When Paul and Gill Regan bought a dated 2 bed bungalow in Plymstock, Devon, they planned an extensive renovation. Aside from extending to add much needed space, a key part of their project included upgrading the existing radiator heating system to warm water underfloor heating.
Why UFH?
Paul and Gill had previously enjoyed underfloor heating in their last few homes and for them, going back to radiators was not an option. The benefits far outweighed the effort, giving all the freedom to place fixtures and fittings without any restricted wall and floor space, together with the feeling of even, radiant warmth.
With many low profile retrofit solutions available for renovation projects, they decided on LoPro®Max, the latest retrofit system from Nu-Heat that’s just 22mm in height.
We’d had two Nu-Heat systems in previous properties and their new LoPro®Max system ticked all the boxes.
“We were adding an extension, so the system had to easily go over two different floor structures, from floorboards to new concrete. We also wanted as little height build-up as possible, a rapid heat-up time and good control – it offers all of those things” explains Paul.
A simple, quick installation
The LoPro®Max system has been designed for a simple and quick installation. It uses robust castellated panels that are simply laid over the existing floor to hold the tube in place.
Unlike other retrofit solutions, which typically use pre-routed boards of some form, this is a wet system which benefits from a specialist self-levelling compound, LoPro®QuickSet. It’s this compound that gives the solution an impressive heat output that’s around 50% higher than a typical retrofit solution – perfect for older homes with lower levels of insulation, or rooms with large amounts of glazing.
Paul & Gill’s new underfloor heating system took just a couple of days to install. On day one, the tube was installed throughout the property and the system was pressure tested. On day two, the specialist self-levelling compound was poured.
The installation was very quick, just two days in total. The compound was down in a couple of hours and the fact that the floor was dry and we could walk on it after eight hours was brilliant.
The perfectly level surface left by the LoPro®QuickSet compound was another benefit for the couple, as it meant their chosen floor covering, Amtico, could be laid as soon as the floor was dry without the need for any additional levelling.
A luxury heating solution, minimal upheaval
One of the common misconceptions of warm water underfloor heating is that it can be difficult and disruptive to install in a renovation, which is no longer the case. Thanks to new retrofit solutions, like the one used by the Regan’s, underfloor heating is easily installed in a wide range of project types.
“We’d definitely recommend LoPro®Max to anyone looking at underfloor heating for their renovation. The whole process has been no more disruptive than any other part of the renovation, so why wouldn’t you?!”