3 Things to Know about Installing Wood Flooring over Radiant Heat

Carlisle Wide Plank Floors are the ideal wooden floors to install over a radiant heat system throughout your home. Due to the high quality wood used to make Carlisle flooring, combined with the company’s unique drying and manufacturing process, homeowners can have extreme confidence in using a solid wide plank up to 20 inches wide over radiant heat. Take into consideration, however, the following three things that you should know before installing wood flooring over radiant heat.

1. You must know where your wood comes from. Was your Oak floor harvested from the south or the north of the United States? Specifically what region? Growing conditions determine grain density of a timber. The tighter the grain, the less movement your floor will experience. Thankfully, Carlisle works with small sawyers who source logs from the optimal growing regions for each wood species. You can have confidence your Carlisle floor will have a tight growth structure, thereby minimizing movement when installed over radiant heat. We suggest asking the people who are making your floor if they can tell you exactly where the wood is coming from. You must know in order to make an informed decision.

2. You must know what part of the tree is being used. The oldest and slowest grown portion of any timber is at the very bottom, center of the tree. By sawing from this area, the wood will have greater grain density, as well as greater vertical grain. Vertical grain can expand and contract, but it is less prone to cupping or crowning. Therefore, the more vertical grain you have in each plank, the less likely the wood will make these types of movement. Because a Carlisle floor is sawn exclusively from this portion of the timber, we are confident that even our widest 20 inch boards will perform exceptionally well over radiant heat.

3. You must know how your floor was made. In today’s market, most floor manufactures claim to be mill direct. Yet, would it be possible for you to visit their mill and see your floor being made for you? If so, you will know that the people making your floor are making it just for you, giving it the precision and care it deserves. At Carlisle, we encourage you to visit our mill in New Hampshire and see how often our craftsmen handle each board. Why is this important? Certain character and grain may not be appropriate for radiant heat applications. Since we take the time to scrutinize each and every board, we ensure all of our floors can be installed in any environment. We check everything from making sure the correct side is milled for greatest stability to reviewing the moisture content in individual planks. Nothing is overlooked, and customers see that when they watch us work.

There are many things that will make your installation successful, and our Design Consultants are ready and willing to answer any questions you have. Keep in mind…it all starts with the wood. If that isn’t right, nothing after it will matter!