Electric Radiant Floor Warming

An inexpensive design touch that's not seen, but certainly felt, radiant floor warming can be a wonderful upgrade for colder spaces like kitchens and bathrooms, and it's a surprisingly energy efficient way to heat your home.

Ceramic, slate or marble tiles are attractive and durable alternatives to wood, carpet or vinyl flooring, but while our eyes appreciate their beauty, our feet can take some issues with the cold.

Most people feel comfortable with air temperatures of 65-75 degrees Fahrenheit, and tend to feel uncomfortable if there's more than a 5 degree difference in the surface temperature (80-85 F) between the head and that of the feet. A bare foot gives an immediate indication as to the comfort level of a given floor. For this reason alone, tile can be an issue for those who eschew footwear at home.

With just a tiny amount of heat drawn from a foot, carpet fibers warm almost instantaneously to "foot" temperature. A ceramic tile can't compete in this foot race—its mass needs more body heat for a longer amount of time. It'd take approximately half an hour for each step taken on a 68 F marble floor to warm the 15 degrees between it and an uncomfortable 83 F bare foot!

This concern is eliminated with a radiant floor warming system.

The two most common radiant floor warming systems are hydronic, usually a whole house heating solution used not just for floors, and electric. Electric systems are inexpensive enough for single room applications when compared to hydronic floor warming systems that use pricey boilers and tubes to generate radiant heat.

Suitable for new construction or remodeling applications, electric floor warming systems include a network of cables, occasionally mounted to rectangular mats, installed in the mortar just below the tiles. These cables gently warm the tiles, operating on ordinary house current. While using a professional electrician is advised for those not comfortable working on electrical installations, these systems are generally easy to install. The use of a system will not compromise the integrity of the tile installation.

Designing a floor warming installation first requires a determination of the area to be warmed. Calculating the total square footage will require collecting information from the blueprints of the room or actually measuring the area itself. It should be noted that areas under vanities or cabinets, under plumbing fixtures or inaccessible areas should not be included.

When making the calculations, design a layout that considers traffic patterns in the area to be warmed, and take care to calculate the square footage precisely.

Heating mat manufacturers can take several weeks to create custom-made mats, but you can also pick up generic panels to install yourself.

A complete system often can be installed using an electric drill and other ordinary hand tools. The installation process can be completed in three phases that will likely correspond with the construction phases of your home or building.

Phase One - Prep the Space

During the electrical rough-in, the components of the installation kit will be installed. The outlet box should be located in the wall directly above the area to be warmed. Consideration should be given to the location of other electrical devices when installing the box. The appropriate power feed should be brought to the box in this phase.

Phase Two - Install the Wires

After finishing the drywall and immediately preceding the tile installation, the cables should be installed. To simplify this procedure, a special template is provided with each cable to ensure correct spacing. Each cable also includes an appropriate amount of clips and screws to properly affix the cables to the floor.

Phase Three - Power Up

The last phase calls for the installation of the control and connection to the power source. Complete wiring instructions are provided with each thermostat. Once completed, the circuit can be energized.

Several options exist for controlling a floor warming system. A system can be wired with an appropriately rated switch for manual on/off control, though the use of a thermostat for maximum comfort control and energy conservation is recommended. Thermostats usually have built in on/off switches to allow the system to be turned off during vacations or at other times when the floor warming system is not needed.

Source: www.DoItYourself.com

South Bucks Stone Floor Professional Details Renovation of Travertine Kitchen Floor

This client from Amersham contacted us regarding their Travertine Kitchen floor which they were simply not able to keep clean. Frustratingly any spillage went straight into the floor and stained the tiles. I called them to discuss the problem and offered to come round and survey the floor which is a free service we offer.

I can provide a quote over the phone, but my preference is to visit and test different cleaning products and techniques on the floor before quoting. Doing it this way allows me to work out an accurate quote and gives the customer the confidence I can resolve their problems.

After agreeing a suitable time to call I visited the property and could instantly see that their main problem was the sealer protecting their Kitchen tiles had failed and as described dirt was becoming stuck in the pores of the stone. Natural stone like Travertine is porous and without a sealer in place dirt becomes lodged in its pores where is becomes very difficult to shift.

 

The kitchen was stunning but let down by the dirty floor which had been installed around twenty years ago when a new extension has been added to the property. Typically, a sealer should last between three and five years depending on use and what cleaning products are used to maintain it, so it wasn’t surprising that the original sealer had worn off.

I quoted for deep cleaning the floor including the removal of the old sealer and then applying a robust impregnating sealer which is recommended for Travertine. Happy with the price we scheduled a date for the work to be done.

Deep Cleaning a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

On the first day the floor was given a thorough deep clean using a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, this product is our go to Tile and Grout Cleaner and when used in a strong dilution is strong enough to remove sealers. You find with sealers that they wear down first in the busiest sections of the floor so its important to remove all the sealer from across the floor or you end up with layering.

Pro-Clean is a strong alkaline cleaning product and it’s sprayed onto the tile and grout and then left for ten minutes before working it in, this allows it time to soak into the pores and start breaking down the dirt.

The floor is then scrubbed using a Rocky floor machine fitted with a series of diamond burnishing pads of increasing grits. This process generates a lot of soiling, and this is hoovered up with a wet vacuum after each pad.

The work begins with a coarse 400-grit burnishing pad which strips the Travertine and I work up to a 3000-grit pad which really brings up the finish of the stone to a slight sheen as the client requested. The floor was then left overnight to dry.

Sealing a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

On day two I started on the sealing process first checking that the floor had dried sufficiently to accept the sealer. After discussing sealer options with the client earlier they had expressed a preference for a natural look, so I chose to apply a sealer called Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal which doesn’t colour the stone in any way and is almost undetectable.

Ultra-Seal is an impregnating sealer that works by soaking into the pores of the stone occupying the space and thereby preventing dirt from becoming ingrained there. Two coats were applied with a microfibre cloth allowing it to soak into the tile for a few hours before walking on it.

Once the seal had dried, I went over the tiles again with the 3000-grit pad which buffs of any excess sealant and brings up the sheen. Now with the floor being completely protected with Tile Doctor Ultra Seal the client shouldn't have any problem with spillages which can be simply wiped away.

 

Once finished the deep pitted dirt was gone and the floor looked much lighter and cleaner. My client was very impressed with the transformation and has recommended us to her friend who also lives in Amersham and has a similar stone floor.

I mentioned earlier that a sealer’s life can be impacted by the product you use for regular cleaning, it’s a fact that most supermarket tile cleaners are simply too strong and can damage the sealer so before leaving I took time to discuss aftercare cleaning and for Travertine, I recommend the use of Tile Doctor Stone Soap which as well as gently cleaning the stone also helps maintain the patina.

Source: Amersham Stone Floor Cleaning and Sealing Service