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Robbens underfloor heating ensures
“Quality begins at home” for developer

Developer Gerard Ayrton-Grime has a reputation for using only the best materials and top quality finishes for the fine houses he builds and restores.

One of Ayrton Construction's latest projects is a prime example of this policy in action. This time, however, it's not a townhouse in Belgravia , or a Hampstead villa, but the brand new house, deep in the Hampshire countryside, that is now home to Gerard and his family.

The house is a skillful blend of old and new – on the exterior a traditional Queen Anne facade, while inside Gerard, his wife Caroline and their four children, enjoy the finest that modern technology can provide - including a Robbens underfloor heating system.

Standard solution

Like many modern builders and developers, Gerard Ayrton-Grime now regards underfloor heating as a standard new build solution.

"It's a perfect companion for the types of stone floors that are now so popular," he says " and it's a major space saver, which can make all the difference to a small house in, say Chelsea."

While the new house features extensive use of limestone in the huge open plan kitchen/family room, there's certainly no shortage of space.

With seven bedrooms and eight bathrooms, the house boasts every domestic luxury from a snooker room to a fully equipped gymnasium.

While every room - and there are many of them - has been thoughtfully designed and furnished, this is no design museum, but a real family home with all areas in daily use. Concealed beneath the floors on every level, the Robbens system make it possible to move from area to area in a balanced, comfortable environment with no hot or cold spots and no drafts in even the bleakest Hampshire winter.

Solid floor construction

A solid floor construction was used throughout the house, with the 8-inch beams topped by a 75mm layer of insulation material. The loops of Robbens multi-layer pipework with aluminium oxygen diffusion barrier are integrated into the floor structure by a final 100mm sand and cement screed (see www.underfloorheating.co.uk).

Final floor finish varies considerably, from the marble, limestone and wood on the ground floor - there are extensive areas of Teak in the gym - to carpets in the bedrooms. The Master bedroom is also air-conditioned.

Each floor loop is connected to the flow and return sections of a manifold, which is in turn, connected to the two 110kW gas-fired condensing boilers located in the sub-basement. The low flow and return temperatures, which are characteristic of the Robbens system, will ensure that the boilers are kept in high efficiency condensing mode virtually all the time.

The five compact Robbens manifolds are safely hidden from sight in convenient locations throughout the building.

For control purposes the house is divided up into no fewer than 40 zones. Each zone has its own room thermostat to control the temperature of water flowing from the manifold into the concealed pipework loops.