Floor Tiles for Underfloor Heating: 6 Top Tile Choices for Heated Floors

Introduction

Underfloor heating is surely one of humankind’s greatest ever inventions. Say goodbye to icy feet in the middle of the night and steamy bathrooms with mirrors that never stay clear. Say hello, instead, to perfect warmth all throughout the day and night!

When it comes to selecting the right flooring for your brand-new underfloor heating system, however, it’s important you choose right..

Tiles are the best type of material to choose when flooring over a heating system. This is because tiles won’t warp like wood can, and don’t pose any threat of catching fire like a carpet or laminate might. Moreover, tiles tend to be the preferred flooring option in rooms where underfloor heating is commonly installed, such as in toilets, bathrooms, wet rooms, showers and kitchens.

But the question still remains: what are the best tiles for underfloor heating?

Read on to discover a list of the 6 best tiles for underfloor heating, as well as some other considerations and installation tips which might come in handy.

Things To Consider Before Installing Tile On Underfloor Heating

Bathroom tiles are undoubtedly the best material to install atop your underfloor heating, but how do you ensure you get the most out of your heating?

Here are a few key things to consider before tile shopping!

What’s The Best Tile Thickness To Get The Most Out Of Your Heating?

The thickness of the tiles you select will affect the quality of your underfloor heating. Whilst thick tiles help disperse the heat in a nice, even fashion, they will take time reaching your ideal temperature. Thin tiles, on the other hand, heat up quickly and thus reach your desired temperature quicker, but can disperse heat unevenly.

The sweet spot for underfloor heating bathroom tile thickness is about 10mm, such as is found in our gorgeous cement grey square-format porcelain tiles for bathroom floors and walls!

Pro tip: The size of your tiles also affects heat dispersion. We recommend using large format or extra-large format tiles when tiling a heated floor—greater surface area means greater heating!

What Type Of Tile Material Is Best Suited To Underfloor Heating?

Ceramic and porcelain tiles work best with underfloor heating, as they are good natural heat conductors, attracting the warmth of your underfloor heating when needed, whilst offering underfoot coolness in summer.

Porcelain takes the trophy, though, for the best tile material for underfloor heating, thanks to its durability, versatility, and natural waterproofness (key in bathroom settings!). We also stock an almost endlessly wide range of porcelain tiles to choose from, meaning you get full creative control over the final look of your new heated floor.

Living in Ireland? Visit a Tile Merchant store today and explore our stunning range of tiles and home improvement products!

Should You Install A Sub-Floor Below The Tiles Or Not?

Yes! Absolutely yes!

A properly prepared and installed subfloor is essential to the effectiveness, efficiency and longevity of your new underfloor heating system.

Unevenness or movement in a subfloor can cause cracking in tiles and downward heat loss from the underfloor system, so you must install one and install it correctly!

Pro tip #2: You’ll also want to factor expansion joints into your underfloor heating and tiling installation plans. As the floor heats up and cools down, tiles will naturally expand and contract in response. Expansion joints allow them to do so without the tiles coming under stress, thus minimising any risk of the tiles cracking

5 Reasons We Recommend Porcelain Tiles For Your Underfloor Heating Renovation

Porcelain tiles are an excellent choice for use with underfloor heating systems. Here’s why:

Porcelain’s Natural Thermal Conductivity

Porcelain tiles have high thermal conductivity, meaning they transfer heat efficiently from the underfloor heating system to the surface. This ensures heat is evenly distributed across the room in the most pleasing and efficient way possible.

Porcelain’s Low Thermal Expansion

Porcelain tiles expand and contract minimally when exposed to heat, reducing the risk of damage over time. (Expansion joints are still recommended in order to get the longest lifespan out of your tiles as possible.)

Porcelain’s Natural Energy Efficiency

Because porcelain conducts heat so well, the system can heat the space more quickly and maintain warmth longer, which can help to reduce energy consumption and thus also reduce your energy bills!

Porcelain’s Excellent Compatibility With Different Adhesives

Modern tile adhesives and grout are typically designed to work well with heated subfloors, ensuring the tiles remain securely in place.

Porcelain is compatible with a wide range of adhesives, meaning that whichever you choose to pair with your underfloor heating system will also pair nicely with your porcelain tiles.

