Effects of radiant heat on hardwood floors?

Joe_8

Greg,

As you may have heard, it all has to do with moisture content.
I was concerned about this during a remodel, as was the homeowner. After research, we both learned that older seasoned wood would sustain no adverse reaction to the drying effects of radiant, because it was essentially dry. Newer wood may suffer some effect, because of the embedded moisture in the cells of the wood.
This led the homeowner to purchase older wood for the remodel, and after 5 years there have been no ill effects.
Hope this helps.

Joe

Greg Kousidis

Hardwood floors & radiant heat.

Does anyone know what the potential adverse effects radiant heat could have on hardwood floors? My understanding is that you have to run a substantially higher water temperature due to the insulating effect of hardwood, thereby drying out the wood. Is this true? and if so, then why would one choose to use radiant with wood flooring?

Al Letellier

radiant under hardwood

We see very little problems with hardwood flooring heated by radiant. If the job is done correctly, and you watch floor temperatures, you shouldn't have a problem.
The manufacturer we use for most of our radiant installations strongly recommends quarter-sawn, narrow hardwood with a moisture content under 6% to minimize warping and shrinkage. Keep the floor temp around 80 degrees and everything should work fine. But the key is in proper calculations and installation.

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cruizer

follow manufacturers recommendations

Plenty of information about hardwood floors and radiant heat can be found at the following websites:

http://www.hardwoodcouncil.com/display_tip.asp?artID=140

http://www.woodfloorsonline.com/techtalk/woodwater7.html

Though the articles are pretty much the same.