When you decide to remodel your home, you want to select materials of the highest possible quality and luxury. Because of this, when you decide to replace your floors, your first thought is to install marble flooring in your bathroom, entryway, or maybe even in your bedroom. However, your second thought is how cold those floors will feel on your bare feet, especially in the winter when you get out of bed or out of the shower. There is a solution to this problem, though. The answer is radiant underfloor heating. Get to know more about this flooring option and see if this is the solution for you and your dream of marble flooring. 

What Is Radiant Underfloor Heating?

Radiant underfloor heating is a coiled heating system that is installed at the same time you install your new flooring. It can work in one of two ways. The first uses electrical heat to warm your tiles. 

Electric radiant underfloor heating is easy to install and uses electric wiring in the coils to heat your floors. It has a relatively low initial cost for installation but can be expensive to operate as it uses your home's electricity to warm the floors. 

On the other hand, hydronic underfloor heating uses hot water tubes to heat the marble floors in your home. Hydronic underfloor heating is less expensive to operate but because it needs to be attached to water heater or boiler, costs more to install initially. 

How Is Radiant Underfloor Heating Installed?

After you tear up your old flooring, you can begin the radiant underfloor installation process. Generally, radiant underfloor heating coils are installed in a thin-set layer of concrete prior to installing the new floor.

The concrete gives the heating units a stable base from which to operate. And fully installing the radiant heating components first allows the system to be properly wired (or plumbed) to be fully operational once your marble tiling is installed as well. 

Are Radiant Marble Floors Eco-Friendly?

If you are concerned about the ecological impact of your heated marble flooring, you can rest easy. Radiant heating is actually far more eco-friendly than standard forced air heating through your furnace and air vents.

Forced air heating systems take cold air from outside and uses energy to heat that air for circulation in your home. Radiant heating under your floors, on the other hand, not only keeps your feet warm when they touch the marble tiles, but also heats the spaces in your home through your marble tiles. Stone such as marble conducts heat well, and will warm the areas around it as well as the floor surface. 

This means your furnace and forced-air heating system will have to work far less to heat and warm your home. Radiant underfloor heating through your marble flooring is also more efficient in that it warms the bottom of the space and allows the heat to flow upwards. Because hot air rises faster than cold, your heater has to work harder to keep spaces comfortable and your flooring still remains cold.

As you can see, installing your new marble flooring with radiant underfloor heating will provide you with the luxury and beauty of marble flooring with the added benefit of warm feet when you walk on your floors and energy efficiency. So, as you plan your home remodeling project through Tomalak Tile & Stone, Inc., keep this option and its many benefits in mind.