With the heater in the kitchen being removed to make room for the additional cabinets, we decided to install radiant heat under the floor. I chose electric radiant heat as opposed to hot water radiant heat for a couple of reasons: 1.) Installing the electric mats is much easier than attempting to install hot water plumbing, 2.) Electric radiant heat is perfect for smaller areas, whereas hot water radiant is more for new construction and entire house or large area projects. 3.) The electric radiant heat had a much smaller initial cost than hot water.
After extensive research on the internet I decided to go with a company called ThermoSoft. They had the best combination of price, features, and possitive reviews. I ordered 90 sq. ft. of their ThermoTile 120V Mat ($479.41), a programmable thermostat ($128), and an install kit ($55.95). The electric mats have zero EMFs, which means they won't interfere with any wireless devices or plasma TVs. The programmable thermostat allows you to setup your tempurature and times (6 days, 4 settings/day; 2 settings 7th day), which was a nice feature because we really only need to have the heat on for breakfast, dinner and other times on weekends. This would help save us money on electricity.
Floor covering
Floor covering
The old kitchen had a very dark brown floor, which seemed to make the room smaller than it actually was. I wanted to go with a lighter/brighter color for the floor, but I also wanted to go with a natural stone type material. Another thing that I had to keep in mind when choosing a floor cover was to get something that worked well with radiant heat. And of course, I wanted to choose something that looked good! After looking at slate, granite, ceramic, porcelin, etc. I came across a material that really caught my eye - terra-cotta clay floor tiles. Not only was the color very warm and welcoming, terra-cotta works excellent with radiant heat. My wife is the cook in the family (I miss her food now that she can't cook in our demolished kitchen), and I liked the idea that the terra cotta blended into her hispanic heritage. She cooks a lot of spanish inspired dishes and the terra-cotta seemed like a perfect base to our new kitchen. After looking at many different companies, I chose a company called Pave Tile & Stone, and decided on the 9in. x 9in. St. Tropez Hand Made Terra Cotta Tile. The surface that I need to cover is 120 sq. ft., so I ordered 135 tiles (I added 10% on to what I needed just in case I broke or cut some wrong). The cost came to $1700.00. Check out some pictures of what the tile looks like (this is finished with the Cacao Wax which gives it a nice dark finish).
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