FAQs
Underfloor heating can be used under almost any floor finish – from concrete pours to carpets and stone tiles to natural wood, laminate, vinyl and more. The best flooring finishes for floor heating are those with good thermal conductivity to distribute the heat evenly and quickly throughout the surface of the floor.
When you receive your samples, take your time reviewing them to make sure that the tone and texture are perfect for your project. A great tip is to put the samples on the floor/wall in different parts of the room where they are to be fitted as different light can subtly change the appearance of your samples.
Use your samples in a mood board. A mood board is a great way to start your interiors project.
We encourage our customers to see as much the product as possible. Pictures are a great start, and viewing the a large display is even better. Our showrooms in Forteviot showcase our entire product collection. Here you will find large floor displays, large panels, wall panels and outdoor displays.
Maybe you have a friend or family member who has a Strathearn floor? Pop round for a visit, and bribe them with cake or wine!
Tiles and natural stone can vary in shade and size from batch to batch, due to production methods or glazes, and so a sample may not be 100% the same as the final product, although we do try our best to reduce this to a minimum.
Oak flooring can sometimes vary in shade too depending on the batch, due to production methods.
We do undertake regular quality checks on all our samples, and we take our time to check the samples that go out to our customers are a good representation of the product.
Sample deliveries are typically within 3 – 5 working days dependent on stock available at the time. If you have not received after this time, please contact us on info@stoneandtimber.co.uk with your order number.
You can order 3 free cut samples from our website. If you require more cut samples, please contact us and we can arrange this.
Full tile samples are available for purchase on our website, and you can buy as many as you wish/we have in stock. Should a full tile sample be out of stock on our website, please contact us and we can order this for you.
To order a sample, simply visit the product page of your chosen tile, natural stone or oak product, and select which type of sample you would like to receive. Alternatively, you can email or call us and we can arrange a sample to be posted to you or ready for you to collect from our showroom.
Both electric and water underfloor heating systems are much more energy-efficient than traditional central heating systems. Using floor heating can improve the air quality of your home and keep you warm and cosy all through the winter months whilst providing you with lower energy bills too.
Underfloor heating uses radiant heat which heats objects directly and maintains the natural humidity in a room, whereas radiators tend to make a room dry and stuffy. Traditional radiators also need to be heated to a high temperature, usually between between 65-75°C to heat up a room, whereas floor heating only needs to run at a temperature of 27-29°C to warm up a room – thereby consuming less energy and keeping your energy bills far lower.
You can further increase the efficiency of an underfloor heating system with the installation of Warmup Insulation Boards and by using Smart technology. Using a Smart controller such as Warmup’s 6iE WiFi Thermostat for Underfloor Heating with their connected smartphone-based apps, can optimise your underfloor heating system, providing you with an automatic heating solution that only runs when you need it.
Retrofitting underfloor heating into an older property is certainly possible. If your home features suspended timber floors, there are several available water underfloor heating systems available on the market which can be installed within the voids beneath original timber floorboards. This can be a complicated project, typically involving installing the system ‘from above’ or ‘from below’- from above meaning taking up the floorboards and from below meaning removing the ceiling in the floor below the room in which the floor heater is to be installed.
Electric systems can be easily installed into older properties, simply use the original floorboards as a subfloor onto which the system is installed and cover with a new floor finish of your choice. Timber also makes fantastic subfloor for underfloor heating as it is a naturally conductive material which distributes heat effectively.
In most cases no; underfloor heating does not need planning permission. However, if your home is a listed or a historically significant property, it is recommended to check your plans with a qualified surveyor or architect.
Electric underfloor heating requires no connection to a boiler or other heat source and is simply connected directly to an electricity source and controlled via a separate, dedicated thermostat.
For water underfloor heating, the pipework is laid into the subfloor and connected to the heat source via a ‘Manifold’ which regulates the flow, pressure and heat of the water. This heat source can be a standard combi-boiler, electric or gas boiler or a ground source / air source heat pump.
Underfloor heating is a much more hassle-free heating solution than central-heating, with little to no maintenance required.
Warmup offers market-leading warranties on all their products. Most of their heating systems come with a Lifetime Warranty for your peace of mind and they also provide a SafetyNet Installation Guarantee which protects you in case of accidental damage of the floor heater or heating pipe while installing the system.
