I did a lot of looking and changed from a toe kick originally planned to a Stelpro wall heater. The thing I love about it is that it has dual features: it can be left on (radiant? convection? never can remember which) without the fan, just to keep the chill off (or as warm as you want to make it) but then you can turn on the fan to warm up the room quickly. The fan is on a timer and can be left on for up to 60 min, which I do when showering. It is quite attractive compared to other wall units I looked at and is made in Canada, not China...a big selling point for me.

Here is a link that might be useful: Stelpro heaters.

We have electric heated floors in our kitchen as our sole source of heating, and it's great! Floor stays warm, I'm never cold, even in the deep of winter. We have a sliding patio door and 2 small windows in that room, and we're from Montreal, so it gets very cold!

You should calculate how many watts you need for your room, and see if you could fit that much heating wire while respecting the minimum spacing, and not run in under the cabinets, tub, ... If not quite enough, just add a wall unit too supplement.

In my downstairs bath, we're putting in both heating floor wires and a convection/fan forced wall heater unit like the recessed Stelpro heater suggested by Olychick. I should probably buy that one, since it is made around town, but I'm a bit heretic and love the Convectair products (have them in other rooms). They have a new semi-recessed bathroom unit that is so goo looking:

Convectair Piccolo

Those are not made in Canada, but in France. Less patriotic, but not a cheap Chinese import either, if that's important to you!

I have a typical 5 X 8 NYC bathroom. Would under tile heating be practical in a room that size? Would it give enough heat to heat that small bathroom without a wall heater? Thanks!

Your electric heat will only be as reliable as the electricity itself. It's not uncommon for the power to go out in areas of New England for a few hours or even a few days. So prepare for that since it's a vacation home.

For vacation homes, I usually recommend designing the plumbing to be pitched for easy drainage. When leaving you turn off the water supply (one valve), open the taps in the kitchens and bathrooms, flush the toilets, then go downstairs and open a single drain valve to drain the properly pitched supply plumbing. Then pour a bit of RV (NOT auto radiator) antifreeze into each toilet bowl and into each drain trap.

Takes about five minutes, seriously.

You could also plumb the new work with PEX instead of copper. PEX has a bit of give, so if it were to freeze the tubing won't be as likely to rupture as copper would.

Also, no plumbing in exterior walls!

Lastly, "smart home" technology has come a long way over the past decade. You can get thermostats that are controllable from the internet or a smart phone. You can get temp sensors that will notify you by email, or call your cell or home phone, when the temp hits a certain setpoint limit.

Well, I didn't really answer your questions, but I just wanted to toss those ideas out to you.

Thank you for all these tips. I really like the look of the Stelpro heater - the other seems a lot more expensive. We have had our home for a few decades now and have been lucky enough not to have been affected by lengthy power outages, but I guess there is always a first time. Perhaps if we go away for an extended stay we will drain the pipes. And yes, we do not have plumbing on outside walls. And I will look into those sensors that will call me - I will just have to remember to listen for the cell phone - but thats another problem!

And to blondelle, I have a 5x8 nyc bathroom as well. It is in an apt house, now window in the bath, and it never gets cold. The warmly yours would be nice under that cold tile and would probably keep it warm enough - unless you are talking about a brownstone, in which case I plead ignorance!

Based on what cargo said in the 2nd paragraph above, the answer is yes, for the 5x8 nyc bathroom without any window ("... now window in the bath, and it never gets cold...").

To answer the OP question one needs to see the building. Or needs to know a lot more about the building's construction. Some are airtight. Some are leaky. In some cases you know it's leaky and in other cases you don't know unless you really understand a lot about building envelopes (which are invisible once construction if done). Post more information.

This isn't a question for an internet forum. You need to consult with a HVAC person familiar with your area. It's not only the bathroom that will need heat with an addition, it's also the master bedroom. You have to take into account the sun exposure, the number of windows and their R value, the R value of the insulation in the walls and especially ceiling, and a host of other factors. This can only be done on site after an inspection. My only advice would be that for new construction in a cold climate, or even in a moderate climate, that it's much more efficient to go with 2x6 walls than 2x4 walls. More room for insulation. For every $1 you spend on insulation, that's $2 back in your pocket when it comes to cost of heating and cooling the space.

Thanks! The tub wall though in my apt. is adjacent to the hallway so it gets a bit cold in there. Not too bad but I like it warmer when I bathe. Can any one estimate the cost of under tile heating for a 5 X 5 area? That Stelpro heater looks nice. Maybe that would be the best option. Now there's an ugly heater that's above the door that doesn't work too well. I would be rather large in a small bath. Maybe I can mount a thin baseboard unit instead above the door and run a wire to a thermostat the way it is now.

Also, the Stelpro unit has a fan but would that also pull out humid air and odors? I also have a grille in an airshaft in the bathroom. Could a fan be installed where the grille is to vent out to the airshaft?

Blondelle, the Stelpro heater is not a ventilating fan; it is just a forced air heater. You can leave the radiant heat on (controlled by an integrated thermostat) to keep the bath as warm or cool as you want it. Then when you bathe or simply want the bath to heat up quickly, you turn on the fan and it runs just as long as the timer (up to an hour)is set.

I know I need a separate heat source for the bedroom. It is already framed, so no changes there. We are putting in a split system for AC in the summer. Initially the Mitsubishi was mentioned, but now I am told the quote that was received was for an LG. Somehow, I think the Mitsubishi is a better choice, but I would appreciate hearing opinions on this. Please dont tell me to use a different kind of heat - the split system is the way we are going. I thought the Mitsubishi had an ap so that I could turn it on remotely from my phone. How nice it would be to arrive to a toasty bedroom! Not sure if the LG has this or not.

Thanks for your wisdom - even though this is now a bedroom heating question, not a bathroom one. But, since I have your attention..... thought I would ask.

Thanks so much for the info. I checked it out and the Stelpro is 240v. I have only 120v in my building. There's a similar one by another Canadian company that's 120v. I also found one that about 8.5" x 16" I can place above my bathroom door and place the thermostat for it on the wall. That's the setup I have now. The one similar to the Stelpro says it uses ribbon heating while the long, narrow one forces air over heated tubes I think. Don't understand the difference.

There is a warmly yours that is meant to heat the room, not just the floor. I suspect either one will keep your bathroom warm enough, since you dont have to worry about freezing pipes. And if you wanted even more heat, you could add one of those runtal towel warmers. The electric one would keep your room comfy, I think, especially if you also have the warmly yours.