NO, not the inexpensive electric mats you see used under ceramic tiles, with a possible exception.
I might try it over a slab floor if I could bury the mat completely in SLC or a patching compound. Sheet vinyl requires a smooth substrate, so there is extra prep to do. Do not try this over a wooden floor. Someday, someone may try to install a new underlayment over the old vinyl. The staples would not be good for the electric mat.:no:
Thanks...
I thought maybe a subfloor, thinset, heat elements, thinset and then the finish floor. You have a good point with the future but I was concerned the heater would melt or loosen the linoleum...?
I'd say no. I haven't tried it or even looked into it for this application, but I can't seen that kind of variation in heat being good for products that naturally have expansion and contraction to them. Most radiant heat of this type is speced for ceramic (which doesn't have expansion/contraction issues) or laminate (which expands/contracts as a single sheet of material since it floats.)
I thought maybe a subfloor, thinset, heat elements, thinset and then the finish floor. You have a good point with the future but I was concerned the heater would melt or loosen the linoleum...?
even without the heat, thinset is not a leveler or a good substrate for Vinyl.
What about subfloor, heat element, 1/4 ply, then Vinyl?
I wonder if NuHeat would approve?
I doubt that method would be a DIY method. What if there are seams in the plywood?
The heat would trash the adhesive in a short time on the wood and the vinyl I would think. The vinyl would also dry excessively and shrink then curl in my thinking.
A room that small wouldn't cost much to use ceramic tile.
Seams can be an issue even when the underlayment is tightly fastened using fasteners. If an edge were to be a little proud from a warped panel a hump would be created with no real means to remedy the hump under the circumstances.
glue then float the seams with Portland based seems easy to me.
Easy enough but the hump is still there. Doesn't seem like a thing to ask of a DIY'er. Create a problem then exert more effort trying to remedy the problem you just created.
These days panels fly all over the placed, they are all warped. Gluing them down flat just seems to be a possible problem to me.
As usual, I'm going to say to all the nay-sayers, NAY!!
Look into Zmesh. nail, staple, screw through it anywhere without damaging the element.
If you're planning to only do a 50sf space it's probably too costly. But if you want the answer to your question, it is YES. ZMesh.
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