Insulation Board increasing height on concrete subfloor...

[stewie]

Hi All,

Im new to the forum and underfloor heating in need of a little of advice....

Im in the process of renovating my kitchen (which is a galley) and looking into underfloor heating on the middle run (5mx 1.2m). I have removed previous tiles and in process of taking up previous adhesive.

The problem /Question I have is that I feel from reading other posts I need insulation boards to retain as much heat from the UFH but installing them will bring the level of the kitchen up considerably to the Adjoining rooms (Dining & Bathroom) and will have a different level to the floor underneath the kitchen units (not as much of an issue).

1) Do I take 6-10mm out of the concrete to accomodate the insulation board (Plenty of work) bearing in mind there are various pipes under the concrete which may insert a spanner in the works

2) Accept that im going to have a 10mm (minimum) different height and adjust all ajoining floor heights as and when those rooms get renovated which may be a while.

3) any other suggestions welcome?

I basically have had the schedule changed by my builder/kitchen fitter which means I have less time to prepare for my tiler (who has not had much dealing with UFH and hate computers but he would like to hear various options from here to see whats best).

Many thanks in advance for your Help.

Stewie

[Sir Ramic]

Insulation is the way to go IMO. Deal with the height difference by using transition strips/Threshold strips.

[stewie]

Spot on, many thanks for the quick response.

Ive looked at getting Underfloor Heating | Electric | Floor Insulation | Frost Protection | Uheat and noticed they do a product called ekoboard, all the specs look good for my job. Is this ok to be tiled over (dont want any grief from my Tiler) and is it a good idea to use SLC compound over the UFH matts or is it ok to just use adhesive?

do Underfloor Heating | Electric | Floor Insulation | Frost Protection | Uheat offer discount for forum members as it looks like they are a big part of the site?

Cheers Again ;-)

[Sir Ramic]

Yes you could use Ekoboard. I do prefer the coated boards they sell (Marmox tile backerboards) although they do say they have the same compressive strength !

I would use SLC over the UFH everytime.

[TF Ed]

same advice as sir ramic.

[stewie]

Thanks Chaps,

Im just looking to source the Adhesive, insulation boards & Grout he said he prefers to use Bal Adhesive etc but he has an open mind if I want to buy anything esle (but on my head be it ) what adhesive do you recommend for this job and where would be a good place to source for the best price? (online or the Bristol area)

[Uheat - Keith]

6mm insulation boards. (We say Ekoboard for concrete base - Marmox etc for ply/chipboard base)
If using a 6mm insulation board the overall extra thickness needed is 8mm: 6mm board with 2mm powder flexible tile adhesive under the boards to fix.

Elektra MD160 or MD200 Underfloor Heating Mat for installing on to concrete based floors or insulation boards where the floor finish is to be Tiles / Slate / Stone etc. (MD160 at 160w/m2 - MD200 at 200w/m2.)

After the Elektra mat is installed a powder flexible self-levelling compound / powder flexible tile adhesive is used to cover the underfloor heating & fix the floor finish. ( 6-8mm in total not in addition to the 3.9mm cable thickness ) SLC, then FTA is 2 stages. Cover and tile together with FTA is one stage.

So, in order of getting best from the system:- a) 6mm Boards & MD200. b) 6mm Boards & MD160. c) MD200. d) MD160.
Order of height for each of the systems:- a) & b) approx 15mm + Tiles. c) & d) 7mm + Tiles.

Just tell us 'Tilers Forums' for that extra discount.