Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I had to redo my bathroom floor and was on the fence about the fear of installation on this radiant floor heating. We decided to bite the bullet and try it. I am very glad we did. Here is what we learned. get a reliable Volt ohm meter. I used a fluke, but any decent one will do. Measure the resistance. (Touch the ends of the wires with the black and red leads from the multi-meter while on the setting that looks like a horseshoe). Just note the number. You don't have to do anything except make sure the wires don't get damaged. (If they do get damaged, the number will change when you check it again later). I wrote the number down on the drywall behind the medicine cabinet, so I could always retrieve it if needed. (make sure you get the number for the heat cord AND temperature sensor) Here is the second issue that came up often on the web research I did. You have to bury the mat under a coat of thin set mortar (tile mortar). People complained that the mat would rise to the surface and create problems when they tried to lay down the tile. So here is where I tried something new. I found a product that 3M makes for gluing corner bead on walls when you drywall. I know the adhesive has to be strong, so I bought a bottle of that and sprayed the floor where the mat would sit. I also sprayed the back of the mat. The adhesive was so good, that it made ripping sounds on the soles of my shoes when i would walk in the area after I was done. One more note. The kit comes with a thermocouple. (What is that you say? It's a little temperature sensor attached to a couple wires. you just install that in the middle between two heat cords in the floor and run the wires to the junction box where you install the thermostat). It's not pre-installed so you can place it in the best spot for your particular floor. I also used the Schluter Ditra decoupling membrane on the floor. (My substrate was concrete by the way, not cement board or plywood). I did the Ditra as I did the mortar for the radiant heat. I am a big fan of modified mortar knowing how well it adheres so I used that under the Ditra. I learned that isn't recommended, but in retrospect I don't know why. It worked great. (They said it wouldn't cure, that it might take weeks to cure, but I was in no hurry. It seemed to be rock solid in a couple days). I used a 3/8 notched trowel for the first step. I figure more mortar is better than too little. MAKE SURE you don't damage the radiant heat cord. That sounds like no big deal, but it's easy to do. The tendency is to bang the side of the trowel on the floor to knock the excess mortar off of it. If you do that on the cord you could break the insulation. I found I did it 3-5 times without thinking. (trust me, its easy to forget when you are in the moment) luckily, I did not hit the cord. I used flexible conduit in the wall to run the heat cord to the junction box (It says to make sure you use metal conduit). I wish I had used a bigger rigid conduit. The flexible stuff I used was barely big enough to pull the wires through and almost messed up the job. After that, just install the tile. Wait a couple weeks and power everything up. ( The only part I am leaving out is that you have to install a double gang box with a single gang box reducer on it for the thermostat in the wall. The double gang box gives you plenty of space to stuff wires and the single gang box reducer holds the thermostat). I guess I also assumed you know the whole unit will need a 110 volt GFCI power source. I just used the extra leads on my GFCI bathroom outlet. Depending on the amount of mats you use you may need some real amperage, but for this unit I used a single 15 amp breaker in the main power box for the house. We waited a few weeks for everything to settle checked the resistance in the wires. (Both the thermocouple and the heat mat cord to make sure the numbers hadn't changed). and powered everything up. It took almost 48 hours for the floor to heat. ( I was pretty nervous when the floor didn't get warm right away, but after web scouring I found that was normal). Concrete is quite a heat sink, but heat can only go up, so eventually the floor got warm and it's something I will be happy I did for the rest of the life of the bathroom. One more note if you aren't too bored yet. I used epoxy grout for the first time. I used spektra lock. I was nervous about it, not knowing if I was going to ruin the tile, (many people said it's difficult to clean off the tiles when applied) but if you follow the directions, it was very easy to do and NEVER needs sealing. (you just need vinegar and hot clean water). This grout is the stuff they use on tile floors in commercial kitchens for stain and chemical resistance. I'm really happy I used this. I spilled a little water on the floor when I was looking over the tile job and it beaded up on the grout in little spheres. (Yes!) Regular grout is by nature absorbent and you don't want that in a mildew and mold attraction environment. Another thing you will be happy you spent the extra 40 bucks on. Thank you so much for your time. I know that was long, but I found that information very difficult to find and I thought I would consolidate it here for you.