Imagine walking on soft, toasty flooring that reduces your heating costs and doesn’t attract mildew or dust mites. While there is no doubting the enormous advantages of radiant heat flooring systems, there are a few things you should know before installing one.
Our review will assist you in determining whether heated flooring is the best option for your house, including information on varieties of heated flooring and installation costs. Continue reading to find out more about the installation, use, and chronology of this system.
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Things You Should Know Before Installing Heated Floors
Are There Different Types of Heated Flooring?
Electric and hydronic radiant heat flooring are the two primary varieties. Whereas an electric system uses zigzagging loops of electric wire, a hydronic flooring system uses hot water tubes to emit heat.
Hydronic systems are generally more expensive initially but less expensive to operate. An electric system will save you more money upfront, but it will probably cost you more in the long run. After the flooring is installed, you probably won’t notice a difference between the two except for the price.
Which Rooms Are Ideal for Heating Floor Installation?
The areas that work best for heated flooring are typically kitchens, baths, and bedrooms. Furthermore, because underfloor heating operates from the bottom up, it might offer higher ceiling spaces a more even heat distribution.
Which Kind of Flooring Material Can I Apply?
Options for flooring over a radiant heat system include ceramic and stone tiles, wood, laminate, vinyl, rubber, and carpet. Nevertheless, to make sure you choose the correct fit, it’s best to refer to the manufacturer’s recommendations. For instance, some carpets with larger piles could be overly insulated, retaining heat from an underfloor rather than allowing it to escape into your room.
What Does the Installation Process Look Like?
Although it may seem like a difficult undertaking, installing radiant heat flooring may be done by oneself. Although we’ve provided a simple do-it-yourself method, you might want to think about hiring experts if you don’t think you’re skilled.
It is imperative that you set up your workplace and remove your old flooring all the way down to the subfloor if you are doing the installation yourself. Only certain jobs—depending on your space—will call for taking out your current flooring. After that, sweep the area to make sure there are no loose objects before setting up your electric heating mats or cords.
To create room for your new flooring, you’ll also need to connect your electricity and level your floor.
Using an ohmmeter, measure the resistance after attaching the heated floor mats to the spotless, flat floor. After laying the entire heating system, you’ll connect the thermostat, test the resistance, and lay the actual flooring material on top.
How much time does it take?
Most heated floor installation jobs take one to three days on average. However, the size and accessibility of your place will determine the exact schedule. Attempting to complete the task on your own can take longer than hiring an expert, who could finish it in a couple of days.
Which Level of Skill Do I Need?
For this work, an intermediate skill set is needed. Therefore, we only advise doing this project alone if you have some prior electrical experience or if you’re a do-it-yourselfer. If not, you might want to speak with a licensed electrician.
Whichever path you choose, be truthful about your aptitude and amount of experience. An improper installation could result in a system that is expensive to run, inefficient, or worse, might not work at all.
Benefits of Radiant Heat Flooring
The great degree of energy efficiency that radiant heat flooring provides is one of its main advantages. This system heats your floor and the room evenly since it uses under-the-floor heating to distribute heat into your rooms rather than the air.
A heated floor system radiates heat to the rest of your room, items, and people from its bottom, unlike traditional forced-air heating systems that use vents. Heated flooring is also more affordable because of this procedure, which provides a less expensive way to heat your house for extended periods of time while consuming less electricity.
Because its heat constantly dries excess water rapidly, eliminating mildew and mold, heated flooring is also non-allergic, making it a great option for people who have asthma or allergies. And adding heated flooring increases the value of your home when you sell it!
Cons of Radiant Heat Flooring
Installing this system can be costly upfront, particularly if you need to cover a big area. Moreover, some areas of your floor can be difficult to access, which would complicate installation. Most heated flooring projects require removing your old flooring, but if you have access to joist bays, you may be able to install certain retrofit mat systems underneath your current flooring.
Furthermore, adding heated flooring will raise your floor level by around half an inch above your subfloor; if you don’t install the flooring throughout your house, this could result in uneven surfaces.
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