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Heating & Air Conditioning

Radiant heat stone slab on wall?

16 years ago

I put in an electric radiant heat mat under the bathroom tile floor when we remodeled a couple of years ago, and I love it. We're about to remodel the kitchen, will be installing cabinets over all the baseboard heating pipes (so will cut them out). We need some form of heat in the kitchen, but we're not ripping out the floor. Has anyone purchased or made an electric radiant heat stone slab to install on a wall? I've seen marble radiators made like this on European websites, but can't find anyone who does them in the US. It doesn't seem like it would be that hard to make: something like reflective foil on the wall, slab of stone, cement with radiant mat, slab of stone. Experience? Advice? Thanks!

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Comments (3)

jamesbodell
16 years ago
You can do this if you want, but you will find it much faster, cheaper and easier to install toe kick heaters. We have one in our kitchen in front of the sink. Keeps your feet warm when doing the dishes. Only problem is we keep kicking the on/off switch to off.

One thing you can also think about is radiant heated countertops. Not sure if they are good as room heaters however.
jamesk
16 years ago
I doubt that an electric mat behind a stone slab will be sufficient to heat a room. Those mats are designed to take the chill off of a cold floor. They aren't designed to provide room heat.

Your best bet, if you don't want to install new radiators or baseboard units tied into your existing heating system, are the electric toe kick heaters described above, or some other sort of built-in electric space heater. There are a number of small wall-mounted fan-driven units available. If you have the wall space available, you might also consider electric radiator/towel warmer units available from several companies. I use units from Runtal in my bathrooms. They keep my bathrooms nice and toasty (not to mention keeping the towels dry and nice and warm!). I'm not sure how well they'd perform when it comes to keeping larger spaces warm.

Here is a link that might be useful: Runtal Towel Warmer/Radiators
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I have seen construction adhesive (Liquid Nails) fail. I am no longer impressed with it - but I do still use it, and another brand. Mechanical fasteners are required for a good wall. It would be EXTRMELY unwise to just fasten down the bottom plates, without knowing where the tubes are... Fixing the floor heat would be mucho dollars. See if you can find out who did the floor. Maybe they have pictures or a layout plan. Otherwise - your idea of an infrared imager seems excellent. Or possibly a plumber might be able to help you out... You think imaging is expensive... how much to fix the floor?? after you kill the heat? So your first inclination is best. Find out first where they are...
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jamesbodell
16 years ago
Looks like there is already hot water heat in the house. I would use Hydronic Toe kicks, not electric. It would be easy to plumb, just use 5/8 Pex piping.

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