Replies

1. 
   xxPaulCPxx | Mar 04, 2011 11:53am | #1

   Google this:

   electric heating mat

   If you are set on a particular product line, like Latticrete, they have their own mat system too.  If you use only their products, you get a 25 year warranty for everything together.

1. 
   tonystargell | Mar 04, 2011 10:13pm | #4

   thanks. i'll look into latticrete.

2. 
   glacierfergus | Mar 04, 2011 01:00pm | #2

   I did this in the bathrooms in my house, and LOVE the warm tile on bare feet.  The ones in the basement are over concrete, and the upstairs bathroom is on a wood subfloor.  THere are several brands out there, but as I researched, the "suntouch" mats seemed to get the best reviews. Here is a link to one website that sells them and has quite a bit of info on them: http://www.warmyourfloor.com/

   For my installation on the wood subfloor, we put down 1/4" Hardibacker (thinset under it, Hardie screws to secure it to the floor), then taped the joints, laid out the mat, stapling it down with an air finish stapler (staple the orange mat, not the blue wire).  I then used self leveling cement to embed the mat and wire, then set the tile with thinset as usual.  The company says that you can lay the mat and then set your tile with thinset directly over the mat, but I felt better with the wire embedded in self leveler. That way if I crack a tile I have a better chance of replacing it without accidentally nicking a wire.  This installation meets a 3/4" Oak floor, and the tile is about 1/16" higher than the wood. I just used grout to make that transition and I have been very happy with the results...

   For the installations over concrete, I hot-glued the mat to the concrete (fairly level in excellent condition), then spread self leveling cement to embed the mats, and laid tile as usual.

   THere are very good installation guides available, and they are written so that a skilled DIYer can easily understand them.

   Things you will need: Heating mat the correct size for your floor, Thermostat (includes one floor sensor, I installed a second one as a backup), Loudmouth alarm (to alert you incase you nick a wire during installation), a digital Ohm meter, 120 or 240 v power to a steel box (as spec'd in installation manual), single gang mud ring to fit box.  These things are not cheap. Expect to pay around $11/square foot for the mats, plus a thermostat, the extra wiring and all the little things such as self leveling cement.  But I sure think it is worth it.  When I put my foot beside the toilet (where the floor heating stops) I realize what the whole floor would feel like without electric warming... I haven't been able to notice the difference on my electric bill when it is on verses off, so it must not be using too much juice...

1. 
   tonystargell | Mar 04, 2011 10:17pm | #5

   Thanks so much for the detailed reply. That's what i need to know. we did a few feet of our front entrance with tile (looks great, imho) but cold when on with bare feet. The rest of the house is wood, except the basement, and it very nice to run around with no shoes on.

   If you can point me to those DIYer guides, I'd sure apprecatie that.

   Again, thanks.

1. 
   glacierfergus | Mar 07, 2011 12:42pm | #8

   Here is a link to the SunTouch guide...

     http://www.suntouch.com/literature/download/ST_SunTouch_Manual-EN-20071121.pdf

   This link should get you the installation guide.  It goes through most of the do's and dont's, as well as helping you think about your layouts to get the right mat for the room. 

3. 
   aimless | Mar 04, 2011 01:13pm | #3

   We used STEP Warmfloor as primary heat in both of our bathrooms and loved it. Purchase of the heating system and operating costs were very economical, but keep in mind that it was a small space. Even though we replaced gas heat with electrical for those two rooms, our power bill did not increase and the other rooms that still had gas became more comfortable because we were heating less space. I think the power bill stability was because the furnace had to cycle on more often when the bathrooms were getting forced air (even though they were tiny). Unfortunately we had to move and our "new" house has COLD floors and we don't have budget yet to replace them.

   For our install they stapled down the thermoplastic to the subfloor, then a mud base, then the tile install with thinset.  I don't think it is recommended to install tile directly to wood subfloor, but I think you would be fine if you substituted cement board for the mud base. One thing to keep in mind is that you will need sufficient safe space for the transformer. They get hot to the touch so you can't put it in the same place you are storing your toilet paper.

1. 
   tonystargell | Mar 04, 2011 10:24pm | #6

   thankls. i was planning on cement board. hum, wonder if the self leveling mud would be enough to keep the tile from cracking. we're doing roughly 11 x 14 with ceramic tile.

   thanks for the heads up on the transformer. had no idea about that.

4. 
   semar | Mar 05, 2011 10:58pm | #7

   electric heating mat over subfloor

   We used NuHeat mats for that purpose.

   First priority: make sure the wooden subfloor is securely fastened to the joist system. More screws the better. Subfloor min 3/4" plywood.

   Thinset as per man specification. Lay mat directly into thinset. Let cure over night. Lay tiles directly over mat. Floorsensor and wire to box in wall slightly embedded in floor to avoid high spots. Grout.

1. 
   tonystargell | Mar 08, 2011 12:01pm | #9

   Thanks. This is a 90 year old house. To redo the subfloor would be quite a project. It has 3/4 tongue and groove subflloring. when i did the front entry i screwed it down with 2 or so as i didnt want to hit any of the elctrical wiring I installed for the basemetn.

5. 
   TheTimberTailor | Mar 09, 2011 11:32am | #10

   Tile Heat Brand

   tonystargell

   If you're still shopping for a tile heating product manufacturer, you might at least check out Nu-Heat brand.  I just used their heat mats on a project and we're very pleased with the product and process.   I'm not sure about cost comparision with other brands (I think they're all pricey) but we decided to just bite the bullet and install the heat mats.  We're thankful we did! 

   BTW, if you are still in the pricing/evaluating phase, be sure to account for the thermostat(s) your floor will require to operate.  Those aren't particularly inexpensive either.

   Matt

   PS As you plan your tile project you might find the blog post titled "Digitile" over at the Digital Jobsite blog at finehomebuilding.com.  helpful for the process

1. 
   tonystargell | Mar 10, 2011 03:55pm | #11

   Thanks. I got thinking that putting the heated flooring in will make my oak flooring lower. i don't like those little 'lips' between rooms.