electric radiant heat mat?

15 years ago

With the cost of heating with oil fast approaching the cost of heating with electricity, I'm considering having an electric heat mat put in my bathroom. I figure this would allow me to lower the heat in our master bedroom zone without causing the bathroom to feel uncomfortably chilly.

I would need to do this very quickly, however, as the tile is scheduled to go down in a week.

What part of this needs to be done by an electrician? I wonder if my GC could handle installation of the mat itself? But even if he could, I don't know if he can get the electrician to come out on such short notice.

I'd also like to hear about likes/dislikes, what to look for, what to stay away from.

Thanks.

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piegirltoo

15 years ago

We have heated tile floors in our master bath. If we close the door to the little room where our toilet is, the heat does slightly warm the room. It has to go somewhere, right?

I wouldn't expect it to warm a room in general, but it adds so much to the comfort level. My husband likes the bedroom (and therefore attached bath) to be really cold, so I'm always patting myself on the back for insisting on heated bathroom floors.

Yes, you'll need to involve an electrician. Also, find a tile installer who knows the products and the process. It really should not be a big deal. Others on this forum can tell you more about this.

Another tip: Be sure the heating elements warm the floor area where your feet will be while standing in front of the sink.

Go for it!!

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Comments (10)

monicakm_gw
15 years ago
Even tho the floor is heated, according to those that have them, the heated floors don't raise the room's temp. This was discussed here a few months ago.
The installation can be tricky and there have been many problems with installation, often not discovering these problems till after the tile is down. DH put his foot down on this and wouldn't let me have the heated floors :( He said he's seen too many installations "go south". Do a search on this forum and you'll find several discussions.
Hope yours turns out to be one of the successful ones :)
Monica
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Mongoct- thanks for the suggestion! Actually love that product!! I think DH is even into the idea as well. Do you know, I think I have to call them tomorrow, if the pressure drop from 3/4" copper tube in the current hydronic system into the radiator/towel warmer is a problem??? The connectors are only 1/2" NPT, there is NO info on their website with any technical information!! That would totally work, functional towel warmer, functional heat- win/win!! neverdunn, believe it or not, barely any wall to put a between the stud heater that is aesthetically pleasing on the side of the room (2 outside walls) where it is needed! We are about done with the pipes and drains, need to decide on this before we close up the floors!
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Are you by chance an engineer? :-) 1) Does everything look okay? Asked and answered. 2) Should I use the Laticrete Hydroban on all surfaces (floor, ceiling and walls) throughout the bathroom (as opposed to just the shower area)? Throughout the bathroom would give you no benefit at all. Actually, it's not needed at all, although you could use it in the shower instead of a vapor barrier. You could also use it on the floor, but again, unless you flood the floor on a constant basis, it's really not necessary. 3) Should I put up a plastic vapor barrier behind the walls and ceiling throughout the bathroom (as opposed to just the shower area)? No. Whichever you use-- the plastic or the Hydroban-- use it in just the shower. 4) If I should use the laticrete on the floor, I assume it should be on top of the Durock... Could it be effected by the heat of the radiant heating mat? I don't think so, but you might want to call Laticrete on that. (203) 393-0010 5) Any recommendation for a particular mortar? I'm assuming you're going with Laticrete products, so I'll give you their product names. Walls and ceiling-- 255 lightweight thinset. Under the cement board-- #17 unmodified thinset Between the tile and cement board-- either 253 or 254 modified thinset Grout? Again Laticrete has some good conventional grouts. For joints under 1/8", une unsanded grout. For 1/8" and over, use sanded grout. Sealer for the limestone? Sealer for the grout? Before I give you a recommendation, take a sponge and put a small puddle of water in the center of a tile. Let me know if it just sits there, or does the tile suck it right in? 6) Regular Drywall or greenboard? In every place but the shower, either one is fine in most places. However, some do require greenboard by code. You might want to check to be sure. 7) Anything else I should know or keep in mind? Not that I can think of off hand!!
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Electric floor warming systems are for floor warming only. They do not heat the room. If your slab is uninsulated, then in your cold environment your floors won't even really get warm as the heat will be sucked out through that slab into the outdoors. It'll be a waste of money. I'm really surprised that you actually have slab construction in such a cold climate. Slab requires footings to be dug down below the frost level so it won't heave, and in your area, that's down low enough that it's not that much further to do a basement. And to do a slab without insulating it is also strange. I would not put hard surface flooring in such a situation where you cannot install the sleepers and additional insulation. Your best bet for comfortable flooring will be for carpet. The padding will give a small amount of insulation between you and that freezing cold slab.
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I think he might be confusing electric radiant heat with hot water radiant heat where loops of pex pipe are layed out on the floor, embedded in (something) often self-leveling-cement and then the tile is laid in thin set atop that. For electric radiant heat the mat itself is about 1/8" to 3/16" thick. The installation directions for it often specify to avoid putting the mat where kitchen cabinets or bathroom vanities or other essentially permanent items will sit. The unit I used in my kitchen remodel was made by Warmly Yours, and they have a great deal of useful info about their electric radiant heat mat on their website. In my floor going from the subfloor up, I had a thin layer of thinset, a layer of 1/4" hardibacker, the heat mat, another layer of thinset, and then the 3/8 thick tile. The floor ended up nearly level with the 3/4" thick hardwood floor in the adjacent room.
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dssxxxx
15 years ago
Put in bathroom.

