Electric underfloor heating in Northern Beaches
We install electric underfloor heating across the Northern Beaches, where three separate sets of planning rules still apply inside one boundary. 13,756 homes here sit in three storey blocks, more than anywhere in the state. A bathroom in a walk up is the job we see most. Mornings on the plateau are colder than the beaches and a tiled floor holds that overnight temperature either way. We put under tile heating mats into Dee Why retiles and in slab heating cable into new Frenchs Forest houses.
The benefits of electric underfloor heating in Northern Beaches
Separate houses are 57.3% of homes here and flats 33.4%, with two thirds of those flats in walk ups. Most of the reasons below come from three sets of rules that were never merged. The rest come from the bush and the water, and from how much new building happens here.
Three planning rulebooks still apply here
This area was formed in 2016 from Manly, Warringah and Pittwater, and each still has its own planning rules. Which set governs your street decides whether a consent is needed for the room at all. The benefit of under tile heating mats is that they go inside the tile bed, so nothing in the building fabric is altered. We settle which rulebook applies before quoting anything that does need a consent.
The most three storey flats in the state
A 2026 count found 1,478 strata plans here registered before 1980, more than in any other area. Dee Why alone holds a quarter of this area's flats, and 41.7% of its homes are in three storey blocks. A bathroom in a block that age has usually never been lifted since it was built. Under tile heating mats go in while those tiles are off, which is the one moment the work is cheap.
Power points have to sit above the flood level
Consents here condition that all electrical equipment, power points, wiring and connections sit above the flood planning level. Otherwise they must be protected from flood water, or fitted with residual current devices that cut supply. The benefit of under tile heating mats is that the heating itself is not equipment on a wall needing a dry position. Our thermostats and the circuit are the parts that go up, and we set them from the consent.
No plant outside to enclose or set back
About 66% of this area is mapped as bush fire prone land, and the standard governs the building envelope rather than a floor. The Manly plan separately asks that external plant is acoustically enclosed and kept clear of a neighbour's living areas. Floor heating has no compressor, no fan and nothing at all outside the building to enclose. So the benefit on a bush fire or waterfront block is that nothing has to be positioned outdoors.
A quarter of homes here already run off peak
29,048 households here already have a controlled load or off peak circuit, which is 26.6% of them. The benefit is that floor heating can run on that circuit through the off peak hours with no new wiring. Where a home has no such circuit, our thermostats run on a timer and reach the same hours. In slab and in screed heating cable then hold that heat well into the evening.
More new houses here than anywhere we cover
About 362 new houses a year are approved here, more than in any other area we cover. Where a new house is going up, in slab heating cable goes in with the reinforcement and adds no floor height. It has to be decided before the concrete is booked, so it belongs in the first set of drawings. Renovation runs at about two thirds of the value of new building here, and that work takes under tile heating mats instead.
What we would install in Northern Beaches
Separate houses are 57.3% of homes here, and two thirds of the flats are walk ups.
A mat under the tiles
There are 13,756 homes here in three storey blocks, more than in any other area of the state. Under tile heating mats are the quickest of the three to warm up, and nothing is drilled into the slab.
Under tile heating matsCable in a screed
Where a beach or plateau house grows at the back, the old timber floor has no mass of its own. In screed heating cable goes into the topping, and that added mass is what holds the heat.
In screed heating cableCable in a slab
On a flood affected Pittwater lot the plan asks for a suspended floor on piers rather than a ground slab. In slab heating cable is tied to the reinforcement of either one before the concrete arrives.
Slab heating cables, dual coreWhy Northern Beaches properties choose us
We install across Northern Beaches and the rest of the Northern Beaches, 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 Northern Beaches
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.
No demolition or excavation on a Saturday
Demolition and excavation here are weekday work and nothing else, restricted to 8am to 5pm. There is no Saturday breaking out of an old slab. Construction itself runs 7am to 5pm Monday to Friday and 8am to 1pm on Saturday, with nothing on Sundays or public holidays. A skip needs a permit from the first day, and there is no tradesperson parking permit at all. On Scotland Island and the western foreshores about 417 homes have no road access, and materials go by ferry or barge. That changes the order of a job rather than the job, and we deliver the floor heating to suit.
