Dural UK’s new and innovative Micro Joint Infill is the solution for this problem, and provides discreet stress protection for tiles and natural stone on heated floors.

Underfloor heating systems and the potential problems they bring

Over the past five years, there has been a sharp rise in popularity in underfloor heating systems. Industry experts estimate that the market has nearly doubled annually since 2014. It is easy to understand the reasons behind this increase in popularity.

For homeowners, by installing underfloor heating systems they will get high comfort levels in their homes and low running costs (upto 30% greater energy efficiency compared to traditional heating methods). For Architects and Designers, incorporating underfloor heating systems into residential build projects enables them to achieve modern energy effiency regulations, reduce the carbon footprint of buildings, and facilitates more contemporary design concepts i.e. no obtrusive radiators or air vents.

Underfloor heating systems can often prove to be problematic for tiled flooring installations. The main problem with underfloor heating systems is the resultant movement, or thermal expansion, it causes in the subfloor. This movement is then transferred into the surface layer, or the tiled flooring. These tensions and stresses are too great for the tiled flooring to cope with. There are two consequences to this – one is the tiles could ‘tent’ or ‘pop’ off the floor resulting in loose tiles; and the other is hairline cracks could appear in the tiled surface.

This is very common in large format tiles, which are experiencing huge growth levels and are expected to be a big flooring trend throughout 2016. Large format tiles have a higher coefficient of thermal expansion, so for a given temperature rise they will grow proportionally more than smaller tiles. If this rate of expansion isn’t accommodated for with some form of movement protection, the tile material will crack or ‘tent’ under the pressure.

Benefits of Micro Joint Infill for tiles on underfloor heating systems

UK Building Regulations BS5385 require that expanses of hard flooring as a finished surface material have to conform to various functional and aesthetic standards. To achieve compliance, it is essential for 40sqm or above flooring installations to have some sort of movement protection in place.

Dural’s Micro Joint Infill has been specifically developed for tiled flooring installations which are laid over underfloor heating systems, particularly for residential developments. The infill provides effective movement protection for tiles and natural stone on heated floors. It means a tiled flooring installation with Micro Joint Infill used is able to effectively absorb the movement energy transferred from the subfloor, protecting the tiles from cracking and loosening.

An important benefit of the Micro Joint Infill is that it can be colour matched to the tile colour, the existing grout, or any colour in the RAL chart. This favours tiled flooring installations where the homeowners wants a seamless finish and deems traditional movement joints too obtrusive in the flooring design. Because surface movement joints have to be positioned over existing joints in the subfloor, this means sometimes if the subfloor joints hadn’t been considered at an early stage the surface movement joints could potentially run through the middle of a tiled floor ruining the intricate flooring design.

The Micro Joint Infill is easy to apply to tiled flooring. It is simply applied to the grout line spaces and can be used on Brick Bond or Opus tile formations. Due to the colour matched nature of the Micro Joint Infill it helps to create a beautiful, seamless design to the tiled flooring.

Supplied in a kit format, the Micro Joint Infill comprises of Part One Base, Part Two Hardener, Cartridge assembly and protective gloves. Part One is simply mixed with Part Two thoroughly until a consistent colour is achieved. The mixture is then transferred into the cartridge and is then applied into the grout lines. After application, the Micro Joint Infill will cure over a period of approximately four hours and has a 45 Shore A hardness rating.

Architects and Designers will benefit from incorporating Micro Joint Infill into their build projects, as it means they will have confidence in designing seamless tiled flooring over underfloor heating systems. Importantly, the Micro Joint Infill will ensure tiled flooring installations are fit for purpose and exceed requirements BS5385 for hard flooring applications. The Micro Joint Infill can be colour matched to the grout or tile colour therefore causing minimum disruption to the visible surface.

Micro Joint Infill will benefit Installers and Tile Fitters as it is a cost-effective solution to achieving a beautiful tiled flooring with minimal chances of cracking or loosening (if good tiling practices and procedures are followed, refer to The Tile Association for more information). It is easily applied with minimum wastage (depending on care of application) and offers excellent protection from thermal expansion caused by underfloor heating systems.

Matched accurately to the grout, tile or any colour in the RAL range, Micro Joint Infill effectively blends into the floor surface whilst providing the required stress relief modern heated floors require for a long lasting beautiful performance.

For further information on Dural’s Micro Joint Infill, contact their flooring experts and they will be happy to provide further information. High quality products are backed up by excellent, competent advice and design solutions.