Ditra Heat- Heated Floors

Matt Clark Tile is Proud to Offer Heated Flooring Options at an Affordable Rate

DITRA-HEAT is the only uncoupling system to incorporate electric floor warming technology to ensure that floors are both comfortable, and resistant to cracked tiles and grout. Cables can be placed wherever heat is desired for customized heating zones, and no leveling compounds are required, which makes for a quick and easy installation. It is important to keep your heating and air conditioning up to date and efficient, especially for the winter months. Many companies offer free ac estimates, which can help customers find out an average price that they could be paying to have their heating installed and/or repaired. It is worth checking out, as budgeting is a priority when it comes to investments like these. Here at Matt Clark Tile, we want everyone to be able to experience the feeling of heated floors in the morning. Come by or make an appointment to receive a bid today.

Here are FIVE FACTS you probably didn’t know:

1. Heated Floors Are Nothing New

The idea of radiant heating is old. Very old. Radiant heating dates all the way back to Ancient Rome, when fires were built under lofted homes and heat was filtered up through ceramic pipes–warming the house without polluting the air. Although this system was highly inefficient, it served as an early precursor to the radiant heating systems that we use today.

Diagram of ancient Rome heating system

2. Heated Flooring Is Efficient

Forced air HVAC systems heat houses by introducing warm air which quickly rises to the highest point in a room or house. The result is a significant amount of energy being used to heat an entire room. HVAC systems also maintain temperature by turning on and off intermittently, which results in temperatures varying between too warm and too cold throughout the day. HVAC systems also waste a significant amount of energy through the ductwork between rooms in the house. If you are thinking about installing a HVAC system in your home, then you might want to check out a company like AnytimeHVAC.

Conversely, radiant heating heats from the ground up at a constant temperature, so the warmth is always close. While replacing your HVAC system entirely with a radiant heating system may not be feasible, floor heating can be used to effectively supplement the HVAC in your house.

3. Heated Flooring Costs Less Than You Think

Heated flooring used to work by running heated water through copper pipes embedded into the groundwork of a house or room. The result was very expensive, easily damaged due to shifting subfloors, and was really only possible to install during the original construction. While more modern hydronic systems are still available, new electrically heated floors have been developed that be installed for a fraction of the price of earlier systems. These electric heating systems range from pre-cut mats that can be linked together to fit a room’s specific dimensions to systems that integrate heating elements into a decoupling membrane beneath the tile.

4. Heated Flooring Is Easy To Install

Part of the reason for the lowered cost in radiant heating systems is the ease with which they can now be installed. While earlier systems required major work to be done to install, newer systems can be installed easily when installing a new floor with very little additional labor costs. The system is simply placed in the thinset, and controlled by a wall-mounted thermostat. This means that installing a floor heating system isn’t limited to the time during original construction, but it can also be done quickly and easily anytime a renovation is being done and the floor is being updated. Check out this video by Mike Holmes from Holmes on Homes where he shows how easy it is to install the Schluter Ditra Heat system:

5. Heated Flooring Can Go In Most Rooms

Most people think of heated flooring being installed in the bathroom, but it can also be installed in other rooms given the right flooring. While it is possible to install a radiant heating system under hardwood floors, the changes in temperature can lead to warping or gaps created in the wood. Luckily, porcelain wood look tiles provide the beauty of wood with the conductivity of porcelain, so you can enjoy heated floors in nearly any space without sacrificing style! Many homeowners (particularly in the North) enjoy heated flooring in their basements, kitchens, or even bedrooms.

(https://www.southcypress.com/blog/heated-flooring-five-facts-you-may-not-know-about)

Product Profile: Original Style

Another month of Summer has passed, and we are that much closer to yet a new season. Time just keeps flying by! As we move forward, it’s always smart (and fun) to look into the past and see how far we’ve come. That inspired me to look into some of the classics, like one of my favorite lines and companies to work with: Original Style.

Original Style holds headquarters in the UK, producing tiles in Exeter and Devon since 1986.

Original Style was initially set up to develop tile sets for the cast iron fireplaces produced by sister company Stovax. However it soon became apparent that tiles were being used for more than just fireplaces, particularly in America, where they begin appearing on the walls in the luxury bathrooms of Hollywood stars! So a range of authentic Victorian designs were created on thinner tiles more suited to walls.

As Original Style began to expand their range, a Victorian floor tile collection was developed to complement the ever-popular wall tile range in the 90’s. The production department was expanded and in-house glazing and hand-painting sections set up. North America became such an important marketplace that they opened a distribution center in Boston.

In 1997 they acquired The Winchester Tile Company, to add a range of hand crafted, transparent glazed tiles and moldings to our burgeoning product portfolio.

Original Style continued to grow in the 2000’s by offering new ranges of products such as natural stone, glass and mosaics to their customers in a number of countries around the world. Their skilled workforce continue to produce quantities of ceramic tiles and moldings to a consistently high finish thanks to meticulous quality control and the use of the latest tile production technology.

In 2010, they acquired and relaunched the Dorset  Woolliscroft floor tile collection.

These slip resistant floor tiles offer exceptional performance and safety standards for industrial, commercial, residential and leisure installations.

In 2015 they opened yet another showroom, this time in Cheltenham It has a distinctive and high quality offering to suit all budgets. There, a 26 foot long color wall contains more than 1000 samples from all ranges, allowing you to find the perfect shade.

You can now choose from large collections of glass, ceramic and porcelain wall and floor tiles in traditional sizes and large formats, mosaics made from materials ranging from shell, stone, glass, metal, even wood and bamboo. The latest ink-jet technology means that some of our porcelain floor tile designs accurately resemble cement, wood and stone.

Come by the Matt Clark Tile & Stone showroom to see these lines and more of what this incredible company offers! Thanks for reading and on behalf of the whole Matt Clark Tile & Stone, have a wonderful day!

Pratt and Larson Embossed Series

MATT CLARK TILE & STONE PRODUCT PROFILE: PRATT & LARSON

Happy Wednesday!!! Matt Clark Tile & Stone is proud to introduce Pratt & Larson’s brand new Embossed Series.

These beautiful tiles use intricately hand carved lines to create underlying patterns. The classic designs are gorgeous when glazed monochrome in any of our standard colors.

Hand painting Embossed tiles using the Polywash technique accentuates the
impressed patterns further.

With this Embossed release, we are also expanding our Polywash Palette options to include 8 new bright, fun accent color options.

They now have a total of 16 stunning accent colors to choose from! You can find a few samples of this at Matt Clark Tile & Stone.

The Embossed Series consists of 3 unique 6×6 patterns, all of which are in the Base Relief pricing category. Special pricing applies to all Polywashed Embossed orders.

Come on down to the Matt Clark Tile & Stone showroom to see more of this great new series, and more from Pratt & Larson!