What If Something Goes Wrong with Underfloor Heating?

Underfloor heating is known for its reliability. The wire or pipe sits either in screed or securely under the floor level, where there is very little that can go wrong or damage the heater. However, regardless of the ease of installation, the wire or pipe can sometimes get damaged which may cause problems with the system later on, especially if the system has not been tested according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

We’ve put together this blog post to explain how the system can be tested, how potential underfloor heating faults can be located and how these can be fixed.

TEST THE SYSTEM BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER INSTALLATION

There are a few precautions you can take in order to minimise any future problems with underfloor heating. We advise testing the system before it is laid down, once it has been laid down and most importantly, before tiling or applying final floor on top of the system.

The installer should test an electric underfloor heating system by using a multimeter to check the resistance, which tests the integrity of the heating to ensure it has not been damaged during installation. The system will also need be switched on to see if it heats up (for no longer than 10 minutes).

Most problems will be revealed at this stage and should the system be fine before laying the floor cover, there is very little chance of the system developing a fault once the finished flooring has been laid down. The same goes with water underfloor heating; unless the pipe is physically damaged during installation, once it’s been covered, there is little chance of the pipe failing.

If you or your installer note that the system is not operating correctly at this stage, you are covered by Warmup’s SafetyNet™ installation guarantee under which any Warmup heater damaged during installation can be replaced to a new one for free (see underfloor heating warranties for details).

UNDERFLOOR HEATING FAULT FINDING

Should a fault develop after the flooring is down, there are ways of finding out where the fault is without having to lift the entire floor. We can detect a faulty heater by using a thermal imaging camera and specialist testing equipment which is used to locate the exact point of fault.

The damaged cable or pipe is then accessed by lifting the floor for that area only and fixing the damaged heater. This means that you can have complete confidence in our system and that there is minimal damage to your flooring should a repair be necessary.

With tiled floors, the broken tile can be replaced with a new tile. For other floor types, a flooring installer will be contacted to ensure that the fault can be accessed with minimum damage to the flooring.  When installing an underfloor system, we always recommend keeping some spare flooring aside in case such a repair is ever required.

CHECK UNDERFLOOR HEATING WARRANTIES AND GUARANTEES

It is important to check the warranties an underfloor heating manufacturer provides and the time they have been trading for when getting a system. Even if a manufacturer selling online claims that they offer long warranties, these will be no use if the company does not exist when the warranty may be needed.

We give a Lifetime Warranty to most of the systems and a SafetyNet™ Installation Guarantee to all our systems, which means that should the heater become damaged during the installation, we will replace it for free. However, it is very important the system is fully tested before, during and after the installation.

There is very little that can go wrong with Warmup underfloor heating, but as an added piece of mind, we have 24/7/365 technical support available on 0345 345 2288 where, should something go wrong, we will always be able to advise you and even arrange an engineer visit if needed.

Learn more about underfloor heating systems and how they can increase the comfort in your home.