Specified by the architects Purcell, and with engineering by Elementa Consulting, JUPITER was appointed by CBRE to retrofit a low profile underfloor heating system in a Grade 2 Listed, 1970’s brutalist college building in Oxford.
Before the underfloor heating system could be successfully installed, the existing concrete floors needed to be made flat and level. JUPITER were commissioned to level the entire existing concrete floor slabs using our dry-levelling compound and laser-guide levelling robot.
The result is a perfectly level floor with a finished floor level to Surface Regularity 1 (± 3 mm over 2 m) onto which our insulating and high compressive strength heating panels could be installed. Where the subfloor was higher adjacent to the servery, our thinner NEO19 panels were used to afford us the height required to level the floor. Where the subfloor became lower, and more height was available, our 30 mm thick Ideal EPS panel was used instead.
The transition between the two is visible above, where the grey Neopor panels become white EPS panels. Neopor is an improved version of EPS, whose lambda-value has been improved by the inclusion of graphite, giving Neopor its characteristic grey colour.
The manifolds serving the main dining hall were located in the adjacent servery. Owing to the size of the dining gall and the intended sensitive timber floor finish, there was a total of 30 floor heating circuits that needed to cross the floor in the servery. These pipes were cleverly concealed within the depth of our floor levelling slate to prevent overheating in an area filled with catering equipment.
Our heating panels were then topped with out 12 mm thick Firmax CP boards. These provided a strong, thermally transparent surface onto which the Juncker’s timber flooring could be installed. Firmax CP’s low profile and its ability to support the large point loads required for high occupancy spaces made it the ideal choice.
The laying pattern of the timber floor was chosen to accentuate the striking geometric ceiling details above in the dining hall.
A levelled, insulated, heated and incredibly strong floor was achieved, all within a typical thickness of only 55 mm, courtesy of Construction ID: EPS-70U.
Please challenge us to solve your heating problem over an existing uneven floor!
