Electric underfloor heating in Ku-ring-gai
We install electric underfloor heating across this area, where the plan has decided where an outdoor unit may and may not sit. 52.6% of homes here have four bedrooms or more, so a whole floor is quoted more often than a single room. Mornings on the ridge sit around seven degrees and the valley streets run colder, and a tiled floor holds that overnight. We lay in slab heating cable in Pymble house slabs and under tile heating mats in Gordon flats.
The benefits of electric underfloor heating in Ku-ring-gai
Separate houses are 68.6% of homes here and flats 27.1%, with almost nothing in between the two. Most of the reasons below come from what the plan will not allow outside a building. The rest come from a plan that caps how far down a new floor may go.
A balcony is ruled out by name here
Council's plan says air conditioning condensers must sit within the basement or within the roof structure of the uppermost roof. It then rules out the façade, the top of a flat roof, terraces, open space and balconies by name. There is no condenser in an under tile heating mat, and nothing at all to put on a balcony. The benefit is that a heated bathroom floor sits outside that rule, in a flat or a dual occupancy. A dual occupancy here has to enclose all mechanical equipment, including space heating and cooling.
Two positions on what a listing covers
Council states that a heritage item listing covers the property as a whole, including interiors and setting. The planning schedule names interiors on only 14 of 994 items, so the two positions do not line up. A conservation area listing covers the outside and the setting rather than the inside, and there are 46 of those. Under tile heating mats go into the tile bed of the existing bathroom and change no fabric at all. The benefit is that the room keeps its floor plan, which is the part Council will not give up.
No new wet room in a period house
The heritage controls say infilling or enclosure of verandahs, and conversion to bathrooms or kitchens, is not permitted. That closes the easiest place to put a new wet room in a period house. What is left is the bathroom you already have, which is where an under tile heating mat goes anyway. The benefit is that the work stays inside the footprint and needs nothing enclosed or added. Nothing is drilled into the slab and no new room is created at all.
The circuit and the roof are already here
29.7% of households here have a controlled load or off peak circuit, which is three homes in ten. The solar systems are the largest in Sydney, averaging 7.8 kilowatts. Our thermostats run on a timer, so floor heating takes its power in the middle of the day. In screed and in slab heating cable keep that warmth in the slab or topping until the evening. The benefit is that the circuit is often already there and the heating simply joins it.
A bathroom here is changed by choice
Flats here nearly tripled between 2006 and 2021, going from 3,895 to 11,365. The house count did not move at all over the same period. Only about a third of today's flats existed in 2006, which is the youngest flat stock we have written up. So a bathroom in a Gordon or St Ives block is usually being changed by choice rather than by age. Under tile heating mats are the thing to add while it is open, because the tile bed is only open once.
A new floor here is often stepped
The plan caps excavation within the building footprint at one metre, and fill at one metre too. A site steeper than 15% needs certification from a geotechnical engineer. The result is that a new floor here is often stepped or suspended rather than flat on the ground. In slab heating cable goes into a stepped or suspended slab the same way, tied down before the pour. The benefit is that no floor height is added by the heating, on a site where every millimetre is capped.
What we would install in Ku-ring-gai
Almost seven homes in ten here are a separate house, and most of those floors are already down.
A mat under the tiles
Flats are 27.1% of homes here and 17% of all homes sit in blocks of four to eight storeys. Under tile heating mats go into the tile bed while the bathroom is stripped, and the slab under it is untouched.
Under tile heating matsCable in a screed
Where a period house grows at the rear, the new floor is usually a cement screed over the old one. In screed heating cable is set out in that topping at that point and nowhere later.
In screed heating cableCable in a slab
About 241 new houses a year are approved here, and the ground they go on is rarely flat. In slab heating cable is tied in before the pour whether the slab sits on the ground or above it.
Slab heating cables, dual coreWhy Ku-ring-gai properties choose us
We install across Ku-ring-gai and the rest of the Ku-ring-gai 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 Ku-ring-gai
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.
The shortest Saturday of any area we cover
No other area we have written up stops work as early on a Saturday as this one. Construction here runs 7am to 5pm Monday to Friday and 8am to 12 noon on the Saturday. Machine excavation is weekday only and carries a 45 minute respite break between noon and one. Out of hours permits are refused outright for occupant convenience or an accelerated programme, and a request means letterboxing the houses within 200m. We book the under tile heating mat into the one gap that sequence leaves, on the day the floor is open.
