Heated Bathroom Floors

There are few things we like more than a warm shower on a cold, Minnesota winter morning.  Yet nothing can snap us from our warm retreat and back to reality faster than stepping out of our shower and onto a cold and uninviting bathroom floor.  Luckily, modern technology has created the perfect solution – heated floors!  Because a variety of flooring materials lend themselves well to warming, heated floors are perfect for both new construction and for bathrooms in need of a retrofitted upgrade.  However, before you undertake a flooring project, you will need to understand a bit more about the heating options available.  Consider one of these systems to guarantee warm feet and toasty mornings:  Radiant Heating Systems: Radiant heating systems supply heat directly to the floor and come in a variety of styles.  Radiant heating systems come in two main forms – indirect and open direct.  The indirect system pumps water through a heat exchanger before circulating it through the floor.  The open direct system relies on your home’s existing water source to heat the floors.  One caveat – check to make sure that your water heater is 50 gallons or larger to ensure that it will be able to handle the additional use. Electric Floor Heating: With an electric floor heating system, a network of wires is laid out on the floor before being covered in a self-leveling pour.  Once installed, heat is distributed through this network. Because of the amount of electrical work required for electric floor heating, this option is typically reserved for new construction or full-scale bathroom renovations. Heated Floor Mats: Heated floor mats, available in 120 or 240 volt varieties can be easily installed over your home’s subflooring for warmed tile year around.  Heated floor mats are perfect for retrofitting a space as they can be used with most existing flooring options, while still resulting in an up to 15°F increase in floor temperatures! When you are ready to install heated bathroom floors in your house, contact Homecare Inc. to get your project underway!