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Chris-
I recently installed an electric radiant mat in my
basement bathroom, under a tile floor. We live in an old house, and every
winter we absolutely freeze in that bathroom (60 square feet), even with a space
heater running full blast. The bathroom is now cozy warm without the space
heater, and my wife can now blow-dry her hair without blowing a fuse. The
mat that I installed is smaller than the room (I used a stock mat size, 6x8,
instead of custom fitting a mat to the room), so you can really tell when you
step off the heated tiles onto a unheated area. I couldn't imagine a tile
floor on a basement slab without a mat such as this. My wife and I
absolutely love it, and everyone who has taken off their shoes and walked on it
is envious. My parents now want me to remodel their bathroom with a
mat such as this. I used a mat from Warmly Yours, ordered off their
webpage at warmlyyours.com. The install was easy, I had never installed
tile or an electric mat before. The December/January 2002 issue of Family
Handyman has a in-depth article on how to install a similar system. I am
seriously contemplating installing these mats in all of my spec house bathrooms
I'm so happy with them. If I am not able to afford a hydronic radiant
system in my next personal home, I will definitely be using these mats in all
the bathrooms, as well as the kitchen.
A couple of tips: Make sure you don't install the
mat too close to the wax ring on your toilet, the heat will simply melt the
wax. Also, make sure you run the mat right up to the toe kick of your
vanity, the heat only radiates a inch or two from the edge of the mat. It
would be pretty disappointing to have your toes on cold tile and your heels warm
when you wash your face! The Family Handyman article says to let the tile and
grout fully cure for a few weeks, but I gave my floor 2 days to cure before I
started using the mat. The mortar that I used said it would fully cure in
24 hours.
A cost saving tip: dimmer switches that they sell
for like $40 from the mat manufacturer are simply a light dimmer switch,
available at any hardware store. I bought one at Home Depot for about
$4. You can also buy a programmable timer at Depot for $28, and save
yourself the $130 or so that they are asking on the webpage. I simply have
a dimmer switch to control the temp (we've always had it on high
though) wired to the timer that turns it off when we are sleeping and
at work.
Good luck!
A r
c o s a n t i H o m e s , I n c
.
Scott Alan Tafoya,
President
6024 Hickory Street, Omaha, NE
68106
402/981-3533
scotttafoya@home.com
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