I have seen this done in places like islands or peninsulas where people might lean on the counter while seated on stools around the island. I've never seen it done on counter surfaces used strictly as working surfaces. On working surfaces, cool stone is usually desirable, especially if the counter will be used for working pastry or kneading dough. That's not to say that it couldn't be done. It's your kitchen....if you'd prefer non-chilly stone....go for it.

I'm in Florida and reading this at 4am, leaning on my island. Its cool to the touch, and I certainly wouldn't mind if it were heated.

It doesn't sound like a crazy idea to me as long as you can regulate the heat. My granite is plenty chilly in the winter and if I'm reading while seated at the island, at times I put a cloth down where I rest my forearms. But, when working with dough, I want it to be cold. I wouldn't want it on all my counters, but certainly would not dismiss it for certain areas.

Wow. thanks for all the responses! I appreciate the negative ones too since they are all valid. I really like getting the diverse opinions.

My coworker stated that his family always gathers around the island rather than the table, but they find resting their elbows on it uncomfortable in the winter. We live in MD so it is a moderate climate. He also said that they should have put in heated floors, but they can take care of that with area carpet over the tile. His point was that with the heated counter, it could be turned off and on with a switch and just used on an as needed basis. That's why I was considering it. Would the flooring forum be a more appropriate on to post to for logistics?

scrappy - that old home site I linked to had some basic directions. I would think that any contractor that installs heated floors would have some idea on how to do it with heated counters. And I agree, you might get more practical "how-to" advice on the flooring forum.

My apologies if I sounded bullying, that certainly wasn't my intention. Life is short, if heated counters improve someone's quality of life then go for it. And davidro1, of course I like heated floors, I intended to get them in my kitchen until I switched from stone floors to hardwood. Heated floors are delightful in winter, I guess I just don't have as much daily physical contact with my counters as scrappy's colleague.

I would think heating granite counters could be pretty costly, I imagine it takes a while to get a large slab of granite warm. And any heating product placed under the countertop would also radiate heat into your base cabinets.

I've never noticed that my granite counters are especially cold, either in the winter or summer with the AC on (or today with the AC on, it's going into the low 90's), and even when I'm eating at the counter. I'm in Maryland, too.

I am interested in also doing a heated countertop in the island. I originally saw the idea in a fine homebuilding magazine article. You could probably find it at your library. An electric underfloor heating mat was used.
TOH website has info about Tom Silvas heated coutertops though his seem a bit more involved. His wife loves them.

I saw a homeowner on TV who had their granite desk heated. It was is home office, had beautiful granite that he used as his desk (sort of like a kitchen counter--running the perimeter of the room, but lower), and he had it heated because it was too cold to rest his arms on.

The wood desk at my office is cold sometimes and uncomfortable, so I can imagine leaning on granite could be uncomfortable.

I would go for it.

Is it really that the granite is colder than ambient temperature inside your house (presumably around 68F), or simply that the mass of the stone means it doesn't warm to match your skin temperature (usually around 90F) as quickly as other materials?

It would be interesting to see some actual temperature readings.

If it is the latter, then would you have to heat the granite to near skin temperature, in order for it to not feel cold?

I think it's a good idea. We live in Maine and we chose wood for our island top (stone on the perimeter) partly because we didn't want to be eating/gathering at a cold slab of stone.

OTOH I am not sure the mats and wire sold for tile floors would work all that well on a 3cm granite slab. I'd call the manufacturers to ask them. We used the wire under our bathroom floors. It's under maybe 1/4" of self-leveling compound (concrete basically), a bit of thinset, and porcelain floor tile. At it's highest setting, it makes the floor just barely noticeably warm. The sensor... which is under the tile and cement, heats it to 82 degrees, which makes the top of tile cozy but certainly not hot. So I just wonder what adding a lot more depth of solid material would do. Might be fine- but I'd call and ask before choosing a product. Also consider you will probably have to install a plywood base for the wire or mat before the stone. And then more heat might radiate down into the cabinets than up through the granite... Again- I'd ask the manufacturer. I am sure there's SOME way to do it properly :)

It's easy to install, though!

