Floor Levelling

Floor Levellers

From our perspective as well as yours having a level, flat floor is important from an underfloor heating and floor tiling perspective.

Firstly you want your heating to be even around the room but also you want to ensure that no damage to the floor is likely to occur due to poor floor preparation. Having a level floor from a flatness perspective minimises the likelihood of tiles or grout cracking. With a flat floor the tile has nowhere to move to and therefore the only possible way a tile would break would be an accident where a large heavy or sharp object was dropped onto the floor. When considering a slope in the floor, whilst underfloor heating helps evaporate water from the floor you don't want a situation where any build up of water runs towards a wall, away from the tanked shower area and provide a risk for water seepage.

Levelling a Floor

When installing a wet room as mentioned having a level floor is important for the bathroom. The only are which is an exception to this rule is under the shower itself. The floor needs to be set to have a deliberate slope so that water from the shower flows towards the drainage hole. When installing a traditional wet room the floor under the shower will be a seamless continuation of the floor tiles used in the rest of the room.  To achieve the slope to the waste pipe a wet room tray is used to create a designed slope toward to the waste hole.

Wet room trays themselves are also provide an additional protective water layer. These trays come in various sizes and designs wi the design focussed on the position and size of the drainage hole and the form of the tray will naturally slope to wherever the drainage hole is positioned. Typically the drainage will be shaped as either a square grate which will be positioned underneath near to where you are most likely to stand under the shower head or it will be set so that when the tray if fitted it will form a longer narrower water run away which will be nearer to the wall where the shower itself is. The latter is becoming more popular as this minimises standing on the waste grid itself.

The wet room shower tray provide the angles for the tiles to follow and therefor cuts are made to floor tiles to allow them to follow the shape and slope of the wet room tray. These will be subtle yet ensure that all the water from the shower flows away towards the waste water pipe.

Floor Screeding

THere are a few options we have when floor levelling however, in the vast majority of cases the actually levelling aspect will be achieve used a certain type of screed. If there is deflection in your floor we will strengthen it with additional support and ply boards. Waterproof membranes and insulation board then provide a base on which to lay screed which is primarily a mixture of sand and cement but different screed contain additional bonding agents and other substances which will favour one type of screed over another depending on the existing floor status and what will be fitted on top. Our team will asses the situation and decide on the most suitable screen as part of our total install service.

Screeding is a great way of levelling and works extremely well with when laying underfloor heating providing an excellent base on which to then lay tiles. A nice flat surface means tiles can be laid perfectly level and you will have a professional floor tile finish. In fact it provides a great foundation for Luxury vinyl tiles and laminates too.

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Frequently Asked Questions

  • Which underfloor heating system is best?

    Best will depend on your budget, the size of your room and what floor surface ideally you would want. Our team can discuss the finer details but as a general rule of thumb: for a single room such as a bathroom or wet room - electric underfloor heating is cheaper to install. If you are looking at underfloor heating for a whole floor say constructing a self-build house, then based on current heating costs, a wet system running off your boiler would be cheaper to run longer-term. 

  • Can you fit underfloor heating under vinyl or laminate flooring

    Yes - laminate flooring is also quite a good option for underfloor heating. Heat efficiency decreases as the thickness of a laminate floor increases so to have effective underfloor heating through a laminate floor you should aim for laminates less than 18mm in thickness. The same principle would apply to wood flooring too.

    If you definitely want underfloor heating but perhaps need to shave costs elsewhere, a vinyl floor or luxury vinyl tiles (LVT) in a bathroom is a great option.

  • Can underfloor heating problems be fixed?

    Depending on what the issue is will depend on what can be fixed. As a general rule if the installation of either wet or electric underfloor heating has been tested before, during and after installation and fitted properly the pipe or cable will be protected by surrounding layers - it is unlikely to get damaged in normal use and should therefore be reliable for many years. The most likely issue will be a fault in the thermostat. If that is the case a simple thermostat replacement will get you back up and running again.

  • Is underfloor heating expensive to run?

    If set up properly underfloor heating can be more efficient than traditional central heating although not by much. Under tiled or stone floors on the tiles have been heated they retain the heat and work in a similar principle to storage heaters meaning that the floor will stay warm and give off heat even without electricity running through it. 

  • Why have underfloor heating?

    One of the main advantages of underfloor heating is the space-saving it provides and the even heating within a room. 

    Whilst modern radiators have come a long way over the years in terms of design and efficiency they still can be seen as an eyesore. As a result, sometimes sofas or other items will be placed in front of them which then results in a poorer circulation of heat. 

    Underfloor heating can be laid across the whole floor, even across irregular shaped rooms to ensure even heating throughout