Spec’ing a current project…. the Owner wants radiant floor in the Master Bath…. the regular heat is hot air… so, I don’t have a hot water source my intention is to use one of the electric radiant mats undr a ceramic tile floor what systems / manufacturers have you used … which ones would you recommend.. which ones to avoid ?
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Replies
hah, hah, hah....on the old bt...i wudda had 5 pcs of advice by now
Ha ha ha.
You don't want any
Ha ha ha.
You don't want any bogus advice, do ya?
Better to get none than nothing worthwhile.
This from Fast Eddie-cleveland. No wire, stick with matt.
After that, hope it's for warming up the tile rather than providing room heat. With the forced air I suppose that would be your plan.
I can ask a recent customer Thursday, tho he's only gotten this winters use out of it in his entry and 1/2 bath.
hah, hah,hah.... it's just
hah, hah,hah.... it's just you, me and jason lurking in the wings..
i already figgered on the mat vs. wire... i'm hoping someone has actually laid tile on the stuff
hey..this is the job i thought 1 was gonna start 15 months ago... better late than later
Again I'm not much help.
I'm
Again I'm not much help.
I'm on sysop ignore I think. Got one response in 30 days of asking questions.
And that response asked me if I knew about understanding.
Me? no way. I still think showing up is half the game.
.
.
.
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If I was a betting man I'd ask Mongo, maybe Honeymoon Eric-You'd think those two would have at least a psssing opinion on the mat.
Mike,
I've used the wire
Mike,
I've used the wire style on a few projects. It works, and may even have advantages on some projects, but I really don't like working w it.
Man is it good to see a post from Mike Smith here!!
Take some pictures of the bathroom.
Harry
Mike, take a look at Easy Heat at http://www.easyheat.com/Content1/Products/Details/wt_detail.htm
It worked for me in two baths of a spec house I built a few years ago. Still working fine.
It is cable, not a mat, and you do your layout, snap guide lines, staple down the plastic thingies they have for doing the U-turns, etc.
We did this on the Advantech subfloor, then poured a leveling compound to screeds which just topped it, then atop that, did Schluter Ditra on unmodified thinset, then the tile.
Be sure to spring for the kit that connects to the wires and tells you you are good, circuit-wise.
If I do it again, I'll cut back on the size of whatever heat I put in the bath, because while they say you cannot count on under-tile heat to heat a bath, it will just about do it except for the very coldest times.
Get the good programmable t'stat.
And (ha,ha) show us a pictorial essay!
The one by Laticrete has a decent warranty provided you use Laticrete products to bed, set, and grout with. I found it easy to work with and clearly documented.
It's been in for a couple years now and everything is still groovy.
What is the diff between a REPLY to a post, and an ADD A COMMENT to the original thread-starting post?
Does the OP (Mike) get an email about those who have ADDED A COMMENT?
That is how this one got done.
Anyway, I like pictures, and so does Mike, I think. Here is an alternative way to the one I posted, straight from EasyHeat's literature. You pays your money, you makes your choices, and you takes your chances.
Nuheat makes high quality heat mats. I've used them. They will make custom shapes and sizes if you need them -- a good idea if the bath is odd-shaped. You don't want to have cold spots where the owners will be standing. Don't set the mat too close to the wax ring for the terlet or it will become a melted wax ring.
The heat mat goes under the Ditra -- sounds strange but the heat goes right through Ditra and heats the tile quickly. If a tile is cracked and you need to replace it the Ditra will protect the heat mat underneath from your chip hammer -- not so if you place the heat mat directly under the tile. See photos below.
The owners will love the heat put out by the mat!
