Can You Put Electric Floor Heating Under Laminate

When almost people think about heated floors, they picture heated tile in a bathroom. Tile is the near popular flooring type to rut, merely it'southward not the simply option. Radiant heating systems can be installed under well-nigh every floor type — including more sensitive ones such equally laminate.

Laminate flooring is becoming more and more than competitive with hardwood floor thank you to its high-quality look and budget-friendly cost. Every bit a result, homeowners interested in heated floors will want to read up on electric radiant heat under laminate floors, including operation, installation and cost.

Radiant heat is a peachy compliment to laminate floor.

Can I Put Laminate Floor over a Radiant Heating Organization?

Typically, yeah, but y'all'll want to double check with the flooring manufacturer to confirm. WarmlyYours Radiant Heating specifically designed its Environ™ flooring-heating arrangement to be strong enough to rut a room but gentle enough to work nether sensitive floor types like laminate. The electric flooring-heating mats feature a reinforced, laminated aluminum foil that protects the flooring in a higher place from the oestrus of the cablevision.

If you're concerned about warping your laminate floors by overheating them, a floor-heating thermostat can help ease your worry. Programmable thermostats, like the nSpire Touch, typically come with a setting for laminate flooring and so the temperature won't get higher than the floor will tolerate.

How to Install Laminate Floor with Electrical Floor Heating

To install electric floor heating under laminate flooring, you'll need WarmlyYours'south Environ™ heating mats, a thermostat with a sensor wire, underlayment, a digital ohmmeter, duct tape, and a utility knife.

Step ane: Prepare the Subfloor.

Before you do anything, yous need to make sure your subfloor is clean and clear of whatever debris like nails and staples.

The Environ heating element should be sandwiched between underlayment and laminate flooring.

Footstep two: Test the Heating Element.

Next, use your digital ohmmeter to test the heating element from cadre wire to core wire. Record the Ohm reading on the mat's UL characterization and on your custom installation plan (provided past WarmlyYours). The Ohm reading should be inside a plus or minus 15 percent variance of the Ohm value already noted on the UL tag. Then, measure out the continuity between the core wire and the ground wire. The reading should be O/Fifty or infinity.

Step 3: Install the Underlayment.

If your Ohm readings cheque out, it's time to install the underlayment. You can select cork or synthetic cork underlayment. Each option comes in square or rectangular sheets that should exist staggered then that the seams don't overlap. Instead of adhering these sheets to the footing, y'all'll simply tape them to each other so that they're "floating" above the subfloor just similar your laminate flooring volition exist.

Natural language-and-groove laminate floor is installed over an Environ floor heating organization.

Step four: Install the Flooring Heating Mats.

Unroll your Environ™ floor-heating mats and position them on top of the underlayment. Earlier adhering the mats to the subfloor, ostend that all common cold lead wires will reach the thermostat or junction box when positioned correctly. If and then, you can secure the heating mats to the underlayment with tape. Cut a ½-inch channel in the underlayment where the cold lead will become. Also cut out a channel for the floor sensor. The sensor should be placed six inches into the mat, direct centered between the heating wires (not overlapping them) using record. Once this is done, perform a 2nd Ohms test.

Step v: Install the Laminate Flooring.

Once you've successfully installed the electrical floor heating, it's time for the laminate flooring installation. Install the laminate forest floor per the manufacturer recommendations. Once the floor is completely installed, perform a third Ohms test and tape the results on your Warranty Registration Card.

Pace 6: Connect the Electrical.

Finally, connect the heating mats to your thermostat post-obit the instructions provided in the thermostat manual. We do recommend that your thermostat is installed by a licensed, certified electrician.

Best Rooms for Heated Laminate Floors

Heated laminate floors are generally most popular in bedrooms and kitchens. Wherever you would typically put hardwood or engineered hardwood floors, yous can put heated laminate floors — even in bathrooms.

Bath Laminate Flooring

Laminate flooring is becoming more and more popular in bathrooms because of new advances from flooring manufacturers. Today's laminate has come up a long way from its water-sensitive past. For instance, Pergo adult a new line of laminate called Outlast+, which is resistant to liquid spills for 24 hours. The flooring uses patented UniClic locking engineering science to prevent water from infiltrating the space between the planks, which would cause the flooring to aggrandize and bubble. The make all of the laminate flooring waterproof, installers can opt to seal the edges of the floor past the baseboard. Learn more about looking after laminate floors to run into which blazon is right for your projection.

With more durable laminate bachelor for water-decumbent rooms like bathrooms, installing radiant floor heat under laminate has never been more desirable.