Found out how nice they are and ripped out 2 year old tile in kitchen and did radiant heat. Then installed in rec room.

And yes it does heat the room.
lwolff
15 years ago
I LOVE our electric radiant heat. I went to the warmly yours website and emailed them the drawings of our renovated bathroom. They faxed back a customized drawing of their mats installed in our configuration. The install was pretty simple since the contractor exactly follows their directions but electrician must come out for connection and contoller installation.

Our bathroom is a slate floor installed over a garage. Every now and then, I'll slide my foot under the vanity (where there is no mat) and feel the icy cold tile and smile that our feet are toasty warm. It's one of my favorite things we did and does not noticably increase our electric bill. (There is even an "on vacation" setting on the control to override and not warm the floor at the custom times.)

Best money we spent on the renovation. As far as the install going south. They include (free) a tool that is an alarm that goes off if ANY wire is compromised either during the mat or tile installation so it's almost impossible to not correct it before the floor is finished. (We had no problems but it's nice to know it's there for a fail safe...)

Love it. Love it. Love it.
weedyacres
15 years ago
There have been multiple discussions on this board that you'll find helpful if you do a search or browse back in time. We DIY-ed (so it's not that complicated), and love the results. Just make sure you read flyleft's posts and avoid that brand.
bill_vincent
15 years ago
Sometimes, especially in the warmer climates, or in homes that are well insulated, you'll get lucky, and electric radiant mats will warm the room up. But not always, and you would do well NOT to count on them as your primary heat source.
lwolff
15 years ago
Mmme: We use it under the same conditions that you describe. In winter we turn the heat down to save on fuel costs and so we can snuggle under the blankets.

Since we live in the Northeast and my bathroom is over the garage, I'm guessing Bill is right and this would be a poor choice for primary heating, but since the heat is still on (just low), the toasty warm floor really does do enough to keep us comfy and take any chill out of the room.

:-) If you get a reputable brand, I think you'll love it.
ladycfp
15 years ago
Two words: DO IT.
shw001
15 years ago
Just came across NuHeat brand of electric radiant heat mats. They are about twice the price of some of the others, such as Sun Touch. Does anyone know if this is worth the price? Seems like a good product/
yadax3
15 years ago
Our Nuheat system is my favorite part of the MB remodel we did several years ago. We use ours year round because warm tootsies in the middle of the night are always nice, even in Summer.

Nuheat mats are easy to install compared to some other brands as the wire is encased inside the mat. They also come in custom sizes, which was essential for good coverage in our bathroom since we installed a corner tub. You should shop around though. I was originally quoted a pretty steep price by a retailer I found online but then I got a much better price ordering through my local Laufen tile store.

electric radiant heat mat?

piegirltoo

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monicakm_gw

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