Electric in floor heating...recommendations?

[2porscheguy]

Following up on our cabin build on Shuswap Lake in BC, my plan is to develop the lower level. I'm considering installing some sort of electric heating under the vinyl plank flooring in the lower level bathroom. I have not begun a search yet. Is this even doable? Obviously it would have to be a very thin mesh or film to allow for a seamless flooring installation. What has been your experience in this regard?

Thanks in advance!

[billybek]

I have schluter electric heat under a basement bath tile floor.
It is great. Not sure how well it would work under a vinyl plank.

[Rusty Heap]

Be sure to wire up any heating system to 220V. Under tile for me in the bathroom. only gets luke warm.

[john70t]

Check min height change. Some require more layers. 1/2" vs 2" might change things.
Will need to reinstall molding, cut door jams, doorway transitions.

[kach22i]

Originally Posted by billybek

I have schluter electric heat under a basement bath tile floor.
It is great. Not sure how well it would work under a vinyl plank.

I've watched a few videos (one an hour long training course), they might be the only company offering splicing repairs.

We used a different system a few years ago in a house, and one of the in-floor sensors failed, the owner said he was glad he insisted on a backup sensor to be installed at the time.

The problem with lower level on existing concrete slab installation is that the slab soaks up much of the heat and negates the quick heat up and charge down cycle by heating up so much mass and wasting energy.

This is why they developed the thicker self-insulated 3/4" deep version.

The big advantage of electric in-floor heat is it does not have to be turned up when you are not in the room, and can be warmed up quickly, perfect for occasional use rooms/levels.

I have been impressed with Schluter electric heat videos and reading materials, but the most informative video (an hour long) was by Wamup out of Canada. My personal experience says redundancies and repairability are important considerations.

[dad911]

Well said Kach. I've installed a few heat systems, all covered with tile. No callbacks on the system, only feedback was the expense of operation.

Need to be very careful of other trades not to damage. I did them after sheetrock and trim, just before tile, by putting in pull lines for the power and sensor wires.

I would check with your flooring manufacturer to see if it is even possible under a vinyl plank. You may want to tile that bathroom floor.

[GH85Carrera]

We have a system in our bathrooms from Warmly Yours.

https://www.warmlyyours.com/en-US/floor-heating

Plot out the floor plan and they send a mat that you put down. We have our on top of porcelain tiles. Out guest (not that many) always love it after taking a shower and stepping out onto a warm floor in the guest bathroom. It is wonderful if getting up to pee in the middle of the night when not wearing shoes.

Just be very careful to not kink or cut any wires, and it all works fine. The thermostat is a real challenge to program if you want to have it lower the heat when you leave and warm up when you return. Since my wife is retired, and I work from home, we just leave it set all winter. I just turn it off in the summer months when the AC is running.

[908/930]

I'm sure you searched by now, it looks like it can be done. I have done two heated bathroom floors but under tile so slightly different, 110v will work fine for a normal size bathroom floor, run out of amperage for a larger floor. If you are placing down a decoupling layer and feeding your own wire keep the spacing close 2.5"-3", also do not heat under sink vanity cab if it rests on floor and keep wire about 4" away from toilet. You will want to check that the vinyl plank is rated for it.

Not sure what you are saying with seamless installation?

[unclebilly]

We have Nu-Heat in our bathroom under tile. It is a custom made mat that is put in and you connect it to a proprietary programmable thermostat. It is awesome and we love it. After 10 years, I had to replace the thermostat. This will work fine with your vinyl plank.

[2porscheguy]

Originally Posted by 908/930

I'm sure you searched by now, it looks like it can be done. I have done two heated bathroom floors but under tile so slightly different, 110v will work fine for a normal size bathroom floor, run out of amperage for a larger floor. If you are placing down a decoupling layer and feeding your own wire keep the spacing close 2.5"-3", also do not heat under sink vanity cab if it rests on floor and keep wire about 4" away from toilet. You will want to check that the vinyl plank is rated for it.

Not sure what you are saying with seamless installation?

