If you have ever discussed what its like to have a granite floor with someone who does, one of the first things you almost always hear is “I didn’t expect it to be that cold” or other various comments about freezing toes and feet. Among the many properties of granite, one is that it is often a good insulator. You would think a good insulator would keep your floor warm, but in fact the opposite is true. Granite insulates so well that in the winter the heat from the room doesn’t ever get into the floor so it always feels cold. There is a solution for cold granite floors and a good one. The solution is called radiant in floor heating. You should look into radiant heating prior to installing your new floor since it will have to be installed beneath the granite tile. Theres a brief primer here, but theres alot more to know.

There are two basic types of Radiant floor heating. The first type is called “Hydronic Radiant In Floor Heating.” Typically a hydronic system would be installed in a new home construction and be designed as a whole home heat source. Hydronic systems use a boiler to heat fluid and circulate it through concrete slabs beneath the floors. It takes a few hours for a hydronic system to get warm, but they stay warm very efficiently and emit heat right up through the floors to heat the whole house. Because of the cost of a boiler, the thickness of the concrete needed, and various other factors it is uncommon to install a hydronic system unless you are either building a new home or remodeling five or more rooms. The boiler alone can cost upwards of five thousand dollars.

The second type of radiant heat is called “Electric Radiant in Floor Heating.” This system is far more commonly installed when you are only tiling a kitchen or bathroom in an existing home. Electric radiant heating works by using resistive wires that produce heat when powered. They are often sold in rolls of thin fabric similar to an electric blanket. They are much easier for a typical Do it yourself project and can be used in just one room without need for a boiler or other extras. Typical bathrooms usually cost between $400 and $800 for electric radiant heat. The cost for a radiant system is easily calculated based on the square footage you need to cover and most suppliers will custom make panels to fit unusual shaped areas. With all these benefits you might wonder why everyone doesn’t install electric. The answer there is simple. Depending on what rate your electric company charges per Kwh, heating with electricity can cost two to four times as much as heating with a petrolium sorurce like natural gas. It only really makes sense to use electric radiant heat in combination with an already existing warm air vent system. Luckily the two systems do work surprisingly well together.

Regardles of whether you already have radiant in floor heating or are planning to install one, you might run into compatibility issues with other parts of your total floor design. If you plan to install a crack isolation system you need to make sure it is compatible with your heating system. Most are, but its better to do your research first. With the right radiant heat fabric you many not need a crack isolation fabric because it may serve as one. There are also sound proofing underlayments available, so if noise is a concearn they are worth investigating. If your laying tile on the second floor and theres a room below you might start to hear footsteps from above. You may find that sound that would have been of an acceptable level when you had a wood or vinyl floor is too loud with a granite tile floor. Some frequencies travel through stone very efficiently.

Now that you’ve given some thought to specialty floor underlayments its time for the next article Getting Free Tile installation Estimates