How to warm a cold kitchen with travertine tiles....

[RachelElise]

Hello all,

We have a lovely, medium size kitchen with travertine floor tiles and no underfloor heating. I really regret not putting this in but we were too inexperienced and strapped for cash at the time to consider it. Now, come winter, the kitchen floor is icy... there is a decent rad in there for the size but it's just not touching the floor issue. My two year old walks on tiptoes in there before I put his slipper socks on!!! BAD MOTHER! I have been looking at skirting heaters or tube heaters but I don't have a massive stretch of space on a skirting board near a plug, plus these see to aim upwards rather than straight out. Has anyone got any cunning tips about how to gently heat my freezing floor? I don't need toasty. I just want to be able to walk on it in socks without getting chillblains.

any and all advice much appreciated.

B&Q and ikea do round rugs about 750mm diameter - you could have 'stepping stones ' around the room ... won't hear it but might be fun ?! best to use anti slip webbing underneath - especially if you intend to jump from one to the next !

we have travertine flooring too - UFH in the kitchen is lush - budget didn't stretch to hall too - my biggest regret !! looked online for a solution found electric heated rugs in Japan ! not available here - so ( I can't believe I'm admitting this on here !!) I tried and electric blanket (cheap tesco single bed one ) under a rug ... works brilliantly !! I have it on a timer !! its in a place that's dry and the cables aren't a trip hazard and I have no pets that chew - and I do check it regularly for wear and tear - but it's probably not something I would do if I had small children .... so please - if anyone thinks about doing this too - think it through very carefully first !!

won't * hear it should say - won't warm it !!

hard floors are naturally cold.

It is possible to fit plinth heaters under the kitchen units with fans to blow warm air; but as warm air naturally rises, it will warm the room and not the floor.

Work on correcting any draughts, especially under the kitchen door.

Is the subfloor a concrete slab, or is it a suspended timber floor?
Mats or slippers are going to be the most effective and economical option, short of digging it up.

I feel your pain.

We had UFH fitted when we renovated about 10 years ago, the wires laid in a mat under the tiles type. Our electric bill DDs kept being put up and eventually we ended up with a bill for £2000! When we queried our usage with ourelectricity suppliers they asked if we had a swimming pool!

We don't have it on now I think UFH has got much better over the years but ours was just a money guzzler. I put my Uggs on in the morning and wear them as slippers. We have the plinth heaters/blowers but they only work if the central heating is on as they heat from the hot water heating pipes so it's all or nothing here.

Hi Piglet John,

The subfloor is suspended timber flooring with ply laid on top. Why oh why didn't we get UFH.

Thanks all, think I might need to just try out a skirting or plinth heater and put it on a timer at the power source... Any advice on good, economical heater would be great!

Thanks everyone
R

you could reduce heat loss through the floor by insulating between the joists. This is especially worthwhile with hard floors which are naturally cold. Is it possible to get into a crawl space under the floor, or would you have to lift the tiles and boards, making it impractical for now?

I do not have experence of plinth heaters

Dimplex has a good repuation.

Look for a thermostat and a half/full power control. These ones are both 2400W which is a lot, and would be ample as the main heat source in many rooms, but will cost about 32p an hour in electricity to run.

Thank you PigletJohn, will look into it!

A rug

Slippers.... honestly that's all you need. I never notice cold kitchen and hall tiles because I never have bare feet unless it's summer time!

our plumber who has been twiddling with the rads all morning said to stick some old carpet down in the kitchen over the winter. he said the tiles are taking heat out of the room. its bloody freezing in there so we will. house is a renovation job tho so we dont mind the grotty carpet look and have a garage full of it waiting yo go to the tip.