Tile for Radiant Heated Floors

Featured Image: Eternal Limestone Porcelain Tile / Emperador Natural Stone Marble

If you are thinking about Radiant Floor heating, you are considering one of the most efficient and quiet heating options around. Instead of hoping that the warm air will blow down to the floor and throughout the space before rising, sub-floor heating effectively heats the room from below – where you need it most! An excellent allergen friendly heating option too, radiant floor heating doesn’t blow dust and allergens around your home the way hot air systems do.

But what flooring is best to use for heated floors? Well, it is no surprise that tile is a great option!

Ceramic tile is an excellent option. It is affordable, easy to install and comes in a wide variety of colors, textures and styles. Since it is softer than porcelain, this is a great option if you are planning to install it yourself. A professional tile installer is not needed if you feel comfortable using a tile saw.

Porcelain tile is easy to care for, durable and best of all, affordable. It is a popular product for use in bathrooms due to its water resistant qualities. It is a dense, hard tile option that offers better stain resistance than ceramic tile.

Porcelain also offers a vast array of design possibilities with designs that look like wood, linen, silk and even offers an alternative to natural stones such as (the more costly) limestone, travertine, marble, and slate thanks to Digital Ink Technologies.

[Note, Ceramic vs. Porcelain: Ceramic tile is colored only by the glaze, so if the tile is chipped, the flaw will be noticeable. Porcelain tiles have pigment baked all the way through the tile, so a chip is less noticeable.]

Natural Stone is also a great option. Granite, Travertine, Marble, and other stone options are a wonderful heat conductor. Radiant heat turns cold stone into a spa-like, warm floor that you won’t mind walking barefoot on in the winter!

Whichever you choose, you can’t go wrong with tile over Radiant Floor Heating. Go ahead and install it – your dog will thank you for it!

Before you get started, try out our Just Imagine™ Visualizer Tool and let us know what you think in the comments below!