Infloor Infloorboard II - Manual (Page 6)

6
Insulation
Insulation should be installed below all Infloor-
Board II™ installations. Failure to provide insu-
lation will decrease the heating efficiency of the
PEX tubing and may not allow for sufficient heat
output. Local Building Codes will specify the
minimum required floor insulation over an un-
heated space. For other applications, a mini-
mum R-19 insulation is recommended.
Finish Floor Covering Applications
Care should be taken wherever tubing may be
at risk from nails or other penetrations associ-
ated with the finish floor installation (saddles,
carpet tack strips, molding, ect.) Always be sure
to maintain adequate clearance from the tubing.
Nail guards, such as those used to protect elec-
trical wiring, should be installed as necessary. If
an adhesive is to be used to secure the finish
flooring (I.E. carpet or vinyl) a backer board
(1/4” luan plywood) and high temperature latex
adhesive must be utilized. Do not allow adhe-
sive to come into contact with the PEX tubing.
Carpet
1/4” luan plywood should be applied over the
boards prior to pad and/or carpet installation.
However, if carpet is installed directly over In-
floorBoard II™, a leveling compound should be
used to fill all unused surface grooves and level
all areas. It is important to know the R-value of
the pad and carpet that will be used and its ef-
fects on the obtainable heat output of the radi-
ant system. A thin high density rubber pad and
short high density carpet will provide lesser re-
sistance to heat transfer than other pad/carpet
combinations.
Hardwood
Conventional nailed hardwood flooring may be
installed directly over the boards. The primary
direction of the tubing runs in the boards should
be perpendicular to the direction of the hard-
wood flooring strips. Red rosin paper (do not
use asphalt felt) should be placed over the
boards. Chalk lines showing the tubing runs
may then be snapped on top of the rosin paper
and used as a guide to avoid the tubing. The
nails selected should be of sufficient length to
penetrate through the boards and into the sub-
floor below. If installing a clip style floating floor
systems, care must be taken so that the clips do
not come into contact with the PEX tubing.
All wood floors will expand and contract as tem-
perature and humidity levels change. This can
result in gaps between flooring strips that may
be present at certain times of the year and not
others. A properly designed and operated radi-
ant floor heating system should not increase
these natural occurrences. Be sure to allow the
flooring to acclimate to the area and follow the
wood floor manufactures instructions for instal-
lation over radiant heat. Do not design or oper-
ate a system with a floor surface temperature in
excess of 85º F. In general, narrow (<3” wide)
hardwood flooring will provide the least expan-
sion and contraction. Softer woods (pine, fir),
higher moisture levels, and wide plank style
floors will increase the potential for expansion
and contraction both with and without a radiant
floor heating system. Because of its dimen-
sional stability, laminated flooring is an excellent
choice.
Tile/Stone/Vinyl
For ceramic tile and stone, a tile backer board
should be used over the boards. Care should
be taken to avoid all tubing runs when screwing
down the backer boards. A crack isolation mem-
brane is recommended on top of the backer
board. Conventional mortar bed or thinset in-
stallations may then be used.
For vinyl floors, a minimum 1/4” plywood backer
board is required and the flooring and adhesive
material checked for temperature limitations.
IMPORTANT: READ BEFORE USE
This product must ONLY be used indoors and
ONLY in residential applications. The product
must be installed properly by a competent in-
staller in accordance with the latest Installation
Guide and good construction practice. All prod-
uct information must be reviewed by the in-
staller to assure suitability of application, includ-
ing compliance with applicable building codes.
This product is intended to provide a secure
means of retaining 3/8” ASTM F876 tubing. Any
information on radiant heating design is pro-
vided as a general overview only. A complete
heat loss analysis and system design by an ex-
perienced hydronic heating professional is re-
quired. Heating system operation and heat out-
put provided are the responsibility of the system
designer and installer.