Electric underfloor heating

[1thomas.bretthauer]

Hi,

as part of our bathroom renovation I would like to install some kind of ele ctric underfloor heating.

But I'm not so sure about the different systems and have no experience with this kind of heating (but with other DIY projects), so I thought I'd ask i f anyone has had any experience of this.

The floor is solid concrete and I will lay down some sort of insulating/lev elling board first, then the electric underfloor heating system (Shall I go with electric underfloor heating mats or cables? How much power do I need? ), then the ceramic floor tiles we've chosen. As i understand this heating systems can be layed directly into a thin layer of tile adhesive.

Found this source on the internet:

They offer complete DIY Electric underfloor heating kits (mats and also cab le systems) for a decent price with Lifetime warranty?

Anyone done this as a DIY Project? Any adwise would be helpfull.

Thanks

[info]

Hello Thomas,

Please do not hesitate to contact our customer support directly if you need any assistance. Simply call 01425 204460 (Monday-Friday from 08:00AM - 18:00 PM) or request a call back

Whether you are looking for technical support or have a special question regarding one of our products, we are always pleased to help you.

Your satisfaction is our aim!

Stefanie warm-on Ltd.

[Tim Watts]

I can recommend Marmox board - it is designed for this. I've used it in

4 rooms - one with tiles cemented onto it.

Work of caution: Glue the marmox down with tile cement (good stuff, not tub).

Secondly - leave rectangular cutouts where the feet of the bath and the base of the loo will go. Say 1x2' twice of the bath legs and 1' x 1.5' for the loo. Try to over size so if the loo or bath is changed, the fete are still likely to end up there. Or even sit the bath down on the bare concrete - you will not be putting heating under it anyway.

Infill the cutout(s) with SBR screed after painting the concrete with SBR (diliuted) then SBR-cement slurry. SBR screed will work down to 10mm thick if bonded correctly.

Install your electric heating (avoiding the loo base as you need to possibly use screws there). Tile over eveything with a flexible tile adhesive and flexible grout.

That's what I did in my bathroom (minus the heating) and it has survived very well. Not putting too much load through the Marmox was on Marmox's advice. Perhaps the loo is less of an issue but the bath presents a massive load.

[Adrian]

Yep, with a "warmup" kit in a small shower-room. Not mats, this was cable taped down. No real problem with it, but you need to remember the thermal mass means that it takes FOREVER to warm up. I'd be tempted to up the density of cable if I was doing it again, to try to help the time-to- temp. Once at temp, it manages the power used.

The control box we had swore blind it'd automagically figure out when to start up if you set the time you wanted it to temperature. It lied.

[Adrian Brentnall]

How lucky that Stefanie from that company happened to spot Thomas's enquiry enquiry on this newsgroup - and only 7 minutes after he posted....

Or maybe they've got nothing better to do than monitor uk-diy 24/7, just in case somebody happens to ask about their company..?

Amazing customer service, folks - or, perhaps, just an inept attempt at spamming ?

Amateurs!

Adrian

[John Rumm]

Only really worth considering electric UFH if you don't have a cheaper fuel source available, and then only for small rooms. Insulate well before laying whatever UFH system you go for.

[Brian-Gaff]

What does lifetime warranty really mean though? I have to say that I'm a bit sceptical on these things both from the safety point of view, and efficiency. Brian

[Brian-Gaff]

Crossed my mind also, which is why I asked about what a lifetime warranty actually was. Lifetime of what or whom? Brian

[F Murtz]

Brother put some in but cost a fortune to run so it has been dormant for years.

[Robert]

Installed it in our 2 bathrooms to take the chill off ceramic tiles rather than "heat" the room up 8 years ago. Works well but slow to warm up. Main advice is not to skimp and leave areas uncovered especially in front of basin as the heat doesnt spread horizontally between tiles and you end up with a cold patch just where you want to stand. I used Heatmap , really just the cable on a mat backing which can be cut and configured as you want. Power consumption ISTR is about 150 watts per sq metre so not expensive if you use the timer + themostat sensibly.