One of the tile stores that I frequent has their countertops heated and it's great. It makes signing the visa receipts enjoyable...

The stone is not actually colder than room temperature (except if the temperature of the room has changed).

The stone is at room temperature, but has such a high mass it will remove a lot of heat from anything warmer that touches it (like you or warm food containers).

If you use a setback thermostat the stone will lag behind at each temperature change due to its mass.

again, thanks for all the input.

Sochi, I appreciate the link but that person used pex which is fluid-based radiant heat and requires a boiler. I think that electric mats would be much simpler and less costly to install, and probably a thinner layer.

It seems that having the mats just on the seating side would be sufficient, but you'd need a base to hold the mat under the grantie. I posted on the flooring section but no answers yet.

scrappy you might even find more answers in the Bathroom forum on floor heating (tile). I think over the last 5 to 7 years I've posted on it a zillion times myself, as has
Bill Vincent. It's the most common area you'll find for the heated floors (or at least the room that started the trend :) )

Re what Brickeyee said about the temperature of the stone, I'm sure that's objectively true, but if you're in a cold climate, and regulate your room heating to when the family is there, only (no stay homers), in reality the stone never really warms up. Heck, even in So. Cal. it doesn't.

I'd hazard the claim that anywhere you need central AC, you probably don't need a granite heater. :-)

Also in Maine here, and the granite counters in my last rental were what convinced me never again! Cold cold and hard hard, ugh. Possibly because of the factor Plllog mentions: we always had the heat down low all night and day and really only heated for an hour in the morning and in the evening. That was one cold uncomfortable rock. A heater might have been a good solution.

I'm curious what your research turns up, scrappy - what kind of mats etc would work for thick stone. Do let us know what you find.

OK, thanks to the recent posters, I understand why there are differing views. If you keep the thermostat on low overnight and during the daytime when everyone is out at work/school, and only heat when you get up in the morning and when you get home in the evening, the granite mass lags in temperature and feels cold to the users. So theoretically the heated counter would be best if it is on a similar timer but offset one hour earlier (wild guess) than the whole house thermostat, perhaps set just a few degrees higher than room temperature, just warm enough not to wince when leaning on it. Ideally the heating mat should be under the seating side and not the cabinet side since that is where the users will gather.

I just posted in bathrooms as cindyandmocha suggested, since the technical aspects of installing electric warming mats under the overhang of a granite slab will certainly be a challenge!

It's very do-able, and not crazy at all.

I looked into this in detail when I did my kitchen (substantially complete 5 years ago). I did DIY hydronic radiant under the wood floors so that was the first thing I researched. It would have been easy to pull up a loop of pex from the floor into the prep sink cabinet with an on/off valve. The pex would be looped (like a snake) across the top of the cabinets. Some framed cabinets have a recess on top where it would fit. Frameless cabinets would need the island perimiter built up 3/4" for the counter to sit on and clear the pex.

Didn't want to build up the cabinet edge that much so looked into electric mats. It was one of the popular companies, I think Warmly Yours, who I contacted about using floor mats under the counter. They said they could be used for that purpose. I would have put an on/off switch in the prep sink cabinet. At that time it would run me about $800 (I think), but what really put me off was I was DIY, it was the end of a very big project and I had had enough so I didn't do it.

Leaning on the island to have coffee is really cold some mornings and I too sometimes put a shawl on the counter to lean on. The heated counter would have been nice.

The store where we bought some tile heats their counters as advertisement for heated floors....every time I have visited there, I love to lean on the counters and warm my hands... they are DELICIOUS!!!! Seriously, when you are a cold person like I am, the thought of those counters is such a treat! The employees tell me that they LOVE them because the tile warehouse is such a cold place to work and when they want to get warm, they just lean against them.

