Can You Use Real Wood Flooring with Underfloor Heating?
Yes, real wood flooring can be installed over underfloor heating systems, but it’s important to choose the right type of wood and maintain specific system conditions to ensure long-term performance.
Solid Wood vs. Engineered Wood Flooring
Engineered wood flooring is generally better suited for underfloor heating due to its stability. The cross-layered construction of engineered boards allows them to resist warping, shrinking, and expanding, which can occur with temperature fluctuations. Solid wood flooring, while durable, is more susceptible to changes in temperature and moisture, making it less stable over heating systems.
When using solid wood with underfloor heating, the wood should have a low moisture content to reduce the risk of expansion or contraction. The wood species also matters—oak and ash are more stable, while softer woods like pine are less suitable for heated floors.
For a more detailed explanation of solid vs engineered wood flooring please read (9. Solid Wood Flooring vs. Engineered Wood Flooring: Advantages and Disadvantages)
Underfloor Heating System Compatibility
There are two main types of underfloor heating systems:
- Water-based (hydronic) systems: These circulate warm water through pipes and are more compatible with wooden flooring, as they provide even heating.
- Electric systems: While these can also be used, they can cause more drastic temperature changes, so extra care must be taken to avoid overheating the wood. Electrical systems are also more expensive to run.
Whichever underfloor heating system you choose, understanding the limitations of underfloor heating and it’s correct usage will ensure the safety and long life of your wood floor.
It’s extremely important to ensure the any underfloor heating system is professionally set to provide an even and balanced temperature across the whole floor area, with no hot spots. The maximum surface / floor temperature for engineered wood flooring is 27°C. If the floor surface temperature is raised above this level catastrophic damage to the flooring can occur.
Additionally, maintaining a stable relative humidity (rH) level inside the property between 40-60% will help prevent the wood from drying out and cracking. If rH levels are increasing above 60% introduce dehumidification. If the rH drops below 40% introducing some moisture, like drying your washing inside or leaving our bowls of water to evaporate will help.