Radiant under 8\" oak?

GW

thanks for all the comments, I will proceed with due care.

Gary

<A HREF="http://www.heatinghelp.com/getListed.cfm?id=368&Step=30">To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"</A>

GW

Radiant under 8\" wide oak?

I've never done radiant on wide plank- what are the rules I need to obey? I've heard conflicting thoughts over the years.

gary

To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"

Andy_17

you might run into problems w/ cupping or in extreme case splitting of the material. Never installed on anything wider than 3 1/4" before. If it's a new floor install talk them into using engineered planks & save a headache.

hr

Humidity control, low as possible

supply temperatures, and plan on some movement.

hot rod

To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"

Paul Pollets

Kahrs

I'd be using a pre-engineered product. Kahrs and Rappco both make wider (up to 6") planks that are "radiant ready". I've never seen 8" oak in pre-engineered. If using solid oak, I'd also be using the Bollinger method under the oak. (2 sheets of ply)

To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"

kevin coppinger_4

I did a job...

w wide planks up to 17" wide using quick trac...it was carlise brand stuff Very $$$. I had it sit for 1 month prior to the job in another part of the house that already had radiant. the customer was very fussy...its been two heating seasons...they love it. I t is the job featured in my find a pro...kpc

To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"

GW

carlise

Kevin, what is carlise? This is conventional oak; am I good if I'm very clear (on paper too) that the temps can't handle high temps? Even 80* floor temps would help; the system currently had hydro air and the 2.5 story great room is the source if the owners unhappiness.

To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"

kevin coppinger_4

Carlisle wood floor

wide plank flooring. The point was that wide planks can be done if it is treated properly before it is put down. Moisture content 5% or less...let is acclimate very well..pile it so air can move through the wood...etc.
80f is usually fine in some instances 85F...if you can't maintain the temp at design temp then suplliment it w/ a panel radiator or the such....kpc

To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"

S Ebels

Gary

You write the spec and it's done to that spec or nothing is warranteed, period. I would write up something that details how and how long the plank is acclimated. If you don't have a wood moisture meter, I'd get one and test the wood before the flooring guys nail it down. A simple probe type will tell you what % moisture content is in the wood. (Testo makes a good one)
Acclimating is not simply piling the wood in the house for a couple days and then unboxing it and nailing away. The wood must be removed from the cartons and stacked in such a manner that air can circulate around each piece, commonly known as "stickered" or shimmed between each layer on the stack.


Limiting your floor temp will help but you may need to consider or provide a secondary source of heat for the room. Panel rads with TRV's work great as they'll seamlessly pick up the load that the floor can't make.

After all that, promise the homeowner that they WILL see some movement in planks that wide. It's the same sort of fact as the sun coming up in the east every day. Wood moves and the wider the piece the more noticeable the movement. If you have 2" plank that shrinks 1/32" of an inch, that's not real noticeable, but if the plank is 8" and moves the same %, you now have a 1/8" gap and that will generate some "comments". I'll bet my best hat on it.

GW

correction

this is a one year old house, one year old oak floor, and it currently has HVAC, so THIS is the supplimantal heat, whatever it emits is fine. It's backwards from what is typical. The HO knows this as well. So, does this change any answers?

Gary

To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"

kevin coppinger_4

install it...

and play w/ the temp...use plates and show them in writting that there could be some "cupping"...hey they will have warm toes! kpc

To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"

Mike T., Swampeast MO

Inherent Vice

As long as you keep your floor temp at/below the industry-accepted max of 85°F, the heating system won't be the cause of problems. Here's a link to one experiment by a wood flooring supplier.

BUT, 8" wide white oak flooring is nearly guaranteed to have significant movement unless the humidity is very tightly controlled--think something like those temperature/humidity controlled chambers with dataloggers that you see in museums... If the wood is plain sawn, not only is the movement greater, but it's not distributed evenly and significant cupping is nearly guaranteed.

Even with fine, old-growth, quarter sawn wood the old-timers knew this to be the case. There's VERY GOOD reason why they typically used strip flooring with an exposed face 1/3 as wide as the strip is thick.

Most modern wood floor manufacturers and installers are HIGHLY aware of the inherent vice of wide-plank flooring. Most homeowners don't want to hear about such problems and since the profit margin is high for this supposedly "premium" product, they gloss over or completely ignore the issue.

Put heat under those floors and when the problems occur, you'll become the skapegoat. Everyone will attempt to blame you when the problem is not related to your heating system.

Insurers are HIGHLY aware of "inherent vice". Opals have a natural tension inside that makes them prone to falling apart for no apparent reason. Wife opens the jewelry box to see her nice big opal ring in pieces. Tries to make an insurance claim and it's denied due to "inherent vice" even though you have a separate jewelry rider to the policy. Insurer will not pay. (I know about this problem first-hand.)

Similarly you should specifically state in both words and writing that you, as a competent heating contractor, are in no way responsible for the inherent vice of such flooring!