Hardwood over heated concrete

[LeighB]

I have a new shop build going on. I have hot water heat in the floor and now I'm trying to decide what floor finish to use over the heated concrete. I was just planning on a Epoxy coating but before I go that route I thought I would look at the possibility of a wood plank floor in the woodworking side. This would be about 900 square feet of the total 1300.

So my question:
Is it possible to put a wood plank floor over the top of the heated concrete without loosing the heating benefit?
I plan to keep the shop ~ 65F.

 

[PassnThru]

Science would say a layer above your heated concrete would be an insulator and you would get less heat. Especially since over half of it would be covered.

 

[kelpaso1]

Science would say a layer above your heated concrete would be an insulator and you would get less heat. Especially since over half of it would be covered.

This is wrong. What you want to do is done all the time. You do however have to do it a certain way IE vapor barrier, width of planks etc. Just google "wood flooring over heated concrete".

 

[kd3pc]

should work fine for floating installs, just take a few more hours to get the wood as warm as the concrete. As kelpaso1 mentions, you need to be aware of the "certain way" as it is critical that the wood be able to move independent of the concrete and mounted on a "dry" surface.

 

[LeighB]

Thanks for the feedback. More dreaming to do...

 

[pbon]

I think it would work best if heated all winter, rather than turned on and off since it will take a while to get frozen concrete and wood warm and then to radiate that warmth into the room.

 

[rlitman]

Heat loops under wood are common, but they are usually run at a higher recirculating temperature than loops under tile or bare concrete. If you're planning to do this, I suggest you at least plan your PEX layout to have a separate zone under the wood.

 

[Showkey]

Link to wood flooring mill and seller on in floor heat issue and precautions:

Best Wood Floors Over Radiant Heat

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