The Madeley Centre:
Underfloor heating

Wilson Plumbing and Heating were asked to supply and install a new underfloor heating system for a new development comprised 63 modern apartments, an eco-friendly community hub in Madeley village centre, Telford.

The project involved the design and installation of an underfloor heating system for 63 extra care apartments in a new development in Madeley, Staffordshire, developed by Housing 21. The Madeley Centre has been delivered by a small community charity led by a group of dedicated volunteers that provides a wide range of activities and services to local rural communities.

The overall development comprises the apartments, an eco-friendly community hub and a village centre. The apartments in Lea Court are available for rent or purchase and enable independent living with 24-hour on-site care if required. They each have two bedrooms, a walk-in shower room and a fitted kitchen.

The specification of underfloor heating in the three-storey, timber frame apartment building means that valuable wall space, where radiators would traditionally be fixed, is freed up giving the interior space more flexibility.

The installation utilized 18mm Knauf Brioboard laid over Nu-Heat’s 14mm Fastflo tubing in ClippaPlate aluminium diffuser plate. Knauf Brioboard is precision-engineered gypsum fibreboard that has advantages over traditional wet screeds, including high thermal transparency; this means that the underfloor heating reaches the required temperature quicker, resulting in a more efficient system. This floor construction meets Robust Detail requirements, removing the need for independent acoustic testing.

“The acoustic properties of this floor construction are maintained by the fact that the UFH components are suspended by the diffuser plates and used in conjunction with Knauf Brioboard – the only gypsum board to be used with UFH,” said Nu-Heat Commercial Manager Andrew Butt.

“Knauf Brio is so much quicker to install than wet screed; with Brio on top it takes less time and less heat energy to get to the right temperature. This means we can provide a UFH solution which uses less energy and reduces CO2 emissions – attractive in both economic and environmental terms.”

Nu-Heat worked with the Thomas Vale Group, a leading provider of construction services and one of the largest privately owned construction companies in the Midlands. The underfloor heating installation was carried out by Nu-Heat Registered Installer, Wilson Plumbing & Heating.

Housing 21 has been in existence for nearly 50 years, and was originally part of the Royal British Legion. It is now a leading provider of housing, care and health options for older people. It is one of the five biggest providers of care services, managing more than 17,400 sheltered, extra care apartments and bungalows in over 400 schemes across 239 local authority areas.

Knauf Drywall manufactures a full range of plasters, plasterboards, insulating laminates, dry flooring, drywall accessories, and metal sections for domestic, commercial and public sector applications.

The development is prized for it’s eco-credentials, which you can read more about on their website.