Timber Flooring – Can I put engineered timber flooring on top of my underfloor heating?

 

Winter mornings can be a killer so I invested in underfloor heating in the kitchen and living areas about 10 years ago. Since it was time to replace my carpet I visited Carpet Call and fell in love with the timber flooring on display. I was shocked when I found out from Carpet Call that I could install engineered timber flooring on top of my underfloor heating.

The consultant at Carpet Call made an appointment to come and measure my rooms and came up with the great idea of carpet in the bedrooms and engineered timber flooring everywhere else. He checked the floors under the carpet (which I bought from Carpet Call 10 years ago) and then measured every room and triple checked against his plans. 

When we were checking the plans and measurements before I signed to say all good, the Carpet Call guy talked to me about the work involved to install the engineered timber floors on top of the underfloor heating system.

·         The maximum temperature could only ever reach 27C on the surface

·         The Carpet Call installer would insist on a moisture check  to make sure the sub floor did not exceed 60% humidity count

·         The installer from carpet Call would ask me to turn the heating up to its maximum and then to its minimum to check temperature flow

·         We may have to use glue on the upper and lower part of each timber plank groove but the Carpet Call installer would assess on the day of installation

The installation went smoothly and we now have beautiful Kempas engineered timber flooring from Carpet Call throughout our living area with the added treat of no cold floors in winter.

What's not to love about timber floors?

Everyone at Carpet Call agrees that timber, or hardwood flooring if you like, is one of the most environmentally friendly flooring materials. There is no one more passionate about timber and the environment than Carpet Call’s Timber Manager Bill. I cornered him in the office and asked him “Is timber flooring environmentally friendly or is it just sustainability marketing gone mad?"

Carpet Call’s timber guru leaped into action and painted an impressive picture. From the moment it is planted a tree is absorbing carbon and releasing oxygen into the atmosphere. Environmental tick number one!  Carpet Call sources its timber from FSC and PEFC certified forests. This is a very important environmental tick number two! Forest Stewardship Council accreditation means that you can be confident Carpet Call are not contributing to the destruction of the world’s forests and advocates for well managed forests that protect against the displacement of indigenous peoples, water pollution and forest worker’s rights.

Bill added that Carpet Call supports the role the FSC and PEFC play in the supply of timber globally encouraging regular audits of our accredited forests. Carpet Call goes one step further and has worked with Universal Flooring on the development of Engineered Flooring using recycled wood Hevea. Historically, when a tree no longer yields sufficient latex it was burned by farmers releasing excessive amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere. Carpet Call and Universal flooring recycle the trees manufacturing them into multilayer flooring boards. Carpet Call not only sells exclusive beautiful timber engineered hardwood floors but can put hand on heart and say they have helped to dramatically reduce CO2 emissions and protect the environment

I love and care for my hardwood timber floor

The timber installers from Carpet Call have packed up tools after doing an amazing job installing my shiny new engineered timber floors. What now? How do I look after them? What if I scratch them? I know I asked all these questions at the Carpet Call store, I know I asked the Carpet Call guy who came to measure my rooms and check the floor preparation and I know I definitely asked the Carpet Call installers but I’ve forgotten everything they have told me.

Don’t panic! I called the team at Carpet Call on 1300 502 407 and they gave me some helpful tips over the phone and promised to email their Carpet Call Info Guide on Cleaning Timber Flooring.

Here are some of Carpet Call’s tips for looking after your timber flooring

·         Vacuum up the dust or grit regularly. No need to go OCD but get into the habit of brushing or vacuuming the timber floor

·         Use a damp well rung out mop to clean up any marks or spills quickly. Don’t be lazy

·         Carpet Call said to go easy when using cleaning products as it can leave streaks so make sure to rinse it off well with a damp well rung out mop

·         The Carpet Call guys told me about the 3-step rule. Place a matt outside the front door and one inside the front door. My friends will be able to take 3 steps on the mats before hitting the timber floor and this should loosen off any grit or dirt that could damage my floor

·         Invest in a rug. I picked a funky green rug from Carpet Call to match my feature wall and love the fact that I have a warm floor to walk on in the chilly Melbourne winter mornings

Timber flooring and evaporative cooling don’t mix.

Carpet Call admires anyone who attempts to reduce their carbon emissions. The hot Australian climate calls for air-conditioning or cooling on super- hot days. A word of advice from the Carpet Call installers is to research heavily if you are installing an evaporative cooler as incorrect use may damage your floors.

Our Carpet Call timber team noticed a lot of forums dedicated to the damage timber and laminate floors had incurred as a result of evaporative coolers in the home. Carpet Call learned that evaporative coolers saturate the air with moisture. If used incorrectly without ventilation, the excessive moisture may cause timber flooring to expand creating small humps. Carpet Call are aware that if relative humidity exceeds 70% in your room, damage will occur but there is no official benchmark set by manufacturers or the flooring associations in Australia.

Our Carpet Call service team have also found some instances where moisture from evaporative coolers may have damaged the sub floor. Moisture may have rotted the wood under the timber floor planks, causing the subfloor to swell and push the hardwood planks out of place.

Timber flooring is a beautiful natural product but demands care and attention. Feel free to call any of our Carpet Stores if you have any questions on evaporative coolers and timber flooring.