Tiles That are Good with Underfloor Heating

With the winter months setting in and the cold nights drawing closer, it might be time to consider installing underfloor heating in your home. Tiles are great at retaining and dispersing heat, so they bring comfort to your home and improve your heating system’s overall efficiency. 

Tiling over underfloor heating is a popular choice with our customers — they are easy to clean and a practical choice for kitchens and bathrooms!

When thinking about underfloor heating, it’s important to know that tiles have different properties. Some are more effective and suitable than others due to the material, thickness, conductivity and much more.  

In this blog, we’ll take a look at our range of floor tiles that are suitable for underfloor heating. We’ll also look at the benefits and things to consider before you take the leap.

Installing Tiles Over Underfloor Heating 

A level and stable floor are the main criteria for laying underfloor heating under your new tiles — once the sub-floor is level, it is a pretty straightforward task. As tiles are exposed to heavy foot traffic, movement can happen in the sub-floor over time, so you should always use a decoupling membrane for the best finish and to prevent your tiles from cracking. 

The decoupling membrane acts as a barrier between the substrate and your floor tiles, which means if there is any movement, it will be isolated and should not cause issues to the aesthetics of your tile finish.

When thinking about installing underfloor heating in your home, you should be aware of the following factors which could affect the tiles you choose:  

• Tile thickness – most of our tiles are suitable for underfloor heating, although you should consider that thicker tiles will take longer to heat than a thinner alternative.
• Tile material – materials conduct heat differently, and this is the same for tiles. You should choose a material that can transfer heat quickly to get the best efficiency from your underfloor heating system.
• Sub-floor – as mentioned above, you should make sure your sub-floor is level before tiling over underfloor heating and use a decoupling membrane to prevent cracking in case of movement.

When you purchase your tiles from Roccia, you can also choose Novus underfloor heating which combines high quality underfloor products and expert design to deliver improved energy efficiency, lower water temperatures and considerably reduced energy costs.

Porcelain Tiles 

Porcelain floor tiles are an excellent choice for both water or electric underfloor heating due to their effective conductive heat properties. Thanks to their robust qualities, porcelain tiles can endure the rigours of day to day life in your home while boasting a truly stunning aesthetic.

Porcelain tiles are durable and will disperse heat quickly and effectively throughout your home. We have a wide selection of styles and colours to choose from, and you can use them in any room to create a fashionable and unique look — with the added benefit of extremely low-maintenance properties.

Our porcelain tiles are incredibly impervious to water, resistant to staining, scratching, and moisture absorption, making them a popular choice over underfloor heating in wet rooms and bathrooms.

Stone Tiles

Our fantastic range of stone effect floor tiles will bring that natural look into your home, and with their low resistance, they can transfer heat effectively. Our stone effect tiles can withstand day to day wear and tear from even the busiest of kitchen environments. Boasting fantastic durability and robustness, alongside genuinely stunning aesthetics, these tiles are perfect for any home or business.

Giving you all the aesthetic benefits that real stone tiles would bring, stone effect floor tiles give you a natural look without extensive maintenance schedules. We stock stone effect tiles in a wide range of colours, shapes and sizes, and what’s more, they can be paired with our stone effect wall tiles in your home to create a seamless look.

Ceramic Tiles 

Our ceramic floor tiles are also an excellent choice for underfloor heating due to their efficient heat conducting properties. Ceramic tiles look great in kitchens and open plan living areas because they emphasise the large space available.

Whatever floor tiles suit your taste, you can rest assured that underfloor heating will give you a warmer and cosier home, retaining heat well. However, you should be aware that if you decide to choose thicker tiles, it will increase the time it takes for the tiles to heat up.

Benefits of Tiling Over Underfloor Heating

Your new underfloor heating will take the natural cold from your tile floors and will be a welcome surprise when you step out of the shower on those chilly mornings. A heated kitchen floor is a much more comfortable place to cook with the kids, and a cosy conservatory is a great place to entertain all your guests.

Let’s take a look at a few more benefits of installing tiles over your underfloor heating:

• Heat is distributed evenly and efficiently to the surface of the floor
• Our floor tiles give you a premium look and finish
• You can choose from a variety of tile shapes, colours and sizes 
• Tiled floors are long-lasting, low maintenance and can withstand day to day wear

For The Best Floor Tiles, Contact Roccia

Whatever your size or style takes your fancy, you can be sure to find something to suit your requirements from Roccia. If you need advice or have any questions about our floor tile range, we welcome you to get in touch with us.