Underfloor heating for Northern Beaches homes
What the 2016 merger left behind
This area was formed in 2016 from Manly, Warringah and Pittwater, and the three merged whole. Each still has its own development control plan and its own local plan, and a single replacement was exhibited in 2026 without yet taking effect. The heritage items split 284 to Manly, 149 to Warringah and 139 to Pittwater. Warringah's own plan carries no heritage controls in it at all. So on a job needing consent we settle which of the three governs before any floor heating is quoted.
A beach belt of flats and a plateau of houses
The beach centres hold 40% of the homes here and 80.7% of the flats, with Dee Why at 81.9% flats. The plateau and forest suburbs hold 31% of homes and 47% of the houses, running 87% houses and up to 98% in Davidson. The harbour side suburbs are 89% houses and the beach house suburbs 88%. Palm Beach and Whale Beach were 38% to 41% empty on census night. So the plateau takes in screed heating cable across a whole floor, and the beach centres take under tile heating mats.
The oldest strata stock of any area in the state
A 2026 count found 3,740 strata plans here and 1,478 of them registered before 1980, which is more than in any other area. Dee Why has 58% of its plans from before 1980, Freshwater 55%, Queenscliff 51% and Manly 49%. The plateau suburbs sit under 8% on that same measure. So a bathroom in the beach belt is usually in a building older than the person renovating it. Under tile heating mats go in at that strip out, which is the one point it is cheap to add.
Winter mornings in Northern Beaches
Terrey Hills stands inside this area on the plateau, and Observatory Hill is the nearer record for Manly and the harbour suburbs.
- July nights
7.8°C at Terrey Hills inside this area, and 8.1°C at Observatory Hill nearest Manly and the harbour. 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 none at all at Observatory Hill. 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 Manly to Palm Beach and west to Terrey Hills. Insulation under the heating is what keeps the warmth in the room, and it is sized from that zone.
Get a free quote in Northern Beaches
Tell us what you need done in Northern Beaches 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 Northern Beaches
New home builds
Home renovations
Bathroom renovations
Apartments
Hotel bathrooms
Office buildings
Cold storage and frost heave
Suburbs we service in Northern Beaches and surrounds
We install across the Northern Beaches 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 Northern Beaches
Do you cover every suburb in the Northern Beaches area?
Yes. We install across the Northern Beaches 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 Northern Beaches?
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 Northern Beaches, the day is agreed once we have checked installer availability. It is worth sending the plans as early as you can.
Which planning rules apply to my street here?
One of three, depending on which former council you are in. This area was formed in 2016 from Manly, Warringah and Pittwater and each of those still has its own development control plan and local plan. A single replacement was exhibited in 2026 and has not taken effect. The heritage controls differ most, with Warringah's plan carrying none at all. Under tile heating mats are the same product under all three, and we confirm the governing plan first.
Does the flood level reach the power points?
Yes, and that is written into the consents here. They condition that all new and existing electrical equipment, power points, wiring and connections sit above the flood planning level. The alternative is protection from flood water or residual current devices fitted to cut supply. On the Pittwater and Middle Harbour waterfronts a separate estuarine level applies. Internal work that does not raise habitable floor area below that level needs no flood report, and under tile heating mats do not.
Does a bush fire rating stop a heated floor?
No. About 66% of this area is mapped as bush fire prone land. About 19% of the residential land is, so the question comes up often. Bush fire construction is about the envelope of a building, not the floor inside it. Plant is where it bites. The Manly plan asks separately that external plant is acoustically enclosed and kept clear of a neighbour's living areas. Floor heating puts nothing at all outside the wall, so the plant rule never reaches it.
What makes a walk up block different to work in?
No lift, and a bathroom that was tiled once and never since. There are 13,756 flats in blocks of three storeys or less here, the most in the state. Another 1,478 strata plans in this area were registered before 1980. Everything comes up the stairs, which suits a mat, because it arrives as light rolls rather than tonnes of topping. The benefit is that under tile heating mats go in at the first strip out, before the new tiles are bedded.
Do the beaches get cold enough for this to matter?
Yes, on the mornings they do. Terrey Hills, the station inside this area on the plateau, records a July mean minimum of 7.8°C. Observatory Hill, nearest Manly and the harbour suburbs, records 8.1°C. A night at or below 2°C happens about once in five years at Terrey Hills. What sells a floor here is not a cold snap. Under tile heating mats take that overnight cold out of the tiles before anyone is up.
Explore our other Sydney service areas
Ready to get started?
Get a free quote for your job in Northern Beaches, or call now and speak to someone who can help.