Pocster Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 Hey all! I'm trying to work out/guess where UFH shouldn't go Under kitchen units Under stand alone fridge freezer (better not ever relocate it!) Under bath? Under toilet - I assume not as pointless and also depends on type of toilet; might need bolting to the floor In a porch? i.e. area between front door and 'inner' door What do we think?; anywhere else in a 'normal' house Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 In present house we fitted the hall and the landing with their own UFH zones. Total waste of time and pipe. There is so little external wall to lose heat, and so much internal wall to gain heat from other rooms, that these never turn on. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pocster Posted February 9, 2017 Author Share Posted February 9, 2017 Ok just thought of another place under stairs - I mean where the bottom stair joins the floor - it might need fixing to the floor depending on staircase type ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Alphonsox Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 You may want to think about your floor coverings. We have a room that has thick carpet and underlay. We decided not to bother with UFH as it would have to run significantly hotter than the rest of the tiled/bamboo areas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 Our UFH avoids all these zones: - Under all built in furniture (kitchen and utility room units, plus the kitchen island) - Downstairs WC units and the WC itself - Under the space where the staircase runs (which is partially boxed in as a cupboard) - under all internal stud walls. It also shouldn't run under shower trays or baths. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pocster Posted February 9, 2017 Author Share Posted February 9, 2017 Ah I was going to say stud walls. So I would need to somehow mark out these areas and run the UFH around them. Once the screed is poured though; how can I be sure (whilst drilling into the floor!!!) I'm not going to hit a UFH pipe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crofter Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 With my house being so small, the furniture layout in the bedroom is pretty much set in stone, i.e. there is only one place that it is remotely sensible to put the bed. So... can or should I not bother putting UFH under the bed? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russell griffiths Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 44 minutes ago, pocster said: Ah I was going to say stud walls. So I would need to somehow mark out these areas and run the UFH around them. Once the screed is poured though; how can I be sure (whilst drilling into the floor!!!) I'm not going to hit a UFH pipe? Have a chat with the ufh guy, I have the same problem spinning in my head. My thoughts are that if a pipe was 150 mm from the face of an internal wall on both sides you would have a gap of 300mm plus width of wall between pipes. If your setting out is ok I would think that's loads of room to get the wall in the middle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pocster Posted February 9, 2017 Author Share Posted February 9, 2017 (edited) I was thinking of somehow attaching upstands to the ufh piping at those points so they poke through the screed ! Edited February 9, 2017 by pocster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 52 minutes ago, pocster said: Ah I was going to say stud walls. So I would need to somehow mark out these areas and run the UFH around them. Once the screed is poured though; how can I be sure (whilst drilling into the floor!!!) I'm not going to hit a UFH pipe? Here's a photo showing the yellow lines marked out before the slab was poured, showing where all the walls, kitchen units etc were going to go. This is from the Kitchen end, and the square is the kitchen island: And this is from the other end, showing where a a stud wall is going to go, with the pipes laid either side of it: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vijay Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 I popped into one of my future neighbours house who has UFH. He pointed out a huge mistake in their kitchen where they planned to have fixed units, so didn't fit UFH. Yep you guess it, they didn't end up with the fixed unit and now they have an area in their large kitchen which doesn't heat up the same. I can't really get my head round leaving spaces out as surely the concrete will still heat up by sucking heat from the heated concrete? Is it not a better idea (albeitmore cost) to a layer of insulation on top of the floor where you don't want heat coming up - unless it's things that are completely fixed like kitchen islands, stairs, showers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 (edited) 6 minutes ago, Vijay said: I popped into one of my future neighbours house who has UFH. He pointed out a huge mistake in their kitchen where they planned to have fixed units, so didn't fit UFH. Yep you guess it, they didn't end up with the fixed unit and now they have an area in their large kitchen which doesn't heat up the same. I can't really get my head round leaving spaces out as surely the concrete will still heat up by sucking heat from the heated concrete? Is it not a better idea (albeitmore cost) to a layer of insulation on top of the floor where you don't want heat coming up - unless it's things that are completely fixed like kitchen islands, stairs, showers? The slab does, very, very slowly, end up the same temperature all over, yes, but it heats up first, and a bit more, where the pipes are. with low temperature UFH, like ours, I doubt is makes much difference if the pipes did run under the units, TBH, as we only run at a flow temperature of around 24 deg C, so there's not a lot of heat to worry about. It's not worth the faff of adding insulation on top, as