"underfloor heating systems"

A Uflex underfloor heating system consisting of fifteen zones has been installed as part of a barn conversion project in Thirsk, North Yorkshire. Here, we talk to Oliver Carter Plumbing and Heating, the G1 installer who completed the installation, to discover how they found working with the new Uflex underfloor heating range from Grant.

Heat Mat's electric underfloor heating mat system has been installed at the Kench, Hayling Island, recently shortlisted for the 2014 RIBA Manser Medal architecture award. The property won a RIBA South regional architecture award in 2013. The holiday home has been designed in the spirit of the original chalets once located in this area, with an open-plan living space and floor to ceiling glazing. Space is limited in the property, therefore underfloor heating was proposed as the ideal solution. Heat Mat's 160W underfloor heating mats and NGT thermostat were installed.

Hatfield Place, a luxury country house wedding venue, chose Junckers solid wood flooring fitted with Leveldek underfloor heating system for its newly developed building. The new foyer, ceremony hall and wedding breakfast room overlook the original walled garden, with views of the beautiful parkland to the rear. The redeveloped building is bright and airy with large feature windows and high ceilings. In the foyer, a spacious room with seating for up to 300 guests, Junckers 22mm Oak Variation flooring provides a warm and lively backdrop, adding character with its subtle colour variations and natural grain patterns. In contrast, the ceremony hall and wedding breakfast room were fitted with Junckers’ Oak Harmony plank flooring, a wide board floorboard which gives a more uniform impression required for the formal spaces. Both floor types were pre-finished in Junckers’ popular Ultramatt lacquer, a strong and durable finish with no surface sheen. Delivered pre-finished, the floors are ready to walk on as soon as they have been installed and will withstand years of dancing and dining with the correct maintenance. The floors in all three rooms were installed over Leveldek, Junckers’ fully integrated underfloor heating and levelling system. Working in partnership with Jupiter Heating Systems, the Leveldek system was developed to simplify the specification process to offer a versatile levelling system, underfloor heating and solid hardwood floor from a single point of supply. Underfloor heating is the most efficient way of heating a large, open area. Specifying Leveldek offered Hatfield Place an all-in-one solution whereas traditionally, installation of the heating system, levelling system and the floor itself would have to be separately sourced. The system is efficient and cost effective to run, ideal for use in a large space. For energy efficiency and fast acting warm-up time, the heating pipes are installed directly beneath the floorboards and the panels are insulated and reinforced for outstanding heat output. The system can be used on an uneven substrate as varying heights can be achieved with the stacking cradles. For more than 30 years, Junckers’ wooden floors have been recognised as the only type of solid hardwood flooring on the market stable enough to be guaranteed for use over underfloor heating. Junckers offers a full guarantee for the system, which is recommended for residential and commercial buildings as well as sports and dance. The flooring contractor was PICA Floorings. 

A Grant Uflex MINI low profile underfloor heating system has been installed throughout the entire downstairs of a four-year-old property, providing the homeowners with complete comfort in the rooms they occupy the most frequently.

The revolutionary, award-winning underfloor heating system Schlüter-BEKOTEC-THERM was the natural choice for one of the UK’s greenest self-build projects.

The Audley Stanbridge Earls retirement village is an exclusive residential development of 155 luxury retirement apartments and cottages designed around a Grade II listed Tudor Manor house on a 32 acre site near Romsey, in Hampshire. Underfloor Heating had been specified as part of the design and the large floor areas now needed to be finished with floor screed that could be installed quickly and efficiently within the operating windows provided by the main contractor.TOPFLOW Screed A Thermio + offers a higher thermal conductivity than conventional sand-cement screeds, can be laid thinner and fully encapsulates heating pipes without leaving any voids. This makes it ideal for use with underfloor heating systems where it helps to improve the thermal performance and energy efficiency of buildings. All TOPFLOW Screed A products are made from gypsum and are completely cement free, with a binder made from 98% recycled material. This gives it a lower carbon footprint than a conventional cement-based screeds, saving up to 20.45kg CO2e per m2, making it a more sustainable choice.

The client also needed a screed with high thermal conductivity in order to optimize the efficiency of the underfloor heating system and to minimize energy use. Gypsol HTC, having a thermal conductivity of 2.5W/mK and a low mass due to its thin section enabling a rapid response to changes in air temperature, met all of the requirements of both architect and client. The building program also required the 750m2 of screed to be installed in a single pour. The chosen supplier therefore had to be capable of supplying the 33 cubic metre supply continuously during the pour.

