Underfloor heating in County Durham

What does bathroom underfloor heating cost in County Durham?

Our guide range in County Durham is £650–£2,200 including VAT. Prices in County Durham run at about 10% below the UK guide, based on North East England labour rates.

Guide prices for County Durham including VAT. Your itemised written quote after the free survey is the price that counts.

Which towns do we cover in County Durham?

• Darlington
• Hartlepool
• Stockton-on-Tees
• Durham
• Chester-le-Street
• Billingham
• Stanley
• Consett
• Newton Aycliffe
• Bishop Auckland
• Seaham
• Thornaby-on-Tees
• Peterlee
• Yarm
• Spennymoor

Water across much of County Durham is moderately hard. Mid-tone grout and matt tiles hide the odd water mark better than dark grout and high gloss. Hardness varies street by street, so check the figure for your postcode with your water supplier. Whether your Darlington bathroom is a small en-suite or a large main bathroom, the mat is sized to the open floor, not the whole room.

What the job includes

• A dial, programmable or smart thermostat, with the supply RCD protected, tested and certified by a qualified electrician
• A floor sensor set between the heating runs and wired back to the thermostat
• Resistance and insulation tests on the mat before, during and after tiling, with the readings recorded
• Insulation boards over the subfloor, so heat goes up into the tiles rather than down into the joists or screed
• The electric mat or cable laid to the open floor, kept clear of where the WC, bath and fixed furniture will sit
• For wet systems, pipes in low-profile boards or screed connected to a manifold or single-zone kit, with any boiler work done by a Gas Safe registered engineer

Decisions to make first

Electric or wet

Electric is cheaper to install and quick to lay in one room. Wet costs more upfront but is usually cheaper to run where it is fed by a gas boiler or heat pump.

Floor heating and towel rail

Underfloor heating warms the room; a towel rail dries towels. Many bathrooms have both, and a dual-fuel rail keeps working in summer when the boiler is off.

Mat or loose cable

Mats are quickest on square, open floors. Loose cable is easier to route around awkward shapes, pipe boxing and a curved shower area.

Floor finish

Tiles and stone pass heat through well. LVT and vinyl can work, but check the maximum floor temperature the flooring maker allows.

Rules that apply in England

Electric underfloor heating in a bathroom must be on a circuit with 30 mA RCD protection under BS 7671, and the thermostat is positioned to suit the bathroom zones. There is no separate approval for the heating itself, but it should have its own thermostat and timer so it only runs when needed, and the electrical work must meet BS 7671 — in England and Wales it is notifiable as bathroom electrical work. Any work on a gas boiler for a wet system must be done by a Gas Safe registered engineer.

In England, a new circuit for underfloor heating is notifiable under Part P, and so is connecting it to an existing circuit in a room with a bath or shower. The electrician either self-certifies through a competent person scheme or the work is notified to building control.