Spent $800 on a heated concrete floor system and now I can't decide if it was worth it

I put in radiant floor heating in my garage last winter. Cost me $800 for the mats and thermostat, plus a weekend of labor. On one hand, working on my Mustang in 40 degree weather without a space heater blasting is pretty nice. On the other hand, my electric bill jumped $50 a month and I wonder if a good pair of coveralls would have done the same job for way less. Anyone else gone back and forth on this after trying both options?

2 comments

2 Comments

jake_martin1618d ago

Dude I had a buddy who did the EXACT same thing with his workshop and he went back and forth for like a YEAR about it. He kept saying "a good pair of coveralls would have done the same job" just like you said, but then winter hit and he was out there in his thermal underwear under a Carhartt suit and still shivering while his Snap-On tools felt like ice cubes. I remember he finally admitted it was worth it when his wife came out to grab something from the freezer and she stood on the warm floor for five minutes complaining about their cold kitchen tile. Electric bill hike sucks but there's nothing like laying on your back under a car with a warm floor under your spine instead of biting cold concrete.

the_lucas18d ago

My buddy Steve over in Denver dropped like 3 grand on radiant heating for his garage two years ago. He sent me a picture last January showing the floor temp at a cozy 72 degrees while the outdoor thermometer read 12 below zero. I told him that seemed like overkill until he told me his wife started parking her car in the garage just to let the floor warm up the tires for better traction on snowy mornings, which is pretty smart actually. @jake_martin16 you're spot on about the tool thing too, Steve said his socket set used to be a literal ice cube holder and now it's just warm metal that doesn't hurt to grab.