Take the radiator out or not

cassdog

We are having radiant heat installed in our bathroom. Contractor recommends taking out the cast iron radiator. He said it will affect the thermostat and temperature of the floor. I think I would prefer to have both. I believe Ironman recommended NOT taking the radiator out. House is in New England, tile floors would be cold without radiant but I'm worried it won't be enough

Jamie Hall

Well, in a sense the contractor is right -- leaving the radiator in there will make the room warmer. If that results in the floor not operating and the thermostat is only for the floor, try just turning the floor thermostat up...

ethicalpaul

You can always take it out later. It's a lot harder to add it back later if he cuts out your riser and covers over the hole.

PC7060

Bad idea letting a tile floor guy give you decisions on your radiators. Keep the radiator and work around it.  Heated floors are not rated for heating space, they are only intended for make floor more comfortable and will leave you with warm feet and cold body.

How big is the bathroom in question? I found our radiators doing a very good job keeping the floor warm for smaller rooms. I’m doing a large bathroom and decided to add a second radiator near the tub to provide better localized heating. 

What type of system is the installer considering using for your floor? The Schluter products including Ditra heat are pretty good. I don’t particularly like any of the mesh embedded ones, very fussy messy installs. 

If you elect to do the heated floor, just keep the wire away from the radiator along with the temperature sensor. It’s only the sensor that cares about external heat anyway and there’s no sense wasting heat near the radiator. 

Go to johnbridge.com; the forums there are extraordinarily knowledgeable about tile floors. Post any tile related questions there (including heat) and you will get good information. 

JUGHNE

A major factor for bathroom heat is if there are any outside walls.
Is it an option for the floor heat, to put the thermostat temp sensor in the actual floor itself?
If the rad is too hot, you can cover it with towels. That is a treat after a shower or bath.
Hard to have too much heat in a bathroom.
We have heat in the floor, some walls and tub skirt. Keep it at 74 24/7. Keep thinking a towel warmer would be a nice addition.
NW corner of the house with window.

EBEBRATT-Ed

Leave the radiator and shut it off. Then run the radiant. If the radiant doesn't do the job then the radiator is still there. You may need to do some control work to use both the floor and the radiator, so plan accordingly. Is the bath on it's own zone?

If the floor is designed correctly and the contractor is confident that enough radiant is installed to heat the bath then the radiator could go........but bathrooms have limited space to get enough radiant installed

cassdog

Thank you all for your helpful comments! Contractor wanted to take it out but I have decided to leave it in. The room itself is not that big but it does have two outside walls. I'd rather be warmer. It's a Strata Heat system for the floor.