Stone floors and underfloor heating.

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alri

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I am considering putting in UFH and whant to put a stone floor down, is there any special requirements,thickness type ect.
What are the adv's/disadv's of the different types of stones.Ideally I need something hard wearing,low maintenance and still looks good???as I have a young family who will test it too its limit.
Also has anybody imported any tiles as the prices abroad seem a lot cheaper?
 
We put in UFH and then an ivory Italian travertine on top of it. The tiles are about 12mm thick and were laid on BAL Flexible adhesive by a professional tiler etc. The floor was poured about 1.5 years before we tiled and had been heated for 6months, so any settlement cracks had already arisen and had been monitored for movement. Despite this, the tiles have been getting miniature hairline cracks in them. (Individuially, as opposed to one big crack though many tiles.)Perhaps the tiles were too large (about 90cmX45cm) or the stone was too soft?...The tiles were also sealed with 2 coats of sealant, so maintenance would be easy. I do love the floor, and would probably make the same choices again, but my heart did sink when I saw the first tiny crack. I am probably the only one who notices them, as I am the one who cleans the floor (!) - the cracks blend in with the veins in the stone and are only noticeable if you look for them. Nevertheless, after all the expense and effort, it was disappointing to see any imperfections. I have no advice on where to source natural stone tiles "cheaply" but I do know of a new crowd in KK who do good prices compared to what we paid when we bought them in Tipp and "imported" them to KK.
We have 3 small kids and the tiles are wearing well . Toddler's skull has held up ok too (frequent bruises from floor), though I shudder to think what the Dr.s would say if he ever needed a skull xray. Just a point to consider.
Sorry this hasn't been much help, but wanted to let you know our experience so you know what to ask your tileshop/tiler.
Sheesh
 
I heard Tilestyle down near the Point are doing one of their half price sales this month, was there recently and think they had all that natural stone stuff, its pricey alright! No connection with them.
 
Check the previous posts here on AAM about UFH. All stones or tiles set on UFH screeds should be set in a bed, meaning the glue/adhesive should not be combed but used like mortar between bricks. This would avoid insulating airgaps and uneven warming and cooling (cracks!). If your tiler is worth his money he uses cement based adhesive from the bag to mixed with water and not the chemical adhesive from the bucket. Even though some manufacturers claim that their synthetic adhesive is suitable for UFH, but read the post of Sheesh above and judge yourself. Cement based adhesive is used on UFH screeds since the times of the Romans and in many places still intact, incl. the tiles/mosaics.
 
Our tiles were laid on a bed of cement adhesive, as per Heinbloed's mail, yet they have cracked individually. I am still unsure as to whether it is the softness of the stone, the laying or the size.
A friend of mine who lives in France and who has UFH was surprised by the size of our tiles. He said that his tiler in France limited them to a max size tile (600x600mm I think). perhaps the grout needs to be flexible too, though I have never herd of this. Our tiles seem to have mainly cracks running down the centre of them - as if they were somehow restricted in expansion...
I haven't heard of anyone saying the size of tiles is linited with UFH. Again, I'd advise you to check this out before you fall in love with a particular stone and tile.
Sheesh
P.S. the place in KK I mentioned is called "StoneStop". You can find them on the web. I haven't bought from them, but have heard that their prices are very good and that they will deliver tiles countrywide. The owner is very helpful.
 
Travertine is a lime(based) stone, so it is quite possible that the layers of the different sediments-the coulered strains- have a different expansion coeffecient. Sorry for not investigating this in depth before answering. The larger the slate/tile the longer the veins and the more likely that the splittting point is reached. You could counteract this phenomen by running the UFH at a slower heating up modus, for example by setting the flow temperature at a low point for an hour or so when starting the heating and then going to the wished temperature. But you would also have to do that in reverse when switching off the heating so it would cool down slowly. From the beginning there should have been worked in a mesh made of wire or glass fibre or nylon into the bed of mortar, this would help as well. Reduce the difference between the flow and the return temperature, the standard setting is a difference of 8 degrees Celsius between the two.
 
It might be possible that excessive force had been aplied to the rock when it was worked, for example when blasting the mountain from where it came (Italy?). Though the EU has some standards on flooring other countries might not adhere to these rules. Former Yugoslavia has travertine mines as well and plenty of unused explosives cheaply available that are not exactly made for precision jobs as well as unemployed miners, so it COULD be a piece of of dodgy material that you bought.
 
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