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Flooring Bathrooms

Radiant Heat suggestions and tips

4 years ago

I am planning on installing in 2 bathrooms, using tile flooring. does anyone have any tips or recommendations on which type of mats or brand to use. I see about 3 or 4 different set ups. Electric element, not liquid.

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4 years ago

last modified: 4 years ago

Use whatever system that your experienced tiler suggests and is comfortable installing. Experience with it trumps $2 worth of savings that leaves you with a cold floor. You don’t tell your installer what to use. You tell him the result that you want, and ask how he plans to achieve it. Then compare against the manufacturer’s requirements.

Always use 2 leads. All systems should be tested with a tattletale during install, and a megger meter before any tile goes down. Schluter requires this, and the documentation of this, for their warranty. Rightly so.

The tattletale will tell if the line is broken. The megger will tell you if it’s barely nicked, and would degrade over time and then fail. Not a cheap tool at all. But any pro doing this has to own the tools required for the job, in order to do the job correctly.

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Comments (8)

cat_mom
4 years ago
We have Nu-Heat mats. Our tile guy recommended them, and DH was very impressed with their customer service when he was researching different brands.
kudzu9
4 years ago
Have the heating system tested before tiling. There are a number of threads here about malfunctioning electric mat installations, and you're stuck if they act up after the tile is laid.
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doug_ b
4 years ago
I have used Warmly Yours mats and WarmWire - have no problems.

I poured SLC (self leveling cement) over the wire - makes a nice even installation.
SJ McCarthy
4 years ago
As per above. Use the system your professional tile setter has successfully installed in the past. Be prepared to pay for the good stuff. Ditra Heat mats are pricey but they are quick and easy to use. Many installers LOVE them because of how easy/fast they are to install.

Quick and easy with quality = pricey. For small square footages like the bathrooms, it will pay off in the end. A happy tile setter who can move QUICKLY will save you the cost of the install of the more expensive product. How? Because it is fast and *fail-proof. A fast install is CHEAPER than a trick-dicky super-fiddly cheesy set up that takes 3 days longer than the higher priced product.

In the building industry time is money.

And remember to include the price of an electrician when figuring out your budget.
nycbluedevil_gw
4 years ago
In both my houses, my electrician was the one who installed the system in conjunction with the contractor. Warm Tiles in my apartment bathrooms. A different company in my weekend house bathrooms. Might be Nuheat. All have worked perfectly.
MongoCT
4 years ago
NuHeat, SunTouch, WarmlyYours are three that have been around for a while, offer good support and are fairly straightforward to install.

Consider installing a second floor sensor in each room, just in case the primary fails down the road.

Make sure the heat is where your feet will be. Your bare foot will easily identify the edge of a mat, and not like it.
PRO
Creative Tile Eastern CT
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
Agree. Always install a second sensor. Most common error I've seen is the heat cable not being close enough to a vanity toe kick. (Cables do not go under vanity.) Nothing worse than standing at the sink every morning and having warm heals and cold toes. Yep learned that the hard way many years back:)

Second most common error is the location of the sensor. Be aware of sunshine and window locations. If the sun comes through the window shining on the sensor location the system may not come on as programed.

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