My DH makes me keep the house at 65, which is about 5-7 degrees too cold for me on a regular basis. I am a heat-monger. Would LOVE to have heated counters!

The kids begged for them in their bathroom, because they have friends who wake up in the morning and run into their bathroom and sit on the warm floor to brush their teeth (their mom must have to keep those floors CLEAN). Alas, not in our budget, so we will go without, but I totally would love to have heated counters!!!

This was discussed a year or two ago...one thing... When heating the counters, keep butter (or anything that melts when warmed to body temperature) off of it when they're turned on!

Remember, body temp is 90o+

Here's the only thread I could find:
Thread: Is anyone bothered by their Granite being cold?

Here is a link that might be useful: Warming up to granite - Radiant-heat mats built beneath them can fight off the cold

I'm in California and my granite is C-O-L-D, especially noticeable on the big island. If I had thought about it, I definitely would have explored heating it. I don't think you need to "heat" it exactly (as in warm to the touch), just to take the chill off and make it more neutral. I don't think you'd need to have the heat on very long to warm it up in the morning. Then it would probably be fine for the rest of the day.

Let us know what else you find out!

In my pre-remodel, make-shift kitchen, I had an island with a wood top. Loved it. In my new kitchen, it is no longer an island, but a peninsula, and the countertop is Ceasarstone. I definitely notice the cold countertop when we sit to eat. ( I am not a fan of the cold and found this winter especially long and dreary.)
Not so sure I would heat up a counter, but if you are going to sit at a space like an island, maybe a beautiful wood top is the answer!

buehl- thanks for those links! That find homebuilding link shows the sandwich - "recipe for warm granite. Embedded between two layers of thinset mortar, a radiant mat sits atop the islandÂs plywood substrate."

I live on the East Coast. Do you think it would be possible to get 2 cm granite instead of 3cm granite? It would be less mass to heat and the total counter thickness would be greater than 3 cm anyhow due to the plywood. I have read that the mats add 1/8" with thinset, what thickness plywood is used with 2 cm granite?

fkeur 222, I love the wood idea, but am afraid of wear. I sort of want something indestructible. thanks though!

Also, I smile when I read that the Californians have cold counters and the Northerners think their counters are plenty warm. I have never been so cold inside in the winter as I am when visiting my inlaws in California during Christmas. They set back their temp to 54 degrees overnight to go up to 65 in the daytime. They don't seem to believe in air conditioning or heating. I don't think many northern climate people would/could do that. Our climate is too extreme.:))

Yes it is a paradox that Northerners have warmer houses than Californians.

Using 3cm stone you just tape the heat cables to the stone. Less work. Saves money. Another Northerner trait.

I live in a moderate climate and so probably just don't "get it", but...is burning fossil fuels to heat your granite really a better idea than choosing a countertop material that is better suited to your climate? I was struck by Stacey's comment that she didn't use granite on her island in Maine because it gets too cold...this seems so sensible to me.

I don't know the answer but I'm just registering my opinion that it's a good idea. I've had granite island for five years now - in MN where we use a setback thermostat at night and during the day while we're at work - down to 60 degrees. In the winter our island is cold as an ice cube except on weekends when it has time to warm back up. So if you're sitting there leaning your forearms against it it can be painfully cold unless you have a thick sweater or the like on.

Had I known what I know now I would probably have investigated heating. I did choose a "warmer" counter material everywhere else but having some granite on the island was esthetically pleasing if not entirely practical in this regard.

Funny, many people kept insisting I needed heated floors but we don't walk around barefoot in the winter so no need for that. Heating the granite island top - now that would have been useful.

I agree with Gibby too about the heated floors all over...we don't wear shoes, but always wear socks...again us Californians keep our homes SO cold!

