Wet Rooms are an increasingly popular interiors trend, greatly improving on the functionality of a typical bathroom. Warming the cold tiles of a wet room with floor heating enhances the sense of luxury and cleanliness of the room.
In this guide we’ll explain all you need to know about heating a wet room, including:
- The benefits of using floor heating in a wet room
- How best to install a heater
- If you can use a floor heater with a shower tray
- The perfect wet room accessories
- The best heating systems to use
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Underfloor Heating from the Worlds Best selling Brand, Warmup, starts from less than £200 and costs less than £20 per year to heat a typical bathroom floor – all with a lifetime warranty”.
Benefits of Underfloor Heating in a Wet Room
Wet rooms are a contemporary take on the domestic bathroom, with an ‘open-plan’, unconfined shower that drains directly into the floor. Due to their open, spacious nature, wet rooms are ideal to be heated with an underfloor heating system.
Floor heating provides an ‘invisible’ heating solution meaning you no longer have to design your wet room around a bulky, cumbersome radiator. Heating your wet room’s floors also provides a greater sense of comfort and wellness to the room; wet rooms are almost always designed with tiled floor and walls and with underfloor heating, cold tiles under your feet are a thing of the past.
Floor heaters are also much more energy-efficient than central heating systems, use a system with one of our Smart Thermostats and save both energy usage and money on your heating bills.
Heating a Tiled Floor
Wet rooms are typically tiled from floor to ceiling with fully waterproofed sealant and grouting to maintain a non-permeable surface, which keep the water from penetrating the subfloor and walls. The most common types of floor tiling to use in a bathroom are ceramic and porcelain, to find out more about the differences between these two finishes read our blog Porcelain vs. Ceramic Tiles for Underfloor Heating.
Tiles have a high thermal conductivity which makes tiled floors perfect to be heated by an underfloor heating system. Tiles heat up quickly and retain this heat, meaning a fully tiled wet room can be efficiently transformed into a warm, cosy environment in which to relax.
Installing Underfloor Heating in a Wet Room
Wet rooms can be heated with either a water or electric floor heating solution. Whether you are retrofitting a heater into an existing wet room, converting a bathroom into a wet room or creating a wet room as part of a new-build construction project, Warmup provide a range of suitable heating options.
A Warmup system can be quickly installed in your wet room by a qualified installer in as little as one day. Whilst installation can be simple and hassle-free, due to the nature of wet rooms, we advise speaking to one of experts for more information on how to achieve a successful first-time wet room installation.
Installing a Floor System under a Shower Tray
A warm shower tray underfoot as you take a relaxing shower is a wonderful experience and with Warmup’s floor heater’s, you can bring this touch of luxury to your wet room.
There are some things to consider if you are pursuing this heating solution. If you are using an electric system, you will need a build-up of at least 12mm of screed and floor finish above the heater to be able to conduct the heat safely and efficiently – installing a shower tray directly on top of the heater would mean the heat cannot escape, resulting in the heater burning out. Get in touch with us if you have any queries or concerns.
Secondary Heat Sources for a Wet Room
As well as heating your wet room’s floor and shower tray with a floor heating system, wet rooms are also the perfect space in your home in which to install Warmup’s StickyMat 3D Wall Heater or other heating solutions from our Bathroom Collection.
Wall Heating in a Wet Room
Imagine showering in a cosy wet room with both gently warmed floor tiles and wall tiles – by using Warmup’s floor heating alongside our StickyMat 3D Wall Heating System your dream wet room can be a reality. Wall Heating systems are recommended for use with tiled or stone wall finishes and bring another layer of warmth and comfort to the room. This innovative system is ideal as a secondary heat source and can assist in reducing the chance of mould build-up; it’s also great for wet rooms with higher levels of heat loss.
Bathroom Accessories for a Wet Room
Other heating accessories to consider installing in your wet room include Warmup’s range of Mirror Demisters and Heated Towel Rails.
The Mirror Demister is perfect for keeping mirrors in bathrooms and wet rooms free from steam after a hot shower. Our range of Multi-Bar and Single-Bar Heated Towel Rails feature Warmup’s advanced heating wire technology which rapidly dries towels dampened by wet room moisture, keeping them gently warmed and toasty.
Best Floor Heaters for a Wet Room
Whether you are building a wet room from scratch or retrofitting a heater with an existing bathroom, Warmup offer a variety of electric and water floor heating options to consider.
Electric Systems
Our Electric floor heaters offer an energy-efficient heating solution for your wet room. Warmup’s range of systems bring gentle, radiant warmth to cold wall and floor tiles.
Warmup DCM-PRO System – Decoupling System
The DCM-PRO System is the ultimate electric floor heater to use with tiled wet rooms. It offers a fast, even heat output and features a unique anti-fracture matting, which can help protect and prevent floor tiles from cracking due to subfloor movement. Utilising the DCM-PRO Waterproof Tape with this system is also always recommended for wet room specifications as it greatly enhances the impermeability of the heater.
Warmup Stickymat System – Heating Mat
The StickyMat System utilises a self-adhesive backing for rapid installation times.
Costs
Heating your wet room with an underfloor heating solution offers enhanced energy-efficiency and long-term cost savings too. Floor heating typically has lower running costs than central heating systems and a heated wet room is a more environmentally-conscious way to heat your home.
The costs of installing underfloor heating in your wet room will vary based on your project’s specifications. Many of our electric systems can be installed in 1 – 2 days in an average-sized bathroom or wet room. Our hydronic systems will take longer to install but offer lower long-term running costs.
