4 Min. Read

How a Portland Contractor Uses Radiant Floor Heating to Wow Homebuyers

Written by Heather Young

Updated on July 12, 2025

A trusted remodeler in Portland uses radiant heat as his not-so-secret weapon.

When Kory Nelson, owner of Nelson Design and Engineering in Portland, Oregon, began remodeling and flipping single-family homes more than a decade ago, he was looking for a way to set his work apart—a true “wow” factor.

Why Radiant Heat Was a Must-Try Upgrade

Radiant floors became the upgrade that made every home stand out.

Kory Nelson, owner and founder of Nelson Design and Engineering in Portland, Oregon, was looking for a way to add a “wow factor” to his single-family home renovations. He’d been remodeling and flipping homes for more than a decade—and knew he needed something memorable to set his projects apart.

“I have been using WarmlyYours radiant floors to set my work apart in the single-family resale home market for almost a decade now,” Nelson shares. “I know that when potential buyers are looking at many homes, I need something extra to make my product stand out, and the radiant floors help do that.”

Testing It at Home First: A Referral-Only Business Demands Trust

Nelson tried radiant heat in his own home before ever offering it to clients.

Before offering radiant heat to clients, Nelson insisted on experiencing it himself. That’s why the very first installation happened in his own home.

“The first installation I did of a WarmlyYours floor was in my own home because I wasn’t going to use my customers as a guinea pig,” Nelson says. “I can’t afford to lose referrals through a bad experience — referrals are the life of my business.”

After installing a TempZone™ system in his master bathroom, Nelson was sold. He’s since included WarmlyYours radiant heat in hundreds of remodels.

“My customers — and myself — continue to give rave reviews of this product and its results,” he says. “It is far and away my favorite upgrade to any project!

How Nelson Installs Radiant Heating for Lasting Results

From subfloor to tile, here’s how a seasoned pro installs WarmlyYours radiant heat.

Nelson has streamlined his radiant floor installation process over the years. Most of his projects use tile flooring over cement board.

Here’s a look at his typical install process:

Fastens subfloor to the joists to eliminate movement
Sands surface, applies latex primer
Sets cement board in thin-set, tapes seams
Dry fits the heating element to plan coverage
Uses hot glue to fix wires in place
Covers with auto-leveling compound
Tiles over a smooth, consistent surface

“Then I have a good bed for the heat to migrate through and a nice surface to work with for tiling,” Nelson explains.

Why Installation Plans Make Complex Layouts Easy

Even on challenging projects, Nelson trusts the WarmlyYours SmartPlan™ layout diagrams.

“I seldom need to make any changes,” he says. “They are very helpful!”

One particularly tricky job included a bathroom “without a single straight wall,” plus an attached closet and a custom-designed shower.

“It was a crazy project,” Nelson recalls. “With projects like that, it is so great to have the floorplans done for you by WarmlyYours. I always say, ‘Don’t do work you don’t have to!’”

A Business Built on Referrals—and Warm Floors

With no website or advertising, every job starts with a warm impression.

Nelson doesn’t advertise, and he doesn’t need to. Every job comes from word of mouth.

“I don’t have a website or a Facebook page,” he says. “I don’t even have a phone number on my truck. All my jobs come from that moment when friends and family walk into a remodel I’ve done and want it done in their own homes.”

“I basically don’t exist unless you happen to know one of my customers,” he adds. “It has worked for me. I’ve been in business for 10 years doing only referral work, and the WarmlyYours floors are part of creating that positive impression that carries forward to new jobs.”

Want to see how radiant heat can help your own projects stand out?

💡 Explore the Radiant Heating Guide or Get a SmartPlan™ to start planning today.

Already completed a project with WarmlyYours?

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Project Spotlight: See This Remodel in Action

View the full showcase with install photos, SmartPlan™ diagrams, and project details.

Project Spotlight: View full showcase with photos and install details

Radiant Heating Guide

Learn about electric floor heating systems, applications, and best practices.

https://www.warmlyyours.com/en-US/radiant-heating
Floor Plan Gallery

See how others installed their WarmlyYours systems.

https://www.warmlyyours.com/en-US/floor-plans
Installation Support Hub

From manuals to videos, access everything you need for a smooth install.

https://www.warmlyyours.com/en-US/support

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Tagged:

Bathroom-remodeling, Case-studies, Customer-stories, Example-projects, Floor-heating, Floor-plan, Heated-floors, Heating-solutions, Home-remodeling, Indoor-heating, Radiant-floor-heating, Radiant-heating, Share-your-story

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