Hi Everyone,

First off, Im just wanted to say thank you for any advice any of you can provide!

I will be honest, I don't know much about renovating, but I have read a lot of information on the internet, which can lead to conflicting information and confusion. That being said, I think I have come up with a possible workflow/procedure that I was wondering if I could get some advice on. Here goes:

I am renovating a basement bathroom (below grade), the room is about 10ft x 6.5ft. I am building on the concrete foundation, but I live in eastern Canada and the winter can get pretty cold, so I would like to insulate the floor. I am putting in a cast iron claw foot tub (275lbs dry, 1000lbs filled+human) am going to be using ceramic tile as my flooring material. So here is what I have been thinking about doing:

1. Place 6mm Poly Vapour Barrier down on bare concrete floor
2. Frame the floor with 1in x 4in strapping @ 12in O.C.
3. Fill the framing gaps with 1in thick Rigid Foam insulation
4. Lay down 3/4in thick plywood (tongue in groove) and screw to strapping
5. Apply Ditra Membrane using Modified thin-set to adhere the membrane to the plywood
6. Find centre of room and pre-lay tiles to ensure symmetrical layout
7. Lay tile an let thin-set dry
8. Apply grout and finish

My two main concerns are:
1. Is it worth insulating the floor? If so, is this method sufficient?
2. The subfloor will need to support a lot of weight because of the claw foot tub. Will 3/4in thick plywood be strong enough? The ceilings in the basement are relatively low, so I am trying to keep the height of the subfloor down.

Thanks again for all your help!!
Chris

 

IMHO. You don't say how low your ceiling height is but it probably makes your plan not the best option. I would recommend a heat system under your ceramic tile. It will be cold when it's not on but th eroom will be nice when it is. Maybe an area rug will help for in and out visits. The heat systems can be programmed. There might even be some connected to the IoT. We did this to an upstairs master bathroom

 

Thanks for your suggestions Viriliter_Agite!! There is a bulkhead that runs through the centre of the house for the central heat and ventilation. So there are parts of the ceiling that are 8.5ft and there is a section that is about 7.5ft where the bulkhead. I have thought about heating the floor, but my wife and I are trying to do the bathroom on the cheap and the heating system would increase our budget. However, I have not done a cost analyst for the In Floor Heating verses Insulating. Maybe the difference wouldn't be as great once all materials are considered?

 

I'd bet that cost wise they are comparable. I did ours myself. You just embed the heating element mesh into the floor before you lay your tile. The controller is on the wall. Ours is about 15 years old, I'll better they are even better now.