Tips for Installing Floor Heating Cable with an Uncoupling Membrane

How you doing? My name is Phil. Today, we have the opportunity to use a Perdesso uncoupling membrane for a floor heating system, along with WarmlyYours cable. Everything you see here comes in the box, including the new Touch Thermostat. To ensure there’s no bond-breaking dust on the floor, take a sponge and do a quick wipe down before we start setting our thermostat. We had the chance to pre-cut a few pieces yesterday, allowing us to back roll them for easier installation. At this point, we’re ready to set the membrane with our modified thinset.

I’ll mark the edge of where this sheet is so we can apply thinset up to that line. The thinset is a little looser than normal, so we want to use the back side of the trowel to key it in before switching to the notched side. We’re using a quarter-by-quarter notch trowel. I have a little roller here, but you could also use a float to embed the material. It’s a good idea to pull back and check for coverage, and we can see we have good coverage right there. It’s important to ensure that the waffles line up, as this will serve as our gauge for the cable installation.

Even though we’re installing a WarmlyYours floor heating system, we still need to account for the floor register. Don’t forget to cut out your floor for that. The Perdesso membrane cuts easily with a regular utility knife, so find your corners and make the necessary cuts. Although we won’t have floor heat underneath our vanity, we still need the height for the underlayment, so we’ll cut these pieces to ensure our floor is level. Just like with the floor heat register, be careful not to cover up the toilet collar. I changed the blade to ensure it’s sharp, marked an X to find the edge of the collar, and then whittled around it.

One great service that WarmlyYours provides is the SmartPlan. I sent them a schematic, and they returned a SmartPlan that shows where my heated area will be. It also outlines the layout for my cable and marks the halfway point, ensuring that I know I’m on track for the full layout without needing to pull the cable back or stretch it. This is an excellent service that simplifies the installation process.

Now that we have the Perdesso membrane down, we’re ready to install the Temsone cable system. The cable has an ohm reading, and we’ll use a multimeter to check it before, during, and after the installation, just before we lay the tile. A quick note: the cold lead can be cut if necessary, but you cannot cut any part of the cable itself. I’ll follow the directions provided for installation. This piece of cardboard represents the footprint of our vanity, and since there’s no need for floor heat underneath it, it helps us maintain a clear area for installation.

I’ve also created a little stencil of cardboard around the toilet footprint to avoid placing the cable underneath the toilet. This method ensures nice coverage and warmth on both sides. Just a little tip to keep in mind: don’t forget the sensor wire. We’ll place the sensor wire between a couple of cables, ensuring they don’t cross, and then hook it up to our thermostat.