Warm floor under the parquet board - which is better?

Many people wonder: is it possible to lay a warm floor under parquet boards? Of course, the heating system in any case creates a temperature load on this type of flooring. When exposed to high temperature over time, parquet boards will begin to expand, which will lead to their deformation. And the features of the wood itself in the parquet can cause the low efficiency of such a system. Therefore, the answer is ambiguous, and it is worthwhile to deal with many nuances that need to be taken into account when arranging a warm system for parquet strips. We will try to answer the question: underfloor heating under a parquet board - which is better so that you can make the final, right choice.

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Parquet board definition

Parquet board has long been replaced by classic parquet, which, due to its high price, alas, is not affordable for everyone. This is an excellent solution for those who want not only a beautiful, but also a warm floor, because such lamellas are no worse than natural wood. Let's deal with this type of flooring.

Planks consist of such basic layers:

• Expensive wood at the lowest level of production.
• The base of the plank is made of strong wood species, the fibers of which are laid perpendicular to the previous (lower) layer.
• The top layer is veneer, on the surface of which patterns and drawings of natural raw materials are visible.

Important! For cheapness, manufacturers often replace the middle and lower layers with cheaper wood substitutes. That is why when buying this material we recommend looking at the lamella in a cut form.

The list of natural wood substitutes:

• Particleboard (waterproof) - used for the middle layer.
• MDF - used for the lower layer.

By bonding all three of the above materials by gluing, you get a high-quality and durable coating. Parquet flooring has good thermal insulation properties, due to which experts do not recommend laying boards on a warm floor system. The only thing that will help to avoid swelling of the coating is the correct choice of the flooring of the parquet board. So, for example, products with a middle layer of maple and beech are not recommended to be used because such wood species do not tolerate thermal effects.

Important! To reduce the differences, it is desirable to lay lamellas with a thickness of 12-15 mm. Thin boards will quickly dry up, and thicker ones will impede the flow of thermal energy, which will lead the entire heating process to zero.

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Why is laying parquet on a warm floor not effective?

Parquet flooring in itself is a very warm material, but many users want additional heating by installing a “warm floor” system. Not always these two relationships will give a positive result. The reasons for this incompatibility are the following factors:

• Parquet is made of wood, which is an excellent insulator that prevents the penetration of heat from heating elements of the warm floor.
• Lamels from natural raw materials are highly sensitive to high temperature and high humidity. Under the influence of these factors, boards can crack and lose their original appearance.
• For fastening a parquet board, self-tapping screws are often used. It is with their help that a plywood substrate is installed. Without the participation of these fasteners, it is almost impossible to lay a floor covering, but they can damage pipes, an electric cable or a film with a circulating coolant. This can lead to failure of the entire floor heating system.

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Types of underfloor heating

Now consider the issue of underfloor heating under a parquet board - which is better. Under the parquet board, you can make the following types of heating systems:

• Infrared Such a system has the form of a polymer film in which graphic elements are mounted. In the process of heating, they emit a certain thermal energy in the infrared range, which is transmitted to a certain type of coating.

Important! For parquet boards, which will be used in conjunction with an infrared heating system, it is undesirable to heat the material to a temperature above 28 degrees.

• Electric. Such a warm floor is considered a profitable solution from an economic point of view. Thermal cables acting as heating elements impart heat to the surface coating.

Important! Do not forget about the big drawback of this heating system - laying electric cables in combination with wooden materials can lead to a fire hazardous situation in your apartment.

• Water. The heating element is plastic pipes through which water heated to the desired temperature is continuously circulating. This heating is the best solution to increase the room temperature in combination with a parquet board due to the fact that the floor will heat up evenly. It is worth noting one more important plus - in case of failure of water heating elements, your wooden coating will not be able to catch fire, unlike previous types of heating.

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Parquet board for underfloor heating installation. Installation Recommendations

If, nevertheless, you decide to install a warm floor under parquet slats, then it will not be superfluous for you to familiarize yourself with the rules and basic recommendations of specialists. We designed them like this:

• Use the floating method of laying a thermal heating system for a wooden floor. This will allow the floor to move under the influence of thermal vibrations. Using this approach, you can prevent premature destruction of the slats.
• To the concrete base you need to attach a plywood substrate using two-component polyurethane adhesive. For additional fixation of the boards, it is advisable to use self-tapping screws, which should be installed in previously designated places. Just do not use them too much so as not to reload the wood and create a cause for its deformation.
• It is better to put the thinnest plywood under the parquet board, and then the “warm floor” system. So you can prevent negative temperature effects on the outer coating. But do not forget that this method will slightly reduce the effectiveness of floor heating.
• It is better to install the strips with special metal brackets that allow you to connect the boards together without additional fastening to the base. It is worth noting that this method will allow you to naturally adjust the narrowing and expansion of the lamellas at possible temperature differences.
• Make sure that the parquet is heated evenly throughout the floor, which will prevent deformation, and subsequently the destruction of wood materials.
• After installing a small area of ​​the heating system, test several times the joint work of two adjacent coatings. Such actions need to be done so that if a malfunction is detected, you can adjust the most optimal temperature regime.
• Laying a warm floor under a parquet board should be carried out by qualified specialists in their field.

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Stock footage

We hope that our article helped you understand the question of whether it is possible to make a warm floor under a parquet board. You are the owner of your home, so it’s up to you to decide whether to undertake such repairs at all. A warm floor is, of course, good, but high-quality and wear-resistant flooring is much more important. Better to make a good carpet so that your legs are warmer and the flooring is calmer.