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Cork Flooring Over Radiant Floor Heating

Cork flooring is a style of flooring made from cork trees that is resilient and environmentally friendly. One of the many questions you might have about cork flooring is whether it is suitable if you have radiant floor heating. Radiant floor heating uses wires or pipes that carry either an electrical current or hot water through your floors; the heat radiates from the floors. There are several important considerations when installing cork flooring over radiant floor heating.

 

Can You Install Cork Floors Over Radiant Heat Flooring?

The short answer is yes, you can install cork flooring over radiant, in-floor heating. For safety reasons, Forna Flooring products should only be installed over radiant heating that is encased in cement or a cement leveling compound. This encasing then protects your flooring from any damage from water (hydronic) or fire (electrical shortage).

 

What Type of Cork Can You Install?

The recommended type of cork flooring for use over radiant floor heating systems is called a floating floor. A floating floor snaps or glues together but is not affixed to the actual subflooring. This works better with radiant floor heating for two reasons. First, there is less chance that a stray nail or other fastener can puncture the radiant floor heating system during the installation of your cork floor; second, the floating style of floor can expand and contract naturally with changes in temperature due to the radiant floor heating system and its proximity to the planks. Glue-down tiles are not recommended because the adhesive is sensitive to the salts present in water/cement compounds resulting in peeling of the tiles.

 

What is the Maximum Heating Temperature?

Cork flooring should never be subjected to radiant, in-floor heating, that is warmer than 29 degrees Celsius (85 Fahrenheit).

 

What Is the Proper Installation Procedure?

Follow the instructions from the supplier of the radiant floor heating system. Before installation, the heating system must be in operation for at least 2 weeks prior to the installation of cork flooring. This ensures the evaporation of any residual moisture in the cement compound.

The cork flooring should then be allowed to acclimatize to the room setting prior to installation. The standard 48 hours applies to radiant heating as well as a routine installation. The heating system should be set to a suitable room temperature of 18 – 23 degrees Celsius (65 – 72 degrees Fahrenheit) during this acclimatization period. The cartons of flooring should be opened (no need to spread the planks at this point in time) and propped up against the wall for the acclimatization period.

During installation, the system can be reduced or temporarily shut off to allow for a comfortable work setting. Once the floor has been installed the temperature may be increased slowly at the rate of approximately 5 degrees per day, and should not exceed the upper limit of 29 degrees Celsius.

 

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