In a New Hampshire winter, a tile floor is genuinely cold — cold enough that people put down bath mats and rugs that then get wet and gross. Electric radiant heat under the tile fixes that, and in a bathroom it is one of the few upgrades nobody regrets.

What it costs to install

Electric radiant is a thin heating mat or cable set in thinset under the tile, wired to its own thermostat. For a typical 40–80 square foot bathroom, installed as part of a remodel when the floor is already open, budget roughly $700–$1,800 — the mat, the thermostat, the extra labour and a dedicated circuit. It adds almost nothing to the schedule.

What it costs to run

Less than people expect, because you only heat the floor a few hours a day on a programmable or app thermostat. At New Hampshire electric rates, a small bathroom floor run 6 hours a day costs on the order of $8–$20 a month in the cold season and nothing the rest of the year. Run the numbers for your room and rate with the radiant floor calculator.

Where it makes the most sense

• Primary and ensuite baths — the ones you use first thing in the morning.
• Over a slab or an unheated basement — where the floor is coldest.
• Curbless and wet-room showers — a heated floor dries fast, which matters when the whole floor gets wet.
• Aging-in-place baths — warm, dry, slip-resistant tile is safer.

The one time we say skip it

A guest bath or a powder room that gets used a few times a week is not worth the wiring — spend that money on the vanity or the tile instead. And radiant floor heat is a comfort upgrade, not a room heater: it takes the chill off the floor, it does not replace the bathroom's heat source.

It has to be planned in

The mat, the thermostat location and the circuit are decided during rough-in — retrofitting means pulling up the floor. If a bathroom remodel is on your list, decide now. Our crews set the mat, test it before and after the tile, and tie the thermostat into the plan.