Where do I find my answer?

You are going to find many different things about heated flooring products. You will be told that radiant heat under wood (solid) is not a good idea. These ideas come from the producers/installers of the hardwoods. You will hear that engineered hardwood can be installed over radiant heat - but it is succeptible to water damage. Water damage can be averted by adding finish to the factory finish - if the manufacturer allows you to do so...some don't...some can't.

There are 1 or 2 radiant flooring professionals on Houzz that will tell you that they have been successful at doing this form of installation. I have no doubt they have been.

Remember: the radiant heat you have to look at is hydronic when working with wood. Even my cork floating floors MUST be used with hydronic (water). The electric pads are not something wood floor manufacturers like to have underneath our FLAMMABLE wood products. Electric pads tend to heat too much causing discolouration of some wood finishes - like a mild burn.

It sounds like you have regular heating in your home and only wish to "take the chill off" while in the kitchen. If this is the case, a cork floor can offer the same advantage as radiant heated floors...but without the $$$ price tag.

You will need to find: A - hydronic in-floor heating that is rated for hardwood (and with a proper installation technique for your circumstances); and B - a hardwood manufacturer that ALLOWS you to use the flooring over top radiant heat.

The "B" is going to be substantially harder to find than "A".

Yes, you can put radiant heating under hard wood floors. The hydronic radiant tubing can be installed in the joist bays under the subfloor if you have access to the joist bays. Systems like those from Radiant Technologies provide a metal tray to snap the tubing into and the metal distributes the heat and then insulation is installed into the joist bays with the metallic side against the tubing . Or, there are some subfloors made with grooves in them to lay the tubing in and then you install your flooring over the subfloor. INSTALLATION NOTE: Your installer must be very careful not to nail the wood flooring into the tubing, you will most certainly get a leak! Only have an experienced installer who is familiar with this type of installation do the work. Good luck.

Thank you so much. Who does this work,? We are doing a new kitchen so should my contractor know or a plumber or electrician?

I am so happy with your responses. Thank you. We are redoing a kitchen that was added on to the back of our house 25 yrs. ago & are changing the tile floors to hardwood oak which will flow into the rest of the house all open floor plan. We have forced hot air heat but the back room is always cold!