I can't give you an opinion of the "mortar down" version of Easy Mat.....but the Peal and Stick version is absolute rubbish. I have heard the mortar version works pretty good.

Installing Nu Heat on Cement Slab will ensure that your floor will require less energy to reach the desired temperature. I can suggest you one product that is SunTouch Electric Radiant Floor Heating.

I'm going to be installing Nuheat cable on a concrete subfloor. Any thoughts on using subfloor adhesive (PL, Titebond) to attach the cable guides to the floor rather than hot glue? I'd rather not buy/rent a hot glue gun for this one job and then have to figure out how to use it. I called the Nuheat support line and they said their only concern is how the heat will affect the adhesive but heat isn't applied until everything is buried in mortar.

Thanks,
Yeg

I don't see why PL wouldn't work to hold the cable Guides down, it could just be a little messy and you may need to wait for it to set before you could run your cable. The big advantage to using the hot glue is that it is easy and it bonds right away. I wouldn't rent a hot glue gun, you can buy one for $20.00 at the hardware store or Wal Mart - just a regular old hot glue gun like your mother used to use to glue beads to a styrofoam ball. The hot glue isn't meant to permanently hold the guides to the floor. The guides aren't supposed to hold the cable to the floor permanently. The hot glue and cable guides are just there to hold the cable in place until you get the cable covered with cement.

Here's a tip - use the hot glue to hold the cable to the floor in a few places over the span between the cable guides. The cable will have a tendency to float when you pour your self-leveler. Use a small bead of hot glue to keep it from floating. And don't try using thin-set t level the floor unless you're extremely good with a trowel - it's sticky and difficult to get smooth. Use self leveling cement.

Thanks J&D

Nuheat specifically says to use "industrial grade" hot glue. I tried my dad's hobby hot glue gun on some concrete and it did not stick at all. That's why I started considering options. Perhaps there is a different type of hobby glue that does work on concrete. But if PL works I will stick with that (sorry).

Thanks for the tip about gluing the cable mid-span. A professional installer will take over once I get the cable in place and it is my understanding that they will use mortar rather than SLC to cover the cable. My maximum span between guides will be 3 feet.

Yeg

I didn't mean to suggest using the came sort of glue as you may have used for crafts, just that the same gun will work for the grade of glue that you would use for this project. Sorry for the confusion.

Best of luck. I'm sure you'll do a great job and you'll love having toasty warm feet when it's all done!

If your talking about PL Premium adhesive, there's no way that will work. It takes 24 hrs to dry and does not have the ability to do instant grab or bond.

Hot glue works the best. Concrete needs to be really clean and free of dust for even hot glue to work.

An alternative to PL might be Loctite Powergrab. It's available at Lowe's, maybe HD as well. I don't have any experience using it on heat cables, but I've used it for a lot of other things and it works great.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_205801-133-1290020_0_?productId=3020319&Ntt=powergrab&Ntk=i_products&pl=1&currentURL=/pl__0__s?newSearch=true$Ntt=powergrab$y=0$x=0&spellCorrectedTerm=

Thanks for your response, Randall. Now you've got me worried about using PL. Why is the fact that it takes 24 hours to dry a problem? As for hot glue, is there a particular type that you recommend? As I mentioned before, I tried the stuff that was in my dad's hobby glue gun and it didn't stick worth a darn to concrete.

Thanks for the tip about Powergrab, Kman.

___
Yeg

I guess our perspective (as contractors) would be to have the cables installed and ready to be embedded and leveled with mortar or slc. Something you would be unable to do until the PL took grab.
But ... if you have the time to wait, then by all means use PL or whatever else you'd like to use. Bottom line is to have the cables stable when applying mortar. So ... whatever works.