Radiant Heat Over Existing Concrete Floor

Very helpful information regarding flooring choices that go with radiant heat.

Radiant heat over existing concrete floor.

Heating up the mass of concrete is not necessarily a good thing when you want the entire surface floor to be warmed. There are several manufacturers of electric radiant floor heating systems that can be placed directly on top of an existing concrete slab. Here is more information about what radiant in floor heating. 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.

The major requirement is being able to add another layer to the top of the floor. Retrofitting radiant heating over a concrete floor is the hardest to do but it is possible. We have a radiant floor heating system with a concrete slab and need to replace the wall to wall carpet in the bedroom with laminate flooring. Quite simply concrete floor radiant heat is a system of pex tubes that carry hot water throughout a concrete floor or slab.

You can step onto a warm and inviting floor even one built on a concrete slab by adding in floor heating. Radiant heating is still an option. Radiant heat can be an electrical heating element embedded into a very thin concrete overlay then tiled carpeted or have wood flooring installed over it. I don t particularly like them however because they re not very energy efficient.

This system does not move the air with blowers and thereby reduces dust and. While hot water and air based radiant. What if you have an existing concrete floor. In most houses the only place to do this is on a first floor where joist bays are open to the space below.

How to add floor heating over existing concrete. The best way to retrofit radiant floor heating without disturbing an existing floor is to do it from below against the underside of the subfloor. Newer ultra thin electric heating mats are available that can be embedded in thin set cement or gypsum overlays allowing retrofitting over existing slabs without significantly raising the floor height. It can go under most existing flooring including wood tile vinyl and even carpet.

The rest of the house has clay tile.