Case Histories
ROBBENS PROVIDE UNDERCOVER HEATING
FOR THE HOUSE THE BEACROFTS BUILT
Amanda and Daron Beacroft soon learned to appreciate the output efficiency and fast control response of their Robbens underfloor heating. With winter weather biting during their first family Christmas in their new home, they set the room thermostats up high and soon found they were so warm they were forced to strip down to their underwear!
Fortunately their house on its 10-acre site in Sussex is remote from prying eyes and turning down the Robbens thermostats retuned the internal environment to perfect harmony.
“We'd over compensated for the cold weather” says dancer turned property restorer Amanda, “in fact the Robbens system is designed to give full comfort when it's freezing outside. Readjusting the ‘stats back to their original settings was all that was needed and the system has performed perfectly ever since.”
The Beacroft house has been a labour of love in every sense.
Amanda and husband Daron, a financial services director, have spent hundreds of hours building walls, floors and ceilings, running wiring and laying tiles to create a home that's fine tuned to meet their needs and those of daughters Angelica, 9 and Jade, 7.
Space for modern living
Built in Victorian Gothic style on the site of an old cottage, the 436m 2 house offers all the space needed for modern living and leisure, with plenty of room for family life and private, personal space as well. Unusually for a modern house it boasts a basement level, which has been set to good use as a relaxation area. A games room come den shares the space with a spa facility comprising sauna, jacuzzi and shower and a dance studio complete with full length mirrored wall! Both Beacroft daughters are keen dancers and gymnasts and Angel is already making something of a name for herself in local dance circles.
The area is served by a commercial standard mechanical ventilation system which provides 10 air changes an hour – sucking out the steam from sauna and laundry and even ensuring a clean, fresh atmosphere around the cat's litter tray which has a dedicated extract point!
The ground floor houses a large lounge with open plan dining room, a huge kitchen plus a utility room, toilet and a study. There are three bedrooms and a playroom for the girls on the first floor, together with two large sumptuous bathrooms, while the second and final storey is home to Amanda and Daron's magnificent master suite with linked dressing room, bedroom and bathroom in splendid isolation at the top of the house. Here, even the double shower has underfloor heating pipes run in the walls so that it is warm upon entry.
All areas
All areas of the house are served by a Robbens underfloor heating system.
“using a Robbens system,” explains Amanda, “meant that we could avoid the clutter of radiators, which I hate and they offered design options for both the wooden suspended floors we've used in most areas and the concrete slab in the spa room." The only radiators are hand made cast iron Victorian style radiators, which have been placed in the bathrooms on a separate ‘towel rail loop' so that this loop can be left on in the summer, so bathers can enjoy the benefit of soft warm towels.
During installation of the suspended Underfloor Heating Systems – by the Beacrofts themselves - the spaces between the joists were first filled with insulation material to prevent downward heat transfer. The loops of Robbens multi-layer aluminium and p-EX pipework could then be clipped in position below special aluminium heat conducting sheets with the loop ends connected, via manifolds, to the flow and return sides of the oil-fired Heritage range in kitchen.
Installation proved to be even easier than the Beacrofts had expected. “The Robbens' instructions and diagrams were so simple to follow that the whole job really was piece of cake, with me handling the pipe clips and Daron uncoiling the pipe. Our only professional help was to get the screed poured over the pipes in the spa room floor, which, of course, didn't need any aluminium conducting sheets.
We've already begun work on the final floor finishes. Apart from the spa, which has glazed tiles on the concrete, everywhere will have tongue and grooved boards topped with a finish that suits the particular room. Most will be real wood laminates, although the bedrooms will be carpeted and I've already put down a wonderful pink limestone floor in the kitchen, which goes so well with the copper lustre finish of the Heritage range. The bathrooms and utility have either ceramic tiles or Colonia pure vinyl flooring which are easy to clean, look fabulous and conduct the heat wonderfully. It's such a luxury to step onto a warm floor when getting out of the bath.”
Three manifolds were needed for the Beacroft's new house. Two, which serve the lower floors, are located in the basement games room while the third serving the upper levels hides discreetly in a cupboard in Angel's bathroom.
When the system is in operation the concealed pipework radiates heat from across the entire floor surface, rapidly bringing the room up to the desired temperature. Each room has its own room thermostat to control the temperature in that space.
“Being so closely involved in the building of your home,” says Amanda Beacroft, “makes you much more familiar with the “behind the scenes” details like the heating system. We chose underfloor heating that would give us free wall space throughout the property and provide total comfort. Our experience with Robbens has been a pleasant reminder that there are still companies that provide real service and are ready to go that extra step to help the customer.”
|
