Drew1000 Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 My client wants to put engineered flooring throughout the upper floors including main bathroom and ensuite. There will be UFH in both these rooms so a floating floor with 10mm gap around perimeter for expansion required. I have my concerns about finishing up against the shower tray, fixing the toilet pan to the floor and the height difference between these rooms where they transition to adjacent bedroom and hall. Anyone any experience of this scenario and the problems it throws up. Am I being a bit negative about the whole thing. Appreciate any views from those with previous experience/history of this type if installation and any tips or advice they have. Regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markc Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 EEEk, As the bathroom and en-suite are likely to be fairly small, fixing the toilet pan down is unlikely to cause much of a problem with movement, however, even engineered flooring does not fair well in bathrooms unless its a show bathroom that never gets wet. water gets into the joints (even when fully glued) and caused edges to turn up etc. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Declan52 Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 Don't think you would get away with floating it either. Glued down onto ply with all the ufh pipes underneath. Then floor sealed up. Anything fixed will have to be in an over sized hole to allow movement in the floor. And then fully explain that the floor should be good for a year or so but eventually the water will get in to the joints and then the floor will warp and twist. If they really want a wooden floor then go for a laminate floor that is designed to be installed in a wet room. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeGrahamT21 Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 Pretty sure it would lose any warranty being installed in a bathroom too, as its not suitable for purpose. Karndean flooring is the stuff to use which is suitable, wood effect vinyl 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe90 Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 I would never do that as said above, tell the client you advise not too but you will do it BUT will not guarantee the work (and put it in writing). 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 I wouldn’t do it. If the client insists then it would need them to sign a disclaimer that any warranty was null and void and you were not liable for the floor or any other consequential damage caused by a failure of the flooring. This is the sort of situation that ends up getting nasty when it invariably goes wrong. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Temp Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 (edited) 2 hours ago, MikeGrahamT21 said: Pretty sure it would lose any warranty being installed in a bathroom too, as its not suitable for purpose. Karndean flooring is the stuff to use which is suitable, wood effect vinyl As long as it doesnt get too hot.. https://www.karndean.com/en-gb/floors/guides-and-resources/guides/underfloor-heating-guide#:~:text=Karndean Designflooring is suitable for,C (80°F). "Karndean Designflooring is suitable for installing over underfloor heating systems, providing they have been insulated so that the surface temperature does not exceed 27°C (80°F)." Think they mean "installed" not "insulated". Edited January 5, 2021 by Temp 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Temp Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 (edited) There are some ceramic tiles that look like wood. Is the floor rigid enough for tiles? Edited January 5, 2021 by Temp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Punter Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 How about some ply screwed down at 150mm ctrs in the bathrooms to match the height of the engineered and LVT glued down to this? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeGrahamT21 Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 47 minutes ago, Temp said: As long as it doesnt get too hot.. https://www.karndean.com/en-gb/floors/guides-and-resources/guides/underfloor-heating-guide#:~:text=Karndean Designflooring is suitable for,C (80°F). "Karndean Designflooring is suitable for installing over underfloor heating systems, providing they have been insulated so that the surface temperature does not exceed 27°C (80°F)." Think they mean "installed" not "insulated". Didn't know they had a temperature limit, learn something new every day. Insulated will be right word, they'll be expecting you to put a thin layer of insulation under the LVT to slow the heat somewhat, and stop it peaking above 27C. I guess its easy enough to control with a thermostat, mine never goes above 26C 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe90 Posted January 6, 2021 Share Posted January 6, 2021 On 05/01/2021 at 11:47, MikeGrahamT21 said: Insulated will be right word, they'll be expecting you to put a thin layer of insulation under the LVT to slow the heat somewhat, and stop it peaking above 27C. I guess its easy enough to control with a thermostat, mine never goes above 26C I have LVT over electric mat heating within a thin adhesive but no insulation, floor stat is set to 25’ to stop floor/LVT overheating. I don’t want to stop the heat getting to the LVT but it is limited. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drew1000 Posted January 6, 2021 Author Share Posted January 6, 2021 Thanks all for the replies. Intend showing the client the replies as back up for for own views and see if they still want to go ahead with this. Again many thanks for replies, much appreciated. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markocosic Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 Currently debating what to put in the next house... For what it's worth this is entirely possible. We've got engineered wood in bathrooms - in a house in the UK and the apartment in Lithuania. You don't need the UFH. Wood is warm underfoot and if the bathroom is ventilated then you don't get moisture and this will air dry to the room as well as through drying through teh chipboard / OSB underneath if it's a 1st floor. UK: Cheap 14 mm planks glued onto 18mm 1st floor chipboard with some 4 mm packers and a 4mm thick electric heating wire (never used though...as wood is warm) underneath it. Commercial 2-pack floor varnish over the top after being laid. (which has cracked a the joints pretty much the second it cured, so it isn't waterproofing the joints) Installed by me so glued to all heck. Maintenance? Take care to keep it dry. One bath mat sat in the "centre" of the floor that is moved regularly. House has MVHR with ridiculous boost extract from bathroom so bathroom air is never humid. Been down 2 years. Looks the same as they day it was installed. 8 mm expansion gap with silicone in it to the bath side and to the tiles around the edge. Lithuania: Herringbone oak parquet glued onto screed. No UFH. No varnish on top. Installed by general purpose builders so probably very lightly glued onto dust in a hurry. Minimal say 5mm expansion gap to tiles because she doesn't like to look. She also insists on keeping a mat right by the shower right up to the edge of the floor. As such...it can never dry...and the parquet is loose where you step into the shower. Completely undamaged by moisture though. Just lifting. This has been down 5 years: Wall hang the sink and toilet. Much easier to clean and you can set them at a height for adults instead of 5 year olds. The cheap 14 mm UK boards run into the hall, then transition nicely to 11 mm underlay plus carpet in bedrooms. No height difference; standard thresholds. I also have it throughout the downstairs including the kitchen. Only real maintenance tip is to RAISE all your appliances by the same height as the cupboards and put a plinth under them. Seal the gap between the plinth and the floor BEFORE somebody spills milk. Much easier to keep clean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markocosic Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 Lifting section: (shower needs desperate clean... :-o) Could be fixed by removing silicone, lifting, and re-gluing. Or by leaving the mat on top. Engineered wood itself is fine if allowed to dry IME Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gc100 Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 With engineered wood, I just compare it to plywood. Some are fine in the wet and some are useless. Needs to be the a waterproof glue like Phenolic and either a hardwood or something like birch. The dryer you can keep it the better. I would stand no chance in my house due to kids. We went with tiles in the end otherwise my house would look a mess within a few years given 2 young boys and a dog! We went for this instead throughout the house, aside from bedrooms which I'm so glad we did. Super happy with it. https://www.par-ker.com/en/technology/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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