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How do you plan underfloor heating installation?

Plan underfloor heating by choosing wet pipes or electric mats, naming the floor finish, and agreeing who connects the system to the boiler, heat pump or fuse board. The pipes or mats go under the floor, and this guide is the sequence of decisions rather than a laying pattern.

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By the QuoteZila editorial team. Editorial policy.

What is this guide, next to the cost page?

What changes an underfloor heating quote is about the differences that move a price, and it does not print a figure either. This guide is the order of decisions: which system, which floor, who connects it, and what you clear before anyone lifts a board. Read both if you are about to ask for quotes. They are not copies of each other.

A job in Crewe, Nantwich, Sandbach or elsewhere in Cheshire still starts with the floor build-up. Anyone in the UK can post or register.

Which system are you asking for?

NICEIC describes two kinds. Wet underfloor heating is a series of pipes under the floor, connected to a boiler or a heat pump, with hot water flowing through the pipes [S1]. The same page says the surface is much larger than a radiator, so the system can warm the home at lower operating temperatures [S1]. Electric, or dry, underfloor heating uses mats or cables under the floor. NICEIC says these are often used to warm smaller spaces, such as toilets, utility rooms or ensuites, rather than a whole property [S1].

On cost, NICEIC says electric systems are often cheaper to install, and that they are typically more expensive to run than wet systems [S1]. It also says wet systems are usually cheaper to run because they operate at lower temperatures [S1]. That is NICEIC's comparison, not a price list, and this guide does not add a pound figure to it.

If a heat pump is likely, say so. NICEIC says heat pumps typically operate at lower temperatures than gas boilers, and that underfloor heating is often installed with a heat pump because of that [S1]. A heat pump quote of its own is heat pump installation. Use a registered installer for that appliance. An MCS certified installer is the route described on the heat pump page.

Who does the connection?

Wet and dry systems hand the end of the job to a named person. Do not lift boards, cut loops or wire a mat from a video.

NICEIC says an installer, either a registered electrician or a plumbing and heating specialist, lays the electric cables or the pipes [S1]. The person who lays a mat and the person who connects it to the consumer unit may not be the same person. Ask the quote to name both.

For a wet system, the pipes are connected to a boiler or a heat pump [S1]. Work on the gas appliance itself, if that is what heats the water, has to be done by a Gas Safe registered engineer competent in that area. The competencies are on the back of the Gas Safe Register ID card [S2]. Gas Safe Register. QuoteZila is not affiliated with this organisation.

The gas rule is HSE's domestic gas questions.

Electrical Safety First says electrical work, apart from some minor tasks, is either reported to the local authority building control body or carried out by a registered electrician in a government-approved scheme, who arranges the certificate [S3]. Electrical Safety First: find a registered electrician; NICEIC; NAPIT. QuoteZila is not affiliated with this organisation.

Electrical Safety First explains electrical work and building regulations.

GOV.UK lists installing or replacing a heating system among work that might need building regulations approval, and says you do not need to make that application yourself if the installer is on a competent person scheme [S4]. Ask which scheme, and what certificate you will receive.

What goes on top of the floor?

The finish changes how the heat gets into the room. NICEIC lists these among coverings that conduct heat well: stone or ceramic tiles, wood or engineered timber, laminate, vinyl and luxury vinyl tiles, and carpet of 2.5 tog and under [S1].

Put the finish in the enquiry, including the tog rating if it is carpet. A design done for tiles and a carpet bought later will not match. A carpet thicker than the 2.5 tog line on that list is a question for the installer, not a figure this page will stretch.

What do you agree before the floor comes up?

This is not a pipe layout and not a wiring diagram. Agree the following, in writing:

  • Rooms, and whether upstairs stays on radiators.
  • Wet or dry, and the heat source [S1].
  • Who lays the pipes or mats, who connects them, and who signs the work off [S1] [S3] [S4].
  • The floor finish, including tog rating if it is carpet [S1].
  • What happens to the existing radiators in those rooms.
  • How long the floor is out of use.
  • Who protects the kitchen or the stairs, and who removes waste.