A new flooring solution was required as part of a large, high-specification selfbuild housing project on the stunning Archerfield estate in North Berwick. Underfloor heating had been specified for the ground floor of the house and it was important that the chosen floor solution would help to optimise heating efficiency. Given the scale of the project it was also important that the chosen screed solution could be installed quickly over a large area to fit within the build programme. Following initial discussions and a successful pump trial the customer decided to use Tarmac’s TOPFLOW Screed C cement based liquid screed.TOPFLOW Screed C is a free-flowing, cement based liquid screed that can be trafficked after just 24-48 hours and dries within 21-28 days. It can be pumped into place and allows large areas to be covered quickly with up to 120m2 laid in as little as 45 minutes. Fast drying times mean it can be laid later in the programme when the building is fully water-tight and still hit deadlines for installation of flooring. It is ideal for use with underfloor heating systems. As a self-compacting screed, it fully encapsulates heating pipes without leaving any voids and is also a more conductive medium than traditional sand and cement screeds, improving the thermal performance of the system. It is also compatible with most cement based adhesives meaning it can be used with a wide range of flooring types.The fast-drying times and early trafficking characteristics of TOPFLOW Screed C enabled other trades to follow on quickly, helping to provide continuity and efficiency within the client’s build programme. The contractor was delighted with the outcome, commenting on how good the material was to work with and on the excellent finish achieved.

Guests to a new luxury spa at one of London’s most famous hotels are relaxing in comfort after the installation of the environmentally friendly underfloor heating system, Schlüter®-BEKOTEC-THERM, by Schlüter-Systems.

An Essex-based project centring on the provision of a much-needed National Autistic Society (NAS) school has seen the installation of electric underfloor heating system Schlüter-DITRA-HEAT-E-DUO into the 60 houses built to off-set its costs.

This new-build house was in a remote location and off-grid for mains gas, the house was to be heated by a heat pump and so efficiency was a major consideration for the project. The Lewis Deck system was chosen for the 1st floor of the building to provide the same efficiencies for the underfloor heating as the concrete ground floor as well as providing a high level of acoustic separation for this quality timber frame project. The build-up included the Lewis flanking and resilient strips, Lewis Deck, Anhydrite liquid screed and underfloor heating pipes.

Following detailed technical and commercial discussions the Gypsol team were able to provide a cost effective and practical alternative to the original specification using Gypsol HTC screed and a Thermoplane underfloor heating system. Gypsol HTC, having a thermal conductivity of 2.5w/mK was selected due to its high level of thermal performance especially when combined with underfloor heating. The unique mix design of Gypsol HTC screed allows the installer to place the material at just 20mm cover to the underfloor heating pipes allowing an overall depth of just 40mm of screed through the entire project

Tom Smith Plumbing and Heating Services, G1 Installers who specialise in renewable, eco-friendly technologies, completed the installation of a hattrick of Grant products in a new build property in Perranporth, Cornwall. An Aerona³ heat pump, Wave cylinder and Uflex underfloor heating system are working together to fulfil the heating requirements of this new family home.

To provide high quality instantaneous hot water, the developers were persuaded to move away from a conventional recirculation system to the higher efficiency single-pipe solution, using nVent RAYCHEM HWAT-M self regulating cable and the unique nVent RAYCHEM RayClic connection system. In addition, nVent RAYCHEM T2Red and T2Reflecta underfloor heating was used in the main living areas. The self-regulating cable could provide very responsive heating without overheating, thus avoiding damage to the high quality wooden flooring. Underfloor heating was also used in the bathrooms, using nVent RAYCHEM T2Quicknet. All fully integrated with the BMS to avoid individual controllers.

This project involved the construction of a high quality, executive property which included approximately 300m2 of underfloor heating over which a 50mm Gyspol Diamond was laid and polished using the Midland Micro Polish system.

The building was constructed using ICF blocks that are to have a rendered finish. Internally the ground floor is a concrete slab and the upper floor has timber posi-joists with the Lewis Deck and resilient strips laid above. 16mm underfloor heating pipes are then clipped into our new clip rail system with a free flowing screed then poured on top, 50mm thick. This then gives 20mm cover to the heating pipes, maximising the efficiency of the whole system.

