How are you going to install non-engineered floor over your radiant heat? You can't nail down, and glue certainly isn't as stable with the heat. You're mentioning all different types of hardwood species, but you can get most of those in engineered as well (they come in more than just Brazilian Cherry). If you're looking for "dimensionally stable" over radiant heat, engineered is the only way to go.

We installed BEAUTIFUL Brazilian Cherry engineered over our radiant heat. It has a thickness EQUAL to hardwood (3/4"). HTH

Hi & thanks for the feedback. I want a product that can be finished several times and that is tough to find with the engineered products. They also tend to have very short board lengths.

Mesquite can either be glued or nailed down. I was told glue was the way to go b/c mesquite won't bow.

Whidbey - the use of nails for flooring is not forbidden; it depends upon the type of installation used for radiant heat. In fact, there is very big business in retro-fitting for radiant, under hardwood floors (which have been nailed).

mdev ~ before any glue is used, discuss with its manufacturer to be sure it is suitable for radiant heat installations. Most adhesives are okay, but some radiant systems use *very* hot water, which can cause some adhesives to become brittle or otherwise lose gripping effectiveness. I would also question the potential for out-gassing from glues, although don't be surprised if you get a generical response of 'that's not a problem' instead of test results.

Mesquite is one of the most interesting and beautiful flooring materials I have ever seen. The flash photos give it a somewhat lighter appearance.

Is that your floor? It is beautiful!

It's not my house, I designed it for my brother & sister-in-law.

Very well done- they must be very grateful. Thanks for the info on the floors. Pictures go a long way!

Out of curiosity- Glue or nail?

A word about avoiding short boards: Have the floor guy buy an extra bundle or two and pitch out the short lengths. (I don't like the 'patchwork' effect either.)

whidbey, why do you say: How are you going to install non-engineered floor over your radiant heat? You can't nail down ? You must be thinking of a kind of radiant subfloor different than what I nailed over. You do need to be careful, obviously. :-)

FWIW, I nailed down solid bloodwood planks over radiant. Bloodwood is an extremely hard and dense wood, like mesquite, and definitely required predrilling to avoid splitting the tongues as I nailed into them.

(Mesquite is a gorgeous wood, and I really wanted to use it. But it was priced out of my reach, and yes, it does tend to come in short lengths due to the mostly very small, short-trunked trees it grows as.)

--Steve

Well- we are going full speed ahead on the mesquite and I will post photos once it's in!

I suppose I was thinking of it from a practical standpoint. You can certainly use sleepers or just be extra careful I guess. You guys are absolutely right. :-)

The mesquite looks gorgeous BTW. :-)