So your clients have opted for the luxury of a heated floor on your next flooring project and are ready to get your mat, cable, and thermostat. It’s important to plan out the installation before you get started, and one of the more challenging parts can be ordering just the right amount of cable. Read on for our best tips on determining where you want the heating cables and how to calculate the correct amount of wire.
Tip 1: You can’t cut the cable! This is rule number one, which means having the right measurements for your heating cable is vital.
Tip 2: The Schluter®-DITRA-HEAT membrane should be selected according to the size of the area to be tiled, but the cable is selected according to the size of the area to be heated. Do not purchase a heating cable that is the same size as the area you plan to tile, you will be left with too much cable. (And we all know what we can’t do if that happens… refer back to Tip 1!)
Tip 3: Know where not to heat! Heating cables are limited to a minimum space of 2” from walls, partitions, and fixed cabinets, 8” from any heat source, and 4” from plumbing drains. Cables should also not be run underneath any cabinets or furniture.
Tip 4: Plan a buffer zone! It’s not always possible to predict where the heating cable will end. This buffer zone is an area where heating is not essential but allows some wiggle room if you end up with a little more than you expected. Leaving a 6–in. gap between the wall and your cable won’t affect the warmth of your floor and leaves you with some needed flexibility.
When in doubt, use a calculator! The Ditra-Heat calculator has been specifically created to eliminate the guesswork of how much cable you will need. It will give you a final calculation that includes how much cable and membrane you will actually need while taking into account the minimum three stud (3-1/2 inches or 9 cm) spacing between heating cable runs. Need some more tips? Watch our Tips and Tricks series video: “Tips on calculating cable length for DITRA-HEAT”, for more excellent advice on calculating cable lengths for your next floor warming project.
