In-floor heating

Electric in-floor heating installation in Edmonton bathrooms, basements and kitchens, plus electrical for hydronic radiant systems, with GFCI protection and testing.

Why heated floors

Tile on a concrete basement slab or over a cold crawlspace can feel freezing for half the year in Edmonton. Electric in-floor heat warms the floor itself, which makes bathrooms, entries and basement rooms much more comfortable. It is silent, invisible and has no moving parts.

Electric floor heat is usually a comfort feature, not the main heat for a room. In small spaces like bathrooms, it can sometimes carry the room in milder weather. For whole-house radiant heat, hydronic systems with a boiler are more common, and we wire those too.

• Bathrooms and ensuites
• Basement floors over concrete
• Entries and mudrooms
• Kitchens and sunrooms
• Hydronic slab heating in garages and shops

Heated floors also dry faster after wet boots and showers, which is welcome in an entry or mudroom through a long slushy spring. Many people find they can set the room thermostat a little lower when their feet are warm.

How it goes in

Electric systems use either a mat with the cable pre-spaced or a loose cable on a membrane. The cable sits in thinset or a self-levelling layer under the tile, with a floor sensor between runs so the thermostat controls floor temperature directly.

The cable can be damaged by a trowel or a dropped tool during tiling. That is why we test it with an insulation-resistance tester and continuity check before installation, after it is laid, and after tile is set. If something is damaged, it is found while it can still be fixed easily.

Insulating underlay over a concrete slab makes a big difference. Without it, much of the heat goes down into the slab, and the floor takes longer to warm. We discuss the underlay with your tile installer before materials are ordered.

Layout and safety

Heat goes only where people walk. Cable must never run under a tub, vanity, toilet or built-in cabinets, both because the heat is trapped and because the manufacturer's instructions forbid it. We plan the heated area on a drawing before the tile installer starts.

The Canadian Electrical Code requires ground-fault protection for heating cables in floors, so circuits use a GFCI thermostat or breaker. A programmable thermostat warms the floor before you wake and lets it cool when you are away.

Each system has a maximum area per circuit and per thermostat. Larger floors may need more than one mat, a relay or a second thermostat, which we plan for during rough-in.

Hydronic radiant systems

For larger areas, garages and shops, hydronic heat circulates warm water through tubing in the slab. The heating side is done by a mechanical contractor, and we provide the electrical: circuits for the boiler or electric boiler, circulator pumps, zone valves, controls and thermostats. Electric boilers are a large load, so a load calculation comes first.

What drives cost

We do not post prices. Cost depends on the heated area, mat or loose cable, the thermostat, the distance to the panel and panel space, and how the work fits into the renovation schedule. Coordinating with the tile installer saves time and avoids damage.

A finished bathroom renovation is the best time to add floor heat. We can coordinate the floor heat with the rest of the bathroom electrical, including the fan, lighting and GFCI receptacles, under one permit.

Questions we hear