Engineered vs. Solid Hardwood over radiant floor heating
Janna Andrews
15 days ago
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Comments (8)
Minardi
15 days agoRelated Discussions
help choose: hardwood floors/no radiant heat OR linoleum/yes heat
Comments (9)Hola, Sorry, forgot to post layout: And no, we're not thinking of using our huge fireplace as a heat source. My kids have asthma, so all the tiny particles from wood burning or pellet stoves are not good for the kids. And I don't think they're that environmentally friendly. If we have the money, we would do geothermal heating. Here's our house in about 20inches of snow last year (does this help your decision, since it's nice and warm today?): plllog: "You have young children. You have a budget...Then the children can spread out their painting projects on the floor, roller skate, or whatever. Real linoleum, such as Marmoleum, is an ecologically friendly choice...you can easily replace it when you decide you want hardwood. In fact, you can do the subfloor as if you're getting hardwood... Then it's easy to mop. And you can make the change when the kids are older and you feel like spending the money--or not." These are my thoughts exactly!!! roobear: "Hardwood is better for resale, it would add value to your home, it can be refinished etc. Plus, it would fit the period and style of the house better." EXACTLY! The flip-side of my thinking as well. If I'm going to do hardwoods later, why not do them now and enjoy the benefit of the flooring, rather than pay twice? I've also thought about the heated rugs; the Japanese use them all over their house. circuspeanut: "have cold feet 6 months out of the year" Argh: sometimes it feels longer. cleo: "using engineered hardwood floors" Great idea, but because we installed some in our previous house, I really did not like them. My main concern w/ them is wear and tear, especially in between the planks. What happens if water (or raw meat juice) gets in between and swells the ?particle boards, etc? lovilynne: "have you considered DIY wood" Oh, while my house is not historical, it seems like it with the uneven floor, no insulation in the walls, etc :) We are DIY the hardwood floors for the 2nd floor right now. The learning curve was HUGE for us. And I'm not sure about my skills w/ hardwood floor over radiant heat. "they make a special heater to go under the cabinet" Oh!!! Can you please tell me more? Do you have pictures to share? Hmmm......See MoreLVT with radiant floor heating vs. hardwood?
Comments (4)We have 2800 square feet of LVT throughout the first floor of our ranch house, bathrooms and kitchen included, and it is gorgeous. They were professionally installed; the subfloor was leveled so that there are no door transitions or height differences throughout, and it is a stunning look. Downstairs basement is engineered hardwood. If we ever need to redo the floors in the basement, it will be LVT. There is no going back; it is just too lovely and practical. The cork backing of the LVT makes the floors very comfortable underfoot, and they are very quiet. I considered tile with radiant heat until I spent a week in a beach condo with tile floors; they felt too hard under my feet....See Morehardwood vs engineered hardwood vs vinyl?
Comments (9)Definitely choose wood. Vinyls are great, however, for resale value, wood is the absolute best ROI especially for the main living areas. You can choose an engineered or solid- whichever makes most sense. We are able to provide engineered HW that can be sanded and refinished just as many times as solid. If the wear and tear is something you are worried about, consider choose a floor that has a reclaimed look with a strong grain pattern and saw markings that can hide many of the scratches and discrepancies that will happen over time. If that specific design isn't your style, consider a light color floor. Oiled floors are a decent choice because fixing superficial scratches are relatively easy. Oaks are good because of their graining and if kept a light color- will be able to disguise many of the scratches. You can ALWAYS sand and refinish your floors a few years down the line if needed. Plus, when you go to sell and the floors have been lived on- they can be sanded and finished for the new buyer. A vinyl floor will need to be replaced. Hardwood is more expensive at the moment, but they actually end up paying for themselves years down the line with the proper care and maintenance. Or you can choose wood in the dining and great room and a tile in the kitchen. SJ McCarthy has a good recommendation for hickory and oak. Another option is Character Maple(make sure it is hard maple). If you really want to be bold- go for Brazilian Pecan. :)...See MoreElectric radiant heat with engineered hardwood
Comments (10)From a thermodynamics standpoint, the wood flooring may slow the transfer of heat a bit, which will result in a little more lag, but heat is not going to be "lost." My neighbor and I have essentially the same house design, with hydronic heating of bare concrete floors downstairs and plywood subfloors with carpeting upstairs. About a year ago my neighbor replaced all his carpeting upstairs with engineered flooring and has reported no problems. With any radiant heating there is always a lag as the heat source first heats up the surrrounding materials, and it can be a long time for concrete to heat back up once it's cooled. In fact, if I lose power for an extended period of time in winter the house cools slowly, but it can take almost 8 hours for the house to get back up to normal temperature when the power comes back on. That's why we don't have a night setback thermostat since the swings in temp are so slow. Having said that, I don't think what you're contemplating will create major problems and should work ok, and you may have less lag with your setup than I do with my concrete floors....See Moredan1888
15 days agoUptown Floors
15 days agoJanna Andrews
14 days agoJanna Andrews
14 days agodan1888
13 days agolast modified: 13 days ago
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