A floor-sensing thermostat reads a probe buried in the floor assembly, and that probe has to be positioned between two heating runs, not on top of one, and routed in a conduit so it can be replaced without breaking tile. It is a five-minute decision that becomes permanent the moment the tile is set, which is why we place it as part of the flooring sequence rather than leaving it to whoever arrives last.
Map where the element goes and where it does not. Cable is never run under the vanity, the tub feet, a fixed cabinet or the toilet flange.
Flatten the substrate and calculate the whole stack, because the finished floor is going up by the thickness of the heating layer plus the tile.
Fix the mat or cable at the specified spacing, keep runs clear of each other, and set the sensor probe in conduit between two runs.
Embed the element, then set tile over it and finish the perimeters and transitions at the new height.
Canadian dollars, for early budgeting only. These cover our part of the work. The heating product, the thermostat and the electrician's connection are quoted separately by their own suppliers and trades.
$8 to $25 per sq ft
Site-wide planning range for tile installation. Heated rooms sit within it, though small bathrooms with many cuts and details run toward the upper half.
$2 to $6 per sq ft
Site-wide planning range for levelling work. Cable sets in particular are usually embedded in self-levelling compound, and the substrate has to be flat before the element goes down.
Flooring Experts Calgary installs heated floors in Calgary from the flooring side: substrate, heating element, sensor and the tile over the top.
An in-floor heating project splits between trades, and the connection work belongs to electricians and plumbers. Somebody still has to prepare the substrate, lay the element at the right spacing, keep runs clear of each other, place the sensor and set a floor over the top without damaging any of it. That is our part.
The scope divides cleanly. We install the mat or cable set, embed it, place the floor sensor and tile over it. A licensed electrician connects the element and the thermostat and pulls the permit for that work. For hydronic systems, the tubing, manifold and any gas-fired equipment belong to plumbing and gas-fitting trades, and we install the floor assembly above them. We do not do electrical work and we do not do gas fitting.
The sensor deserves its own mention because it is the detail most often rushed. A floor-sensing thermostat reads a probe buried in the assembly. That probe has to sit between two heating runs rather than on top of one, and it should be routed inside a conduit so it can be pulled and replaced later without breaking tile. Once the tile is down, none of that can be revisited.
We also map the heated footprint before anything is ordered. Element does not go under the vanity, the toilet, fixed cabinetry or tub feet, partly because heating a cupboard is pointless and partly because somebody will eventually drive a fixing through the floor in one of those places.
Adding heat to a floor means adding thickness to it, and that is the constraint that catches renovations.
A thin mat adds a few millimetres. A cable set embedded in self-levelling compound adds more. An uncoupling membrane with cable laid into it adds more again, and then the tile sits on top of all of it. Add the numbers together at the start and the picture is manageable. Discover them at install and you are trimming a door, cutting a vanity toe kick or building a ramp at the bedroom threshold.
We work to a single datum for the finished floor and check it against every edge condition in the room: the door and its swing, the threshold to the hallway, the toilet flange height, the shower entry, the vanity, and the transition to whatever covering sits on the other side of the doorway. In a bathroom renovation, flange height in particular is worth confirming early rather than solving with an extender at the end.
Tile and stone are the obvious pairing. They conduct heat well, they tolerate the temperature cycling without complaint, and the mass of the assembly holds warmth. That is why the great majority of heated floors in Calgary homes end up tiled.
Beyond tile it becomes product specific. Some engineered wood is approved over in-floor heat and some is explicitly not. Many resilient and vinyl products carry a maximum surface temperature in their instructions, and exceeding it voids the product warranty and can affect the material itself. Solid hardwood over heat is a specialist conversation, and Calgary's dry heating season makes it a harder one, because indoor relative humidity here routinely falls under 30 per cent through the winter and wood already has enough to contend with.
The heating manufacturer's instructions and the covering manufacturer's instructions both have to permit the assembly. If either says no, the assembly does not go ahead.
Basements are the room where this question comes up most. A slab-on-grade floor runs cold underfoot year round, and expansive clay across Calgary means those slabs are frequently out of flat as well, so the levelling work is real. Insulation under the element matters there too, otherwise a good share of the heat heads downward into the ground rather than up into the room.
No. We install the mat or cable, place the sensor and tile over it. Connecting the element and the thermostat to the panel is a licensed electrician's work, and the permit for it is theirs.
The tubing, manifold, boiler and any gas work belong to plumbing and gas-fitting trades. Our part is the floor assembly over the top of it, including the substrate, the levelling and the finished surface.
That depends on the product. A thin mat adds a few millimetres, a cable set embedded in compound adds more, and an uncoupling membrane with cable adds more again. We add the whole stack together and check it against doors, thresholds and the vanity toe kick before ordering.
Tile and stone are the natural fit, since they conduct well and tolerate the temperature. Some engineered wood and some resilient products are approved for it and many are not, and the manufacturer instructions decide, including maximum surface temperature limits.
Usually not. Element is not run under the vanity, the toilet, a fixed cabinet or the tub feet, both because it is wasted and because fixings can go through it later. We mark the heated footprint on the plan before ordering the product.
It is tested before, during and after the tile work rather than only at the end, so a fault is found while it can still be reached. That testing sequence is agreed at the start, along with who does it.
It is one of the more common places to want it, because a slab-on-grade floor runs cold underfoot. Insulation below the element makes a large difference to how much of the heat goes upward rather than into the ground, and that belongs in the assembly discussion early.