Electric underfloor heating in Goulburn
We install electric underfloor heating across the Goulburn area, on the Southern Tablelands south west of Sydney. Goulburn Airport's station records a July mean minimum of 0.4°C, and the station in town is milder. Separate houses are 87.5% of homes here and not one flat sits above three storeys. Council plans 3,500 new homes to 2036, so in slab heating cable is often settled before the pour. Under tile heating mats are the other half of the work, going into bathrooms across the city's brick and fibro houses.
The benefits of electric underfloor heating in Goulburn
Three bedroom houses are 41.4% of the stock here and another 37.3% have four bedrooms or more. Every home in this council is supplied by Essential Energy, and its price list has a clause about heating in a slab. The rest of the reasons below come from the frost, the two rivers and the age of the houses in town.
Warming a tiled floor on a Goulburn frost
Goulburn Airport's station records about 95 nights a year at or below 2°C. Under tile heating mats bring a cold tile floor up to temperature sooner than either cable, because little mass sits above them. Our thermostats are set to do that before anyone in the house is awake, which is the point on a morning like that.
Bring the floor up before the morning peak starts
On Essential Energy's default tariff the peak rate starts at 7am and runs to 10am. A bathroom floor set to warm up at half past seven pays that rate for the whole warm up. Our thermostats run floor heating to a programme instead, so the tiles are warm before the window opens.
A heated slab here gets a meter of its own
In slab heating cable goes on its own controlled load circuit here, and it is the network that asks for it. Essential Energy's price list says in slab heating is to be metered and controlled separately to other controlled loads. So the circuit is planned with your electrician before the slab is poured, and a load above 25A takes a contactor.
On a flood lot the heating sits above the level
Council's flood policy says heating systems shall be installed above the designated flood planning level, and it says shall rather than should. On the Wollondilly and the Mulwaree that level is the one in a hundred flood plus 0.8m. So in slab heating cable goes into a floor already set to that level, and we work from the surveyed figures.
Council asks a heritage house to keep its chimney
Council's development plan says all chimneys must be retained internally and externally, even where the fireplace is no longer used. Under tile heating mats go into the new tile bed and leave the hearth and the chimney breast alone. One home in six here sits in a conservation area, where Council's fact sheet says internal work on floors and bathrooms may be exempt.
Checking the old floor covering before the tiler starts
Council's asbestos policy names the backing of vinyl and linoleum floor coverings among the places friable asbestos is found. So an old covering in a pre 1990 house is tested here before a tiler lifts it. Under tile heating mats are laid once that result is back, which puts the test ahead of our day on site.
What we would install in Goulburn
Victorian brick in town, inter war fibro at Garfield and Bradfordville, brick veneer on Eastgrove's slopes, and new estates on slabs.
A mat under the tiles
A bathroom retile is the usual job here, from the Victorian cottages in town to the brick veneer houses on Eastgrove's slopes. Under tile heating mats go into the tile bed, so the boards or the slab below are never opened.
Under tile heating matsCable in a slab
Council plans 3,500 new homes to 2036 at Middle Arm, Marulan North and Kenmore, so the decision gets made before the pour. The cable is tied down on the mesh, and Council's plan asks that new houses be designed with salinity in mind.
Slab heating cables, dual coreCable in a screed
In screed heating cable suits an addition on a weekender at Windellama or Lower Boro, where the floor is timber over a subfloor. The topping adds the mass that holds heat, which matters where a house is only used at weekends.
In screed heating cableWhy Goulburn properties choose us
We install across Goulburn and the rest of the Goulburn area, and we size every job from your floor plans before we quote. Installation is always subject to checking installer availability, which we do before we agree a day.
How we install underfloor heating in Goulburn
Plans first, then a quote
Send us the plans for your new home, renovation, office or hotel. We measure the heated areas from them, calculate the cable size and quote the materials. If you want us to install, a second quote covers the installation labour. Nothing is ordered and no day is booked until you accept.
Installation day
Once you accept and tell us the job site is ready, we agree a day, subject to checking installer availability. The floor has to be prepared and ready before that day: your own trades handle levelling, waterproofing and anything else above the slab. Our installer lays the cable or the mat, fits the thermostat, and tests the system with our own equipment before leaving site. Your tiler covers it with the screed or the tile bed.
In a strata building the path is different again
In a New South Wales strata scheme the lot boundary generally sits at the upper surface of the floor. The slab underneath belongs to the building rather than to you. We lay the mat into the tile bed instead of touching that slab, and nothing is drilled or chased into it. Installing hard flooring, and the wiring and power points that come with it, is a minor renovation under the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015. Waterproofing is carved out of that definition, so a full bathroom rebuild goes to a special resolution rather than an ordinary one. Your builder or project manager deals with the owners corporation, and we build to whatever that approval allows.
A catchment statement comes with a development application
Construction here is set at 7am to 6pm from Monday to Friday, and on Saturday from 8am to 1pm. No work at all is allowed on a Sunday or on a public holiday. Demolition and excavation run on weekdays only, from 8am to 5pm. Those hours come off recent consents rather than off a general rule, so the consent on your own job is the document that governs. There is no out of hours permit here and no work zone fee. A skip or any other occupation of the road reserve or the footway needs Council's approval first. A damage bond now applies to residential work above a threshold, and internal work needs none of it. What governs the order of work here is the drinking water catchment itself. Sydney's drinking water catchment covers 99.5% of the homes in this council, including every street in the city. A development application here carries a water quality statement, and that is lodged before anything else moves. An internal retrofit that needs no development application needs no statement either, which is most of the bathrooms we heat.
