Best Hardwood Species Over Radiant Heat Nwfa

The national wood flooring association nwfa put together a radiant heat taskforce made up of many experts from the radiant heating industry including members from the radiant professionals alliance rpa.

Best hardwood species over radiant heat nwfa.

Guide the homeowner in selecting a hardwood floor that is appropriate for their scenario. Engineered wood flooring is more dimensionally stable than solid wood flooring. Certain solid hardwood floors are appropriate as well. Quartersawn or rift sawn flooring is preferable to plainsawn in the search for stability.

When possible choose a species that is known for its stability. The inherent dimensional stability of engineered hardwood floors makes it a great choice for radiant heat systems. With strip flooring the wider the board the greater the potential for gaps between the boards when they contract with seasonal changes in temperature and humidity. Plainsawn wood will move more than quartersawn especially when it is over 4 inches wide.

Together the taskforce developed maximum recommended allowable operating temperature guidelines for wood floors. Types of wood flooring that are best suited for radiant heat subfloor are products that possess improved dimensional stability such as. The nwfa offers information on radiant heat in its technical manual a100. How to install hardwood floors over radiant heat parquet floors are readily used in radiant heat applications.

It s best to follow the manufacturer s recommendation for a species suitability over radiant heat. Types of wood flooring that are best suited for radiant heat subfloor are products that possess improved dimensional stability such as these. Quartersawn wood flooring is always more stable under conditions of extreme moisture or heat and is always a good choice over radiant heat especially when going with flooring wider than 4 inches. Certain species are known for their inherent dimensional stability such as north american oak and others.

Most newer radiant heat systems have exterior thermostats which will gradually bring up the temperature within the floor during the start of the colder season so that the heat will not shock the wood flooring causing the. One of the best options over radiant heat is to use an engineered hardwood floor. Wood flooring can be installed over radiant heat as long as you understand radiant heat and how it can impact wood flooring what precautions to take and what type of wood flooring to use. The types of wood flooring best suited for under floor radiant heat systems should be accounted for to ensure long term performance.