Makes no sense.

Oh my gosh no.

Electric wires in a wet area floor, what could go wrong....................

Not done.

I have it only because I ran Hydronic RFH underneath the entire bathroom floor, the shower footprint included.

Comfort-wise in my house? I notice no difference in the summer (RFH not running) vs winter.

I think having a dedicated mat under the shower floor membrane could help with drying, but I really don't see it adding much with regards to the "comfort aspect" of the shower, as the roughly 100-degree water coming out of the shower head will be warmer than the surface temp of the heated floor tile.

If the area is needed to heat the room efficiently then yes. If it's for comfort then it's hard to justify as no one steps into the shower while the water is cold. Although a warm bench is appreciated.

USG Before & After · More Info

USG Before & After · More Info

When I had my master bathroom renovated three years ago, I had a curbless shower (no door) built, with heated floor extending into the shower. I love the heated floor in the shower as it does keep me warmer. Plus, the floor dries really fast after a shower. See attached photos. This open shower was “worth its weight in gold” when I broke my leg last year!

We have floor heat in the bathroom but not in the shower, and I'm sorry I didn't think of doing it (and the contractor didn't suggest it). The warm bathroom floor is something I always notice and appreciate; the cold shower floor is something I always notice too, but not happily. I don't want to leave hot water running while the floor fully warms up, so the different temperatures are always noticeable, plus, as mentioned above, I think the drying factor would be a nice plus. IMHO, the incremental cost is minor while the benefits are real.

Schluter has this In their literature & instructional videos for using Ditra Heat in the shower

https://youtu.be/2Ui26uQbJjo

Great for curbless showers where the rest of the room has heated floor. Use a separate cable for the shower area. Both the room & shower can be on 1 thermostat if under a certain size, or 2 if you want them separate.

Those who think that a heated shower floor makes a difference are kidding themselves from a thermodynamic standpoint. As soon as you turn on the water, the warmth of the floor surface (at perhaps 70 F+) is overwhelmed almost immediately by the initial blast of cool water shooting out (at perhaps 55 F+). Anyway, I don't stand in my shower until the temperature of the water is comfortable (over 100 F), so there is no point in heating the shower floor.

In addition, with electric mats under the tile there is always the potential for shock hazard if there is the slightest breach of the protective surface...as experienced by other posters here on GW. And, if the heating mat fails, the only way to fix it is to tear out the tile and re-do the whole shower. That's a steep price to pay for an amenity that's not really useful in the first place.

AvatarWalt - Where do you live and do you always notice a difference in floor temperature or is it only when it's cold like in the winter?

You advice is really helpful to me since you have floor heating in the bathroom but not the shower, and you have some remorse over this because you notice it. Just wondering if you might live somewhere much colder where it would be more pronounced to you than to me in CA.

To the OP:

You’re absolutely right about it being perfectly fine installing in-floor electric radiant in a shower – as long as a qualified electrician installs it with a GFCI breaker.

As others said, contributes to the overall space heating and the floor tiles dry faster.

If you’re at all like I am, I would prefer to install it and be sorry that I did than to not do it and forever not forgive myself that we hadn’t! The additional cost is minimal.

BTW: We did install it in our bathroom, Italian shower (curbless) included but rarely use it. Still not sorry we did it.

IMPO

SR

We live in Seattle, and the bathroom is on the lower level so on a concrete slab. I'd guess that the ground temperature is pretty uniform throughout the year and, of course, the in-home air temp doesn't change much either, but I do still notice the colder tile. The bedroom area has LVP on the same slab and that doesn't seem chilly underfoot, but I think "aaah" going into the warm bathroom and then "ugh" entering the shower. It's such a first world problem that I'm almost embarrassed to complain about it to myself, but it's a little luxury that I really wish I'd thought of and is one of the things I'd do differently if we were ever to re-remodel.

ETA, the floor does, of course, warm up, but the initial chill is unpleasant (did I mention first world problems?), plus the tiles outside the water stream don't get as warm--as I noticed while sitting on them a few days ago to wash the dog . . .

Floor and seats for us.

