Ceramic and stone tile floors have many advantages; they’re beautiful, easy to clean, and virtually indestructible. However, if you live in a cold climate, tile floors can be very cold. One remedy is to lay down rugs, but an even better solution is to install a tile floor heating system. This will not only keep your feet warm but also heat the entire house.
Underfloor heating is an ancient technique that dates back to the Neolithic; evidence of underfloor heating systems has been unearthed in both Korea and Manchuria. Ancient peoples drew smoke from their fires through floor trenches covered with flat stones to heat their dwellings.
Over the millennia, underfloor heating has advanced to the modern electrical tile floor heating systems available today. However, these underfloor heating systems are meant to be installed before the tile floor is finished. An existing tile floor would need to be removed to install such a heating system, which could make it expensive and impractical. But, for new construction, planning for an underfloor heater can help to keep your home uniformly warm and comfortable.
Modern tile floor heating systems include a heating cable that is embedded under the tile. The heating cable is available in both 120v and 240v The heating cable is then covered with a liquid, waterproof membrane and then tiled over. The entire system is controlled with an external, digital thermostat. These underfloor tile heating systems can also be used on a smaller scale to simply heat a shower or bathroom.