Underfloor heating for Goulburn homes
A council of houses, with almost no flats in it
Separate houses are 87.5% of the homes here, which is 10,534 of them. Semis, terraces and townhouses are 8.6%, and 84% of those are single storey. Flats are 2.9%, and not one of them sits in a building above three storeys. Three bedroom houses are 41.4% of the stock and another 37.3% have four bedrooms or more. Homes owned outright are 35.3% of the total, and another 32.3% carry a mortgage. So the work here is mostly owner occupied houses, where a whole living floor is as ordinary a job as a bathroom.
Five belts, from the Victorian city to the bush blocks
The Goulburn suburb holds 10,724 homes, which is 72.8% of the council's. The 19th century city around the CBD holds 14.5% of the council's homes, and Council says its whole business district is a conservation area. Garfield is mostly timber and fibro with metal roofs, Bradfordville is inter war with some 1960s fibro, and Eastgrove's upper slopes are brick veneer. The acreage ring at Kingsdale, Brisbane Grove, Middle Arm and Tirrannaville is 61.7% four bedrooms or more. Marulan, Tallong and Brayton are the Hume corridor east, the youngest and the most mortgaged part of the council. In slab heating cable goes into the acreage houses and the new estates, and under tile heating mats go into the older city bathrooms.
One home in eight stands empty, out in the villages
13.0% of the homes in this council were unoccupied on census night, and they are not in the city. Oallen was 63.5% empty, Lower Boro 54.8% and Windellama 47.9%, against 8.6% in Goulburn itself. Council reported rental vacancy of 1.8% in 2024, so those are weekenders on bush blocks rather than a rental surplus. A house used only at weekends is where our thermostats matter most, because the heating runs to a programme rather than to somebody being home. In screed heating cable holds warmth in the topping for hours after the power goes off, which suits a Friday arrival.
Winter mornings in Goulburn
Two stations record inside this council: Goulburn Airport at 640m south of town, and Goulburn TAFE at 670m in the city.
- July nights
0.4°C at Goulburn Airport station 070330 south of town, against 1.7°C at Goulburn TAFE station 070263 in the city. A tiled floor sits close to that overnight, and it is the first thing a bare foot meets in the morning.
- Frost
95 nights a year at or below 2°C at Goulburn Airport and 61 at or below freezing, with a low of minus 10.9°C. The overnight low is what decides how cold the floor is at seven in the morning.
- Summer
6 days a year at or above 35°C at Goulburn Airport, and 7 at Goulburn TAFE in the city. Heating is a winter item here, and a thermostat on a timer draws nothing for the rest of the year.
- Climate zone
Zone 7 under the building code, and the energy rating scheme allows 117 megajoules per m² a year on a heated slab. Insulation under the heating is what keeps the warmth in the room, and it is sized from that zone.
Get a free quote in Goulburn
Tell us what you need done in Goulburn and we will get back to you with a price as soon as we can. There is no obligation to go ahead.
Services we provide in Goulburn
New home builds
Home renovations
Bathroom renovations
Apartments
Hotel bathrooms
Office buildings
Cold storage and frost heave
Suburbs we service in Goulburn and surrounds
We install across the Goulburn area and the surrounding localities, and we check installer availability before we agree a day. If your suburb is not listed below, contact us and we will confirm coverage.
Frequently asked questions about Goulburn
Do you cover every suburb in the Goulburn area?
Yes. We install across the Goulburn area and the surrounding localities, including every suburb listed on this page. We check installer availability before we agree a day, which is the one condition that travels with every job. If your suburb is not shown, contact us with the address and we will confirm coverage before we quote.
What are your service hours in Goulburn?
Our hours are Monday to Friday, 8am to 5:30pm, and we are closed on Saturday and Sunday. Plans and photographs can be sent at any time through the quote form on this page. If you need us on site in Goulburn, the day is agreed once we have checked installer availability. It is worth sending the plans as early as you can.
How far below zero does a Goulburn morning go?
Two stations record here and they do not agree. Goulburn Airport sits south of town on the valley floor and records a July mean minimum of 0.4°C. It also logs about 95 nights a year at or below 2°C and a low of minus 10.9°C. Goulburn TAFE, in the city and 30m higher, records about 63 nights at or below 2°C. Homes out near the airport sit closer to the first figure.
Can I install floor heating on a flood lot?
Yes, above the flood planning level. Council's flood policy says heating systems shall be installed above the designated flood planning level. It says shall rather than should, which leaves no room to argue. That level is the one in a hundred flood plus 0.8m on the rivers, and a smaller freeboard applies at Marulan. Wiring below the level has its own rules, so the flood category is the first thing to check on a river lot.
What do the heritage controls here reach inside a house?
No, in most cases Council does not require consent for it. Council's residential heritage fact sheet says internal changes to floors, kitchens and bathrooms cannot be exempt development on a heritage listed property. It then says the same work may be exempt where the property is inside a heritage conservation area. One home in six here sits in one. A listed house lodges Council's heritage minor works exemption form first, and Council runs a monthly heritage adviser you can ask.
Does Essential Energy treat a heated slab differently?
Yes. Its network price list says in slab heating is to be metered and controlled separately to other controlled loads. So a heated slab here goes on a controlled load circuit of its own rather than sharing one with the hot water. The same list rules out the old day and night switch, and a load above 25A takes a contactor. Essential can also move the controlled load hours, so the circuit is wired for whatever window it sets.
What hours are cheapest to run floor heating here?
Essential Energy's default tariff charges peak rates from 7am to 10am and again from 3pm to 10pm, every day of the week. The cheaper windows are 10am to 3pm and overnight from 10pm to 7am. A bathroom floor warming up at half past seven pays the peak, so our thermostats bring it up before 7am. A heated slab charged in the middle of the day holds that warmth into the evening instead.
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