There’s a new build housing development in deepest Ireland that is proving that new renewable heating systems and radiators make excellent partners.Eastmount, on Chapel Road in Delgany, close to Greystones and just 45 minutes south of Dublin in County Wicklow, can be found just across the Greystones golf course from the Irish sea. The development by D-Res Properties, will provide 74 new three, four and five bedroom homes with open plan living and features high levels of insulation, air to water heat pumps and Stelrad’s Compact with Style radiators throughout the properties to ensure the homes are warm and cosy throughout the year. In all, around 850 radiators will be installed at Eastmount.“This is an excellent example of exactly why radiators are fully compatible with modern renewable heating systems,” says Stelrad’s Head of Marketing, Chris Harvey. “If you believed all the hype you’d expect to see underfloor heating with heat pumps, but particularly in Ireland where they are a fair bit ahead of us in the UK, they are pairing heat pumps with radiators extensively and finding that when the radiators are correctly sized, and installed in homes with excellent quality insulation, they deliver excellent heating performance. An air to water heat pump is very different technology to a traditional boiler driven heating system but once you understand that and play to a heat pump’s features and benefits, the lower temperature heating system can deliver more than adequate heating and hot water and in addition offer lower heating bills and lower emissions alongside higher energy efficiency – it’s a win, win solution for new homes builders and for the new homes owners who are lucky enough to live in these homes and benefit from the warmth and comfort they provide.”The Compact with Style radiators are sleek, attractive radiators that far from being simply a heating appliance, add significant smartness to the rooms in which they are installed – with the subtle vertical lined casings matching the attractive décor in these striking new homes.

In Manhattan Loft gardens, they have a dry install system and are going to use the recommended system from Sika, then fit the floor fully bonded with our SW890 adhesive. Installation and site visits are part of our service. With large residential tower developments, there will normally be slabs for each floor. These will take at least two years to dry out completely. This means that unless the slabs have a DPM applied there will always be a chance of moisture affecting whatever is laid on the floor be it a cradle system or dry install underfloor heating system.

The main contractor, with many years’ experience of building bespoke care homes throughout the UK has successfully used flowing screeds in their projects for over a decade. This project was to be no exception and the main contractor needed advice on before finalizing the specification. The screed was to be placed on insulation at both ground and first floor underfloor heating systems. It needed to be as thin as possible. It needed to be installed quickly because, time scales were tight. Finally it needed to offer a rapid drying time to allow completion of floor coverings.

HiDECK 18 was installed as the overlay flooring solution in the prestigious Admirals Quay, Ocean Village development in Southampton. Ocean Village is a mixed-use marina, residential, business and leisure development on the mouth of the River Itchen in Southampton.The impressive 26 storey residential tower features 300 apartments making it the tallest residential tower in the area which will act as a spectacular landmark. The apartment floors have been installed with underfloor heating panels and HiDECK 18 as the overlay floor system.

M&E contractor ‘The All Group’ designed 2.5km RAYCHEM of HWAT-M self-regulating cables in a single pipe hot water system throughout the hotel. Controlled by RAYCHEM HWAT-ECO smart controllers, the system provided the benefits of energy efficiency plus savings in material costs, labour and space. Pipe freeze protection was delivered using 5.5 km of RAYCHEM WinterGard, controlled with RAYCHEM RAYSTAT-ECO-10. Underfloor heating was installed in the bedrooms, using RAYCHEM T2Red with T2Reflecta. In addition, RAYCHEM T2Quicknet 160 was installed in the en-suite bathrooms and the hotel’s luxurious spa.

Built on a self-build development site at Graven Hill in Bicester, where every property is different, this house utilises a number of different design styles and is constructed from an ICF system called Durisol Blocks. The first floor is constructed using the Lewis Deck and includes sound separation, underfloor heating and wet-rooms. It is common for the 1st floor to see a liquid screed installed over the deck, however for this project the client just ordered a little additional of the concrete being poured down the walls to complete the floors.

