On the market: Homes with a toasty heated floor (photos)
So, the weather will be warmer, 70s and spring-like this coming week. How quickly we forget about bundling up and retreating into our thickest wool slippers for comfort. On those cold mornings, wouldn’t a heated floor have made getting out of bed more bearable?
Underfloor heating in a bathroom is a luxury, but installing it during a remodel or new construction makes sense.
Energy-efficient radiant heat for the whole house is promoted by environmentalist and modernist. People are warmed by a floor, wall or overhead panel instead of hot air.
Frank Lloyd Wright was a big fan of heated floors. A fine example is at the Gordon House in Silverton, the only Wright building in Oregon.
Another big believer was California builder Joseph Eichler, who, like Robert Rummer in Portland, developed neighborhoods of affordable Case Study-style modern houses in the 1950s through 1970s that relied on cost-saving heat systems.
Jeff Kovel of Skylab Architecture designed a modern house to have both radiant heat and forced-air heating. The property at 1680 SW Montgomery Dr. in Portland is listed at $2.2 million by Mary Ann McDowell of the Hasson Co.