There are many systems for under tile radiant heating It is a comfort that in the winter makes all the difference your bathroom. Some use water under the floor, this system is very efficient but costly to install.
The most common that we work with is the electric heat pad. The electrician sets up the system hardwired into he wall directly into the thermostat with a scream box wired in, A scream box is always required because it proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that the heat pad is still in working condition after the tile has been installed. The way it works is it is wired directly into the live system and very simply is constantly checking the circuit continuity and if the circuit is broken will emit a loud unmistakable ear piercing scream if the circuit is broken. This is a must for the installer as insurance and proof that after the tile is installed the heat pad is still in working order.
A
warm tile floor is wonderful on the feet when stepping out of the shower. Also
radiant heat keeps the bathroom toasty warm all the time. As the tile warms up the heat rises and keeps the room at a constant toasty temperature. Much like the fire bricks of a fireplace, the tile warms up, holds the heat and distributes it evenly throughout the room. It is very efficient and a big plus for any bathroom.
These pads are available at many home improvement outlets and specialty stores. Home Depot has
reviewed some of the under tile radiant heat flooring systems online and at other home improvement outlets. Again as I stress in almost every post here at
tile excellence blog,
shop around prices vary widely.
Below are pictures of a
radiant pad installed under tile in
Hamilton, MA for some very wonderful customers. We have tiled almost every area in their house including 2 bathrooms, dinning room ,
kitchen floor back splash and large dinning room- about
800 sq ft of tile in their house.
When
installing tile on a heat pad the use of different thicknesses of thin set is required . On the pad a thickness of 1\4
thin set and around the edge with no pad a thickness of
1\2 thin set to make the
tile flat and level. Besides the different
thin set thicknesses the
tile install is the same as a normal installation. I never use
tile adhesives for any installation, and always use
thin set concrete on ALL
tile installations. But I am under obligation to advise again NEVER install a
radiant heat pad under
tile with anything but
thin set concrete. Concrete is only strengthened by heat and will not ever be effected by the heat of the pad. The same cannot be said about
adhesives.
Below are some pictures of this installation in
Hamilton Ma. Hope this post was helpful and informative, and as always you are free to ask questions here on the blog and please post your questions here for all to see so your question can be answers and beneficial to all readers Diana and I are honored to be able to reach so many readers Both In the US and abroad to inform and help people understand
tile installation process for both the do it yourselves and the tile installation shoppers.
Thanks again Happy Holidays (be sure to click on MORE to see all 12 pics )
chris
(and Diana)
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Stepping out of the shower onto warm tile makes all the difference in the winter
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| Here the tile on the heat mat is laid in a 1/4 inch of thinset the piece next to it will have a 1/2 inch of thin set |
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| The heat pad thin sets to the floor with a skim coat before the tile is laid |
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A whole piece of tile in the doorway notice the heat pad to the left of the door
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The area in the closet is laid in a 1/2 inch of thin set without the heat pad while outside the closet door on the pad is installed with a 1/4 inch of thinset
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All the tile here seen is installed with a 1/4 inch thinset bed while around the edges requires a 1/2 of thin set to keep the tile flat and level
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Again this picture shown the transition area where 1/4 inch thinset bed
meets 1/2 inch bed of thin set
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The scream box is a must in any heat pad installation
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Here is a close up of the closet area where heat pad ends and 1/2 inch thin set bed starts
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Heat pad transition from one room to another
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Another view of transition from shower area into main part of bathroom
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A close up of the heat pad used before skim coat to ready for tile
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I would just like to offer word of warning. I had Mr. Lawson install a heated flooring system, and he poked a hole in the system when he nailed down the hardi board. He denied he caused the system not to work, but experts told me otherwise. Take his advise-at least on this subject-with a grain of salt. This is one time you want a licensed, insured professional.
ReplyDeletewow thats strange if you look closely at the pictures you will see that the heat pad goes on top of the hardy board so all the board is nailed before the heat pad goes down and I always use a scream box as shown and stated above which makes a hell of a noise if the pad is damaged . So it seems clear to me my anonymous comment above must be one of my very expensive competitors who would like to be hired instead of me and If not I challenge Mr anonymous to state the time and the job he is referring to as well as his name. I know since the use of the scream box on all heat pad jobs insures the working condition of the heat pad until the completion of the job this will not happen thanks chris
ReplyDeleteI have heard of a lot of house having this new feature where the floor warms up. From what I have heard, they do conserve energy because a fan isn't blowing into the house. I wonder if it is possible to have this installed in a an older home. http://www.bowmanheating.com/heating.html
ReplyDeleteI would love to have radiant heating in my floor. When I get out of bed in the morning and my feet touch the floor, it's so cold. It isn't a fun way to wake up in the morning. If I had radiant heating, I wouldn't have that problem.
ReplyDeleteSusan Hirst | http://www.thompsonheatingcooling.net/Radiant-Heat
My wife and I have decided that we want to get the heated flooring in our home. My wife is always talking about how cold our floor is, so I think this will help a lot. I am researching to figure out how you install it to see if we need to hire someone to come and do all of that for us. This blog was really helpful and had a detailed explanation of how to install it. Thanks for posting this. http://www.feldmanfloorheat.com
ReplyDeleteI've heard of these systems before and they sound like they'd be a great addition to the house. It seems like it would be a good way to heat the house during the winter in a more energy-efficient way. I'm curious about how easy it is to install into an existing house since you have to have some different floor boards to run the pipes through. http://www.summerstep.com
ReplyDeleteDepending on the model, consistency, and also shade with the good tile saw , they can always add a wonderful hint for you to any kind of property which is essential of an pattern make above.
ReplyDelete