I have the exact sentiments as Avatarwalt- we installed it in the bathroom floor but not in the shower (didn't even think of it.) I do notice it when I step into the shower, and there is a noticeable difference in the temp of the shower floor that isn't getting hit with the warmer water. But I (as AV said above) realize this is a minor annoyance vs a "problem." At least we have running water.

And we live in the eastern part of WA state so have to deal with really cold weather vs what you guys have to deal with in CA or Puget Sound area.

But even with all that, I also agree with kudzo in that it's probably not worth the risk.

Thank you everyone!

Man I love this place! Even though this thread started with a bunch of misinformation (and from pros to boot) I got some solid advice from people with actual experience. I wasn't sure if anyone with radiant floor heating would see this and chime in but you did! And great to hear from people who didn't put it in the shower but wish they had. Stories like that are always persuasive.

So I have decided to put floor heating in the shower. I owe some of you a beer :-)

Haha, or we'll stop by for a shower!

Heating the shower floor with Schluter Ditra is perfectly fine. If you are already warming the floors in the rest of the bathroom, you might as well heat the shower floor. You will have to have a separate wire in the shower from the rest of the room though.

Schluter provides in person training all over the US. You or your contractor can sign up online.

My first direct experience with a heated shower floor was when a client on the west coast put it in their guest bathroom then invited me to visit and try it out. I don’t know how else I would have realized it‘s a wonderful bathroom detail, and put this in my own bathroom design. Similar to a Toto washlet, there is no going back :)

I did experience much confusion and difficulty where I live (east coast) from both tile installers and tile salespeople, even from a “certified” Schluter installer. The best design help and info has been directly from Schluter themselves. Our electrician was already familiar with the Ditra install and knew he would have to provide 2 extra site visits during installation to sign off on the wiring.

"even from a “certified” Schluter installer"

There is no such thing. A 19 year old that works sales in a tile showroom can attend a 2 day Schluter seminar. Sleep & text through 50% and get a certificate even though they have never even installed a piece of tile in their lives. Do you really want to hire that person for your project. They do a nice job with the seminars as I have attended multiple times. If you had a Schluter employee come to your home that would be a different scenario. I often see on this forum folks claiming to be Schluter certified. Just not the case. Always hire wisely.

uscpsycho - Keep in mind there are many heat systems on the market. NU-Heat, Laticrete, Warm Floors etc. Research and compare products. Don't let $$$ spent on marketing make up your mind. Often there is better for less $$$.

Did not hire the Schluter “expert” LOL, had to double-check everything he said in his sales pitch.

@olsenla love the shower! did tiu heat uo the bench as well? is thay grabite ir marble? what heat system did you use?

Me AGirl: No, we did not heat the bench (but I wish I had as it is cold when you first sit down). The top of the bench is Silestone Quartz. The contractor used Warmly Yours Radiant Heating for the heated floor. Still works great 5 years later!

If you run the shower for a few minutes, the warm water gets the tile warm enough to be comfortable. So, what would be the purpose of having an in-floor heater do the same thing?

I think they're safe enough if UL- or ESL-listed with a GFCI breaker. But what no one has ever explained to be convincingly is: "What is the additional benefit and is it worth the money?"

What I would certainly want to know is how long from flipping the switch does it take to warm the floor to a comfortable 85 ° . If more than a few minutes, forget it.

In the context of a bathroom remodel with a heated floor, running heat under the shower is a small incremental cost, and it's on the same timer/thermostat as the rest of the room so doesn't require switching on and off. In my case, I'd rather use some solar-generted electrity to heat the floor than several gallons of water, and the tile only warms where the water actually hits; step outside the spray and it's chilly. As I said above, this is a TINY point in the scope of life's issues, but if someone is remodeling a bathroom and wondering "should I do it," I think there are good reasons.

@StarCraft Custom Builders Running the shower for a few minutes specifically to warm the floor is awfully wasteful. And you're going to do that every day? And for how many people? It seems like the most of the country is facing some sort of water shortage so I hope nobody is actually doing this.

There is no waiting for it to warm up. I have mine set on a timer to turn on and off in the morning as needed. And I also have it automated so if the temperature falls below a certain point during the night, it will heat the floor so if I use the restroom at night the floor won't be cold.