Nu-Heat, a leading supplier of underfloor heating and renewable technology, has recently designed and supplied the underfloor heating system for a substantial 126-apartment development on the Isle of Dogs in London's Docklands.
Specifying underfloor heating into apartment developments had been affected by Part E of the Building Regulations, as developers are tasked with reducing the transmission of airborne and impact sound between dwellings sharing separating walls and floors. Nu-Heat has created specific acoustic floor solutions that satisfy government legislation and Enterprise UFH, a plumbing and heating firm based in the South East, has fitted one of these into the luxury apartment complex.
The job
Nu-Heat recommended an acoustic floor construction that places ClippaPlate, an aluminium panel that is fixed in place either by screws or staples, on top of an acoustic batten.
Adrian Troop, Nu-Heat’s Marketing & Sales Director explains the significance of ClippaPlate:
The most time consuming and awkward of underfloor heating installations is into suspended timber floors, as such applications often require installers to balance on top of joists or fix a large number of screws into joists from below. ClippaPlate is self-supporting and only needs a couple of screws or staples to fix it before tubing is clipped into place. It can be installed quickly without any impact on the overall build schedule, and is compatible with most types of joists – traditional timber, TJI/I-beam and steel braced systems (Eco-joists, Posi-joists, etc). Not only is it quicker, it eliminates any health and safety issues.
Five reasons to use ClippaPlate:
- Virtually no floor height build-up
- Quicker install times as the UFH can be fixed in both floors on the same day with no extra battening required
- No health and safety issues
- Faster response times
- Cost effective – no additional fixtures and fittings – just ClippaPlate, some screws and off you go!
The plate offers installers versatility as it can be installed over the top of the joists before the deck is laid, or fitted from below after laying the deck. The only additional floor build up is the thickness of the plate itself, which is approximately half a millimeter – and can effectively be ignored.
Nu-Heat supplied the flooring company with floor layout plans, spacing the acoustic battens at 400mm intervals. The plates were then fixed across the room, on top of the acoustic battens, as per Nu-Heat’s Computer Aided Drawings (CADs).
Enterprise UFH organised it so that installers worked in pairs, meaning as one person laid the plate another could follow behind with a drill, fixing it to the battens with screws. An alternative method would be to use a nail gun; both options are quick and straightforward.
Steve Bradford, co-owner of Enterprise UFH comments:
We organised the installation like an assembly line so that while part of the team push-fitted the tube in place, others were able to prepare another room. This meant we were able to maintain the momentum throughout the job and always complete the job on time.
ClippaPlate being installed at The Forge Adrian comments:
‘One of the main questions our customer support team gets asked is “should I install underfloor heating in suspended timber floors or opt for radiators upstairs?” Of course, there are still some underfloor heating suppliers that recommend warm water underfloor heating for the ground floor only, but this begs the question of why you would want all the established benefits of underfloor heating downstairs whilst settling for radiators upstairs?’
Once the plates were securely in place, Nu-Heat’s 14mm floor heating tube was fitted with one installer walking while holding the tube and another clipping it into place. Because ClippaPlate is made out of aluminium, the tube can be easily fixed into position, meaning that the 20m2 room took just 30 minutes to install.
The flow and return pipework was fitted to a five port manifold. Tube lengths are specified on Nu-Heat’s drawings and Enterprise UFH Ltd always recommends installers label zones/ports as it will save time when commissioning – especially in the event of customer call backs as it should allow a quicker diagnosis of the problem.
The final step undertaken by Enterprise UFH Ltd was to complete the system commissioning procedure, as per Nu-Heat’s guidelines. This involved filling, flushing and pressure testing the underfloor heating system.
For more information about solar, underfloor heating, heat pumps or renewables training, please call Nu-Heat on 0800 731 1976.
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0800 731 1976
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