Billy
best system for heated floor over a cement floor with crack
Ok, so you guys sound like you know what you're doing. I am enclosing a 6' x 12' breezeway making it a mudroom with a heated tile floor. The cement floor has a thin crack across. It is about 2 feet above grade and has never had a moisture problem. What is best underlayment, and heated floor product to layer under the tile? My Tile installer prefers NuHeat. Which is a bit more expensive. I have done a bit of research online, and have looked at Lacticrete, Nuheat, Schluder Ditra etc. I was told the Ditra can be combined with the heated wire so separate Nuheat is not needed. Is that enough to protect against temperature changes in New England to prevent the tile cracking? Which combo is best? What about heat mat products at big box stores? Not as good?
best system for heated floor over a cement floor with crack
Ok, so you guys sound like you know what you're doing. I am enclosing a 6' x 12' breezeway making it a mudroom with a heated tile floor. The cement floor has a thin crack across. It is about 2 feet above grade and has never had a moisture problem. What is best underlayment, and heated floor product to layer under the tile? My Tile installer prefers NuHeat. Which is a bit more expensive. I have done a bit of research online, and have looked at Lacticrete, Nuheat, Schluder Ditra etc. I was told the Ditra can be combined with the heated wire so separate Nuheat is not needed. Is that enough to protect against temperature changes in New England to prevent the tile cracking? Which combo is best? What about heat mat products at big box stores? Not as good?
Square or rectangular....I'd
Square or rectangular....I'd use NuHeat. Quality control is good... but follow their test procedure. I actually had a bad mat once that failed the test. They were flabergasted and shocked, but agreed to take it back, no problem. Thank god I didn't lay it under the tile before testing.
For irregular shapes I'd use what Gene says.. the easyheat. That's what we plan to use in our bathroom.
I did see that DIY channel chic Amy Matthews installing some electric radiant heat mat in a bathroom. Couldn't recall the manufacturer name, just enjoyed watching her crawl around on the floor.
A quick GOOGLE search came up with that it WAS indeed NuHeat.
http://www.diynetwork.com/how-to/how-to-install-a-floor-heating-system/index.html
i wonder if any mfr makes a cable that installs in QuickTrac..
i think the spacing is about 5" on QT
gene, that nupro graphic showed 3/4 ...then cement board... no 1/2 ply... that's not kosher..whats up with that ?
What is kosher about 1/2" plywood, Mike? All the tile work here, if it is not getting heat, gets Schluter Ditra membrane stuck down right to the Advantech with unmodified thinset, then tile on that.
As I said, if it is to get EasyHeat cabling, it goes Advantech, cable right on that, pour on the leveling compound to just barely cover the cable (screed strips at edges as required), now on top of your perfecly flat surface, do the Ditra with its thinset, then tile over.
I saw a job done with cable-on-subfloor, NO LEVELING POUR, then Ditra on that with a heavy "scratch coat" on the cable layer under the Ditra, but it was not as flat, and caused probs when tiling over. Lippage. Ugh.
I think over at the John Bridge forum you can find a video or photo sequence story of what's his name, the tile expert, doing cabling, then leveler, then tile. I just like the Ditra.
Good luck, and for sure, show us the pictures. If we can find them here.
gene ... i just ran this experiment... posted the same question on the 3 sites :
BT....... BT Classic.... & Woodshed Tavern....
most numerous and odds on... best overall info seemed to be BT Classic
i think Taunton needs a wakeup call
We had the STEP Warmfloor under tile as the sole source of heat in our two bathrooms in the house we just sold, gas/forced air for the rest of the house. Those were the best rooms in the house. I'd use the same again and probably will when we redo floors in the next house. I loved it. You have to design in a place to put the transformer - we put ours outside the bathrooms in closet/storage rooms.
Edited to add that the mud base went over the thermoplastic and the thinset over that.
NuHeat is pretty good, their product has evolved over the years and they have very good support. SunTouch and Warmly Yours have been around for a while as well.
If your tile guy is hooked up with Laticrete, they introduced a mat a couple of years ago.
If putting one in my house and I had to use a mat, my choice would be NuHeat. But all three are fine. I've not used Laticrete's mat.
I need to add, NuHeat's version is like an electric blanket, it goes down best with thinset. If you want to use SLC, then go with one of the open mesh mats.
The matt-less cable is easy to customize to any layout.
Tyco Raychem -
http://www.tycothermal.com/usa/english/floor_warming/electric_floor_warming.aspx
View Image
Using it in my own house.
There's a product video on the site.
heat mat under flooring
We have used NuHeat on numerous projects. Everyone so far is very happy with it
Depending on the size of the room - if you want more heat other than the floor heating look into infrared heating panels
check out redwell.com
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So
is this a shameless free ad or are you a satisfied user of perhaps a real radiant pro?