**Rentmeister Total Home Service No Longer Services Boilers Or Radiant Heating Systems, We Apologize If This Is An Inconvenience**
One of the great benefits of radiant heating is the nice, toasty floors you get, but if you have a floor covering that isn’t very conducive to radiant floor heating, you may lose this benefit. Radiant heating works by heat objects, which is why it’s important to plan for a floor covering that will heat well and radiate that heat to your home. To help you get an idea of the types of floor coverings that will work best with your radiant heating, the installation experts at Rentmeister Total Home Service have put together a list of floor covering types to consider:
Tiles (Stone, Porcelain and Ceramic)
Tiles floors are some of the best around for radiant heating. If you have ever put a rock in or near a fire, or have seen a brick oven stove, you’ll be able to understand why tile is some of the best kind of flooring to use with radiant heating. Tile conducts heat very well and is highly resistant to the heating process.
Laminates
Laminate floors are very popular for a lot of reasons, and can be a good option for radiant heating. However, there are some precautions to take with laminate flooring to ensure the best results. First, it’s important to make sure that your underlying floor structure and/or concrete (if you used it) is completely dry; this helps minimize changes that can develop due to heat and moisture as well as reduces warping and cracking. It is also important to use the correct adhesive. Most laminate flooring comes with manufacturer instructions and recommendations that your technician will follow as part of the installation.
Hardwood
Natural wood floors will contract and expand with changes in temperature and humidity, so if you want to use natural wood with your radiant heating system, it’s best to consider hardwood that is quarter-sawn, kiln-dried wood. You may also want to consider engineered hardwood flooring. Engineered hardwood flooring is comprised of hardwood and fiberboard, placed together into several layers. The multiple layers and combination of woods make engineered hardwood very stable.
As you can see, you have a lot of choices when it comes to floor coverings for your radiant heating. Have question? Call Rentmeister today!