We manufacture 3 different products:
Underfloor heating cables
(This system has unfortunately been discontinued due to the high rising costs of electricity).
Underfloor heating is the oldest of the three system(1950's). These cables are manufactured by using a high temperature PVC and they have a diameter varying between 4mm to 6mm. This material is very tough and it can take quite a bit of a bad treatment on the building sites. These cables are usually laid onto the concrete slab, are spaced about 75mm across and held by plastic spacers. Once layed, a wet screed of at least 25mm thick or more, is thrown on top of them and it is then either hand or machine floated. The tiling process can take place some few days later. Some other builders throw a dry mixture of sand and cement of about the same thickness and after levelling, start the tiling process immediately.
This underfloor heating system works quite well but has lost popularity because of the long time it takes to go through the thickness of screed and the lack of flexibility in mild climates such as we have in South Africa. The system is also used for the now fashionable coloured screed floors(using oxydes) and wooden floors.
Undertile heating
This system was introduced by us in the early ninety's, when the demand for ceramic tiles versus wall to wall carpet started to climb. Home owners who were willing to replace their carpet with ceramic tiles were confronted with the floor level headache if they wanted to install underfloor heating cables. Because of the growing demand on the market for a suitable underfloor heating system which would not alter the floor-level, we designed an undertile heating system made out of e.t.f.e.(Teflon) which by the nature of the material could allow us to manufacture very thin wires (1mm to 1.7mm). Thanks to the high-tech of this polymer (e.t.f.e), this very important particularity would change the face of the underfloor heating world for ever. A display of this system was on show at the permanent home exhibition in 1993 *(ex-bou, Commissioner Street in Fairview/Johannesburg)*.
After wall-to-wall carpet removal from the existing rooms, it was extremely easy to lay the heating wires on the flat cement floor. Once layed, a meshing of polyester material (nowadays a hessian fabric or a fiberglas meshing) was fitted over the wires and a special mixture of cement, latex (plaster key) and water was poured and levelled with a steel trowel. A couple of hours later, the wires were beautifuly sealed onto the floor ready to be tiled with a minimum of thickness(+/-4mm) which means that there will be no change in floor-level. A revolution! not a French One, though.
This operation is needed to protect the wires from rough treatment and make the tiler's job easier. Quite a lot of pictures are available for further viewing.
Undercarpet heating
Undercarpet heating was the first system we started with. This was back in the late eighties'.
Originally we were importing a system, but because of economic reasons, we later decided to
manufacture everything locally. Our system consists of a pure reinforced aluminium foil and a polyester lining. The heating resistant wires are sandwiched in between. The pad gets installed between the underfelt (cotton underfelt only) and the carpet, and can be used for wall-to-wall carpets as well as loose rugs. Thanks to the aluminium sheet, the heat transfert is very swift and the surface of the carpet should be warm to the touch in 15 to 20 minutes. The pads come in different sizes and power outputs.
Underwood heating
(including hard wood and laminates)
Underwood heating is not really a system on its own. Undertile heating wires are used to this effect. The only difference is that the heating wires are laid in a different way. In these rooms, these wires have to cover a heating area of approximatly 90% to prevent unheated zones which could otherwise have expansion problems; the standard spacing between wires is 75mm, which is quite easy to do with our pre-cut spacers. Because of the organic nature of this material, the wood manufacturers recommend that the floor temperature does not exceed 28
°
C. To this effect, the system uses a fitted with a floor probe (heat sensor) which will be placed and buried in between two heating wires. The sealing procedure is exactly the same as for the undertile heating. We have gathered certain information that can be accessed by the following links with interest concerning wood and laminates.
Links: http://www.berryfloor.be/functions/plaatsing.asp?lang=en&nav=2&tekstje=143&con=eu#1
http://www.kahrs.se/templates/KahrsExtranetStandard.aspx?id=8655&contentid=8649
http://www.thelaminateflooringsite.com/
http://www.fabfloor.co.uk/faq.htm
http://doityourself.com/laminate/basics.htm
NB:Our heating wires have undergone extensive testing by the NZ electrical authorities and have passed all relevant tests.
*
Today, this exhibition ground is called "Better Homes" and is housing hundreds of exhibitors in all spheres of the building industry and is situated in Germiston, (next to Hyperama), and we are still there, exhibiting. Pay us a visit.
Underfloor Heating Undertile Heating
Undercarpet Heating systems
