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March 21, 2007
bathroom heat
We are currently renovating a bathroom that is in the middle of our house. It has no heat source. It used to get some heat from a steam riser, but that is now framed into the wall. We thought about putting in a heat/vent combo, but it won't fit between the joists. Now we are considering radiant heat. It would cost $1250 and ordering and installing it would delay things by a few days. My question is, is it worth it? Will my bathroom be cold without it? Since I don't plan to leave this house, maybe it is not that much money, but I have applied this logic to so many decisions that I am way over-budget already!
Comments
have you considered electric radiant heat? i know they pretty much only use it for this purpose, heating a small room like a bathroom. basically it is like an electric blanket that is placed between your subfloor and finished tiles. not sure the working cost, but i bet you can just flip it on when you hop in the shower and have a toasty room ready when you're done and drying off.
Posted by: benno at March 21, 2007 4:30 PM
Oh, I didn't mention that the price above ($1250) is for purchase and installation of electric radiant heat.
Posted by: Anonymous at March 21, 2007 4:35 PM
If it's not too late, you could cut a small vent at the top and bottom sections of the framed-in steam pipe which would release heat.
Electric radiant heat is ok if you have it switched so it does not run all the time (expensive); it also must be installed before you tile the floor.
We don't have hear in the bath and don't miss it
Posted by: cmu at March 21, 2007 4:35 PM
what about a heated towel rack/radiator. Can be a good heat source for a small room.
Posted by: clinton hillbilly at March 21, 2007 4:35 PM
Glad to hear someone doesn't have heat and doesn't miss it.
We were thinking about cutting vents in the wall, but the bathroom is tiny and the vents would be prominent and ugly -- but we could do it in the future if it turns out to be too cold.
Could a towel warmer really heat the bathroom? Hmm. I'm not sure if we have room for one, but I'll look into that.
The electric radiant heat would have a thermostat with a timer.
Posted by: Anonymous at March 21, 2007 4:41 PM
If it were me (and maybe not my wife,) I would drill 4 2" holes at the top & bottom in lieu of a vent. Finished properly, they would be unobtrusive.
There's also the 300-500w heaters that are included in bathroom fans which work ok. Of course, it takes a while to warm up the room
Posted by: cmu at March 21, 2007 5:00 PM
$1,250 is nothing compared to regretting not having done it.
Posted by: Master Plvmber at March 21, 2007 5:06 PM
I like how the plumber is the only one who thinks you should spend that kind of money *rolls eyes*. Sometimes one has to prioritize if they don't have an unlimited budget. Anyway my husband and i just finished up a bathroom renovation and we did radiant electric heat. It works great and so far the electric bills have been fine. Good Luck.
Posted by: Anonymous at March 21, 2007 6:02 PM
We have electric radiant heat in an outdoor shed and it works wonders. Much cheaper install than water powered floor heaters but costs a bit more monthly.
Posted by: Anonymous at March 21, 2007 6:49 PM
question? is there a skylight in the bathroom where a significant amount of heat loss or draft will occur? If yes, then heat may be necessary, if no then i wouldn't even consider it.
Posted by: an0on at March 21, 2007 7:19 PM
do it. heated floors? awesome.
Posted by: Anonymous at March 21, 2007 7:23 PM
question? is there a skylight in the bathroom where a significant amount of heat loss or draft will occur? If yes, then heat may be necessary, if no then i wouldn't even consider it.
Posted by: an0on at March 21, 2007 7:24 PM
We renovated a bathroom in the center of our house, top floor with a skylight, and we have no heat. Except for a few very cold days during the winter, I really don't miss it (and I'm one of those people who's always cold).
Posted by: Anonymous at March 21, 2007 8:30 PM
is it the bathroom you will shower in daily? if so, i'd spring for the radiant heat. a little bit of luxury goes a long way. you won't remember that $1250 in 2 years.
Posted by: Anonymous at March 21, 2007 9:09 PM
That price seems pretty high to me. We put electric radiant heat in our bathroom and it was no more than $600. We didn't have much floor space, really just a standard brownstone bathroom. No need to heat under the tub, so we just used a couple of mats. But it kicks out plenty of heat when you need it.
Posted by: Anonymous at March 22, 2007 5:40 AM
Electric radiant actually heats the whole bathroom and not just the tiles? I was reading up on it and they didn't recommend electric for heating, but maybe that's a larger room. How much of that price is installation and how much is materials?
Posted by: Anonymous at March 22, 2007 6:34 AM
We had electric radiant heat installed in a 3rd floor kids bathroom and once we turned it on, the electric bills shot through the roof. I never even noticed when it was on. Now we have it turned off permanently, and haven't missed it on bit. Plus we have a skylight and its still not noticeably cold in the winter....
Posted by: vs at March 22, 2007 8:51 AM
We had electric radiant heat installed in a 3rd floor kids bathroom and once we turned it on, the electric bills shot through the roof. I never even noticed when it was on. Now we have it turned off permanently, and haven't missed it on bit. Plus we have a skylight and its still not noticeably cold in the winter....
Posted by: vs at March 22, 2007 8:52 AM
OP here:
The bathroom is on the ground floor so it has no skylight.
I don't know how the cost is split up between materials and installation, but I trust the electrician not to be ripping me off. But now that I think about it, I wonder if it includes the shower floor. I hope it does, since that is about 1/2 the floor space of the room.
I don't know why I feel like this is the hardest decision I've made yet in this project!
Posted by: Anonymous at March 22, 2007 9:01 AM
I had a hotel room where the bathroom had radiant floor heat and it was great, until I went into the shower, which was freezing since that area was not heated.
How about one of those electric convection wall panels that you can paint the same color as your walls?
Posted by: anon at March 22, 2007 9:37 AM
Our contractor put a fan with a heating element that fits into the base of the sink cabinet. There is a thermostat which controls it. On cold days, we turn it on when we get into the shower and when we are finished, the bathroom is nice and warm (it really takes only a couple minutes to take the chill out of the room). It makes some noise. But is has to be pretty cheap to buy and install.
Posted by: Anonymous at March 22, 2007 10:11 AM
"It makes some noise. But is has to be pretty cheap to buy and install. "
i have the same thing in my kitchen. it cost about $300.
runs right off my hot water system.
Posted by: Anonymous at March 22, 2007 12:46 PM
I have a heat pipe that I covered with sheetrock and tile in my bathroom too. I'm thinking of cutting a hole in the wall and installing a vent to let heat in. I did this while renovating a rental bathroom recently and though a bit odd, it works well and saves having to install another heater or heat lamp.
In my bathroom I installed a $100 Braun metal mesh heater with a fan on the ceiling which is meant for work spaces and lookes very industrial. I put a timer on the wall so it can't be left on too long and start a fire. The whole thing with installation only cost a few hundred bucks but isn't great.
Live and learn, I guess.
Posted by: Jake the Snake at March 23, 2007 5:09 PM
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