The temperature limits of underfloor heating are typically informed by the chosen floor finish with which it is to be installed.
For wood, carpet and vinyl flooring, 27°C is the optimal temperature and for stone and tiled floors 29°C is recommended.
Underfloor heating is an increasingly popular heating solution for homes across the world and is frequently used as an energy-efficient replacement for central-heated radiators.
Whilst electric floor heating is frequently used as a secondary source of heat in your home – it is especially popular in bathrooms and kitchens for its ‘invisible’ heating solution – it is possible to heat your entire home with a combination of electric systems. A wet underfloor heating system is ideal for heating whole-floors of both new-build homes and retrofitting into older properties.
In short, no. If you have a system in mind that you wish to use, or if we believe there is a more suitable system for your project, we will happily discuss these options with you.
Warmup’s electric underfloor heating systems are highly suitable for refurbishment projects and new builds, and nearly all electrical systems can be fitted onto existing subfloors and work with almost all flooring finishes.
Electric Underfloor Heating is a cleaner, more efficient way to heat a home. Floor heaters require much less energy to reach optimal comfort temperatures than traditional centrally-heated radiators and when installed in conjunction with Warmup’s Smart Thermostat, you can expect huge savings on heating bills too.
Warmup have a wide range of systems, catering to a variety of project requirements and budgets. When refurbishing older properties, subfloor movement can cause cracking of the floor finish. Warmup’s new DCM-PRO system combats this problem as the self-adhesive underside of the mat acts as a self-healing decoupling membrane; protecting your floors from damage. The installation of electric floor systems is quick, easy and clean. However, it is important to involve a qualified Part P certified electrician in the project to ensure that the electrical distribution is designed and carried out correctly. Installing electric floor heating has allowed millions of homeowners a warmer, more comfortable home with great personalisation of heating schedules.
There are a couple of ways that flooring can be finished off around radiator pipes. After cutting round holes into the flooring slightly wider than the pipe diameter and fitting the tile/plank around the pipe, we could infill the small gap with silicon to match the grout colour or oak mastic to complement the oak flooring. Alternatively, radiator pipe collars can be fitted to dress the finish around the pipe – these are available in oak, chrome, black, brass, antique brass etc.
No, you can buy any of these from us as a supply only customer. We happily assist and guide all our customers about what finishing touches are required for their project.
No, all these components use the same prefinished oak product you have chosen. Our oak flooring manufacturer also makes the stair treads, nosing etc for us. So they will be a perfect match! If you have chosen an unfinished floor, you will need to use the same oil used on the floor for the stair treads, nosings and oak transitions.
Most customers prefer an unobtrusive transition between oak and stone or oak/stone and other floor coverings, so opt for oak threshold bars to match the oak flooring or an ‘L’ shaped style tile trim to finish the edge of the tiles.
As part of our install service we machine custom oak threshold bars on site, and these can be ramped at doorways to deal with differences in floor heights.
We can order timber that has exposed edges finished for this very purpose, ensuring that when you walk up the stairs you see a finished timber edge rather than an engineered floor board.
Edge finishes available are a small chamfer, half-bullnose, or full bullnose.
With a bit of planning, you can! It is advised that you speak with us prior to subfloor preparation as there can be differences in the build up of stone versus porcelain versus oak flooring. In order to achieve a flush finish between floor areas we may for example recommend a different thickness of plywood subfloor in certain areas depending on the product being installed. If you are installing in-screed underfloor heating systems, it is also possible to ask your contractor to lay the screeds at different heights, to accommodate your final floor build-ups. We can provide floor build-up information for the finishes chosen and their relevant fixing ancillaries.
With many old properties we see lovely ancient skirting boards, often produced in two parts and installed onto traditional lathe & plaster walls. It can be quite an undertaking to remove existing skirting so in some circumstances we will advise, or you will prefer, to leave skirtings in place. This is not a problem as we can install our oak and stone flooring up to the existing skirting and infill the small expansion gap with oak mastic or silicon to match the grout colour. It is therefore not necessary to have a beading fitted around the room perimeter, although we can provide beading to match our oak flooring if this is desired.
In addition, we can also over-plate the skirtings to hide the expansion gaps. For more information regarding this, please ask our team.