Location: London, United KingdomConstruction type: Installation system: Product: Ardal SMOOTH MATTArchitect: HTA DESIGN LLPContractor: STANMOREActon Gardens is perfectly situated in the heart of Acton. The award-winning urban village boasts vibrant spirit and is surrounded by leafy streets and unique character with Chiswick, Gunnersbury, and Acton on its doorstep. These new homes in Acton provide an integral part of the West London community; a place to be, a place to live, a place to thrive. All homes at Acton Gardens include:Private balcony or terraceUnderfloor heatingAmtico flooringFitted wardrobe to master bedroomSpace to work from homeGreat train links via the Piccadilly, District, Overground and Central lines

Located to the south of Newark, Middlebeck is a 694-acre urban extension which will provide new housing, access to local amenities and a new purpose built primary school. The Christ Church C of E Primary School has been constructed to serve the local community and boasts an attractive design by Gollifer Langston Architects, with the L shape plan of the new school forming two sides of a courtyard.Constructed by the Lindum Group, the attractive and contemporary design of the new school building embraces the use of natural daylighting and the extensive use of glazing helps to strengthen the connection between interior and exterior spaces. Senior’s slimline SF52 aluminium curtain wall system has created a light and welcoming entrance, with Senior’s versatile SPW600 aluminium windows and secure SPW501 aluminium commercial doors used throughout.Robust and fully recyclable, Senior’s aluminium fenestration systems were powder-coated to further enhance durability and to complement the white brise-soleil installed to the south side of the building to help control solar gain. Additional solar shading protection from the overhanging roof, in addition to the use of natural ventilation, photovoltaic roof panels and underfloor heating also contribute to the overall sustainable design of the school building.Senior worked closely with supply chain partner Alusec to deliver the fenestration package.

Our Partner, Fast Floor Screed Ltd, pump-applied self-levelling, Südanit 280 Alpha Hemihydrate Screed in this new wonderful Passive house, A1 rated self-build in Cork. The delivery, completed using their mobile screed factory, enabled our Alpha Hemihydrate flooring solution to be installed quickly and efficiently over the entire project. The architect Wain Morehead Architects, described the screed ‘the response time in your screeds also helps maintain comfort – verified during this week during monitoring/testing’, which we knew but are delighted to hear this also from Wain Moore Architects.This CE marked, self-smoothing, self-levelling screed is the most technologically-advanced floor screed available, complying with the performance requirements of EN 13813.Südanit 280 Alpha Hemihydrate Screed’s advanced composition means that it reacts with water quickly – providing consistent, reliable drying characteristics and considerably faster drying times – enabling following trades to proceed without delay.The major delivery, completed using their mobile screed factory enabled our Alpha Hemihydrate flooring solution to be installed quickly and efficiently over the entire project. The Fast Floor Screed Mobile Screed Factory – is a unique system. The lorry mounted rigs carry Sudanit 280 Alpha Hemihydrate binder, sand & aggregates and water in separate compartments. The automatic production process ensures materials are precisely weighed, fed to the mixing bin, and into the pump for easy, mess-free installation. This ensures the Fast Floor Screed Mobile Screed Factory produces Sudanit 280 Alpha Hemihydrate floor screed to a consistently high quality. Have a look at some previous projects we delivered to Fast Floor Screed Ltd.The floor is remarkably quick to walk-on – applied at 500m² per day and walkable within 6 hours and it’s particularly suitable for use with UFH, fully encapsulating pipes and services – increasing the performance of underfloor heating.Did you know…?This Alpha Hemihydrate Screed can be installed in a heated floating-floor screed construction, uniquely, with the commissioned underfloor heating system up and running @ 25°C?!Smet Building Products Ltd in partnership with Fast Floor Screed Ltd, demonstrates, once again, a superior level of customer service, both pre and aftercare. Whether your job is self-build, retro-fit, floor renovation, design, commercial or an industrial venture – we have a floor compound suitable for you.Contact Smet Building Products Ltd for any advice regarding your substrate.

Hastings Pier was devastated by fire in 2010. As part of the £14.2m restoration, the condemned Pavilion Restaurant was renovated and heated by Heat Mat. The restaurant was housed within one of the only original Victorian structures left behind. An electric system was chosen over hydronic to minimise the load. Situated on the original cast iron structure, the large floor is subject to high-traffic. The system was installed in three zones using a combination of 3mm cables and 160W mats. The final system provides a flexible solution for the restaurant on this iconic RIBA Stirling prize-winning pier.

