How To Heat A Existing Concrete Floor

You can step onto a warm and inviting floor even one built on a concrete slab by adding in floor heating.

How to heat a existing concrete floor.

Installing a floor heating system as part of this process would cost from approximately 12 per square foot for an electric system plus the cost of accompanying insulation. How to add floor heating over existing concrete. In a retrofit this can raise the floor a couple of inches creating problems with appliances and doors. Radiant heat warms a floor s surface through electric mats or water tubing installed on the surface of a concrete floor and encased in an additional thin layer of concrete or thinset.

How does radiant heat work. Some look like wire fencing that you roll out over the floor. The heat from the radiant heated floor rises to heat all surfaces in a room or home. With concrete floor radiant heat your home will no longer have hot or cold spots just even quite draft free heat.

Unlike heat from a forced air system which quickly rises to the ceiling the heat from a radiant floor is distributed evenly throughout the room and is concentrated at floor level where people are. This system does not move the air with blowers and thereby reduces dust and. The most common application however is an in floor heating system installed between the finished concrete slab and the flooring above. Ideally it s placed above the subfloor so the heat source is actually heating up the flooring and not the subfloor.

Cerazorb is a 3 16 inch 5 mm thin synthetic cork underlayment that is highly recommended when installing a floor heating system over an existing concrete slab or under tile and stone. Radiant floor heating concrete slab insulation. There s two basic types of concrete floor heating hydronic and electric. The most cost effective system for medium to larger homes is hydronic since the amount of power it would take to heat a whole home with electric would be substantial.

For example a bathroom on a slab would feature a layer of cork or synthetic cork underlayment on top of the concrete subfloor followed by the electric heating element and topped with the flooring substrate. Due to it s density and low conductivity concrete retains heat very well. There are several manufacturers of electric radiant floor heating systems that can be placed directly on top of an existing concrete slab. Having existing concrete floors polished can cost from as little as 5 per square foot but this will rise substantially if you are undertaking a new concrete flooring pour.