By Jeffrey Young, Climatec Advanced Heating Technologies
And Todd Waterman, Carlisle Restoration Lumber
There is quite a bit of misinformation about wood flooring, particularly, wide plank flooring over radiant floor heating. We would like to emphasize that you not be tentative about radiant floor heating beneath wide plank wood flooring and that it is an ideal marriage.
For natural wood flooring, it is important that the wood be well seasoned, with a moisture content of eight percent for pines and seven percent for hardwoods. Your flooring supplier or contractor should be able to tell you the moisture level of the wood prior to installation.
According to Jeffrey Young, owner of Climatec Advanced Heating Technologies, natural wood products are not a problem for installing over radiant heat. Climatec Advanced Heating Technologies (www.climatecadvanced.com) is a Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania firm that exclusively specializes in radiant floor heating systems. "You need to have a contractor who understands the physics of radiant." explains Young. "And you should not be afraid of using a wood floor over a radiant heating system." Young points out some key components that lead to a problem-free radiant heat/wood flooring experience:
It is imperative the radiant floor heating system be designed correctly: “You need to have a accurately designed and installed system.” Radiant designs should include the kind of heat distribution systems that utilize the lowest possible water temperatures. Which means, using as much radiant tubing as feasible. This, in turn, will keep from over heating the flooring. “This is one area where it pays to be conservative on my design.” Young emphasizes.
Weather responsive controls: "Weather responsive controls, also known as reset controls, constantly modulate the water temperature according to indoor/outdoor temperature demands. There are a number of companies that manufacturer this kind of control and they are well worth the investment. Not only do they protect your floors, they dramatically increase comfort while reducing energy consumption. Constant water circulation is the ideal application for wood floors. Think of it as cruise control for your heating system since reset systems make incremental changes to the water temperature (accelerator), depending on demand (road changes) allowing the wood floor to acclimate. Set point controls, on the other hand, which maintain a single water temperature, turn the system on and off to make adjustments to room temperature," Young explains. "It's this sudden starting and stopping where potential problems can occur”.
Humidity control: “This is, in my opinion, the one thing that will help keep the floor from drying out and shrinking in the Winter or swell up in the humid months of Summer. On the East Coast, where I’m from, a steady humidity level of 45% to 55% is ideal.”