Under floor heating - what should I check?

[r_c]

We are having a wet underfloor heating system put into a new extension, and I was wondering what things I should look out for as a homeowner to make sure it is being done properly. (I say 'properly' because the quality of the work done so far on the house is questionable.)

There were 'cold spots' in the kitchen of our last house, and I'd rather catch things like that early on.

For example, is there a test to make sure the pipes are water tight before the screed goes in? Should the pipes be a certain distance from walls, etc. Should they be fixed? Should the piping be a special type?

Any advice/tips/pointers/knowledge would be gratefully appreciated.

 

[Agile]

Best way is to use a proper heating engineer.

NEVER use a builder!

Tony

 

[Dan Robinson]

Where are you in the world? How far is the project along? You're in a dicey game second guessing those involved so far but at the same time getting what you are paying for.

Don't start too many threads on this though.

 

[r_c]

Agile and Dan, you obviously know that I already have concerns about our 'heating engineer'. I thought I should start a separate thread as it seems a different topic to my other thread as that was about a gas pipe and this is UFH.

Dan, I'm in north Herts. UFH work hasn't started, they're still putting a roof on the extension (for the new kitchen). There is a floor, but I think it's what they lay the insulation on that goes underneath the pipes.

 

[Dan Robinson]

Probably a block and beam floor, they then put Celotex down, clip the ufh to that and pour screed on that.

Pipes should be at designed centres and pressure tested before screeding.

Designing and laying ufh isn't rocket science, but we use a company to design it from drawings just for the reassurance.

You tend to leave the spaces where units are going but it doesn't matter how close to the edge you go as long as you have the edging insulation. Some even concentrate the pipes near double doors etc.

I'm not sure what Tony is blathering on about as I do some of my best work for builders....

The key thing is that I am a dedicated Heating engineer brought in rather than a permanent employee trying to keep costs down.

I liase with the builder's chap to make sure things are as expected.

 

[DP]

Best way is to use a proper heating engineer.

NEVER use a builder!

Tony

Get off your hobby horse..... What if the builder knows what he is doing
Not suggesting that is the case here but to say EVERY builder is a knob is a bit rich
Not so long ago you said every HA plumber was an idiot
Then you claimed hardly anyone used Sentinel X300, but you did
You also advised gas pipe could be flattened to pass behind a soil pipe

Some of your posts are funnier than Buster Keaton or Fatty Arbuckle movies

OP, would advise pipe be pressurised and stay pressured throughout the installation process, perimeter insulation is in place, fixtures like kitchen unit do not have pipe underneath

Dan Robinson is you man on topic of UF heating

 

[DP]

One I did recently (only two to my name ), area with no pipe is where an island cabinet is to sit

 

[muggles]

We are having a wet underfloor heating system put into a new extension, and I was wondering what things I should look out for as a homeowner to make sure it is being done properly. (I say 'properly' because the quality of the work done so far on the house is questionable.)

There were 'cold spots' in the kitchen of our last house, and I'd rather catch things like that early on.

For example, is there a test to make sure the pipes are water tight before the screed goes in? Should the pipes be a certain distance from walls, etc. Should they be fixed? Should the piping be a special type?

Any advice/tips/pointers/knowledge would be gratefully appreciated.

Make sure you're getting a properly designed system rather than just a man throwing some rolls of Speedfit on the floor and hoping it works. Most UFH manufacturers will give long guarantees on their pipe not bursting. It should be filled completely with water and under continual pressure test before, during and after screeding.

 

[r_c]

properly designed system

Where does one go to for this? Do you submit your layout to a company and they send back a recommended path to follow for the pipes?

 

[muggles]

Yes. I use Nu-Heat

 

[Dan Robinson]

I use Ambiente in Welwyn Garden City. Their designs are far more detailed than nuheat.