kitchen design ideas menards
ceramic, slate and marble floors addbeauty and value to any home, but have the reputation of being cold underfoot. with thewarm tiles system from easy heat, available at your nearest menards, that s no longera concern! the heart of the system is an energy efficient heating cable embedded directlybeneath the tile. it s a great choice for new construction or remodeling. stay righthere and we ll show you how. determine the square footage of the area you want to heat.in the case of a bathroom, subtract the area where tubs, toilets and cabinets will be located.then, consult the chart on the easy heat package to determine what size kit your need. makesure your subfloor meets the requirements of your tile manufacturer. the easy heat systemcan be installed over plywood, concrete or
backerboard. also, determine where to locatethe electrical box for the thermostat. holes are drilled at floor level into the wall anda cable guard is installed so the cable can later be run up from the floor to the electricalbox. then, measure and mark the mid-point of the heated area. this may differ from thecenter of the room itself. s a good idea to have the cable run parallel with the longestwall of the room. measure and cut lengths of metal strapping and nail or screw theminto the subfloor at 30 to 36 in intervals. install the end screw or nail at a slightangle to provide tension along the length of the strapping. to keep the cable from twisting,use a broom handle or something similar and suspend the cable reel from a ladder. pullthe cold lead, which is the black section
of cable, up into the electrical box witha fish cord. pull the cable up until the cold lead splice is about 12 inches from the wall.also pull the white sensor wire up into the box. to keep the cold lead from interferingwith the laying of the tile, cut a quarter inch deep groove into the subfloor with achisel or utility knife. secure the cable with the flat ribbon strapping included inyour kit. secure the cable between the cold lead and where it meets the first metal strapwith clips included in your kit. now start looping the cable through the metal strappingusing every other slot as spacing. carefully loop the cable making sure it does not comeout of the loop on either side. keep the end of the loop about an inch from the metal strapping.make sure to keep the cable taut and bend
the tabs to hold the cable in place if needed.if the half-of-cable marker appears before the half of area line on the subfloor youwill end up short of cable before you finish. if that s the case, carefully remove the cableand start farther away from the wall or place less cable in low-traffic areas. if the half-of-cablemarker appears after you ve reached the halfway mark on the floor, you ll have excess cablewhen you reach the end. surplus cable can be used up by reducing cable spacing to aninch and a half between runs. consult the directions in your kit for further details.now place the white sensor wire between two sections of heating cable that are spaced3 inches apart. a small groove will need to be cut into the subfloor for the end of thesensor wire. secure the wire into place with
the included clips. before the finished flooris installed, check the electrical resistance of the cable and sensor wire with an ohmmeterto ensure no damage has occurred to either cable during installation. consult the directionsfor exact details. now the cables can be embedded into place with a cement-based mortar compound.you can use either a thin-set mortar of self-leveling mortar compound, but check with a menardsfloor coverings team member for a product that is right for your type of floor. usea trowel to spread the mortar over the entire floor at a uniform height. apply the mortarin the same direction as the cable to avoid disturbing the cable. the top of the cabledoes not have to be completely covered. once the scratch coat of mortar has dried the finishedfloor can be installed. follow the tile manufacturer
s instructions for installation details. oncethe mortar and grout have fully cured, the tile warming system can be energized. connectthe power supply to the thermostat and warming cable according to the directions in yourkit. re now ready to enjoy a warm tile floor along with the satisfaction that you did ityourself. for further details, visit menards dot-com. to stay up-to-date on all of menardshow-to projects, subscribe to our channel, here!