Can You Put Any Material Over Radient Floors
Be sure to keep the radiant flooring heat under 80 degrees fahrenheit.
Can you put any material over radient floors. It also does a great job over radiant heat. This creates a more stable material than solid hardwood. But if you do wish to put radiant heating under solid hardwood use quarter sawn wood flooring instead of plain sawn wood flooring. But think about it with good common sense.
Laminate flooring on top of a radiant heated floor is the perfect solution. As long as proper precautions are taken it is perfectly fine to install laminate over a radiant heated floor. The laminate material is built up with layers of wood that run in opposite directions. You need to use carpet sparingly with radiant heat because of this.
You don t want the heat too high as you could compromise the integrity of the flooring. While plastics and other synthetic and even some natural polymer materials can be risky to use on heated floors natural felt and rubber are always perfectly safe. Laminate flooring replicates the look of solid hardwood flooring or tile flooring without the expense. Engineered wood flooring works better for radiant heating than under solid hardwood.
Quartersawn or riftsawn are also considered better hardwood floor choices. However when using anything wider than 4 consider extra acclimation and use a hardwood floor glue that is recommended by the wood floor manufacturer. Yes you can install just about any type of flooring over a radiant heat system but i would not recommend any type of vinyl flooring. Vinyl plank flooring is a great option for on top of radiant heating especially if you need a flooring that is waterproof.
Carpet is naturally an insulator which makes it more difficult for radiant heat. The heating element should be embedded within a sleeper system subfloor under a traditional subfloor or embedded within concrete. Carpet manufacturers recommend certain carpet padding for their products and a. Thin dense padding is the best choice for a radiant floor and the density adds to the durability of the material.
While all felt pads will last the longest you may need the grip and lower profile of pads with some natural rubber in them. You just have to pick the right materials and the best radiant heat source to make sure the entire room is heated effectively.