I laugh about the weather/heating remarks above--I have never been so warm in the Winter except when I go to Boston to visit my DD. EVERY store, every home, everything is heated so amazingly warm and toasty! I LOVE LOVE it. You can walk around without a sweater isnide when you are on the East Coast. Here in CA almost everyone I know wears a sweater/vest and scarf INDOORS! My husband would croak at the heating bill if I ever had the house above 65 during the day and over 52 at night. And, he totally will not pay for heating granite or floors :)

For all those who can get heated granite--go for it! I can live vicariously!

Just to elaborate on the wood, I had placed two inexpensive cabinets, with a light colored wood top, together in my kitchen to make a temporary island. I ended up keeping it for at least 5 years. We ate at the "island" three times a day, so it was wiped down with soapy sponge at least that many times per day. I also used it for prep. I did not baby it at all! I have to say, I could not believe that it still looked good after years of use!
I would only use it on an island though.
Good luck with your heated granite!

scrappy25,

We are trying to decide on a heated island. Did you ever do yours?

Thank you GW admin for deleting the spam.

Just saw this. I decided against it but someone else posted their DIY heated countertop on this forum a few months ago, I could not locate that thread. Good luck!

I think it was me unless I missed someone else posting about heated countertops. Here is the link.

Here is a link that might be useful: my

i don't have stone countertops but someone was just telling me that they used floor heating (like the DIY video you posted) and it cracked the counter. He found out floor heating mats aren't meant for the stone so I would be cautious on that. I did a google search and this product came up. looks like it is meant for countertops. hope it helps.

Here is a link that might be useful: feelswarm

If you live in a northern climate and your kitchen designer doesn't insist on them, they should be let go.

I live in a northern climate (well - foothills of Washington State, if that counts?). I can't imagine a heated countertop. Our house doesn't usually get above 60 degrees or so in the winter, so we normally wear sweatshirts 9 months out of the year, don't notice cool counters.

Why don't the rest of you just wear long sleeves, or not rest your bare arms on the counters?

We have a large 5 X 10 island with soapstone on top. I am by nature always cold, we live on the east coast with cold winters. We did exactly as you described and used in floor heat mats on the island and I love them! There have been a few discussions on this forum about heating counters and people always seem to think that they would be a problem with food and sanitation and melting butter and all kinds of things.

The reality is the stone feels slightly warm to the touch but certainly not hot. The comments about heating it to body temperature are pretty accurate. I have the thermostat set to the low 90's and this makes the stone comfortable to lean on when sitting at the island. We do not have a kitchen table and the island almost always has someone sitting at it doing homework, reading the paper, surfing the web or even watching the tv that is in the kitchen. The thermostat is on a timer which works fine. We did not put the mats on the side of the island where we prep since there is no need to warm this space.

The only thing that didn't work so well was getting the mats to the very edge of the counter. They sit at least 6" back from the edge and I figured this would be ok as the heat would radiate a bit out from the mats. I don't find this happens and so the very edge of the island is still chilly. If I was to do it again I would find a way to bring the mats as close as possible to the edge.

I wouldn't bother heating a counter that is just prep space but warming up the areas where you sit is pretty nice.

What type of granite will you be using for the island? Perhaps there is a different material that could be substituted? There are lots of other beautiful choices if you really think the cold surface will bother you that much. it really is just the nature of the stone- great in summer warmth, but really aggravating for defrosting meat and the like. perhaps wood, soapstone or corian would be a better fit? Also, my mother-in-law lives in New England, has granite, and keeps her house at 58 to 60 all winter (it's a HUGE house, so heating it any warmer would cost a fortune). Is her granite cold? Absolutely. But it certainly isn't unbearable. We sit at her peninsula all of the time. Granted, we wear long sleeves whenever it would be cold enough to make the granite uncomfortable.

I did not read the link yet but I don't see any reason not to heat your granite. I learned about this from finehomebuilding magazine. Also read that the hvac guy on this old house has all his counters heated.