My concern with being "seamless" would be the additional thickness of a mat affecting the laying of the vinyl plank flooring over the heating system needed. I plan on using the same flooring throughout the lower level.

[2porscheguy]

Originally Posted by unclebilly

We have Nu-Heat in our bathroom under tile. It is a custom made mat that is put in and you connect it to a proprietary programmable thermostat. It is awesome and we love it. After 10 years, I had to replace the thermostat. This will work fine with your vinyl plank.

I'll look into this product....thanks!

[2porscheguy]

Originally Posted by billybek

I have schluter electric heat under a basement bath tile floor.
It is great. Not sure how well it would work under a vinyl plank.

I'll check this one out too Billy!

[2porscheguy]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

We have a system in our bathrooms from Warmly Yours.

https://www.warmlyyours.com/en-US/floor-heating

Plot out the floor plan and they send a mat that you put down. We have our on top of porcelain tiles. Out guest (not that many) always love it after taking a shower and stepping out onto a warm floor in the guest bathroom. It is wonderful if getting up to pee in the middle of the night when not wearing shoes.

Just be very careful to not kink or cut any wires, and it all works fine. The thermostat is a real challenge to program if you want to have it lower the heat when you leave and warm up when you return. Since my wife is retired, and I work from home, we just leave it set all winter. I just turn it off in the summer months when the AC is running.

Thanks Oklahoma Glen!

[908/930]

Originally Posted by 2porscheguy

My concern with being "seamless" would be the additional thickness of a mat affecting the laying of the vinyl plank flooring over the heating system needed. I plan on using the same flooring throughout the lower level.

I think to get that you will need to add something under the rest of the floor to get the same height, one possibility is cork underlayment it's available in different thicknesses. Look at cancork.com The sub floor needs to be very flat so that you do not get springy sections.

Just checking that you are not intending to run the floor strip from the main room into the bathroom as a continuous pc.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by 2porscheguy

Thanks Oklahoma Glen!

Back when my wife said she wanted to redo the bathrooms, I suggested heated floors. We asked at several tile shops and only got puzzled looks or silence. I asked at one shop and the salesman just looked at me like I was speaking Klingon. Another told me he just loves a cold tile floor on his feet. I told him he had to be nuts.

I had to find Warmly Yours on the internet and get the installation instructions to the tile guys. It all worked out fine.

[jrj3rd]

Have a laminate floor down on our basement and used an electric film heating system similar to the one here.

lhttps://www.warmyourfloor.com/radiant-floor-heating/film.html

Was easy to install and has been down for about 10 years with no issues. Very thin film so does not add much thickness

[drcoastline]

Originally Posted by kach22i

I've watched a few videos (one an hour long training course), they might be the only company offering splicing repairs.

We used a different system a few years ago in a house, and one of the in-floor sensors failed, the owner said he was glad he insisted on a backup sensor to be installed at the time.

The problem with lower level on existing concrete slab installation is that the slab soaks up much of the heat and negates the quick heat up and charge down cycle by heating up so much mass and wasting energy.

This is why they developed the thicker self-insulated 3/4" deep version.

The big advantage of electric in-floor heat is it does not have to be turned up when you are not in the room, and can be warmed up quickly, perfect for occasional use rooms/levels.

I have been impressed with Schluter electric heat videos and reading materials, but the most informative video (an hour long) was by Wamup out of Canada. My personal experience says redundancies and repairability are important considerations.

I did a fair amount of research on electric radiant heat floors. I am getting ready to install two systems in a bathroom. Most offer some sort of warranty. Schluters warranty differs in it covers everything, tear out of old floor and replacement of new material including labor if their system fails, the rest only cover their product no material or labor for the floor.

In my application I chose Luxheat, the difference in cost between the two systems was significant. In this application the additional cost did not justify the warranty. It's a small bathroom and I am using two separate systems one to heat the shower and one to heat the rest of the bathroom. The bathroom also has forced hot air as the primary heat source. The heated floors are simply a luxury. I could be wrong, but my thought was what is the likely hood both systems fail, and if they did no big deal the bath still has heat. Maybe I would replace them maybe I wouldn't.