Underfloor heating for Ku-ring-gai homes
The houses have not changed and the flats have
The house count went from 28,850 in 2006 to 28,718 in 2021, which is no movement at all across fifteen years. Flats went from 3,895 to 11,365 in the same period. Only about a third of today's flats existed in 2006, and in the town centres they are still arriving. St Ives went from 225 flats to 1,644 and Gordon from 339 to 1,546. So under tile heating mats go into the new town centre flats and the older houses alike.
The bush edge is all house and no flat
East Killara, South Turramurra, Roseville Chase, West Pymble, St Ives Chase and North Wahroonga run 94% to 100% separate houses. East Killara averages 4.3 bedrooms and 82.5% of its homes have four or more. Those are the streets where a whole ground floor is the quote rather than one room. Gordon, Lindfield, Killara and the Roseville part are the other end, at 42% to 48% flats. Pymble, Turramurra, Warrawee and St Ives sit between, where a whole heated floor and one heated bathroom both come up.
What the heritage rules reach inside a house
There are 46 conservation areas here and 994 listed items, so a great many houses sit under one rule or the other. Inside a listed house all significant interior spaces and fabric are to be retained and conserved. Major changes that lose an original floor plan are unlikely to be supported. A mat laid into an existing bathroom changes no plan and no fabric. So an under tile heating mat is the one change to this floor that the controls do not reach.
Winter mornings in Ku-ring-gai
Terrey Hills is the nearest record to St Ives and the plateau, and Riverview is the nearest to Lindfield, Roseville and Killara. The valley streets below the ridge run colder than either.
- July nights
7.8°C at Terrey Hills nearest St Ives and the plateau, and 6.4°C at Riverview nearest Lindfield and Killara. A tiled floor sits close to that overnight, and it is the first thing a bare foot meets in the morning.
- Frost
About one night in five years at or below 2°C at Terrey Hills, and about three in five years at Riverview. The overnight low is what decides how cold the floor is at seven in the morning.
- Climate zone
Zone 5 on all land here, from Roseville up to North Wahroonga. Insulation under the heating is what keeps the warmth in the room, and it is sized from that zone.
Get a free quote in Ku-ring-gai
Tell us what you need done in Ku-ring-gai 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 Ku-ring-gai
New home builds
Home renovations
Bathroom renovations
Apartments
Hotel bathrooms
Office buildings
Cold storage and frost heave
Suburbs we service in Ku-ring-gai and surrounds
We install across the Ku-ring-gai 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 Ku-ring-gai
Do you cover every suburb in the Ku-ring-gai area?
Yes. We install across the Ku-ring-gai 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 Ku-ring-gai?
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 Ku-ring-gai, the day is agreed once we have checked installer availability. It is worth sending the plans as early as you can.
Where can an outdoor unit go in a new flat here?
In the basement or inside the roof structure, and the plan rules out every easier option by name. That includes the façade, a flat roof, terraces, open space and balconies. On a block of flats it means plant has to be designed in rather than added later. A heated floor is not plant, so it sits outside that argument completely. An under tile heating mat has nothing to place, nothing to screen and nothing a neighbour can hear.
Can I turn the verandah into a second bathroom?
No, not in a listed house or a conservation area here. The controls refuse the enclosure of a verandah and its conversion to a bathroom or a kitchen. So the bathroom you have is the bathroom you work with. That suits a heated floor, because a mat goes into the tile bed of the room that already exists. So an under tile heating mat goes into the bathroom you already have, and nothing original is lost.
Should I insulate under the floor as well?
Yes, on a suspended floor, and Council will pay part of it. Its Energy Smart rebate covers half the cost of insulation and asks for an R value of 2.0 under a floor. A separate bush fire rebate covers a quarter of the cost of enclosing a sub floor space in non combustible material. Whether both can be claimed on one job is a question for Council. With insulation under it, in slab heating cable sends its heat up into the room rather than down.
Do the mornings here justify a heated floor?
Yes, and the mornings are the whole of the case. Terrey Hills, the nearest record to St Ives and the plateau, gives a July mean minimum of 7.8°C. Riverview, nearest Lindfield and Killara, gives 6.4°C. Nights at or below 2°C are rare, at about one in five years on the plateau and three in five years nearer the river. The case here is not frost. Our thermostats lift that tile off six or seven degrees before a bare foot ever meets it.
What is different when the house is a rebuild?
It moves the decision forward to the slab. About 241 new houses a year are approved here and the ground is rarely flat. Many of those floors end up stepped or suspended rather than laid on the ground. Cable is tied in before the pour either way. The benefit of in slab heating cable is that no floor height is lost, and the insulation under it keeps the warmth up.
Explore our other Sydney service areas
Ready to get started?
Get a free quote for your job in Ku-ring-gai, or call now and speak to someone who can help.