ᐅ Solid wood parquet on underfloor heating

Hello everyone,

Yesterday, we had an appointment at our hardwood flooring studio. We were recommended a solid hardwood floor from the company ALI Parquets. It is supposed to be fully glued down.

Another supplier recommended a two-layer engineered wood floor from Bauwerk.

Online, you often read that solid hardwood flooring is generally not suitable for underfloor heating. Is that true?

Unfortunately, I can’t find many reliable reviews about either manufacturer. Does anyone happen to have one of these installed in their home?

Best regards

If you ask the parquet supplier, they will probably say that underfloor heating is not a problem.
If you ask the heating engineer, they will only recommend tiles or glued vinyl.
The fact is, wood has a lower thermal conductivity than, for example, tiles.
In the end, you will probably still be able to heat the house adequately.
Gluing the floor is definitely not a mistake when it comes to underfloor heating, since the air gap in floating installation acts as an additional insulator.
However, some people prefer the walking feel of floating installation.

That's how it is. If you ask three people, you'll get five opinions. In this case, wood has an insulating effect, and the thicker it is, the more energy is needed to heat the air above it. This heat transfer happens not only upwards but also downwards and sideways.

I see it the same way. From a technical perspective, it’s probably best to walk directly on the screed, or there are even better materials than screed for this purpose. Ultimately, the desired outcome, balanced with feasibility and cost, always determines such a decision.
And that’s exactly the “area of tension” you’re navigating here. In the end, you can do any of it, and none of it is wrong.
In my case, I prefer the feeling of floating flooring over glued-down, even though I recognize the technical advantages of the glued method. I would hesitate about what to choose, but I could live well with glued flooring too.
As I mentioned, we currently have floating parquet installed, and the underfloor heating works perfectly. I don’t measure this in any scientific way, but go by my own experience, which has been good.
The same applies to two-layer or multi-layer flooring—there are always pros and cons. I have looked at the two suppliers you mentioned… well… they are just two more options on the market. There isn’t much information available about them, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything.
It also depends on whether you plan to install the flooring yourself.
Our oak prefinished parquet, for example, is very easy to install yourself.
I always recommend trying out different options in person whenever possible, even during COVID, to get a feel for them. Some suppliers offer the option to install solid wood planks as floating flooring over the screed, which they then fasten with clamps—this is also a viable option.
So—now you’re not really any closer to a decision; but I think you can do it either way without any mistake.

Many years ago, I rented a place with underfloor heating beneath parquet flooring. It was never cold.

It definitely should never get cold in a rental property. The question is, of course, by means of which methods.