You’ve said goodbye to winter with one prevailing thought: “I need to get underfloor heating for next winter!”

Smartly, you have decided to get your floor heating installed as soon as possible so that you can avoid the inevitable winter rush.  You will start next winter warm and cozy, happy that you’ve already had your heating installed and now you don’t have to wait out the longer lead times like other families might.

Speaking of installation, let us give you a quick overview of why you should get a professional flooring installer to fit your heating for you.

Underfloor heating requirement

Underfloor heating is not the simple off-the-shelf item that some may think.  Sure, there are finished goods that can quickly be picked to fill an order, but that doesn’t make it easy to buy if you don’t know what it is that you may need.

When you have decided that you want underfloor heating for your home, you should choose a qualified installer that specializes in the product you have chosen, whether it be electric or hydronic floor heating.

Your installer will go through the available options with you and advise on the correct product to be used for your home and budget.

Some points that your heating installer will take into consideration when drawing up your underfloor heating plan are:

• Your specific floor covering and what the best product will be to heat your floor
• Rooms that are south facing or has high ceilings, this will require differently specified heating
• If your subfloor is smooth, and undamaged enough, for the selected product
• What the room size is and what wattage is required for that size
• What thermostat would work the best for your chosen product

Preparation for underfloor heating

Your installer should supply you with a breakdown of the heating you require per room, the number of thermostats you require, as well as offer you the option of added insulation.

So what else will your heating installer tell you in the preparation phase?  For starters, he should advise you on your subfloor’s condition and the time-frame for screed drying.  Installing your underfloor heating on top of a badly prepared subfloor is a one-way ticket to an on-site damaged product, rendering any factory warranty null and void!

After your subfloor has been treated to a layer of self-leveling screed, your heating can be installed.

Underfloor heating cables, mats, and pipes

Your new home heating product can be cables, heating mats or, in the case of hydronic heating, pipes.  All these items have very specific installation requirements, not only to ensure that they are in line with factory warranty requirements, but also to ensure that your heating is fitted correctly and will run seamlessly.

Some of the considerations for installation are:

• Cable spacing
• Pipe spacing
• Where the plug point and thermostat will be
• Laying out heating mats so that there is no overlap
• Covering the required floor area

Do you know what you are doing?

Most installers have been trained on the underfloor heating products they install.  In fact, some heating manufacturers may insist on regular refresher training for all the installers that work on their products.  On top of that, they do heating installations every day!  On-site troubleshooting can be resolved quickly and efficiently by using a professional heating installer.

This also means that the installation will be finalized a lot sooner than if you had to do it yourself.

Electricity is dangerous!

Installing electric underfloor heating is not dangerous.  Not when you know how to do it safely!

Thermostat installation is also a breeze for professional installers, as they are aware of electrical safety measures, and will ensure that the installation is done safely and within the required laws surrounding electrical installations.

Warranty

Your underfloor heating product will come with its own factory-backed warranty.  However, if you do the installation yourself, you may very well accidentally void this warranty.

A professional installer will not only be able to do the installation in line with factory requirements, but many of them will offer you their own, in-house, warranty on top of the product warranty.

For answers to all your underfloor heating questions, don’t forget to follow our blog and check us out on our social pages.  #warmupsa can be found on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram and Google+.

#Warmupsa has partnered with renowned brands Viega Fonterra, OJ Electronics, Marmox, and Heatmiser, to bring you another sustainable heating solution.