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Underfloor Heating in Showers and Wet Rooms

Wet Rooms are an increasingly popular interiors trend, greatly improving on the functionality of a typical bathroom. Warming the cold tiles of a wet room with floor heating enhances the sense of luxury and cleanliness of the room.

In this guide we’ll explain all you need to know about heating a wet room, including:

  • The benefits of using floor heating in a wet room
  • How best to install a heater
  • If you can use a floor heater with a shower tray
  • The perfect wet room accessories
  • The best heating systems to use

Thinking of installing a new Hydro heating system?

Find out more about installing water underfloor heating systems

Underfloor Heating from the Worlds Best selling Brand, Warmup, starts from less than £200 and costs less than £20 per year to heat a typical bathroom floor – all with a lifetime warranty”.

Benefits of Underfloor Heating in a Wet Room

Wet rooms are a contemporary take on the domestic bathroom, with an ‘open-plan’, unconfined shower that drains directly into the floor. Due to their open, spacious nature, wet rooms are ideal to be heated with an underfloor heating system.

Floor heating provides an ‘invisible’ heating solution meaning you no longer have to design your wet room around a bulky, cumbersome radiator. Heating your wet room’s floors also provides a greater sense of comfort and wellness to the room; wet rooms are almost always designed with tiled floor and walls and with underfloor heating, cold tiles under your feet are a thing of the past.

Floor heaters are also much more energy-efficient than central heating systems, use a system with one of our Smart Thermostats and save both energy usage and money on your heating bills.

Heating a Tiled Floor

Wet rooms are typically tiled from floor to ceiling with fully waterproofed sealant and grouting to maintain a non-permeable surface, which keep the water from penetrating the subfloor and walls. The most common types of floor tiling to use in a bathroom are ceramic and porcelain, to find out more about the differences between these two finishes read our blog Porcelain vs. Ceramic Tiles for Underfloor Heating.

Tiles have a high thermal conductivity which makes tiled floors perfect to be heated by an underfloor heating system. Tiles heat up quickly and retain this heat, meaning a fully tiled wet room can be efficiently transformed into a warm, cosy environment in which to relax.

Installing Underfloor Heating in a Wet Room

Wet rooms can be heated with either a water or electric floor heating solution. Whether you are retrofitting a heater into an existing wet room, converting a bathroom into a wet room or creating a wet room as part of a new-build construction project, Warmup provide a range of suitable heating options.

A Warmup system can be quickly installed in your wet room by a qualified installer in as little as one day. Whilst installation can be simple and hassle-free, due to the nature of wet rooms, we advise speaking to one of experts for more information on how to achieve a successful first-time wet room installation.

Installing a Floor System under a Shower Tray

A warm shower tray underfoot as you take a relaxing shower is a wonderful experience and with Warmup’s floor heater’s, you can bring this touch of luxury to your wet room.

There are some things to consider if you are pursuing this heating solution. If you are using an electric system, you will need a build-up of at least 12mm of screed and floor finish above the heater to be able to conduct the heat safely and efficiently – installing a shower tray directly on top of the heater would mean the heat cannot escape, resulting in the heater burning out. Get in touch with us if you have any queries or concerns.

Secondary Heat Sources for a Wet Room

As well as heating your wet room’s floor and shower tray with a floor heating system, wet rooms are also the perfect space in your home in which to install Warmup’s StickyMat 3D Wall Heater or other heating solutions from our Bathroom Collection.

Wall Heating in a Wet Room

Imagine showering in a cosy wet room with both gently warmed floor tiles and wall tiles – by using Warmup’s floor heating alongside our StickyMat 3D Wall Heating System your dream wet room can be a reality. Wall Heating systems are recommended for use with tiled or stone wall finishes and bring another layer of warmth and comfort to the room. This innovative system is ideal as a secondary heat source and can assist in reducing the chance of mould build-up; it’s also great for wet rooms with higher levels of heat loss.

