Attach parquet oak planks on underfloor heating using a clip system without glue

Hello,

I wrote the following in another forum regarding the same question from the OP

Last winter, I installed our upper floor (except the bathroom) completely with 20 mm thick solid planks (oak wood) and staples. This is a continuous connection across two rooms and the hallway, about 40 m². The edge distance is 18 mm. We do not have underfloor heating. So far, we are very satisfied; the walking feeling is pleasant (a bit softer than glued down but not as springy as laminate). Underneath is PE foil (since it’s a new build) plus corrugated cardboard (for leveling) under the planks, then screed and EPS insulation on the raw ceiling.

The staples always connect the long sides, and I connected the short sides with a few drops of glue (could also be undone and reinstalled), the installation was hardly more difficult than click parquet. Only one row of planks at the stair side of the hallway is glued down.

The supplier of the planks was, by the way, a company from Wuppertal, which you can easily find by an internet search for solid wood planks stapled. So I can only recommend their system; the wood itself is amazing ("oak wildlife," brushed and oiled), extremely knotty

The stuff from the Wuppertal company is exactly what I also wanted to order... and it has already been installed at my parents’ place and was really good. Oak, distinctive, sanded/spackled, white oiled. Still looks great after years. Only there it was screwed to a wooden floor... my conditions are just completely different now.

I just don’t know if I can leave the tiles as they are or if I have to knock them out.

Where can I find something about the staple system? Thanks for the tip - I didn’t know it at all.

Regards

@ :
Basically, no parquet manufacturer approves the installation of parquet boards on an electric underfloor heating system, however, due to the mentioned construction (cork layer and floating installation of multi-layer parquet), the thermal resistance will become so high that probably little to no heat will reach the level of the parquet elements.
The background of this statement is the rapid heating of electric heaters and the possibly resulting forced (under-drying) damage.
As a precaution, I would still switch off the heating circuits if that is (according to your words) possible. The question regarding the available height of the new overall construction is deliberately not addressed here.
Regards: KlaRa

Thanks for the tip to completely switch off the heating circuits. I will check if and how that can be done. That could then help avoid under-drying damage.

I don’t know if it makes a difference... but I wanted to install solid wood boards, not multi-layer parquet.

Yes, regarding the height of the construction... I have already thought about that too. The boards are 20mm thick. I think it will probably make more sense to knock out the tiles and then sand off the adhesive residues... even though that will definitely be a mammoth task in itself for 72 sqm...

I don't know if it makes a difference... but I wanted to install solid wood planks, not engineered wood flooring.

Oh yes, that makes a difference! Engineered wood flooring does not build up such twisting forces, even when drying out underneath, as solid planks do. Depending on how the planks were cut from the log, forces caused by the wood's growth can occur after drying out underneath as well as through over-humidity (which is another topic), forces that can no longer be controlled with a floating installation. Therefore, solid planks should always be glued to the subfloor. However, here it is opposed by the fact that the underfloor heating is electric, i.e., operated by heating wires. The effort to remove the tiles is indeed not unusual but substantial. The question would be whether engineered wood flooring with a lower overall height would provide the same service as solid wood flooring, which moreover is not supposed to be glued!! Regards: KlaRa

So we have solid wood planks installed as a floating floor with a thickness of 20mm and it works wonderfully! Why exactly they would have to be glued down would be an interesting reason? The floating installation is also "approved" by the suppliers. Of course, the floor can sometimes make noises when installed as a floating floor, but it is also a natural product. Gaps can sometimes "open," but they can be pushed back together and are insignificant. Of course, we don't have underfloor heating, but our supplier also approves the planks for that.

What can be a problem is too small of an expansion gap around the edges. Then the floor can sometimes warp under certain circumstances. This has already occurred on our ground floor, but only with rather narrow and only 15mm thick planks. Otherwise, we have no problems at all!