ᐅ Installing oak parquet floorboards on underfloor heating using a clip system without adhesive
Created on: 28 Aug 2019 11:58
G
Gausek
We have underfloor heating embedded in the screed and want to use solid oak planks 20mm (3/4 inch) thick as our flooring. We don’t want to use adhesive because of all the emissions, even though that would obviously provide the best bonding.
Has anyone had experience with these clip systems where the planks are installed floating? The clips are supposedly placed either under the planks or between the wall and the planks.
Of course, it’s clear that the heat transfer won’t be as good as with glued flooring. That doesn’t bother me; we’ll simply heat a bit more if it’s not warm enough. By the way, we have a gas boiler.
So the specific question is: Has anyone had good or bad experiences with clip installation? Or did anyone have the floor lift up because the fastening method perhaps didn’t hold?
Thank you very much.
Has anyone had experience with these clip systems where the planks are installed floating? The clips are supposedly placed either under the planks or between the wall and the planks.
Of course, it’s clear that the heat transfer won’t be as good as with glued flooring. That doesn’t bother me; we’ll simply heat a bit more if it’s not warm enough. By the way, we have a gas boiler.
So the specific question is: Has anyone had good or bad experiences with clip installation? Or did anyone have the floor lift up because the fastening method perhaps didn’t hold?
Thank you very much.
M
M@ssiv08154 Sep 2019 19:36Scout schrieb:
Hello,
I wrote the following in another forum regarding the original poster’s question
Last winter, I installed solid oak planks, 20 mm (0.8 inches) thick, throughout our upper floor (except the bathroom) using staples. It’s a continuous installation spanning two rooms and the hallway, covering about 40 m2 (430 sq ft). The expansion gap along the edges is 18 mm (0.7 inches). We don’t have underfloor heating. So far, we’re very happy with it — the feeling underfoot is pleasant (a bit softer than glued flooring but not as springy as laminate). As an underlayment, we used PE foil (since it’s a new building) plus corrugated cardboard for leveling, below the planks, then screed and polystyrene insulation over the raw concrete slab.
The staples connect the long sides, and I glued the short ends together with a few drops of adhesive (which could be undone and the floor reinstalled). Installing it was hardly more difficult than installing click-lock flooring. Only one row of planks along the staircase side of the hallway is glued down.
The planks were supplied by a company from Wuppertal, which you can easily find online when searching for stapled solid wood flooring. So I can only recommend their system; the wood itself is amazing (“unfinished wildlife oak,” brushed and oiled), very knotty.
The material from that Wuppertal company is exactly what I wanted to order... and it has already been installed at my parents’ place, where it performed really well. Oak, distinctive, sanded/filled, white oiled. It still looks great after several years. There, it was screwed down to a wooden subfloor... but my situation is completely different.
I just don’t know if I can leave the tiles as they are or if I have to knock them out.
Where can I find information about the stapling system? Thanks for the tip — I wasn’t familiar with it before.
Best regards
M
M@ssiv08154 Sep 2019 19:41KlaRa schrieb:
@ M@ssiv0815 :
As a general rule, no parquet manufacturer approves the installation of parquet planks over an electric underfloor heating system. However, with the mentioned construction (cork layer and floating installation of multi-layer parquet), the thermal resistance will increase to a level where very little or no heat is likely to reach the parquet elements.
The reason for this is the rapid heating of electric systems, which may accelerate (under-drying) damage.
As a precaution, I would still switch off the heating circuits if that is possible (based on your information). The question of the available height for the new overall construction is intentionally not addressed here.
Regards, KlaRa Thanks for the advice to completely switch off the heating circuits. I will check if and how that can be done. That way, under-drying damage could be avoided.
I’m not sure if it makes a difference, but I intended to install solid wood planks, not multi-layer parquet.
Regarding the height of the construction, I have already given it some thought. The planks are 20mm (0.8 inches) thick. I think it might make more sense to remove the tiles and sand off the adhesive residue, even though that will probably be a huge task for 72m² (775 sq ft).
M@ssiv0815 schrieb:
I’m not sure if it makes a difference…but I wanted to install solid wood planks, not engineered parquet. Oh yes, it definitely makes a difference! Engineered parquet does not develop the same warping forces, even when underdried, as solid wood planks do. Depending on how the boards were cut from the log, forces can arise due to the wood’s growth both after underdrying and also after overhumidification (though that is another matter). These forces can no longer be controlled with a floating installation. Therefore, solid wood planks should always be glued to the subfloor. However, in this case, the floor heating system is electric, using heating cables.
The effort to remove the tiles is indeed significant, although not unusual. The question is whether engineered parquet with a lower build-up height might provide the same benefits as solid wood parquet, especially since the latter is not intended to be glued down!
Regards, KlaRa
We have solid wood planks installed as a floating floor with a thickness of 20mm (¾ inch), and it works perfectly! It would be interesting to know why they would necessarily have to be glued? The manufacturers also approve floating installation. Naturally, the floor can sometimes make noises when installed floating, but it is a natural product after all. Gaps can occasionally appear, but they can be pushed back together and are not significant. Of course, we don’t have underfloor heating, but our supplier also approves the planks for that application.
One potential issue can be an insufficient expansion gap around the perimeter. In such cases, the floor may cup under certain conditions. This has happened on our ground floor, where only rather narrow and 15mm (⅝ inch) thick planks are installed. Otherwise, we have had no problems at all!
One potential issue can be an insufficient expansion gap around the perimeter. In such cases, the floor may cup under certain conditions. This has happened on our ground floor, where only rather narrow and 15mm (⅝ inch) thick planks are installed. Otherwise, we have had no problems at all!
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