How To Warm Up A Concrete Basement Floor

Floor heaters bring the comfort of warm floors to a cold basement and are an energy efficient heating solution.

How to warm up a concrete basement floor.

To be usable most basements need to have some source of active heating. Basements are one of the most popular areas to install these systems which circulate heated water through polyethylene tubing. Keep cold air out warm air in. They use a lower temperature than traditional heating systems whilst providing an optimal heat output thereby reducing energy usage and in turn the costs of heating your home.

Put up radiant panels. If your remodeled basement will be used as a family room home theatre or kid s playroom you may want to have a subfloor installed over the concrete. To keep concrete floors warmer underfoot in winter homeowners can install in floor radiant heatbefore the slab is poured. Start with the simplest solution which will help provide a comfortable temperature for the whole house not just the floor.

The most common application however is an in floor heating system installed between the finished concrete slab and the flooring above. Make sure your concrete has completely cured before you lay down your in floor heating mat. How do they work. The underlay made from heavy duty polyethylene or styrofoam insulation creates an air gap under the plywood surface and above the concrete so the wood never touches the concrete.

A floating sub floor keeps a basement floor warm and comfortable. Use decorative concrete to your advantage. A properly installed subfloor will create a flat insulated substrate for the finished floor of your choice ensuring more warmth underfoot. As a result the wood won t get wet and rot over time.

Since basements are nothing more than holes in the ground lined with concrete and moisture is pervasive in the ground water vapor will gradually work its way upward through concrete basement flooring and will condense. Fill any cracks in the concrete and use self leveling compounds if necessary to ensure the concrete is. Even if you do not expect catastrophic events such as flooring moisture can and probably will invade your basement. For example a bathroom on a slab would feature a layer of cork or synthetic cork underlayment on top of the concrete subfloor followed by the electric heating element and topped with the flooring substrate.

Tis the season to stay warm even in your basement. The solutions most commonly recommended for warming up a basement are to insulate the below grade walls and the floors and to add heating either through installing radiant heat floors or making revisions to the main hvac ductwork system.