ᐅ Underfloor Heating – Is It Better to Install Tiles or Laminate Flooring?

Created on: 18 Oct 2017 11:46
M
Majin
Hello,

I originally planned to install laminate flooring throughout the entire living area, but during a consultation, I was told that tiles are better for underfloor heating. They warm up faster and retain heat longer, which is also more efficient in terms of energy consumption. They also mentioned that in their own home, they have tiles everywhere except for the kitchen, where there is laminate, and that spot is always the coldest.

Is this a significant difference? I could install laminate myself, but tiling seems different.
RobsonMKK18 Oct 2017 21:30
What is included in your 120m² (1292 sq ft)?

And the installation cost cannot be given as a flat rate; it depends on the size of the tiles.
N
nms_hs
18 Oct 2017 22:13
I don’t notice any difference between tiles and laminate. Our laminate is clicked together.

The underfloor heating operates at such a low temperature that you can hardly feel the floor is warm.
I’m not familiar with the heat transfer coefficients, but with such a small temperature difference, I don’t expect significant variations.

What I would never do is install laminate in the kitchen.
E
Eldea
18 Oct 2017 22:21
We want to try installing vinyl flooring ourselves. We don’t really like tiles—they feel too cold, and if something falls, it breaks.

It doesn’t seem too complicated. We’ll start in the basement and practice there first [emoji16]
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winnetou78
18 Oct 2017 22:36
Looking forward to hearing about your experiences, as I will also have about 80 sqm (860 sq ft) later on.
Kaspatoo24 Oct 2017 19:36
Tiles are generally better with underfloor heating when it comes to heat conductivity and distribution.
Laminate (wood + impact sound insulation) naturally insulates against heat. Not by much (necessarily). Most people say they don’t notice a difference. Some say it doesn’t insulate at all, it just delays the heat transfer, meaning laminate would be slower to respond to temperature changes. Personally, I believe that over time, less heat reaches through, even if it’s just a small 0.5°C (0.9°F) difference as I’m referring to.

Our tiler charges a bit over €30 (about $33) net per m² (11 ft²) for installation.
There is an additional net surcharge of nearly €10 (about $11) per m² (11 ft²) for tiles larger than 30 x 60cm (12 x 24 inches), which I think is overpriced.
For a room of about 15-20 m² (160-215 ft²), I once installed laminate together with my father-in-law in around 3 hours, without impact sound insulation or baseboards.

Of course, cheaper is good quality laminate for €20 (about $22) per m² (11 ft²), installed by yourself.
Anyone who can lay tiles probably won’t hesitate long before installing tiles themselves.
Otherwise, we installed tiles in areas with heavy use. A bedroom presumably doesn’t endure as much foot traffic as a living room or hallway. So in our home, tiles are in the high-traffic areas and laminate in the bedrooms, both with underfloor heating.
C
chand1986
24 Oct 2017 21:43
Kaspatoo schrieb:
Some say that it doesn’t provide insulation either; it just delays heat transfer—in other words, laminate responds more slowly to temperature changes.

Help. Those people should then explain exactly what insulation is!?

The worse heat is conducted, the warmer the underside of the floor becomes when the same amount of heat reaches the surface (when comparing identical material thicknesses). And the longer it takes.