Professionals, Architects and Designers

 

If you are at the design stage you may benefit by contacting us. We have a very comprehensive technical understanding of both, under floor heating systems and hardwood flooring. We are an authority on the combination of the two. If you have technical questions we are unable to answer immediately we will do our best to research and answer your enquiry in due course.

 

The building industry has seen great leaps forwards in the demand of underfloor heating (UFH) systems over the last few years throughout the UK.  As a result there has been increased competition to stay in front between the leading manufacturers of under floor heating systems. It is conceivable to suggest that in as little as the next ten years government guidelines will make it conditional that all new builds must reach a far greater standard of energy efficiency coupled with improved insulation to reduce heatloss. Underfloor heating might then be compulsory.

 

Another increased demand that has magnified over the last ten years is the use of hardwood flooring. It is now being specified numerously by designers and architects for retrospect projects as well as new builds. Naturally as the demand increased so did the growth of companies to supply the demand. Unfortunately many of these companies did not understand the characteristics of the materials they were dealing with and the correct methods of installation. For these companies there was plenty of advice on the Internet but trying to filter out the fact from the fiction could be difficult. Taking another companies installation instructions, adding a little of your own text to make it seem original is risky business when you are inexperienced. The worst of all the horror stories are undoubtedly the result of the wood floors being laid in conjunction with under floor heating.

 

Our approach to the problem was quite different. As well as having in-depth knowledge not only in timber and the building industry we also had had dealings in underfloor heating installations. We understood the characteristics of timber and the reasons why it did not lend itself voluntarily to being compatible for use with underfloor heating. Timber was our strong point but under floor heating we had only touched on. For this reason we approached some of the leading underfloor heating manufacturers to advise us on the installation of various systems and their technical requirements. We then designed and manufactured a proto type engineered floor for stringently testing at our own facilities.
Two of the UK's leading UFH manufacturers witnessed these tests All the tests were successful.

We then set our design to full manufacturing and formed the Brand Cathedral Flooring. Although neither company would indorse our product they both gave permission for us to use their logos for marketing which we feel shows their confidence in the product and us.

 

Architects and designers throughout the UK now repeatedly specify cathedral flooring.  In excess of a million square meters of Cathedral flooring have been laid over the years and we have had not one floor failure with underfloor heating when fitted to our guidelines. We have built up a credible knowledge of hardwood flooring and underfloor heating systems and advise professionals on a daily basis. Our knowledge is now time proven.

 

Going back ten years the only reliable information on the combining of wood floors and underfloor heating was available from either TRADA or British standards. Much of this information was put together in 1984. The question might be asked, was this information out of date ten years ago?  It’s still the same publications today.

We are Trada members and respect this organisations but on occasion we disagree with some of their advice. Trada are the main authority to advise British standards on timber. Trada has recently published a book on installations of hardwood floors. To an experienced professional with sound theoretical and practical knowledge this book lacks substance, especially on the UFH front.

 

In comparison to only 5 years ago advances in materials, ease of installation, fuel efficiency and intelligent operating systems have been enormous. Today’s new interest is the stepping up in renewables technologysuch as geothermal heat source, Air to water heat pumps and sola energy to complement our fuel needs. It is a fact that as fuel prices increase the cost of extracting naturally occurring or stored heat is becoming financially more viable.

 

At this present moment in time air to water heat pumps in particular are set to be very popular. All renewable energies only achieve low operating temperatures for UFH and therefore heat calculations need to be prepared very carefully. Underfloor heating systems using low operating temperatures tend to only just achieve heating requirements as a sole heat source for most buildings, which are insulated to conform to up to date building regulations.

 

There are heat pumps which will give heigher temperatures but with these there is a trade off as they are not as energy efficiant.

Older properties challenge the use of these systems and invariably need eithera secondary heat source or upgrading of insulation to minimise heat loss. Even with the most up to date insulation there are times when low operating temperatures will not be able to heat the building forsome short periods through out the year. It is advisable to fit a simple electric water heater or boiler, which can be plumbed on line to assist on such occasions. For the diehard eco warrior, at least you will only be heating the water enough to achieve a suitable temperature and not from cold. There is still an energy saving to be had.

 

Even buildings with conventional boilers can struggle if the heat loss of the building is too great. Many suppliers will be only to pleased to present you with a disclaimer to sign leaving the onus on you to supplement the heating when the system fails. Here at Cathedral flooring ltd we do our best to build in sufficient design even though the cost may be more and we stand the chance of loosing a sale. Cathedral flooring ltd are not restricted to off the shelf products only. If products required are not available from our suppliers we have the experience and ability to bespoke for individual needs.

 

Beware of quotes that are noticeably cheaper than the average. The old saying often rings true, “you only get what you pay for”. If you seem to be getting the labour content free, you are not getting the best materials, operating system or design and you may be making a false economy. By closing up pipe centres and installing extra pipe the floor is able to produce more output but care must be taken not to overheat the floor coverings causing them to fail.

 

Timber, Tile, stone and Lino etc can all be damaged by too much heat. Maximum floor temperatures are 29ºc for the ocupied floor area, 35ºc for areas within 300 mm of an outside wall and 33ºc for bathrooms. These temperatures would be far too uncomfortable for most people. The industry standard surface floor temperature for all wood floors is a maximum of 27ºc.

Recently in two simultaneous tests Cathedral Flooring newly designed proto types and installation methods have been tested laid over a heated screed for four weeks 24-7 with a constant surface temperature of 30 -32ºc and then for four weeks baked under a covering of 18 mm MDF 24-7 to a minimum of 37ºc and a maximum of 42ºc.

 

One test gave 100% positive results and the other showed slight board distortion and gapping but not too a severe extent and with a little remedial work would be acceptable as a finished floor.

 

These proto types and installation methods were designed to give a decreased resistance value and faster response time to be used with lower operating temperatures.

As part of our ongoing development we would welcome any useful information you may have to offer, creative criticism of our publications and enquiries for help with technical matters etc.