Citizens Advice says a quote is a fixed price and an estimate is a rough guess, and to collect written quotes from at least three traders [S5]. A deposit, if you cannot avoid one, should not be more than 25 per cent, and you should get a receipt [S5].

Jobs you might post

These are examples, not taken from real job posts.

  • "Kitchen and living room, solid floor, tiles to go on top. Please quote wet underfloor heating connected to the existing gas boiler. Name the Gas Safe engineer for the boiler connection and say whether the radiators in those rooms come out."
  • "Bathroom only, timber floor, electric mat, tiles. Please quote the mat and name the registered electrician who will connect it. Shower tray stays."
  • "Whole ground floor, heat pump planned next year. Please design wet underfloor heating and say what you need from the heat pump installer. The heat pump itself is a separate quote."

Posting the job

Say wet or electric, the rooms, and the floor finish. Up to five matched local businesses can send a quote [QZ2]. QuoteZila is free for customers and local businesses [QZ1].

Honest status: QuoteZila is new. We're starting in Cheshire, beginning with Crewe, Nantwich and Sandbach, and growing area by area. Anyone in the UK can still post a job or register a business. How fast you get quotes depends on how many local businesses have joined near you. Businesses can register and receive jobs straight away. We don't check insurance, qualifications or registrations, so please check these yourself before you hire.

Posting a job is not open yet

See our heating engineers page, electricians page and plumbers page.

Questions about planning an install

What are the two systems?

NICEIC describes wet systems as pipes laid under the floor and connected to a boiler or a heat pump, with hot water flowing through the pipes. Electric, or dry, systems use heating mats or cables under the floor. Say which one you want, or ask the installer to recommend one and explain why.

Who connects a wet system?

NICEIC says the pipes are connected to a boiler or a heat pump. If that connection is work on a gas appliance, HSE says the person employed to do it must be a Gas Safe registered engineer, competent for that work, with the competencies on the back of the Gas Safe Register ID card. Do not cut into the boiler or the gas pipe yourself.

Who connects an electric system?

NICEIC describes the person laying electric cables or pipes as a registered electrician or a plumbing and heating specialist. Electrical Safety First says that, apart from some minor tasks, electrical work is reported to building control or done by a registered electrician on a government-approved scheme, who arranges a certificate.

What floor finishes conduct the heat?

NICEIC lists stone or ceramic tiles, wood or engineered timber, laminate, vinyl and luxury vinyl tiles, and carpet of 2.5 tog and under, among coverings that conduct heat well. Tell the installer the finish before they design the loops or the mats. A thicker carpet is not on that list.

Does QuoteZila check the installers?

No. We don't check insurance, qualifications or registrations, so please check these yourself before you hire. You can report a quote or a business from your job page.

This page is general information, not professional or legal advice. QuoteZila does not check Gas Safe, WaterSafe, NFRC, NICEIC or other registrations against the register on your behalf: look them up yourself.

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Sources

  1. QZ1: QuoteZila product fact. QuoteZila home and FAQ copy.
  2. QZ2: QuoteZila product fact. QuoteZila FAQ How does getting quotes work.
  3. S1: Installing an underfloor heating system, NICEIC. Accessed 2026-10-28. https://niceic.com/householders/electrical-services/underfloor-heating-system/
  4. S2: Domestic gas: frequently asked questions, HSE. Accessed 2026-10-28. https://www.hse.gov.uk/gas/domestic/faqs.htm
  5. S3: Building regulations, Electrical Safety First. Accessed 2026-10-28. https://www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk/find-a-registered-electrician/building-regulations/
  6. S4: Building regulations approval, GOV.UK. Accessed 2026-10-28. https://www.gov.uk/building-regulations-approval
  7. S5: Before you get building work done, Citizens Advice. Accessed 2026-10-28. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/getting-home-improvements-done/before-you-get-building-work-done/