all it would do would delay the heat getting through, as the space under units hasn't usually got a free flow of air through it. Edited February 9, 2017 by JSHarris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NSS Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 We left out all that's been mentioned above, but wish we'd also created a mat well inside the front door as don't now want to risk cutting one in the floor due to the UFH pipes below Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 3 hours ago, NSS said: We left out all that's been mentioned above, but wish we'd also created a mat well inside the front door as don't now want to risk cutting one in the floor due to the UFH pipes below We're much the same, these Part M, low threshold doors, make it awkward to fit a normal doormat. We're hoping that I can just cut out the travertine flooring neatly, and that the 12mm to 15mm depth gained will be enough to fit a doormat. The problem is one of having the courage to start cutting the flooring...................... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pocster Posted February 10, 2017 Author Share Posted February 10, 2017 (edited) 13 hours ago, NSS said: We left out all that's been mentioned above, but wish we'd also created a mat well inside the front door as don't now want to risk cutting one in the floor due to the UFH pipes below Wouldn't that be ok as I assume your screed is at least 50mm?; but appreciate the risk regardless! Edited February 10, 2017 by pocster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pocster Posted February 10, 2017 Author Share Posted February 10, 2017 So does no one fix (somehow) markers at the corners of each non UFH floor section that protrude up through the screed?? I definitely want to do this; so no guessing when fixing to the floor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted February 10, 2017 Share Posted February 10, 2017 1 hour ago, pocster said: So does no one fix (somehow) markers at the corners of each non UFH floor section that protrude up through the screed?? I definitely want to do this; so no guessing when fixing to the floor If you have plans and choose a good reference that isn't going to move, then you can just use measurements to find the safe zones. That's all I did. The guys laying the UFH had the same plans that I had, so it was easy to just chalk on the floor where the pipes were. Having loads of photos helped a lot too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pocster Posted February 10, 2017 Author Share Posted February 10, 2017 Sure. I just "worry" that it takes just the 1 mistake (cm either way) and it's a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted February 10, 2017 Share Posted February 10, 2017 If the pipes are at least, say, 100mm clear of anything, then it's not that likely that you'd make an error big enough to go through one. I think we allowed around 400mm clear zones where the stud walls were going, for example, so there was a fair bit of leeway for small errors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crofter Posted February 10, 2017 Share Posted February 10, 2017 Why not just dowse for the UFH pipes 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pocster Posted February 10, 2017 Author Share Posted February 10, 2017 19 minutes ago, Crofter said: Why not just dowse for the UFH pipes Lol! If that would work I'd do it!!!. You know what will happen by not being 100% certain where a pipe is. One day a "modification" will be required by SHMBO ; and regardless of photo's or any measurements I'll be *gambling* I'm not going to hit a pipe. As sods law will be at work......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanR Posted February 10, 2017 Share Posted February 10, 2017 I thought I knew where all my pipes were...apparently I'm not able to keep track of 2.5km of pipe: I'm sure it wasn't laid that close to a shower drain, but that's where it ended up. In truth it was an easy fix...but your heart sinks when you notice the manifold pressure has dropped to zero. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pocster Posted February 10, 2017 Author Share Posted February 10, 2017 I'm sorry to hear that IanR ; but that's exactly my point! You'll measure from a wall and keep a note of it. Then when you need to drill down; you have the measurement but the wall may of been boarded or skimmed anything ; then it's guess time!!! No; I'm going to find something I can stick in the floor insulation next to the UFH pipework to denote a UFH free area!. Once I'm floor tiling I'll then measure from finished wall to point; so there's some accuracy . Also will take a photo ; and make a note of which tile the edge of the UFH was at. Perhaps spray permanent paint on tiles that have no UFH beneath them!; just to be safe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NSS Posted February 10, 2017 Share Posted February 10, 2017 Why not tie a tie wrap to the extremities of the pipes runs and leave the end poking up through the screed. If you used them then to mark the free areas after the floor has been laid you can then cut them off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onoff Posted February 10, 2017 Share Posted February 10, 2017 I AM running my bathroom UFH where the wet room corner is (far left) but I'm having a Geberit wall drain rather than traditional waste. Figure it'll dry the corner out quicker but hopefully not the trap. I very nearly continued the UFH pipes up the wet room corner walls! Nothing under the bath. I've also run it under where the wc will go but that's wall hung. So I'll have warm feet as opposed to warm, wet feet when the kids miss! The hoovers roughly where the bog's going, cupboard on the left as you walk in not heated either as it'll house the (dirty) linen basket: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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