Heat Retreat

The new Lofts du Village (“Village Lofts”) are located at the entrance of Gatineau Park and offer luxurious short-term and long-term luxurious accommodations for visitors. Since 2005, Groupe Nordik has offered the winning formula of luxury resort getaways with a rustic Scandinavian flavor. Their growing business led them to plan a new construction project consisting of luxury lofts and studios.

Design plans called for an open space concept featuring spacious kitchens, as well as modern bathrooms with separate water closets. For a final touch, the designer wanted to incorporate ultra modern heated floors to combat the frigid temperatures. Products from MAPEI’s Tile & Stone Installation Systems were specified for the tiling job, but MAPEI had the solution for evenly heated floors as well.

MAPEI products on the jobsite

MAPEI Coordinator Justin Lafontaine was happy to point out to the Groupe Nordik that MAPEI had recently added its Mapeheat line of products, providing a single-source solution with unbeatable quality. Mapeheat offers easy-to-install, floor-heating solutions that combine installation versatility with advanced new technology. “Nordik-Spa Nature is a well-known luxury resort with an international reputation that has helped them grow quickly in the region,” he noted. “They planned an entirely new building in the picturesque Outaouais, expanding the capacity of their main resort. It’s full of top-of-the-line features – something that’s always been our specialty.”

The installation of that new project – Lofts du Village – required a high-end waterproofing and crack-isolation underlayment for 2,200 sq. ft. (204 m²) of various types of ceramic tile flooring, some of which was large-format. In addition to the bathrooms of all the lofts and studios, the heated-floor solution was to be added throughout the premium suite. With that in mind, the flexibility of Mapeheat Membrane uncoupling crack-isolation underlayment interlaced with Mapeheat Cable fit the bill perfectly, along with added assurance from Mapeguard WP 200 waterproofing sheet membrane. They also chose the programmable thermostat option Mapeheat Thermo Touch, which offers 7-day programmability, floor-sensing and ambient-air sensing.

That set the stage for the large-format tile to be installed with Keraflex Plus professional, extra smooth, non-sag/nonslump, large-and-heavy-tile mortar and (where needed) Ultraflex LFT premium, large-and-heavy-tile mortar with polymer. Ultracolor Plus FA rapid-setting grout was selected for its exceptional aesthetic quality, its stain-resistance properties and its ease of maintenance. In select areas, they went with Kerapoxy premium epoxy grout instead, for extra chemical resistance.

In just a few weeks, they had installed some 2,200 square feet (204 m²) of heated flooring – overlaid with ceramic tile – to meet the high standards for modern luxury that Groupe Nordik is known for.

Product Focus        

MAPEI’s Mapeheat floor-heating systems offer the industry’s most comprehensive line of UL-classified, radiant floor-heating products on the market. Here’s a look at some of the heavy hitters.

Mapeheat Membrane
Mapeheat Membrane is a lightweight uncoupling, crack-isolation and waterproofing membrane that is also designed to accommodate the installation of MAPEI’s Mapeheat Cable. The membrane’s thin profile – less than 1/4" (6 mm) – works well with remodeling projects in which a new floor is installed directly over a preexisting one.

Mapeheat Cable
Mapeheat Cable is a free-form, twisted-pair, floor-heating cable for use in any residential interior room. The cable can be spaced on site to provide 10, 12 or 15 W per sq. ft. based on the desired wattage output requirements of the installation. Mapeheat Cable is available in 33 lengths to accommodate areas as small as 6 sq. ft. (0.56 m²) and up to 293 sq. ft. (27.2 m²).

Mapeheat Thermo Touch
Mapeheat Thermo Touch thermostat is a 7-day programmable, electric floor-heating thermostat that features a 3.5" (9 cm) color touchscreen display for accessing the super-intuitive user interface and energy use monitor. The thermostat features dual-voltage compatibility (120 V and 240 V), a physical on/off switch and built-in GFCI protection (Class A).