BATHROOMS STEP INSIDE Size Mat(ters)


Underfloor heating starts with the mat that will be fitted underneath the flooring. Choosing the right mat size isn’t as simple as just buying a mat that’s the same area size of the bathroom from wall to wall.


There are many things that can affect which underfloor heating mat size a customer needs, and they all need to be carefully considered. You need to ask the right questions about the bathroom they want to install it in before you make any recommendations.


These include factors such as: What features does the bathroom have? How large is the bathroom? What shape is the bathroom?


Do they plan to renovate their bathroom or change the positioning of items?


If you’re not quite sure how big a customer’s underfloor heating mat should be, go slightly under.


Customers can’t cut down mats, so advising them to go slightly under what they need will stop the customer spending more on their underfloor heating than they need to, and it will help make sure they don’t have any problems when fitting it.


Shape and Features


The features in a bathroom can affect the amount – as well as the type – of underfloor heating the customer needs to buy.


One point to emphasise to customers is that they don’t need to put underfloor heating beneath typical bathroom items, such as a bath, toilet or shower. They don’t need to put the underfloor heating mat below storage items either because nobody’s going to stand there. Once you know how much space these items take up, you can deduct it from the overall mat size.


Some wet room showers are suitable for underfloor heating but many aren’t. Either you or the customer should check with the manufacturer before you install the mat beneath a wet room shower. In some cases it won’t be safe.


Bathroom size and shape makes a difference, too. Asking customers if there are any raised or restricted areas is vital, as this can also have a significant impact on the mat location and size. These areas of the bathroom won’t need underfloor heating (so you can deduct these spaces from the overall mat size). If they do, the customer would need to consider whether they want to heat them. This will likely require another mat, which would add to the overall cost of installing the underfloor heating.


Insulated Thermal Board


Insulated thermal board can be a great addition to an underfloor heating mat, because it can help reduce heat loss and maximise efficiency and energy performance. It’s worth explaining its benefits to a customer so that they can get the best out of their purchase.


However, bear in mind that adding insulated thermal board will raise the level of your customer’s finished floor. Make sure


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A great tip for tiling a bathroom over underfloor heating – and a good bit of advice to share with any prospective customers looking to make this investment – is to self-level the floor over the heating mat before it is tiled. This lowers the risk of catching and damaging the mat while tiling and leaves a better finish for the floor to be tiled over.


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you check this won’t cause them any other issues, such as affecting accessibility to the bathroom for any users. This is a vital area to consider for a customer and something that any retailer should make sure to ask before advising buyers further.


Timers and Management


One of the difficulties customers have with any heating system is maximising the efficiency, managing the system and getting timers set up that best benefit them. Underfloor heating is no different and it is worth understanding how long customers use their heating for to best advise them of how to maximise performance once it’s installed. Underfloor heating can take a while to warm up, so preparing it each time can be a bit of a pain.


Customers can solve this by setting a seven-day timer. You can help them by showing them how to do it and ensuring they have an understanding of how the product will work in their home.


First, find out roughly what temperature they would set the heating to. This affects how long it takes the underfloor heating to warm up: lower temperatures will take around half an hour, but higher temperatures can take up to an hour to reach the right level.


Once you know that, you can recommend a seven-day timer setting that can be set once and forgotten about, so that your customer will have their underfloor heating ready to go when they need it.


Flooring Types


One of the most important things for a customer to consider when buying underfloor heating is the type of flooring used in their bathroom. Tiled floors are generally the best option for electric underfloor heating because they radiate the heat and need less preparation time than other types of flooring.


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