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 Development company director Johnny Caddick knew what he wanted for his own home. Unable to find exactly the property he envisaged, he set about creating it by knocking three first floor Victorian flats together to provide a blank canvas for a luxury apartment.
His ‘wish list’ for the 4,000 sq ft development in the centre of the West Yorkshire spa town of Harrogate included plenty of living space, a games room and a fitness suite. The design was to be modern while retaining traditional features.
“I wanted to create something quite special,” said Johnny, a director of the Wetherby-based Caddick Group. Essential to the concept was solid oak flooring throughout, underfloor heating and soundproofing to minimise disturbance from the retail premises below. Designer Simon Mitchell specified quality products all proven in their own field. But there was a problem.
 The engineered oak flooring by Element 7 is normally bonded to a solid sub-floor into which the Speedheat electrical heating system is set. The use of Acoustilay foam-based underlay from Sound Reduction Systems (SRS) meant that this was out of the question.
It had never been done before and with so much at stake, a test bed was set up at Speedheat’s offices. The Acoustilay sound insulation was taped to the Speedheat cabling system, which in turn was taped to the Element 7 wood flooring.
Because it was essential to ensure that the heating did not damage the underlay or the boards and that the bonding tape would not disintegrate, the test bed was run for six months of normal domestic use up to a maximum temperature of 35 deg C.
 “Not only were we able to overcome the issues for this particular installation, we have established a successful new application for all our products which we can take forward for other clients.”
Element 7’s technicians were happy to give their blessing to the solution and the Speedheat and Acoustilay systems were laid exactly as Johnny Caddick had envisaged.
“They did good job in coming together to solve this problem,” he said. “It all works really well – aesthetically, in terms of warmth and in keeping out the noise. Visitors are impressed and I’m a happy man!”
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Speedheat & Amtico.
The perfect combination.
Renovation and new build.
Great with stone, tiles or
wood.
Superb in conservatories.
Use them all year round.
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