Floor Tiling

Floor Tiler

Since our teams are expert floor tilers for wet rooms on top of underfloor heating, they are very well placed to install floor tiles in any room or section of your property. Regardless of whether or not you have fitted underfloor heating our teams can install floor tile in kitchens, hallways and porches - so regardless of the size of the room we can sort all of your tiling requirement.

Tile are increasingly popular due to their hard wearing attributes in hallways and porches which is where we are also seeing an increase in underfloor heating. Often hallways will be quite narrow and a radiator will be an obstruction or there will be no radiator creating a cold spot within the house. As a result whenever a door is opening in another room a convection current is created by the different air temperatures which will cause the cool air to rush into the warm room. By installing underfloor heating in a hallway will heard wearing floor tiles you will eliminate these problems and future proof your home.

Floor tiles, whether stone or ceramic, are designed to withstand higher impacts so in high traffic areas such as hallways they provide an excellent way of providing a quick and easy floor type to clean without you ever needing to call in a professional carpet cleaner to deal with a dirty trampled down carpet which will be the first thing you see as you step into your property. If you are considering increasing the areas of floor tiling in your home please get in touch to discuss options with our team of experts.

Tiling Floors

The other factor which we touched upon regarding floor tiling is the hygiene factor. Especially following the Covid outbreak, tiled floors can be cleaned quickly and easily. For dog owners in particular floor tiling provides a great way to clean up dog hairs and quickly mop up and paw prints. We are seeing an increasing number of home replacing their carpets with floor tiles across the whole ground floor - often when undertaking a kitchen refurbishment. Running the same floor tile across the whole floor creates a more spacious feel but can be personalised room by room with wall and floor accessories such as rugs, which also help to dampen sound and still allows rooms such as living rooms to have a cosy feel to them - especially with underfloor heating coming up through the floor tiles.

Floor Tile Alternatives

By far and away the most popular floor choice on top of underfloor heating is floor tiles but what are the best options to maximise the efficient transfer of heat to the floor's surface?

At the top of the list are ceramic and stone tiles they have the highest thermal conductivity however the choice of styles, patterns, colours and sizes is massive so finding something, which you can agree on, should always be possible. They are durable, stone tiles very much so - so once fitted should last decades.

The other exceptionally good alternative in terms of thermal conductivity is polished resin or screed. Whilst historically these would more commonly be found in commercial premises they have become quite 'vogue' and once heated are very good at retaining the heat acting as a thermal store, which means that your underfloor heating costs will be kept to a minimum.

Whilst wood or even engineered wood can also be suitable for use with underfloor heating laminate flooring has a few more benefits so should be considered if you are wanting a more of a 'wood finish'. The construction of laminates mean that they will be much less prone to warping than natural wood. Because laminate is more susceptible to expansion than tiles, there are a few particular pointers that need to be adhered to. Firstly the setting on your underfloor heating should prevent the temperature from getting above 27˚C to prevent laminate damage. To allow efficient heat transfer laminates under 18mm should be selected. The expansion of laminates need to be factored into the installation, so our team will either leave a small expansion gap around the edge of the floor, hidden underneath the skirting board to allow for this to prevent possible buckling.

Vinyl or Linoleum are also good choices to use with underfloor heating as with laminate care should be taken to ensure that the maximum temperature does not exceed 27˚C. Including a floor sensor is an ideal way of protecting your vinyl or laminate floor from exceeding recommended temperatures.

Just to cover all major floor types we'll give carpets a quick mention. Generally they are not commonly used with underfloor heating as they provide the lowest heat transfer levels so are the least efficient choice. If it is chosen low tog rating should be used - ideally lower than 2.5 when combined with the underlay, when using electric underfloor heating. If your home is fitted with solar panels and electricity is therefore much cheaper, than this may still be viable however, since you will have to compromise on carpet thickness compromise is the keyword here.

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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