Best Porcelain Tile For Your Underfloor Heating: 6 Top Types Of Tile

Having established porcelain tiles as the best tiles for underfloor heating, let’s now take a look at some of the gorgeous porcelain tiles you have to choose from!

Wood-Effect Porcelain Tiles

Porcelain is the chameleon of the tile world, able to take on the look, shape, feel and finish of a huge array of different materials—from cement and marble to natural stone and even wood.

Our wood-effect porcelain tiles are designed so Ireland’s homeowners can embrace the calming, restorative properties of natural wood interiors without the hassle of maintaining, sealing and installing actual wood.

We happen to think that wood-effect porcelain tiles look particularly good in an underfloor-heated bathroom!

Hexagon tiles

Hexagon tiles produce a dependably traditional aesthetic when used for flooring—one which is particularly well-suited to either the kitchen or bathroom.

Large-format porcelain tiles

As we mentioned earlier, to get the most out of your underfloor heating it’s advisable to use larger format tiles. The less grout work there is and the greater the surface area of the porcelain, the easier it is for heat to disperse evenly across the tiled floor.

Marble-Effect Tiles

Marble interiors are undoubtedly some of the most opulent, elegant and therefore desirable interiors your money can buy... but that’s also the problem! Marble is exorbitantly expensive, meaning most homeowners can’t afford to kit out their homes with the stuff.

Marble-effect porcelain floor tiles, on the other hand, are just as affordable as any other porcelain tile, meaning you can create a gorgeous, marbled floor atop your underfloor heating without breaking the bank!

Patterned Porcelain Tiles

If block colour or imitation effects aren’t your bag, remember there are always a variety of more traditional porcelain tile patterns to choose from!

Patterned porcelain has been popular for as long as porcelain tiles have been around, with a huge range of styles and patterns to choose from allowing you to flex your creative muscles.

Terrazzo-Effect Tiles

Last but not least, we’d love to introduce you to Italy’s most famous tile style: the indomitable Terrazzo Tile, popularised on the sidewalks and in the great public halls of Venice, Florence, Milan and Rome.

For something truly unique to decorate your newly heated floor, why not try a porcelain tile from our terrazzo range?

3 Top Tips For Installing Porcelain Floor Tiles On Underfloor Heating

We’ll close our guide to the six best tile styles for underfloor heating with a last few tips on how best to install them.

Follow these three top tips for installing tile on underfloor heating and we guarantee you’ll see an improvement in both the longevity of the tiles and the efficiency and quality of the heating.

Use Flexible Adhesive And Grout For Underfloor Heating Tiles

Use Flexible Adhesive and Grout: Select adhesives and grouts that are specifically designed for underfloor heating to accommodate minor movements caused by temperature changes.

Make Sure You’ve Properly Insulated Your Heating System Before Installing The Tiles

Ensure Proper Insulation: Install insulation boards beneath the heating system to prevent heat loss downward and increase energy efficiency.

Give Your Underfloor Heating Tile Installation Enough Time To Cure

Allow for Curing Time: After installation, allow sufficient time for the adhesive and grout to cure before turning on the heating system (usually 7–28 days, depending on the products used).

Conclusion

When installed correctly, 10mm porcelain tiles with underfloor heating provide a durable, efficient, and comfortable flooring solution—ideally suited to installation in bathrooms, wet rooms, toilets, kitchens, hallways and more, anywhere in Ireland.

To discover the perfect porcelain for your personal underfloor heating project, browse Tile Merchant porcelain tiles today. Remember, you can always order free cut samples of your favourite tiles before making your final choice!

For more style and installation advice, follow the Tile Merchant blog today, or give our dedicated sales team a call. Tile delivery is available seven days a week, direct to your doorstep, wherever you are in Ireland or Northern Ireland.

Why Tile Merchant?

We offer extremely competitive pricing on our entire range of tiles and likewise. We stock a huge range of wall and floor tiles and our prices are competitive for retail and trade. Our stock is widely available in our tile stores in Ireland which are open 7 days a week.

Alternatively, if you’d prefer to shop our tiles online, we can supply you with samples delivered for free.

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