When you are going to install underfloor heating in a new property, which very many architects are prescribing these days, there are some things that you need to take into account.
The first is the type of underfloor heating, because you have a choice of electric or water based systems. Electric systems are very quick and easy to install, and relatively cheap too. However, the price of electricity is such that they can be expensive to run, and not only that, but it is only going one way.
Water based systems are more expensive to install and they take longer as well. Where you can roll out an electric heating mat in half an hour, a water system will take a couple of days because it has to be right. However, once you have the system up and running, it will be considerably cheaper to run than an electric one, and the savings will continue for as long as the building lasts.
liquid floor screed
You also need to take into consideration the type of screed that you are going to use to cover the heating mat or heating pipes. You need to cover the heating pipes, if you are using a water system, and the actual depth will depend upon the type of screed that is used. If you use a traditional sand and cement screed, it will need to cover the heating pipes to a depth of at least 75mm because you don’t want the screed to curl or crack.
However, if you use a liquid floor screed in Gloucestershire, it only needs to cover the heating pipes by 30mm, making a total depth of the screed of 45mm. That uses a lot less material to cover the pipes than a sand and cement screed requires. Not only that, but liquid screeds do not curl, and shrinkage is absolutely minimal.
Another very big advantage of liquid screeds is the speed of installation. When you use a traditional sand and cement screed, it is often mixed on site and then barrowed on to the substrate where it is then laid by a worker on hands and knees using a trowel. This is a time-consuming process, and there can also be issues with gaps and voids around the pipes. So, there can be variations in the mix of the screed, although on larger sites today the screed is often delivered ready mixed.
Up To 20 Times Faster
A liquid screed is always delivered to site ready mixed and is then pumped on to the substrate using a pump and long hose. Compared to a labourer on hands and knees, this is far faster. It is reckoned that using a liquid screed can be up to 20 times as fast as sand and cement. This makes a big time saving, which is important on any contract, and it saves on the cost of labour as a result.
Not only that, but because the screed is in liquid form it will totally envelop the heating pipes which is what you want. If you have gaps and voids, which are almost impossible to avoid when trowelling a screed on manually, then the heat will not be transferred evenly into the room. With a liquid screed, it will always be evenly heated across the whole floor.
Another advantage of the liquid screed is that because it is laid thinner than sand and cement it heats up faster, so you need less energy to get the room up to the desired temperature. That saves some more money on your energy bills.
liquid screed
There is even another saving that many people do not spot, and that is the thermal efficiency of the screed material itself. A liquid screed in Maidenhead has nearly twice the thermal conductivity of sand and cement, and so that also helps it to heat faster, again saving more on the energy bills.
Another advantage of using a liquid screed is the fact that it dries very quickly. You can walk on a liquid screed as soon as it has hardened, which can be as quickly as 24 hours after it is pumped into position. It will certainly be walkable within 48 hours. This means that other tradesmen who need to work on the site are not unduly held up waiting for the screed to dry.