In uk.d-i-y, BigWallop wrote:

"Mike Barnes" wrote in message
...
Our bathroom is soon to receive a new slate floor. SWMBO, after some bad
experiences with hotel bathroom floors, insists that it's heated. The
bathroom is upstairs in a traditional house with gas central heating,
fully pumped, and there will be a large heated towel rail in the same
room.

At this very early stage my questions a should I be looking at
running water pipes or electric cables under the floor? Issues are
height (raising the floor too much might result in the bath not fitting
under the windowsill), running costs, and control.

Would there normally be, or could there be, a thermostat *in* the floor,
as opposed to a thermostat in the room that would also be influenced by
the heated towel rail?

--
Mike Barnes

Hi Mike,

If you already have a water heating system, then that would be the way to
go.

Tee off from the flow pipe on the radiator above floor level, enough to
allow you to fit a thermo' valve (non directional) to this side of the
system. Drop from the valve through the floor to a snake of 8mm or 10mm
mini-bore pipe under the floor boards (8mm should be enough). The spacing
of the loops would roughly be about every foot (300mm). Try to keep as
close to the tops of the joists as possible, roughly again, would say about
30 mm down for your drill holes, and remember, when laying the boards down
again, to mark on the walls where the pipes are just in case. Try to stay
away from exteriors walls as much as you can, say about a foot (300mm) again
should be OK. Then it's just back to a tee connection in the return side of
the system, which can be under the floor if you want, and the jobs done.

No matter what type of covering you put down, you'll always have the heat
rising through it. It should keep the place lovely and cosy for your dainty
little feet. Under Floor Heating does the business.

Thanks, that's useful stuff. It's actually going to be a *slate* floor
which makes a difference in detail - the slate will be on top of a
substantial new plywood base, and I assume that the heating snake goes
between that and the slates, along with the cement.

I was thinking that slate might feel cold even in summer, which is why I
was considering electric heating, or water heating teed into the DHW
primary. All I want is to take the chill off the stone, because the
towel rail should heat the air OK.

--
Mike Barnes