I don't like cold and our house is at 70 or 72 during the day in the winter. At night it goes to 67. I don't understand why people want to be cold. Our house is old but insulated and our bills are reasonable. I can say this before we turned on the island I can down in the morning with flannel long sleeve pjs and a thick robe on. I sat at the island and the cold when right through.

Wearing long sleeves is not enough to stop the cold radiating though your arms. Our granite salesperson loved the idea. She has a granite desk. In the winter it gets so cold and uncomfortable she knitted sleeves she pulls over her arms. Sometimes she is wearing three layers on her arms.

edited to add: Our heat mat goes to 3" of the edge but the edge is still cooler. I read the link now and still don't see what the issue is. We don't have the stick on type that is referred to. Never even heard of a stick on heating element.

This post was edited by debrak2008 on Fri, Apr 11, 14 at 20:12

This is one of my customers that offer heat mats designed for countertops.

Here is a link that might be useful: feels warm

OK I am new here and found you by researching if I can add heat to my granite island. It seems many of you do not understand the need for heat. Let me try to enlighten you. We live in WI and right now it is 5 degrees outside and we keep our heat at 60 degrees. I can tell you when I sit at the island to read the paper or do paperwork room temperature feels frigid on my arms. I would like to add heat under the overhangs that can be turned on or off...any ideas???

I've seen them and used them. One of the restaurant kitchens at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York has them. It is a central island made with stainless steel. During food service, we used them to keep plates and platters of food warm without heat lamps. When we were prepping before service, we could place food that we wanted to warm on them. But, as a previous poster said, if you forget you butter has melted. I sat ice cream on it one time and by the time I got back to it, it was mush.

Marble is used in baking because it is cooler than the ambient temperature. It keeps the pastry and chocolate cool.

If you want heated, get heated.

I wouldn't recommend heating one area of a top and not another. Heat the whole thing evenly or nothing at all.

Here is a link to how and why we heated our kitchen island. If you need anymore info, post here or email me.

Here is a link that might be useful: my hot island

I am a fabricator.

We have done this a couple of times, both using a dedicated loop from the circulating hot water heating system. It worked fine and wasn't particularly expensive to cut the channels in the underside of the island. (I think the tubing and extra control loop for the hot water system was more.)

Treb is correct that you might cause cracking by heating a portion of a large piece.

Remember you are not heating it more than a few degrees above the ambient temp to take the chill off it so any thermal stresses induced by the heat tubing is small. heating an entire island should not cause a risk of cracking.

I work at one of or the oldest stone companies in the states. My desk along with every other desk in the office is made from Venetian gold granite. I have worked here for over a year and to be honest I never really noticed the coldness of the counters or sat there and said It would really be nice to have a warm countertop to work on. I am inherently cold too. The office is usually a balmy 71-72 degrees every day and I am always cold no matter what. When the talk of this technology came out, we discussed it as a group and not one person said that they ever really cared about the temperature of what their desk was. I can tell where I have been leaning and working because it is slightly warmer. so that tells you the granite does absorb the heat from the room. It is ultimately a want and not a need, unless you have a health issue where the cold causes your arthritis to flare up. Warmer temps do mean possible bacterial growth and it could mess up any food prep that uses pastries and dough.

If you have island seating, it's worthwhile. It's about comfort of the people sitting at the island /leaning their arms on the island.

if you're not leaving food sitting out for hours, I don't think food safety is really an issue.

I'm looking at replacing my countertops and am concerned that stone will be too cold. I cook every day and spend hours at the counter prepping food. Visually the stone countertops are beautiful. Unfortunately, I have arthritis in my hands and the stone feels cold and unpleasant to me so I'm looking at alternatives.

blueroses, I would look at corian as it's not cold. Most anything else would be cold to the touch.

Corian, Laminate, Paperstone and Felix are all options to stone. Corian allows more integrated items like sinks but with zero clearance sinks on the market, a top mount sink can look flush to any surface.

Good luck!

Search countertop heating mats online. I think the brand I have is called Feelswarm. It just sticks under your overhang and warms the stone!