Heated Bathroom Floor

I visited a friend's apartment with a heated bathroom floor. Warm tile under bare feet in January is so good it ruined regular bathrooms for me. The system is a mesh of thin electric cables embedded in the mortar under the tile. It heats the floor surface to about 85 degrees, warm enough to feel comfortable but not hot enough to burn. A programmable thermostat warms the floor 30 minutes before the morning alarm and turns off after everyone leaves. Monthly electric cost runs about $15 for a 50-square-foot bathroom. I stood on that floor for 5 minutes after a shower and didn't want to move. However, I live in a rental. Installing radiant floor heat requires pulling up existing tile, laying the cable mesh, and re-tiling, costing about $1,500-2,500 for a small bathroom. Investment only makes sense if you own the space, and even then the payback is in comfort rather than resale value.