Heating Help

replacing wood floor over radiant

Hello.

I am attempting to have new floating hardwood/laminate wooden floors (as well as carpet in other rooms) installed over an old radiant heated concrete slab.  Currently, there are thin wooden parquet tiles on the floor, and I'd like to replace them with the floating floor/carpet.  Since it's cheaper to just place the floating floor ON TOP of the wooden tiles, can this be done without compromising the heat coming out of the slab?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Jammose

New Flooring

The pre-engineered flooring should be applied directly over the slab, not over the existing parquet floor. This will reduce the R-value and allow the new flooring to transmit the heat from the slab without additional insulative layers. A thin pad of either rubber or 1/8" foam is placed over the slab prior to the "floating floor".

removing tiles

Thanks Paul.

The problem with removing the parquet square tiles, (that happen to be VERY thin), is that it seems like they were glued down onto the concrete and if they will be removed may raise other issues for the floor installers.

Do you believe that the heat will be considerably affected by leaving the tiles on?

Thanks,
Jammose

Yes

The thermal output of the new floor will be affected by leaving the parquet in place. Usually a heat gun is used to soften and remove adhesive used with wood tiles that were originally glued. Watch for flammability when using a heat gun.

Thanks

Thanks for the info.  Much appreciated!

Thanks

Thanks for the info.  Much appreciated!