cold basement bathroom

[Anonymous]

Heated floors are not at all expensive if you’re doing the floors. They’re only expensive if you have to rip out the floor to install. In our small bathroom it was like $500 or something.

[Anonymous]

We put infra red heaters in our bathrooms during the winter. I never get cold showering. Under $100, it warms up fast, clean, doesn't get hot, will actually heat the whole room. Remote included. You can find one to match any decor.

[Anonymous]

Update from OP - the quote I got to cost to install heated floors as part of an overall bathroom job (so the floors would already be ripped up) is an addt’l $3100.

This is an extremely small bathroom fwiw, about the size of a toilet and 24” vanity and 30x55” bathtub (which we’d be removing and replacing with a shower as part of the job).

I’d love recs for other places who do bathroom work, esp from those who said it is inexpensive to install heated floors

[Anonymous]

Absolutely do the Panasonic WhisperWarm. It's sooo quiet, and warms up super fast, it's like 1300W which is the same as a space heater. I just installed it in the basement bathroom and it really works well. It's just over $300.

I considered the heated floors too but:

1) it only covers the floor that's not under any vanity or tub. So really it's a tiny part of the bathroom.
2) it doesn't EMIT heat, it just keeps the tiles from being ice cold. It's very subtle. My friend has it all over her house and I've checked it out. She actually put it under her entire basement floor because she has no radiator heating in the basement. You don't even really notice it, other than when she pointed out the floor isn't cold. So you could just put a rug on the floor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely do the Panasonic WhisperWarm. It's sooo quiet, and warms up super fast, it's like 1300W which is the same as a space heater. I just installed it in the basement bathroom and it really works well. It's just over $300.

I considered the heated floors too but:

1) it only covers the floor that's not under any vanity or tub. So really it's a tiny part of the bathroom.
2) it doesn't EMIT heat, it just keeps the tiles from being ice cold. It's very subtle. My friend has it all over her house and I've checked it out. She actually put it under her entire basement floor because she has no radiator heating in the basement. You don't even really notice it, other than when she pointed out the floor isn't cold. So you could just put a rug on the floor.

OP here. I love this idea. I know you just installed it, but did your pre-research discuss whether a heated exhaust fan can breed mold? I wonder whether the heat/dampness combo could lead to mold growing in the system.

[Anonymous]

Don’t dismiss the heated floors. If you are retiring the floor anyway the added expense will be minimal. Get a programmable control for the floor heating — not expensive at all— and you can control when the heating kicks in so you don’t spend too much on electricity.
My heated floors in two bathrooms have made all the difference. They are terrific.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Heated floors are not at all expensive if you’re doing the floors. They’re only expensive if you have to rip out the floor to install. In our small bathroom it was like $500 or something.

The bathroom fan with a heater is $130-$200 - definitely the easiest option and very effective because if no one is using the bathroom it stays off. Plus it can heat the whole room very quickly especially if the bathroom is small. Odds are also good that if you have a bathroom fan already, the fan with heater can pop in the same hole. Our electrician installed ours in less than an hour. I'd advise not getting the cheapest option...we got a nicer but still very reasonable model and it's half the volume of the cheapo builder grade fan that came with our new house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don’t dismiss the heated floors. If you are retiring the floor anyway the added expense will be minimal. Get a programmable control for the floor heating — not expensive at all— and you can control when the heating kicks in so you don’t spend too much on electricity.
My heated floors in two bathrooms have made all the difference. They are terrific.

This is OP and I was quoted $3100 by Metropolitan Bath to install heated floor, above and beyond the cost of removing and replacing the existing floor tile (which we are already doing). The bathroom floor is 4 and 1/2' x 4 and 1/2' (with a 24" vanity, so maybe floor heating area is even a little less). What company installed yours?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely do the Panasonic WhisperWarm. It's sooo quiet, and warms up super fast, it's like 1300W which is the same as a space heater. I just installed it in the basement bathroom and it really works well. It's just over $300.

I considered the heated floors too but:

1) it only covers the floor that's not under any vanity or tub. So really it's a tiny part of the bathroom.
2) it doesn't EMIT heat, it just keeps the tiles from being ice cold. It's very subtle. My friend has it all over her house and I've checked it out. She actually put it under her entire basement floor because she has no radiator heating in the basement. You don't even really notice it, other than when she pointed out the floor isn't cold. So you could just put a rug on the floor.

OP here. I love this idea. I know you just installed it, but did your pre-research discuss whether a heated exhaust fan can breed mold? I wonder whether the heat/dampness combo could lead to mold growing in the system.

I don't see that happening. The Whisperwarm can run the exhaust fan by itself, the heater by itself, or the heat/exhaust together. Usually after a shower i turn on the exhaust and it does an auto-shutoff in 2 hours. When the heater is on it's so dry that there's no way there will be mold.