Bathroom Accessories for a Wet Room

Other heating accessories to consider installing in your wet room include Warmup’s range of Mirror Demisters and Heated Towel Rails.

The Mirror Demister is perfect for keeping mirrors in bathrooms and wet rooms free from steam after a hot shower. Our range of Multi-Bar and Single-Bar Heated Towel Rails feature Warmup’s advanced heating wire technology which rapidly dries towels dampened by wet room moisture, keeping them gently warmed and toasty.

Best Floor Heaters for a Wet Room

Whether you are building a wet room from scratch or retrofitting a heater with an existing bathroom, Warmup offer a variety of electric and water floor heating options to consider.

Electric Systems

Our Electric floor heaters offer an energy-efficient heating solution for your wet room. Warmup’s range of systems bring gentle, radiant warmth to cold wall and floor tiles.

Warmup DCM-PRO System – Decoupling System

The DCM-PRO System is the ultimate electric floor heater to use with tiled wet rooms. It offers a fast, even heat output and features a unique anti-fracture matting, which can help protect and prevent floor tiles from cracking due to subfloor movement. Utilising the DCM-PRO Waterproof Tape with this system is also always recommended for wet room specifications as it greatly enhances the impermeability of the heater.

Warmup Stickymat System – Heating Mat

The StickyMat System utilises a self-adhesive backing for rapid installation times.

Warmup Loose Wire System – Floor Heating Cable

The Loose Wire System provides great versatility and features the thinnest heating wire on the market.

Water Systems

If you are retrofitting a water underfloor heating solution into a wet room, by which we mean installing a heater within an existing wet room or converting an existing bathroom into a wet room, the Total-16 System is a great choice.

At only 16mm deep, the Total-16 is Warmup’s lowest profile water heating system, so it is the perfect option for wet room’s where the ceiling height is fixed. The system features built-in insulation and uses aluminum diffusion plates to rapidly spread a consistent heat across the floors surface, at the optimal temperature for your needs.

Constructing your wet room from the ground up? If you are building your dream home or working on a new-build project, many of Warmup’s water floor heating systems are ideal for bring energy-efficient warmth in a wet room. You should include the floor heating system within the blueprints of your project to take into account the system’s installation requirements, such as screed depth or heat source connections. Get a quick quote for a water system today and find out how much UFH will cost for your new wet room.

Warmup Clypso System – Water System

The Clypso Floor System offers gentle, energy-efficient heating for your tiled floor surface. It has been designed for use with floating screeded floors, a common subfloor for wet rooms and features insulation panels with a gridwork pattern for clear and fast installation of the heating pipes.

Costs

Heating your wet room with an underfloor heating solution offers enhanced energy-efficiency and long-term cost savings too. Floor heating typically has lower running costs than central heating systems and a heated wet room is a more environmentally-conscious way to heat your home.

The costs of installing underfloor heating in your wet room will vary based on your project’s specifications. Many of our electric systems can be installed in 1 – 2 days in an average-sized bathroom or wet room. Our hydronic systems will take longer to install but offer lower long-term running costs. Find out more about how much installing a water system will cost you.

Thinking of installing a new Hydro heating system?

Find out more about installing water underfloor heating systems

Warmup Quoting Tools: instant, accurate, flexible

Warmup offers an extensive range of electric and water floor systems compatible with all floor types, rooms and projects.

Warmup Quoting Tools

instant, accurate, flexible

Quoting Tools: instant, accurate, flexible

Warmup offers an extensive range of electric and water floor systems compatible with all floor types, rooms and projects.

Electric Systems

  • ✓ Ideal for zones less than 25m²
  • ✓ Ideal for single rooms
  • ✓ Does not alter floor levels
  • ✓ Great for renovations

Electric Systems Quote
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Water Systems

  • ✓ Ideal for larger zones over 25m²
  • ✓ Rapid auto heat loss calculations
  • ✓ Compatible with existing central heating systems
  • ✓ Great for new-builds

Water Systems Quote & Buy
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For areas of 24m2 or more, use our full quoting system
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