tile warming

[kusker]

I'm going to be tiling our master bath floor with 13 x 13 ceramic tile over a wood subfloor on the main level of our home. I know there are lots of options for electric floor heat systems available. I'm curious if anyone has suggestions of other things that might help keep a floor less cold without using the electric option. Thanks for any ideas.

Jerold

[Gordon Kaske]

Hydronic radiant heat is an option. It allows you to chose your fuel source be it LP,NG, OIL, or Electric. Verse Electric resistance which locks you into that energy source.


But if the rest of your house is scorched air it would not make much sense to gear up for hydronics.


The only other option is insulate, and it will not make your floor warmer. Is this over a crawl space?


If so, and its unconditioned maybe there is an option to make it a conditioned space.



With out RFH tile is going to be cold no matter what you do.

[kusker]

It is not over a crawl space, it is over a finished basement.

[bbcamp]

You can install some insulation but the tile will be a heat sink, so the tile will always feel cold to your feet.

[Shpedly]

Jerold, If its over a conditioned area like a finished basement, theres really no really need for a heated floor. Sure its nice, but your tile is already going to be the same temperature as everything else in your house. Your tile is not going to be colder than your wood, vinyl etc. My entire first floor is tile over a well insulated crawl space and it has never felt cold on bare feet. Where I do find floor warming to be a real benefit is that it does warm the whole room to a degree. So, if this a room that doesnt have enough HVAC flow and is colder than other rooms in the winter, floor warming would definitely help. Just my opinion, but I'd rather spend the money saved on better tile or stone. To answer your real question, I would probably go with warm wire or one of the Laticrete kits you can get at Lowes. Its pretty simple except for having the system on a dedicated breaker. I believe that is code in most parts.

[Gordon Kaske]

Shpedly, you must not have ever experienced RFH before. I can assure you all though your tile will be room temp what ever that may be 72*? It will feel cold cold 70 is what its refered to anything below 76* is sucking heat out of your body think of a water bed that is first filled before it gets up to 83* quite an uncomfortable first nights sleep.

76* floor is neutral to the bare foot.

[cx]

Originally Posted by Gordy

76* floor is neutral to the bare foot.

Doctor finds your feet bein' not but 76 degrees, I'm bettin' he pronounces you DOA.

[Gordon Kaske]

If you have radiant floor heat a 76*-77* floor will feel neutral not warm, or cold. Whilst your internal body temp is 97.8* your surface temps on the extremeties are around 83- 88* when the body is at rest.

If you were to use radiant floors for heating the structure, and not just floor warming you would not exceed 85* for human comfort, and wood flooring does not like it warmer than that.


If your load is more than the sf area that RFH can provide around 35 btus a sf. Then supplemental panel rads, or ceiling radiant will allow higher surface temps and more btus a sf output. Or you ould be like me , and have both radiant floor heat, and ceiling radiant heat. A radiant sandwich.



Want to get educated go to heatinghelp.com some of the best in steam , and hydronics in the country, and the world hang out there.