Looking for possibilities to retrofit a tile floor bathroom with unfinished basement beneath. I really don’t want to rip out the floor, but my husband is from Texas and the Minnesota winters are cold on toes. This “calorique” system installs between the joists below the floor, any experience with this? I’ve seen one other system that installs beneath the floor joists at Lowes, and wonder if you all think these are total waste of money–everything I’ve seen on breakthrough involves adding the heat before putting down the floor…
Thank you!
Replies
If the system involves heavy weight extruded aluminum plates that staple or screw up to the subfloor between the joists, with PEX tubing, two runs per joist bay, and then insulation, you will get good results without tearing up your finished floor.
All assuming, of course, that you also have a way to pump heated water through the tubes and control the temperature of that water in relation to the desired surface temperature.
It's usually more complicated than it seems at first glance...but definately worth it.
Sounds like hydronic (i.e. water) radiant floor heating. Calorique? Sound like a fancy name dreamed up by some marketer that needs to compensate for his/her inadequacies. A reason to make me cautious. But radiant floor heating is an OK concept as the other poster indicated. If you have access underneath, you can install it RELATIVELY easily w/out tearing up a finished floor. You do need a heat source (i.e. water heater), and a pump. Control is usually (unfortunately) still via a space thermostat ... but this isn't really "radiant" heating in the true sense of the word, so a thermostat is OK ... hopefully you'll find yourself setting the 'stat' a little lower than in other similar rooms (e.g. 3 Fdeg lower maybe a little more). Since your feet are extra warm, there is a tendencey to need lower space temp for the same comfort level.
If this system is electric .... it may require you to tear up the flooring (althogh you theoretically could install an electric system from below as well). Electric heat will likely be more expensive than your other heat to use.
That's my 2 cents for now.
Both the system from Lowes and the Calorique are electric heat-- they use mats that staple to the plywood between the joist space, then connect to the electric source. They both do have thermostat that you can program to turn on prior to the alarm going off, so the use could be limited to a couple of hours a day in the winter.
It sounds like you guys think that the theory is OK - to run the heat through the joists rather than in a thin set directly under the tile - that has been my big question. According to their customer testimonials, it looks like the Calorique (.com) has been doing this type of application for at least 5 years.
Thanks for your help!
Oh ... insulation below is important, too.
If you are thinking of only using a couple of hours a day ... be careful. This ain't like your forced air system. You need to anticipate its use a little ... it won't just come on instantly and start warming up your floor. You may have to turn it on 1-2 hours in advance (maybe longer) (it's OK to turn it off 1-2 hours early, too). You'll need to experiment w/ it. You may not be as satisfied turning it on/off, though. For that kind of use, I'm unsure. Just be aware!
Not a big fan of the electric systems, but there is a time/place for everything and a small room application like this may be just the ticket for the technology (i.e. too small to bother w/ pumps and water heaters).
Ask Lowe's if they have a gas fired model .... just kidding. If they go looking for it ... find the door. :)
No reason it shoudn't work just fine, but you will need to anticipate the need for heat, or just keep it on at a fairly low level all the time. Of vital importance will be the insulation in the joist bays, to keep as much heat up into the finish floor as possible.