Although heated floors are fairly common nowadays, they felt like a futuristic invention before the turn of the millennium. However, there has been evidence that heated floors date back all the way to 5000 BC in Korea and China.

People would use basic systems where they put flues under the earth floor and attached to a fireplace. The hot air would travel through the flues and heat the floor, as well as create radiant heat for the room.

Years later, Romans used a system they called hypocaust. This system was similar to the one in China and Korea where they would heat their floors, houses and baths using hot air from a fireplace that travelled through pillars and flues.

In the 17th century, Europeans used heated floors to heat their greenhouses before the hot water boiler was invented. By 1790, people in England started using pipes to carry hot water as a better way to provide radiant heat.

Fast-forward to the 1900s – Arthur Baker, a British professor, created a more effective heating system where he planted small pipes in concrete to carry hot water, allowing the room to be heated more quickly. 

From there, the popularity of radiant floor heating has slowly increased in North America. However, the introduction of electric radiant heating created a boom in the industry, and it is one of the more preferred types of heating options for homes.

As technologies advance, so do options for what should be used as the ‘thermal mass’.  The thermal mass is the material used to encase the hydronic tubing, and conduct the heat to your living space. Using the proper product as the ‘thermal mass’ is critical in ensuring your in-floor radiant heating system is running as efficiently and effectively as possible. Arcosa’s AccuRadiant® is the ultimate poured in place cementitious floor underlayment. Typically installed at 1 ½” thick, AccuRadiant® is designed specifically for radiant floor heating systems for evenly transferred heat and quick response time.  

Pour it On is a locally owned and operated company that offers excellent floor underlayment and floor leveling services in the GTA and the majority of Southern Ontario. We use Arcosa Specialty Materials AccuRadiant® products to offer over-pours for radiant floor heating.  AccuRadiant® is a cost-effective and efficient thermal mass.

To get crack resistance, non-combustible AccuRadiant® pricing and installation, contact Pour It On Incorporated by simply calling 647.687.6457 or email [email protected].

Visit pouriton.ca to read more about us.