Heated floors installation

This means better air quality, as well as better comfort and energy savings. Heated floors work differently than other forms of heating. Radiators and forced hot air both work by heating the air in a room. The hot air rises toward the ceiling, then cools and falls toward the floor.

Heated floors work differently. They stay consistently warm at all times, heating the people and objects in the room directly. Electric heated floors are often used as supplemental heating forms for this reason; they allow you to stay more comfortable while your main heating system can be turned down, saving you energy and money, while you remain warm.

Electric heated floors are fairly easy to install. Most are available in the form of mats that have the wires or cables threaded through them. To install, you begin with a clean, dry substrate that is ready for your final flooring choice. The mats can be installed using a thinset mortar, like the type used with tile, or they can be placed on an underlayment, depending on the type of system you choose.

You can also use a system of membranes and wires, using the membrane to hold down the wires by looping the wires back and forth across the floor. An electrician will then hardwire the heating system to a thermostat. Ideally, however, every installation you undertake will be done with the type of flooring material and the location of the system.

If you choose to install electric radiant floor heating beneath wood floors, you will need to use a floating wood floor, or a wood floor that connects the planks to each other, and not to the floor itself.

For best heat transmission, a foil mat is the best choice to install beneath the wood. This is laid on top of an insulated underlayment, which is first placed over your subfloor. The mat is rolled out over this, and your floor is installed on top. Tile and stone floors work very well with electric floor heaters. The mats can be laid over a floor compound or a layer of thinset, and a second layer of thinset is used to install the tile directly on top of the mat.

You will need to make sure that you choose a system that is designed for use with tile floors, to ensure that the mat can handle the weight of the material and the installation style. Laminate floors should be treated like wood floors when it comes to electric floor heaters.

You will need to float the laminate over the mat, and a foil mat is the best choice. Your laminate can be installed right on top of the mat in the same way that it would be installed over any other substrate. Vinyl floors come in a wide range of styles and installation types. They can all be used with electric in floor radiant heat systems , either cables and membranes or mats. If you have click-lock vinyl floors, these can be floated right over the mat; vinyl floors that require adhesive should be installed in the same manner as a tile or stone floor with the electric mat first installed using a compound or thinset, followed by the vinyl being installed on top of the mats.

Foil mats and electric cables with membranes can both be used directly beneath carpet. Carpet makes a great insulator and can provide a warm, soft floor. The foil mat or the membrane are laid first over an insulating underlayment, and the carpet can be stretched and tacked on top in the same manner it would be installed in any other project.

Concrete floors make excellent additions to industrial and contemporary style spaces. And a new concrete floor can have an electronic radiant floor heating system installed right inside it.

The key is to use a system of wires that are laid in the center of the slab. Whether your hardwood floor can be heated also depends. Thanks to the advances made in the heated floor industry, it is now possible to confidently install hardwood floors over radiant heat. The simple answer to your cozy query is yes, hardwood floors can be heated, but wood can have starkly different properties from one species to the next.

The hardest part of installing new hardwood floors is getting that first row installed properly. To begin the heated floor installation, make a layout of the kitchen in order to determine how many strips of thermoplastic polymer you need to cut.

Radiant heating as a technology is the method of intentionally using the principles of radiant heat to transfer radiant energy from an emitting heat source to an object.

With strip flooring, the wider the board, the greater the potential for gaps between the boards when they contract with seasonal changes in temperature and humidity. Before starting an installation, check with an electrician to be sure your existing electrical system can handle the new circuit, if it needs one. Very few people expect heated wood floors!

Heated hardwood flooring is the single most effective luxury upgrade for your home. Can you put hardwood on heated floors?

In general, you will need between 8 and 12 watts per square foot of heated floor. The foil heater system is an electric heating mat that offers quick installation beneath wood flooring and other floating floor types. Hear us out on this one. Launstein hardwood floors are engineered to give your home the beauty of hardwood flooring and the luxury of radiant heat.

These straps have small channels and tabs in them where the heat cable is placed. Simply press the cable into the tab to secure it. See photo at right. Cut the mesh backing. Be careful to avoid cutting the heat cable. Flip the mat over to begin the next row.

After flipping the floor heating mat over, align it accordingly and continue rolling out the next row. Maintain proper spacing between rows. The affordable, easy-to-install panels are just 0. The FilmHeat system can be installed on any standard subfloor, so long as it is flat, smooth, and free from protrusions such a nails, screws, etc.

The heating panels are laid out according to the system layout provided by Warmzone. Cut the heating panels to the desired lengths. Cut only through the clear area between the heating stripes. Firmly attach the heating elements to the floor. If installing over a wooden subfloor, nail or staple the elements in place. If installing over a concrete subfloor, tape the elements in place using duct tape. When installing the thermostat, keep in mind that it should be located on an interior wall where it will not be subjected to direct sunlight and that the length of the non-heating leads is taken into account.

If you have access to the floor joists from below, then you can install the RetroHeat floor heating element. The system features a thin "film" heating element only 0. When installing RetroHeat, the heating panels can be cut to the required length on site and then stapled up between the floor joists. The heating panels are available for joists in 12, 16, and inch widths.

NOTE: Measurements are taken from the center of one joist to the other, not the distance between each joist. RetroHeat can be installed under almost any flooring, including: hardwood, tile, carpet, laminates, vinyl, and marble, etc.

After stapling the heating panels between the floor joists under the floor you wish to heat, the electrical connections are then made. Be sure to follow the directions in the installation manual and periodically test the system. After your electrician makes the electrical connections, install common batt insulation over the heating element. The insulation directs the warmth upwards through the floor and enhances the energy efficiency by minimizing heat loss.

This is an affordable and effective option for heating existing floors. Illustration of RetroHeat installed between joists. ComfortTile heat cable is placed in the pre-engineered channels, producing one of the most effective and efficient floor heating systems available. The HeatShield system is ideal for heating under laminate and engineered wood flooring. Installing the system is surprisingly easy. The lightweight floor heating panels feature insulated aluminum panels that easily connect to one another across the length of the floor.

The channels for the ComfortTile floor heating cable ensure easy installation and accurate spacing, without the use of mortar and thinset. The floor insulation panels can also be sized on site.