KBzine: the original kitchen and bathroom industry e-news - since 2002
28th January 2021
We strongly recommend viewing KBzine full size in your web browser. Click our masthead above to visit our website version.
Gaia's Devimat: the perfect finishing touch for wet rooms
Most installers recommend the use of underfloor heating (UFH) in wet rooms and Gaia's Devimat system is perfectly suited to this application.
Not only does UFH create a warm, comfortable surface to walk on, it is also a more efficient way to heat a room than traditional wall-hung radiators.
As wet rooms are, as the name suggests, exposed to a lot of moisture, there can be problems with damp. Standing water accumulates on the floor and can create a slipping hazard. UFH also raises the ambient humidity in the entire room which, if poorly ventilated and heated, will soon suffer from mould.
UFH tackles this problem at floor level. Even a gentle heat will quickly evaporate water away and, combined with an extractor fan, will dry out the entire room - even after a steamy shower.
Devimat electric UFH is installed just below the floor tiles so the heat transfers quickly to the surface. This means that, in warm weather, when heating is not required constantly, the wet room floor can still be dried quickly at the flick of a switch or on a timer setting using the Devimat timer and thermostat control.
Needless to say, when installing an electrical heating element under a wet room floor, safety is paramount. The IEE 17th Edition wiring regulations identify wet rooms as Zone 0 - that is, one requiring the most rigorous safety precautions.
"It is recommended that all wires are earth-sheathed with a metallic grid so that any damage to the wiring will instantly run to earth and trip the circuit breaker," explains Steven Rooney, director of Gaia.
"While many imported systems incorporate an earth screen, ours is the only product where the entire system is encased in an aluminium sheath and can add that extra element of safety."
T: 0845 434 9488
W: www.gaia.co.uk
29th May 2015