Cablewarm® heating mats are manufactured from twin conductor, thin profile (3 mm), double insulated and earth braided cables attached to a 500 mm open weave mat backing at 70 mm centres to produce a standard 160 watts per square metre (W/m²) output.

Basically cable kits consist of a single length of cable and a thermostat.

Cable mats consist of a single cable manufactured onto a glass fibre mat backing.

Installations larger than 13 m² would require 2 or more cable lengths or mats wired in parallel.

For small or complicated areas like bathrooms a single cable is the answer but where larger areas are concerned cable mats are the ideal solution. A single cable will require an even spacing and taping down onto the insulation or sub-floor to hold in place prior to tiling.

Cable mats are the professionals' choice, pre-spaced and fast to lay; they only require laying out. Tiling can commence straight away without the need to set the correct spacing or be concerned the spacings could be inadvertently altered before tiling was complete.

From the area you plan to heat, deduct approximately 5-10% and select the nearest mat down from that in the range . Select a thermostat to control that area or a single thermostat per installation up to the 16 amp maximum rating.

It is the equivalent of taking out your loft insulation and increasing your boiler to cope with the extra demand.

With high quality thermal insulation between the heating cable and the concrete sub-floor 160 W/ m² is easily capable of bringing your floor up to temperature quickly and maintaining it to your settings; saving you money on your running costs.

Under no circumstances can cables be cut to length.

For single cables the floor spacing pitch can be adjusted closer together down to a minimum of 70 mm, this will result in a higher wattage output per m2.

If cable mats are too long select the nearest mat down from within the range.

If in any doubt always work out how many widths of 500 mm will be required to fill the area you intend to heat. Simulate the number of times you will need to cover the area by rolling the mat out back and forth and measure.

Provided you have not cut any part of the mat we will give you a refund against a smaller mat.

This depends on a number of factors like the sub-floor type and insulation: a cement sub-floor will be slow to warm without a thermal barrier, creating a significant drag on the performance of the floor. A layer of high quality insulation will have a dramatic effect in these circumstances, speeding up the initial warm up times to within 15-20 minutes.

This will depend on the U Value of your room. This is an industry term for the total measure of resistance of each component that makes up the fabric of the building. Simply put, this means that old buildings will lose heat faster than modern buildings where the latest materials are incorporated. Insulation will go a long way towards offsetting these drawbacks, helping to retain the heat within the room.

Floor heating acts like a large, low level radiator gently heating the room from the feet up, this requires approximately 15% less energy to feel the same level of comfort experienced using convection heating.

With a good level of floor insulation and the correct choice of heating cable to get the maximum coverage and output, then in most circumstances under-floor heating will provide the required room temperature.

Most conservatories are not required to pass any building regulation U Values, so depending on the type of glass structure you have, supplemental heating may be required for odd occasions like cold winter nights.

Each installation is controlled by a 16 amp programmable, digital thermostat. This will maintain your floor temperature to your own settings.

Each installation is controlled by a 16 amp programmable, digital thermostat. This will look after your day to day, on and off requirements to your own settings.

Tiling over heating cables should always be done using a plastic trowel. Any damage by the the sharp edge of a traditional steel trowel may result in damage to the outer, protective jacket of the heating cable, this could eventually result in a future heating cable failure.

To test the system is correctly installed you will also require an Ohmmeter or Multimeter to take a resistance reading, prior to commencing tiling.

All cable mats come with a full set of installation instructions. Most small to medium size cable systems can be installed on a DIY basis but it is recommended that a fully qualified electrician connects the system to the household mains.

Larger areas will need careful planning due to the extra electricity loading calculations that will be required, a separate power supply may be needed.

It is highly recommended that you connect your system via a fused spur (to isolate the system for future maintenance). The power supply should be from a safety contact breaker (RCD) to the thermostat, an electrician will be able to advise you.

Unless you are competent with electrics then we always recommend a fully qualified electrician to check out your system and to advise accordingly.

Yes, a flexible floor tile adhesive will be required. The special polymers added to flexible adhesives will make allowances for any tile floor movements through heat expansion and contraction. Don't forget to also add a flexible grout to your list.

For single, loose laid cable systems it is usual to pour a leveling compound screed over the floor area to the depth of the cables, to fix and fully encapsulate the cable; tiling can commence as a separate operation.

For cable mats the cables are secure within the mat backing, the tiler can commence immediately with the flexible floor tile adhesive and tiling operation.

This will depend on the size of the mat but an allowance of an extra 4 mm to your planned finished height is a reasonable figure.

All cables come with a 10 year manufacturer's guarantee.

This is possible but there are a number of extra steps involved. All heating cables require fully encapsulating. The application of a leveling compound screed will be necessary to prepare the floor prior to laying the underlay and laminate flooring.

Click here to go straight to our Floor Heating Electricity Cost calculator page.

Yes this is entirely possible but the laws of science state that heat will always be attracted towards cold: heat energy will dissipate into the sub-floor, requiring more heat energy to bring the floor up to temperature.

A high quality thermal barrier will slow the process of heat loss into the sub-floor, significantly improving the performance, speeding the initial warm up times and reducing the electricity costs.

Extruded polystyrene foams will give the best all round performance. Polystyrene has high thermal insulation properties, high compressive strength capable of supporting normal foot traffic impact loading, waterproof, rot resistant, light weight, easy to handle, easily cut and shaped with a sharp knife, available in various depths from 10 mm to 70 mm and low cost.

Reflective surfaces will give a greater performance when an air barrier is present (like behind a radiator). If buried within a cement layer then the reflective surface will now act as a conductor and transfer heat or cold. No useful gain can be attributed to a reflective surface when applied in this way.

Yes floor heating insulation can be expensive if choosing tile backer boards as insulation. These boards are manufactured with a reinforcing cementitious face to give them extra rigidity when used as a wall and are perfectly suited as waterproof walls to tile on in wet areas. For floors however, this extra cementitious layer is entirely unnecessary and will not add any extra strength to the board.

Fastwarm  insulation boards are manufactured from extruded polystyrene foam, designed to meet the very specific needs of the under-floor heating industry.

Fastwarm  boards are designed to meet the very rigorous needs to be both high thermal value and high compressive strength, capable of normal foot traffic point loading.

A simple rule of thumb is to incorporate as much insulation wherever possible. For new build projects this is easy to plan but in a typical refurbish situation this is not always possible where the finished floor height may restrict the depth available to add the insulation.

Fastwarm  boards are available from 10 mm to 70 mm.

For cement sub-floors Fastwarm  boards will readily bond to any good quality flexible , water based (solvent-free) floor tile adhesive.

For wood floors care must be taken to ensure that the floor is firmly fixed to the joists, following the recommended 300 mm screwed centres as a guide, prior to applying the flexible floor tile adhesive and bonding the Fastwarm® boards.

Yes, following on from the question above continue with the same flexible floor tile adhesive laying tiles in the normal way.

Even without under-floor heating these tiles will be warmer as a result.