EZ Floor Heat - Contractor Talk - Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum

Bentz34 · 04-07-2009, 09:32 PM

Has anyone tried this? I would like to purchase the EZ Floor Heat System. This is the cable system. It is much cheaper than the mats and more difficult to install, but I like the fact I have more control over what areas I heat and how much heat I send to that area. My thought was this.............Take my grinder and and make grooves in the cement board and place the cable in the groove. Place thinset over it as I go and I now have an even floor to work on. The draw backs I see are..............
1. Time to do this (which I have)
2. Dusty as hell (it is a new construction)

I don't install tile for a living but have done it around 20 times mainly in the homes I have built for my wife and I. I have installed this cable before at a friends house and what a pain in the a$$! It all worked out well but I am fussy and it took some time.

Any thoughts on doing it this way?

**ChrWright** · 04-07-2009, 09:46 PM

Huge waste of time and a big f-ing mess.

Why not lay the cable and self-level? Are there transition issues you're dealing with?

I've laid both the cable systems and the mats. I agree the cables give you the most flexibility. But that's not how they're meant to be installed.

If you do all of that grooving you defeat the purpose of the backer. By the time you're through you'll have to install an anti-fracture membrane of some kind.

Bentz34 · 04-07-2009, 11:48 PM

As mentioned I have tiled more than a handful of times, but I have never used a self leveling cement. Can I purchase this at a big box store. I have heard of the stuff, but like I said I have never used it.

**ChrWright** · 04-08-2009, 06:32 AM

I'm not sure about your home centers, but mine only carry small units of self-leveler.

Find a decent tile supply house and see what they carry. Also look at the install specs for the cabling system you choose--they will likely recommend the type of product to use.

Is this for yourself or a client?

Bentz34 · 04-08-2009, 10:28 PM

She wants the floor. We are building a new house. I cameo as a GC, but my occupation is teaching math. I don't necessarily enjoy tiling, but as mentioned I have done it before including a Kirdi walk-in shower and for those of you that swear by Kirdi you have good reason. What a product. Anyhow, I hired out the tile work in our first house because the price was right and.............I got what I paid for. Half way through I told the guy to pack up his sh!t and shove off. Have been doing it ever since.

This is our 4th house. We build, live in it for 2 years and move on to the next house. We are not 100% sure this will be our last house or not? So, we are starting to build a semi dream home. We love the neighborhood and now are down to only two more lots and I don't like either one of them. With kid #2 on the way the thought of staying has crossed our mind.