I have a bit of a dilemma I’m hoping you can help with. I have a concrete subfloor and I’m going to install the Warmly Yours system, already in my hands, under a tile installation. I understand I should put down some type of insulating layer under the heat mats. I also have to deal with the fact that my floor isn’t particularly flat. My initial thought was that I’d lay down the insulation, using cork or Easymat, put the heating on top of it and then embed the whole thing in a SLC pour to get a nice flat floor for the tile installation. This avoids the alternative of pouring SLC first, then installing the insulation then the heat and then embedding the heat in another layer of cement (thinset or SLC). I think the latter approach would give me more of a floor height increase than I’d like to have.

The problem is I can’t find anyone who’s poured SLC over an insulating layer and I’m not sure if it’ll work. I’m afraid the deformation that the insulating material has may cause the SLC installation to fail.

Have you folks got any suggestions?

Thanks,
Gary

Just to add to the thread, I called Custom yesterday. Their technical support told me that pouring SLC over Easymat is not an option.

My thinking now is that I’ll put down cork then attach the heating mat then embed that in a medium-bed mortar to an approximate depth of 3/8” then Ditra and tile. Does this sound doable?

The main concern is that the compression in the 1/4” cork doesn’t transfer up to my tile and cause grout cracks, or worse, tile cracks.

Thanks, again,
Gary

Gary,

Using a self-leveler over our system is absolutely fine. If you decide to go the Ditra route, again, no problems. The Ditra is going to act as an isolation membrane between the subfloor and the tile, so even if there were a compression issue with the cork, it wouldn’t translate through to the tile. I hope this information helps! Please contact me if there is anything else I can do for you.

-Seth