minibore for the heating loops on ours and it's almost twelve years old (god, is it really that old), and we've never, ever, had a problem with it at all.
Eh? Plastic pipe can run many tens of degrees above that required to run an underfloor heating system. The underfloor heating system will need a pump and blending valve in order to reduce the flow temperature, as you have to run it cool, to avoid overheating boards, carpets and tootsies.
Well, it is still my opinion that copper transfers the heat a bit better than the plastics do. Am I so out of date on the differences in the physics between metals and thermoplastics? It's my own personal feelings really, but I like to stick to the things I know well. :-)
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