Timoleon under-floor heating installed in grade II listed country house
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When the present owner purchased this magnificent and imposing grade II listed country house situated in Dorset, which was originally built in the seventeenth century, his first priority was to restore the building to its original state. However with respect to the central heating the owner decided to modernise by installing under-floor heating on the ground floor and the first floor, whilst keeping some of the old style cast iron radiators.
The ground floor had to be reconstructed as the old timber joists were past repair, so a solid concrete floor was laid. At this stage the owner called in local plumber Holton Plumbing Services Ltd. of Poole to assist with this project.
Timoleon Ltd., specialists in all aspects of underfloor heating, were asked to produce detailed designs for heating the ground and first floor; the plans submitted included Timoleon’s Staple System, ideal for the new screeded ground floor and the company’s award winning LowBoard for the first floor.
The Staple system on the ground floor provided a quick, flexible method of installing under-floor heating onto a screeded floor. The Timoleon gridded insulation was laid onto the sub floor, the 18mm, PE-RT pipe, at 200mm centres, was then stapled onto the insulation with barbed staples, which can be done by hand or Stapler, following the grids clearly marked. Once the pipe work had been pressure tested, a screed was applied and the final floor coverings of carpet tiles, flagstones and timber were layed.
As on the first floor there was a need to maintain a low level, the Timoleon LowBoard was ideal, giving an overall height of only 13mm. The LowBoard panels were laid on top of 25mm plywood panels, which in turn were laid on the existing joist.
The LowBoard panels are made from moisture resistance MDF with an aluminium layer on the underside, which helps spread the heat upwards into the room. The panels are pre-routed enabling the installer to gently tread in the 12mm PE-RT pipe swiftly and with little effort. 6mm ply was laid on top of the LowBoard followed by carpet on the majority of the first floor.
The Holton team of four completed the installation over a period of one month using 7000 metres of pipe. With the comfort of the under-floor heating and the reduced temperature of the water flowing through the pipes saving energy and money, the owner now looks forward to a warm and relaxing time in this magnificent building.
