Vinyl Floors
Electric underfloor heating can be installed beneath a variety of flooring finishes, including carpet, wooden, tiled and vinyl floors. With any finish you choose, you must ensure the subfloor on which you wish to install your heating solution is suitable.
If you are using a vinyl floor, you should ensure that the base is either finished with solid screed or concrete, and that any joisted wood floors are covered with exterior water and boil proof (WBP) plywood. If you are installing over to well secured and sound waterproof chipboard, or 18mm floorboards, then you can either cover these with 12mm WBP plywood or our tile backer boards.
In order to maximise the efficiency and benefits of any underfloor heating system, it is essential that the floor is well insulated.
We offer three options when it comes to installing heating underneath vinyl floor coverings:
- Heating mats (available in either 100w or 150w)
- Loose wire system spaced no closer than 65mm between loops
- In-screed
Finally, before selecting a suitable underfloor heating system, you should ensure that the vinyl flooring product you are using to cover the finished surface is compatible with heating of this variety. Some vinyl flooring can be damaged by exposure to such heat, and can become warped and discoloured. You should check with the vinyl flooring manufacturer and ensure that the maximum temperatures it will be subjected to are within the tolerances of the heating solution you choose.
Heating mats
our mat system is one of our most popular choices for use in underfloor heating and is supplied in 2mm thick mats. Essentially, the same technology as our loose wire system, the cable has been pre-laid at our factory to make installation quicker. When laying underfloor heating, the spacing between the cabling is essential to get the heat output right and, with our matting system, this has been done for you.
Heating mats are an excellent way to take the chill from a floor, and are suitable for most areas in the home, including kitchens, dining rooms and living spaces.
Installing the system is simply a matter of rolling the mat out over your floor and removing the cable from any awkward spaces that require trimming into. After laying the mats, they must be covered with a levelling compound at a depth of approximately 8-10mm. This must be suitable for use with underfloor heating, and we can provide assistance with this.
Once the compound has set, you can install your vinyl floor finish according to the manufacturers’ instructions.
It's best to slightly under order as the cable CAN NOT be cut at any point.
Loose heating cables
If your space is more awkward to fit around than an expansive area like a dining room, you might wish to consider our loose cable system. Ideal to install around fixtures like bathroom suites or small kitchens, our 2mm system is supplied as a continuous roll of heating wire.
The flexibility of laying the cables yourself offers greater flexibility to fit the system into even the most unusually shaped spaces.
The system also offers the installer the option of customising the heat output of the system by varying the spacing between the cables. Rated at 10w per linear metre, spacing of 6.5cm between loops would deliver a 150w/m2 output, while a distance of 7.5cm would result in 130w/m2.
With the loose cable system, it is best to under-order, as the cable should NOT be cut at any point.
As with the mat-based system, your loose cable installation must be covered with a suitable levelling compound to a depth of approximately of around 8-10mm. It is recommended that you refer to the manufacturers’ guidelines to select the correct compound, or ask us for more advice.
Once the compound has set, you can install your vinyl floor finish according to the manufacturers’ instructions.
It's best to slightly under order as the cable CAN NOT be cut at any point.
In-screed heating
In-screed cables are specifically designed for a floor that has been prepared with foil-faced insulation (Kingspan/Celotex) and with screed installed at a minimum depth of 50mm. The cables are spaced according to the desired heat output (usually 200w minimum) and are considerably thicker, at 6mm, than our other cable system, as they are required to heat a much larger base. Rated at 17w/m2, your vinyl floor can be laid once the screed has fully dried.
In-screed heating is usually installed in new builds, conservatories or extensions, and should not be laid onto wooden floors unless covered by screed first.
Again, you should always under-order your cabling system, as it is not possible to cut the cables at any point.
It's best to slightly under order as the cable CAN NOT be cut at any point.