St. Augustine - would radiant heat flooring be helpful in winter? (how much, house) - Jacksonville - Florida (FL) - City-Data Forum

gailtoo · 10-12-2010, 06:20 AM

Hi,

We are planning to move to St. Augustine. We are wondering what it is like in winter if your flooring happens to be ceramic or porcelain tile, since we prefer that over wood or carpeting. Would it help to have radient heat beneath the tiles or would that be totally unnecessary?

Thanks!

SmileDoc · 10-12-2010, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gailtoo

Hi,

We are planning to move to St. Augustine. We are wondering what it is like in winter if your flooring happens to be ceramic or porcelain tile, since we prefer that over wood or carpeting. Would it help to have radient heat beneath the tiles or would that be totally unnecessary?

Thanks!

Yes! And get the towel warming rack as well. It gets chilly over night in the winter.

gailtoo · 10-12-2010, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SmileDoc

Yes! And get the towel warming rack as well. It gets chilly over night in the winter.

Thanks SmileDoc!! Do you know or does anyone know about how much it costs for a good radiant heating system per square foot installed by an experienced person?

jsimms3 · 10-12-2010, 10:45 PM

Is this in place of a central heater or just to keep the floors warm? I'm intrigued. Is it analogous to seat warmers in a car?

gailtoo · 10-13-2010, 07:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jsimms3

Is this in place of a central heater or just to keep the floors warm? I'm intrigued. Is it analogous to seat warmers in a car?

The original idea was just to keep the floors warm, but I'm learning that it is also a good way to heat the house - so my answer is it would be in place of a central heater, except we'd still have a central heater (forced air) for those times we'd need to heat things up faster.

Thank you

gailtoo · 10-13-2010, 07:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jsimms3

Is this in place of a central heater or just to keep the floors warm? I'm intrigued. Is it analogous to seat warmers in a car?

jsimms3 - to add to my last reply to your question: I've just started reading up on radiant floor heating. What I've learned so far is that it is a very comfortable and efficient way to heat a house, but it takes a longer time than conventional heating to get the heat up or down to the level you want it. It is also more expensive to install, but it is supposed to be cost saving after that and doesn't require cleaning of air ducts and other maintenance.
That being said, I am far from an expert. This is just what I have learned so far.

BabyBoomers2 · 10-13-2010, 02:07 PM

WINTER, WHAT WINTER??????? Please, please don't say that word here when so many people, like us, move here to get away from the word WINTER! The word "winter" is a very bad word to use in Florida!!

gailtoo · 10-13-2010, 03:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoveBoating

WINTER, WHAT WINTER??????? Please, please don't say that word here when so many people, like us, move here to get away from the word WINTER! The word "winter" is a very bad word to use in Florida!!

What do you call it then?

SmileDoc · 10-14-2010, 09:14 AM

Typically radiant heating is installed in a couple rooms. Bathrooms and kitchen. They can be set to a timer just like your heater. So if you get up at 7, set it to start at 6:45 so that when you are walking around the house on those cooler days you're feeling nice and warm. A good range is between $400 to $800 per room. Obviously if you are building a really big kitchen, it might be a bit more. Obviously a luxury and not necessary, but its one of those things that once you have it, you can never go back.
For those afraid of winters, we typically dont have a real winter. There will be a week or two each winter that you will ask why you moved because it will be cold. Just remember that wherever you moved from up north it will be REALLY cold and most likely snowing on those days. So it still is a much better alternative.

BabyBoomers2 · 10-14-2010, 11:41 AM

Don't know what to call it, but saying the word "winter" in Florida does sound somewhat odd........don't you think? I mean, we relate the word "winter" to cold-to-freezing temps at 2PM with possibly snow flying (like when we lived south of Denver, CO).
Like this sort of ? reporting: Our local news/weather is making it look like we are going to freeze our butts off this weekend. When the temps are 49 degrees at 6AM, we are still asleep in bed! The daytime temps will be in the mid-to upper 70's and that isn't even close to being cold! Oh well, "to each their own" I guess.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gailtoo

What do you call it then?