Verdo, Kew BridgeEcoWorld BrentfordCemfloor Level PlusA luxury development of apartments, shops, restaurants, parks and offices situated next to Brentford Football Club in West London.Cemfloor Level Plus was chosen for this project as the contractor required a screed that could be installed at low thicknesses. Cemfloor Level Plus was supplied by Capital Concrete and installed by Advance Screeding UK ltdClose to the River Thames, and next to Brentford football club in West London, Kew Bridge is a selection of beautiful new homes, as well as shops, cafes and restaurants. It is part of the wider Brentford regeneration project, and developed by EcoWorld.There are a total of 6 blocks on the site, and Cemfloor was the screed of choice for the main contractor.The main contractor had problems with the floor levels on site, so Cemfloor provided a thin screed system to work alongside the unique low profile UFH system; a castellated mat system installed onto Superfoil insulation. The UFH system was supplied by Compact Underfloor Heating. The complete floor build was only 45mm in depth and included acoustic insulation, thermal insulation, castellated UFHsystem, and Cemfloor Level Plus.Advanced Screeding installed Cemfloor Level Plus throughout the development. In total 800m3 of screed was easily pumped to height, over 11 floors without issue,providing an excellent, fast drying low profile floor, and saving significant time on the project.As Cemfloor Level Plus is a ready mixed solution it removed the need for any site mixing, material storage and material disposal from the site. Given the volume of screed required; if a self leveling compound product was used this would have equated to approx. 55,000 x 25kg bags of material having to be mixed on site.

CEDARWOOD HOUSE, BATH Customer: ST8 LimitedProject Installation Dates: 2021Flooring Systems Installed: Unique Character – Bolidtop FiftyFiftyColour: HazeArea: 200m2  This high end property developer from Bath knew exactly what to expect from Stratum, being a returning customer. Stratum were a part of this new build design for an eco-friendly modern family home. Since the developer experienced a Stratum resin floor in his previous new build property, he was keen for it to feature across a larger area on this project, with the installation taking place in the kitchen and main living space, hallway, utility room, cinema room and the garage. Challenge-      To select a colour and finish that would sit alongside and compliment a range of different materials chosen for the interior spaces.-      To carefully programme in the work and coordinate with the other trades on the project.-      To achieve the desired level of liveliness in the character of the floor when being mixed and applied. -      To install the floor system alongside a mechanical car lift within the garage Solution-      Bolidtop FiftyFifty was selected for all of the living spaces to create a seamless flow with a bespoke, warm, modern aesthetic. An anti-slip epoxy resin floor was selected to meet the demands of a garage.-      Stratum consistently communicated with the project manager, navigating around the project whilst maintaining access to adjoining areas for other key trades.-      To invite the customer to watch the pour.-      To arrange delivery of materials to site at just the right time. Benefits/Installation-      The developer had experience of working with Stratum and our floor systems which helped with the planning and design stages of the build, e.g substrate, underfloor heating, skirting detail etc.Result-      A beautiful unique floor, for a stunning, environmentally friendly new build home. This floor provides comfort and pleasure with ease of cleaning and will provide many years of use.“This was to be a quality high-end, energy efficient new build family home. We used resin throughout the lower ground floor with under floor heating. The installation was brilliant. We look forward to working with Stratum again.”Nick Sandy | Director at ST8 LIMITED 

The facility will convert 300,000 tonnes of household waste to electricity and hot-water. The structure incorporates a ramp for vehicles to access the incinerator entrance. Contractor Sir Robert McAlpine approached Heat Mat to supply and oversee installation of a ramp heating system for the entrance, allowing year-round access. Specialist constant-Wattage cables with 10m cold tail connections were installed beneath a 210mm concrete and rebar slab. Dual-zone thermostats will control them, and external sensors will monitor conditions for maximum efficiency. Heat Mat will return to the site, due for completion in late 2015, for final commissioning.

Heat Mat’s technical expertise helped to deliver a luxurious and low-energy heating system for a Passivhaus development in Tankerton, Kent. Oyster Reach is a group of contemporary apartments with views over Whitstable Bay. The small energy-efficient development is designed and constructed with a ‘fabric first’ approach to meet ‘Passivhaus’ standards. Masonry Frame Systems, builders of the mixed development, approached Heat Mat to provide a flexible and energy-efficient heating solution for the five apartments.