INFLOOR

I was first introduced to INFLOOR Heating Systems in the early '90s. It was formerly sold under the company name of Gyp-Crete, now called Maxxon Corporation. This company has provided a variety of underlayment products for over 20 years and has 17 years in the radiant heating business. Maxxon offers both hot water and electric heating, the Warm Floor Kit for area warming, as well as systems for melting snow and ice.

Their INFLOOR Warm Floor Kit (WFK), my main focus, provides a way to warm tile or marble floors with radiant heat. The WFK is intended to be installed in a thin mortar bed or a thin layer of Therma-Floor, roughly ³/₄ inch thick. Other INFLOOR systems can be used to warm floors covered with wood or resilient flooring, provided the underlayment over the electric cables or hot-water tubing is 1¹/₄ inch thick. The thicker underlayment creates a thermal mass when the finish floor covering is a type that doesn't hold the heat.

The WFK uses low-wattage heating cables attached to the concrete or wood subfloor and covered with Therma-Floor. That's a pourable gypsum floor underlayment. As an alternative, a mortar bed can cover the cables. The cables warm the underlayment and floor covering. A wall-mounted thermostat connected to a heat sensor inside the underlayment regulates floor temperature.

This system can be installed in both new construction or remodeling projects. It's not designed to be the primary source of heat in the rooms in which it's installed but rather a supplement – to take the chill off. Your customer will really appreciate stepping onto a warm tile floor after that morning shower!

The INFLOOR system doesn't waste energy trying to warm large volumes of air, like a forced air system. There are no drafts or hot-air surges so the heat is uniform, with very little temperature difference between the floor and the ceiling. Utility bills for a home covered by radiant heat average 15 to 30 percent less than an identical home using a forced-air furnace. Another advantage is that it uses no registers or cold-air returns to circulate dust or allergens. With health-conscious customers, or the allergy-prone, this feature could be a real selling point.

If your customer is looking for a primary radiant heating system or if you plan to use floor covering products other than what we've discussed – or for residential and commercial heating or snowmelt systems – contact Maxxon Corporation.

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