Easy Tile Underfloor Heat Installation

Tile flooring is no longer strictly relegated to the kitchen and bathroom in today’s modern homes. The coloring and unique aesthetics provided by tile flooring add a new element of design for living rooms and even bedrooms. Surprised? If you are, you are among the many that think of tile flooring as a cold, hard, uninviting surface that makes the room difficult to heat with conventional forced air heating systems. By this definition, you are probably correct. The solution is simple: underfloor heat.

Heated Tile Floor Installation

Using the Warmzone ComfortTile radiant floor heating system, adding underfloor heat to a tile installation requires only the extra step of unrolling and securing the CT mat (with the adhesive backing already provided) to the sub-floor prior to application of the thin-set. Most often the sub-floor is a cement slab or plywood surface. Depending on the scope of the project, you may choose to use “backerboard” or cement board in addition to the sub-floor to ensure even tile setting. The CT cables are only 1/8 of an inch in diameter, which means adding underfloor heat won’t create an excessive floor build up.

After the underfloor heat cables have been laid out and secured, the rest of the installation follows the same procedures you would take to install a regular non-heated tile floor. The thin CT cables are easily embedded in the thin-set, followed by the placement of the tiles. The result is a beautiful floor that is not only pleasing to the eye, but pleasing to your feet. Homes that have underfloor heating have a higher resale value and are much more comfortable than homes using forced air.

Unlike many radiant floor heating systems, the ComfortTile cables (and all Warmzone products) have a single-point connection. This is very different than other products that use a closed loop system, which means the beginning and end of the heat cables must loop back on itself and meet in the same place. If this is confusing, rest assured knowing that you won’t have to deal with the headache and difficulty of installing a closed loop system.

Now that you know how easy it is to install a radiant heated floor, make sure you finish the preplanning steps before beginning any DIY projects. It is important to measure the square footage of the area you are planning to heat and calculate the amount of amps needed to power the heating cables. Without enough amps, your new floor heating system will fail. A successful installation relies on taking the proper preplanning steps to determine where the power source to the system will be, and that you have the correct number of amps to power the cables. (Make sure that you purchase your radiant floor heating cables from a knowledgeable dealer that is willing to help you with your DIY project. Many distributors will leave you to your own after your system arrives. Installation guides and internet research will leave you confused without the help of an experienced radiant professional. And make sure a qualified electrician wires the system.)