Will putting radiant heat under a hardwood floor cause the floor to warp/lift?

I'm building in MA and am primarily heating with hydro-air. However, I have a family room with a cathedral ceiling and a loft area leading to unfinished areas upstairs. Because of this setup, I feel the hydro-air will not be efficient in this room. I'd like to run a seperate zone off the boiler for radiant, but my wife insists on hardwood here (I'd prefer tile).

Am I heading for problems (other than disagreeing with my wife)?

Thanks.

SJ:

You won't have problems if it's done correctly. I'm not that familiar with it but have learned a few things from this site....
http://www.radiantdesigninstitute.com

Concur. Radiant heat is fairly low temperature and suitable for hardwood floors.

Thanks guys. I'm sure I'll be backing looking for other info as I (and my wife) see new things during construction.

Thanks again!

Hmm now I got a totally different story from hardwood retailers. Depending on the species of wood there will be shrinkage to the flooring. Oak has the least amount where cherry and maple have the most. I was going to install a radiant heat system, and a rosewood floor, but was talked out of it sine the floor would shrink, I installed a HVAC instead.

About 7 years ago I put a radiant under wood floor (t&g oak) heating system, parts purchased from Radiantech in Vermont. It uses 7/8 partially crosslinked poly, and aluminum hand bent fins. It has performed wonderfully over the years, a true delight, all run off a water heater. (tube in tube heat exchanger) and the oak floors....not a problem at all. No shrinkage. The floor never feels warm, unless you put a rug on it, and then place your hand under it. So I suspect that the floor temp never exceeds about 76 degrees. I'm sold on the idea, and would not hesitate to put hardwood floors, especially making sure that the boards are in the 12-14% dry condition.

Thanks for the insight! Gotta keep the little toes warm in the winter!

Oak wouldnt be a problem with radiant, but the more exotic woods like Rosewood, which I am installing would be. At what I am putting in there, I didnt want to take a chance that it would shrink, that and I wanted to have AC in the summer.