They have never tested their system using Hardiebacker or any other type of board, only ply. The problem with no more ply is that I believe it is thermally insulating, so I assume it would stop the heat getting through to the tiles that will be fixed to the board.Īnother issue is that both Continental and Omnie state that unless 6mm or greater ply is used they can't offer any guarantees. However, Hardiebacker boards must be laid on a full layer of adhesive and I'm not keen on the idea of putting adhesive over all the pipes.Īnother possibility would be no more ply as this can be installed using grab adhesive, so I assume I could just run the adhesive between the pipes, like I would when gluing ply. I considered using Hardiebacker boards, 6mm or possibly 12mm as these are cement boards and so will be much better at conducting the heat and I get the impression they are just as strong as ply, if not stronger. While I understand that the 22mm routed boards require the plywood to complete their structural integrity, I don't like the idea of having wooden sheets above the UFH as wood is not a good conductor of heat. Because the boards have pipes running along them, the glue and screws can only be placed between the pipes. Because the boards are pre-grooved they must be strengthened by gluing and screwing a minimum of 6mm plywood sheets. The Continental boards are called oneboard and details can be found here.īoth systems are identical in terms of installation. The Omnie boards are called torfloor and details can be found here. My bathroom previously had 18mm chipboard with 9mm (I think) plywood sheets screwed and glued and then tiled over. They both sell a system using 22mm chipboard that has been routed to accept 12mm UFH pipes. We can advise you on how to achieve interlock, and steer you on how to get it all working.As part of my bathroom refurbishment, I'm looking to purchase an UFH kit from either Omnie or Continental Underfloor. If you find yourself in the position of dealing with a curious customer and are stuck for answers, send them in the direction of our blog! Alternatively, if you have any further questions related to our underfloor service, or would like to speak to one of our friendly team, don’t hesitate to get in touch! You can contact us on 03, where our team of experts will be eagerly awaiting your call. In summary, it’s easy to understand why many customers assume that they cannot expect to combine both systems, but it’s all pretty easy stuff. It is technically possible to have a mixed system added onto an existing Y-Plan with a three port valve, but our advice is to avoid that world of pain and go S-Plan. No bypass is needed with the UFH system because the controls and wiring centre provide the necessary electrical interlock that means the boiler doesn’t fire when there is no demand. Our suggestion is to just approach it as normal and have a towel rail or similar without a TRV, or fit an automatic bypass valve. Another consideration is how to achieve an open or bypass zone for the radiators if you use TRV’s on them, so you avoid the situation of closed TRV’s but the boiler running. The other option is to use programmable thermostats for the underfloor (one per zone comes as standard) and a separate programmable stat for the radiator circuit. You’ll ideally go the S-plan route, and use two-port valves to ensure boiler interlock and control, one for the rad circuit and one for the UFH circuit, but this is no different to using S-plan to control one radiator heating circuit and domestic hot water (DHW) Some planning will need to take place on how you time control the system, so if you are using simple rotary dial thermostats for the rads and underfloor then a two channel timer will be needed (or a three channel to also control DHW). Two port or three port? S-Plan or Y-Plan? And what about a bypass? Of course the issue then is huge chunks of steel on your walls but…. The other option is to have the boiler set at a low temperature (so 40☌), dispense with the underfloor blending valve, and use oversized radiators which will compensate for the lower flow temperature running in them. By far the simplest is to design the radiators for a normal flow temperature (lets say 60☌) and have both the radiators and underfloor heating sharing the same feed from the boiler prior to the zone valves, then relying upon the built in blending valve and pump connected to the manifold to lower the temperature to circa 40☌ before it enters the UFH system. With both systems requiring a different temperature of water, it can often be questioned as to how these two systems can work alongside each other.
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