Laminate Floors and Underfloor

doniepony

Just looking for the latest in peoples opinions about using Laminate floors with underfloor heating- I am mainly tiling downstairs but want to use wood in my sunroom and living room. I have heard alot of contrasting opinions from salesmen about using laminate as it does not allow heat to penetrate but then have been to a house where the owner is completely happy with it (and underfloor).

I know there is foiled back insulation and a cork insulation that can be used with laminate and underfloor but just wondering whether people have used these and how they are working out. Not too keen on engineered at the moment as it marks too easily and these rooms will be very busy.

Any advise please.

Gulliver

I have underfloor all over and laminate in 70% of the house and I'm quite happy with it. The tiled rooms and the laminate rooms both have the same rise in temperature in them on a very cold day after the heating has been on.

IMO, I would say it doesn't restrict the heat. I used cork underlay as from what I read, foil or foam ones were not recommended for underfloor.

zrejvpx

We have a single-story with a GSHP driving the UFH. About 45% Laminate and 55% semi-solid (with cork underlay under all of them). I've never noticed an obvious difference between the two (only living in it since the start of March but that month was cold).

doniepony

Thank you for the Reply lads

zrejvpx I have same situation as you as regards Heat Source. I am going to go with the laminate alright- obviously laminate can go from €5 per square yard to €50- did you research any particular brands that are more suitable to underfloor and also have you a rough estimate for the cork underlay per square yard?

Kind Regards

zrejvpx

I didn't do any research as the underlay was included in the builder's price so I just checked it was suitable for UFH. I had a search just there for the underlay he used (Whiteriver) but didn't find any prices, etc.

laugh gov

Same situation myself.

Does anyone know which is better heat transfer generally - laminate or engineered boards?

Ive tried googling it and cant find the answer.

For me I am torn between expensive high end laminate and engineered boards - understanding that there are pros and cons to each which may cancel each other out. I cannot find concrete info on heat transfer between the two possibly because they are very similar. Anyone know the answer?

blast06

Same boat here .... i never to decide in next about 2 weeks. Can't get a definitive anywhere. I only have 2 rooms with timber floors and will nearly certainly go with high end laminate at this stage. However, intuitively the thermal resistance difference between a laminate compared to porcelain tiles throughout much of the rest of the ground floor has to make a difference.
Carpets are a much more straight forward ball game.