Electric Underfloor Heating in a Bathroom with Vinyl Flooring

[XrayDave]

Hello,

Just looking for some advice in advance of undertaking any work and/or getting quotaions.

We have a very tired bathroom floor - a 'traditional' suspended wood floor and floorboards with sealed cork tiles over hardboard.

This has lasted some 28 years but is going to be replaced.

We are looking at some cushioned vinyl flooring and fancy some electric underfloor heating to enhance the space heating provided by a small radiatior and heated towel rail - both running of the GCH.

So, to the questions.

1) Is this something that can be installed by a competent DIYer?

2) Does the work need to be notified to any authority?

3) Does the electrical installation need to be protected by a dedicated RCD - we have a spare location in an RCD-protected consumer unit?

4) I imagine that there needs to be some insulation beneath the heating mats? Would Celotex/Kingspan PIR be suitable? I'm thinking 4-inch/100mm between the joists.

5) I'm thinking of putting the control unit inside the bathroom but at least 1m/1.2m away from any water - such as a shower or washbasin. Is this okay or does the control unit need to be outside the bathroom?

6) Is there anything - such as earthing - that I need to consider? For example, are there mats specifically for bathrooms that take care of earthing?

7) Quite important this one - most electrical heating mats that I have come across say that they are suitable for tiling or laminate flooring. They seem to suggest that the heating mat is covered with a screed before the tiles/laminate is laid over the top. We are considering vinyl flooring however. Can we use elctrical underfloor heating with vinyl flooring and if so, would the heating mats require a screed over the top or would something like marine plywood be okay? Or are there specific heating mats for use with vinyl looring?

Thanks for reading this and for those of you that can help answer my questions.

XRD

 

[ericmark]

There are two very diffrent electric UFH methods, resistive cable, and resistive chemical, the latter is self regulating, but when I fitted it some 15 years ago could not find chemical with built in earth screen, it needed a seprate screen laying on top.

Technically since under the finished floor level not sure if UFH is in the bathroom as far as regulation go? However, you want it safe, so would want it fitting by some one who knows what they are doing.

I found to my cost it needs special glues, and it could not heat the room as fast as the extractor fan removed it, lucky had large towel rail.

It was designed to be under the tiles of the wet room, but it was a failure.

 

[XrayDave]

Thank you for your reply.

Does anybody else have any input?

For example, can a competent DIYer fit underfloor heating to a bathroom? I'm planning to have the mains connection, RCD protected of course, in an adjacent room with the thermostat in the bathroom itself but at least 1m from any water - for example the shower or basin.

Are there any regulations that I need to be aware of and have to comply with?

Sites that sell UFH seem to imply that a competent DIY householder can self-install.

Thanks in advance,

XRD