[cmartin]

Looking for any experience with in floor heating over a crawlspace. After spray foam and fiberglass under a tile floor it's still cold and I'm looking at the options.

Does anyone have experience with electric in floor heating? Small area, ~120 spft, assuming the floor under the cabinets isnt heated. This project would be parts of a larger kitchen redo so new tile is on the list. Any issues with running the system part time and not all the time? I really only want to take the chill off the floor, any additional heat to the room is a bonus. Anything to worry about during install? Brands/vendors to avoid?

A simpler, cheaper option looks like an electric toe kick heater. Not as elegant but might be an option. Anything else to consider?

Thanks for any ideas

[jrj3rd]

Chris. Put Nuheat system in bathroom and it is great. Easy install when doing tile and warm floor on feet is magical. When used with their programable thermostat it is pretty efficient. Will be doing same in a downstairs family ro when update it next year

[cmartin]

Thanks good info. A contractor recently told me to add several k to the price of the floor and I just dont see it. I've read some say not to use the mats and others say they are the only way to go. Typical.

[KFJ]

When I remodeled (reconstructed?) the master bath I used the wire, not the mats. It's significantly cheaper and you do have to be more careful, but if your not a goon and pay attention, not a big deal. I took the "easy" way out and put down the wire then poured self-leveling concrete so there was no chance of a trowel nicking a wire. 150 sq feet was just over $1000 for the whole package. I ordered from these guys: WarmYourFloor.

[jbailey930]

Another Nuheat customer. Very happy. We've had ours over 10 years about 200 sq ft kitchen. I will definitely do the master bath when we remodel in next couple of years.

[cmartin]

Great info, thanks all.

I'm sure each application is a little different but I have a few questions about how well it works. Do you use the in floor heat as secondary heat only? Assuming its in tile, how long does the floor stay warm? Can you tell where the heat is and isnt or does the heat even out over the entire floor?

Shluter makes a system that includes their underlayment which I've been interested in too, lots of options.

[jbailey930]

Its really a luxury for being lazy not using socks or slippers. So we have a thermostat that turns up the floor to 84 F at 6am. House thermo is 65 and its great to let the dog out in bare feet in the am. The underlayment is Schlueter Ditra and we have pretty heavy ceramic over this. The heat is where the grid lays. I have a section in the mudroom where we don't have Nuheat and its 20 F degrees difference or so. We have it set to turn back up in the evening but then we are not running around barefoot.

[ducatithunder]

My new place is on a slab. Older slab with the ducting actually installed in the foundation then the concrete was poured. Its kinda nice bc the floor get warm too ... but if you get closer to the corners of the house it gets chilly. I am contemplating an electric mat floor like you are to help heat certain areas were we linger alot. Just install it under the wood floor. Installing a water radiant heating system is just out of the questions. Im curious to hear how you make out.

[Dr K]

When we lived in Winston-Salem, we had a water radiant heat system, both in the concrete slab floor and in the "concrete plaster" ceiling. When we moved in, the previous owners had placed the thermostats incorrectly and we froze (2 zone system with both thermostats in one zone - the prior owners thought one was floor, one ceiling, and they put a 220V wall heater in the MBR because it was so cold). Once we moved the 2nd zone thermostat it was comfortable as hell, with warm floors (even the carpeted ones) and extremely low heating bills because the slab stayed warm once it was warmed up. We didn't use set-back - just kept the same temp all the time (of course, winter in W-S is milder than in the DC area). I measured on the blueprints, and there was over half a mile of copper pipe (1/2" and 3/4") in those floors and ceiling!

[cmartin]

Thanks again all, I think I spend way too much time reading about this stuff.

Right now the kitchen floor is pretty cold in the am, it's also on a crawlspace with 3 exterior walls. The new plan have the kitchen with only ~4' exterior exposure with 1 other wall to the garage. I assume this alone will warm up the floor but I'm not sure it's possible to determine how much.

Radiant heat seems like a good option but it sounds like contractors see dollar signs when I mention such upgrades. Maybe I should take off from work for a few months (years?) and just build the damn thing myself.

I have a section in the mudroom where we don't have Nuheat and its 20 F degrees difference or so.

Perfect, just the kind of info I've been looking for. Lots of variables but that's a pretty dramatic improvement.