Underfloor heating

The Timberwise flooring can safely be installed on an underfloor heating system. Larch is not recommended to be installed with underfloor heating if you are not able to guarantee a permanent condition of relative humidity between 35 – 60Rh. In drier conditions cracks may appear. The underfloor heating must be evenly distributed over the whole floor area. Before installing the flooring, the subfloor must be allowed to dry for approximately 2 weeks.

Please follow the instructions below:

  • Raise the temperature daily by approximately 5°C per day, until the heating efficiency is about 50% of the maximum. Do this in the summertime as well.
  • After this, raise the underfloor heating to the maximum temperature for a period of 3 days.
  • Lower the heating power to allow the surface temperature of the underfloor to fall to 18°C. Ensure good ventilation during heating and cooling.
  • Install the flooring according to the instructions.
  • Raise the temperature gradually over 5 days, but ensure that the temperature of the wood floor surface never exceeds +25°C. At this stage, never cover the flooring, not even partially. Relative humidity must at all times be 35–60%. The recommended room temperature is 18–24°C. Under other conditions, the flooring may expand or shrink more than normal. The manufacturer, seller, or installer cannot be held responsible for these kinds of changes.

The following matters must be taken into consideration when installing the flooring on top of underfloor heating:

  • The floor’s surface temperature must not rise above +27°C. Note that regular loose carpets raise the floor’s surface temperature by approx. +2°C!
  • Floor temperature must not fluctuate regularly by more than 2°C during one day.
  • A moisture barrier (e.g. 0.2 mm-thick PE plastic, seams overlapped approx. 200 mm or taped) must ALWAYS be installed together with underfloor heating, regardless of the subfloor material.
  • Use an expansion joint to separate floor areas which do not have underfloor heating.
  • We recommend installing underfloor heating cables or ducts at no less than a 30 mm distance from the underlay material of the Timberwise parquet.
    • in wooden floors, an air gap
    • in concrete floors, a filler layer.
  • If the underfloor heating cables or ducts are installed at a distance of less than 30 mm from the parquet underlay material, the surface temperature of the flooring must not exceed 27°C.
  • Cork grain underlays are not recommended.