ᐅ Solid wood parquet on underfloor heating

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about how “perfect” a house has to look for the residents to be satisfied. Nowadays, new is often seen as the ultimate standard, and if you see signs of wear, it’s considered bad.

But when I look at something like an old castle, I see the charm precisely in its age and the effects that come with it. I love oak doors with iron fittings, especially the discoloration of the wood around the metal. Or a city like Prague, with so many beautiful old buildings. People travel specifically to see them because their (worn 😉 ) character is simply amazing.

My conclusion from this observation is that there is a widespread misunderstanding about what makes a good life.

Our parquet floor, installed four years ago, isn’t treated delicately but is well cared for... and if a new scratch bothers me, I think of Prague 🙂 .

In the attic, we are planning to install a thin, glued oak parquet floor over underfloor heating, and I’ve heard that even an 8 millimeter (0.3 inch) thick floor can be sanded multiple times. Sanded? For what reason exactly? I think that’s often exaggerated. Some modern floors are even brushed with metal brushes intentionally to give them a used and cared-for look...

I believe that especially when it comes to taste and personal preferences, there’s always a lot that should remain flexible and much to learn from.

ateliersiegel schrieb:

Lately, I've often been thinking about how "neat" a house needs to look for the residents to be satisfied.

I believe this is very individual, and it’s important to stick to your own taste. There is a social pressure that affects all of us to varying degrees. The skill lies in drawing inspiration from outside without letting it dominate.
We have just finished installing our hardwood floor, and because of the color pigments applied, every scratch and tiny sanding mark shows up clearly. Looking closely at the details, you might call it “worn,” but overall it resembles a pub floor where a new dent never really stands out—it just belongs.
I was curious and a bit uncertain at first, but now I’m quite happy with it. Still, this style probably isn’t for everyone. And yes, it sometimes creaks and will develop gaps, even though we installed it tightly. I’m familiar with that and actually appreciate it because I know I’m walking on 30mm (1.2 inch) solid wood, which I personally like a lot.

Both previous contributors have made many valid points. I feel similar about my flooring; however, I was quite upset for about half a day when the first deep, clearly visible scratch appeared (caused by someone else who did not own up to it). After that, I caused smaller marks myself and stopped getting annoyed about it 😎. My floor (15mm (0.6 inch) click-lock oak parquet on 18mm (0.7 inch) OSB, with 1.5mm (0.06 inch) impact sound insulation in between, and wooden joists beneath insulated with rubber granule mats) creaks and makes noises but feels extremely soft and flexible. Fortunately, it turned out exactly as I wanted, and when I put my feet on this beautiful floor first thing in the morning, it gives me an extremely good feeling.

Regarding underfloor heating... Due to the somewhat reduced compatibility of sprung floors/wood with underfloor heating, I chose wall heating instead, except in the bathroom under the only tiles in the house.

We screwed the floorboards onto floating timber battens with 5mm (0.2 inch) insulation strips in between, and added wood fiber insulation between them. Often, we wished the wood wasn’t so unpredictable, as wide and long solid softwood planks don’t always like being checked with a straightedge. The good thing was that in some spots, we simply screwed a screw directly into the plank from above, and everything looks just as intended (to us 😉).

Basically, it’s like with my old car. Recently, when a truck bumped into it, we had a short conversation and parted on good terms without any claim for damages from me. I would have surely felt and reacted differently if it had been a sleek, polished new car. In that sense, a rather rugged floor is a bit more relaxing.

We had moved our refrigerator on furniture casters and later noticed that the casters had made indentations in the floor. The solution....... the dining table will be placed there anyway :-)

In addition: after a few days, the indentations disappeared again; apparently, the indoor humidity helped, and the slight dents are actually gone — at least I can no longer see them, which is really all that matters!

ateliersiegel schrieb:

I have been thinking a lot lately about how "neat" a house has to look for the residents to be satisfied.

This concerns me as well. I believe that homeowners’ expectations tend to be adjusted by the reality of living in the house, and most ultimately find they can live with it much better than they initially imagined.

HoisleBauer22 schrieb:

What is the recommended thickness for parquet flooring over underfloor heating? I read that without underfloor heating, 8mm (0.3 inches) is good so it can be sanded later...

I’ve heard that parquet flooring is very durable—usually outlasting the occupants. Therefore, it can be sanded down after 20 or 30 years if desired.
The term "sanding" here doesn’t mean refinishing every few years regularly.
My thoughts on this are more related to:

ateliersiegel schrieb:

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about how “neat” a house has to look in order for the residents to be satisfied.

The picture shown is about life in furniture or a house...
We have bamboo parquet flooring, 1cm (0.4 inches) thick, in one room.
By the way, I wouldn’t choose that again because it is very slippery. Our tiles are more practical for everyday use with socks or barefoot. Since it’s also the exercise room, I often slip when barefoot 🙁