Heated Island Counter Top

Boy, today was a day to get a couple of projects finished, which is why it's almost midnight and I'm still not finished packing for my trip to Europe tomorrow.  But that's not the topic of the blog.

Back when we were tossing around design ideas for my house, I came across an article about heating concrete & granite counter tops.  I thought it was a good idea but when I decided to go with the metal top, instead of concrete the whole idea was sort of dropped.  However, after 2 winters with a metal counter top, that can be quite chilly, I decided it was time to revisit the heated idea.  So I did some reading on line.  And then decided to give this product from Thermosoft a try.  It sounded easy to install so I talked to one of the sales guys on line and ordered enough to heat the 'table' half of my kitchen island.

It's basically a felt pad with some heating wires.  They also sent me un-wired pad as filler for the un-heated portions.  Sunday Paul came by and showed me how to get the metal top moved off to expose the wood counter top underneath.  Last night I laid out the padding, and then Don (electrician) came over today and wired it all in.  This required moving an electrical outlet under the counter and installing a thermostat, but it seems to have gone pretty smoothly.

And I have say that I'm going to really like it.  It's not a dramatic change, but it's certainly warmer.  Takes the chill off the metal which will be great this winter.  So I'm happy that this project is done and that I have my island back :-)