It’s one of the questions we’re asked more than almost anything else: can I have a wood floor with underfloor heating? The short answer is yes, almost always. But the longer answer is a bit more nuanced, and we thought it was worth writing up properly.
The project that prompted this
We’re currently working on a large project outside London. The contractor on site is thorough and detail-oriented, and he came to us with a straightforward question: what’s the best way to fit the floor over an underfloor heating system?
There are different approaches; floated installation, glued installation, latex screed, and within each of those, plenty of variables. How much latex? What underlay? So we went back to the various manufacturers and suppliers involved to get their take.
What we found is that they don’t all agree and that there’s no single industry consensus.
Ultimately, we recommended floating the floor on a good quality Duralay underlay, and we’re confident it’ll perform well.
But the process raised some useful points worth sharing.
1. Done properly, it will be fine
We’ve completed over a thousand installations on underfloor heating systems. In that time, we’ve had two failures, and in both cases, the underfloor heating malfunctioned and effectively cooked the floor. Engineered wood, fitted correctly, is a stable product and it handles the gentle warmth of a well-run UFH system without issue, so don’t end up loosing sleep over it.
2. Manufacturer specs aren’t always proportionate to actual risk
One manufacturer recommended 8mm of latex screed before gluing the floor. But would 5mm cause a failure? Or 3mm? In our view, almost certainly not. The thing that causes wood floor failures over underfloor heating is a runaway system, not a couple of millimetres of latex. It’s worth thinking about the actual risk rather than following every specification to the letter, otherwise costs can start to rise, very, very quickly, and you can end up in a situation where a wood floor is no longer viable.
3. Consider a Fidbox if you’re worried
A Fidbox is a small device that sits beneath your timber floor and records temperature and humidity, essentially a black box recorder for your flooring. If you’re anxious about underfloor heating compatibility, it’s a genuinely useful tool. It’ll alert you if the floor temperature exceeds 27°C, which is the threshold most manufacturers recommend.
For context, the worst case we encountered had the floor reaching over 50°C. A Fidbox would have caught that early.
In summary
Wood floors and underfloor heating work well together. Get the installation right, don’t over-engineer the specification, and if you want peace of mind, look at monitoring the system. If you have specific questions about your project, feel free to get in touch.
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