What doe it mean when you have a hot spot under the tiled floor?

[Baitball Blogger]

There is a hot spot across four tiles in my house which are peculiar, temperature-wise. Even the dog has noticed it because it sleeps on that spot when it gets cold. My hubby says the dog's body heat makes the spot warm, but I don't buy it because it stays warm for a very long time.

So, what do you think? If it were a pipe, wouldn't it run across the floor?

[Incitatus]

1. You say it stays warm for a long time, so it's now always warm?

Is there by chance sunlight hitting that spot through a window or skylight during the day? It could be that or a leaky how water pipe under the house. Is all your duct work in the attic?

[Baitball Blogger]

3. It gets absolutely no sunlight.

Last night I tested it because I locked into memory the four tiles, but those were cold. However, a few feet away I found another warm spot, though it wasn't as prominent.

Also, I came out at night, when the house is at its coldest, and the dog was sleeping on the four tiles again.

[Denninmi]

2. Well, I guess the first question is, what exactly is under the spot?

I can't see a dog always lying on the exact same spot, I guess it's possibly, but all of the dogs I've had move around a lot when sleeping, wake up, move, go back to sleep, repeat process.

I would think there has to be something under there, either plumbing, mechanical, or electrical, that generates heat. Hopefully it's not something defective that will start a fire. Probably not if this has been going on a while.

What is under the floor? Basement, another story of the house, crawl space, slab? What room is this in -- kitchen and bathroom are more likely to have some kind of utilities to service sinks, tubs, etc.

[Baitball Blogger]

4. It is solid Florida sand under the concrete floor below the tiles.

It is one of the spots where it likes to lay down. She has about three which she rotates around.

I hope it's not a leaking hot water pipe because that would bring on termites.

[aikoaiko]

5. If its Florida, it could be a sinkhole opening up to the fires of Hades.

It's the best I have.

[marzipanni]

6. I copied and pasted my reply to a cat bed thread a year ago...

My mom's cousin had a much higher electric bill than usual. The utility company put a meter on her refrigerator and checked other electrical appliances- found nothing that could be the cause. But mom's cousin had noticed, and found it very odd, that her cat liked to sleep on one spot of the concrete patio near the gate, so she felt the spot- it was very warm, although that spot was always in the shade of a big tree. It turned out that electricity was "leaking" out of buried wiring for the walkway lights and heating up the ground. The repairman knew just where to dig , thanks to the cat!

I'm wondering if a similar thing might be going on at your house since sand is under the concrete pad. How old is the house?
Do you recall when you noticed the dog had started sleeping there so much? Could you compare water and gas/electricity bills from a year ago, or before this was happening?

[Baitball Blogger]

8. What a great idea.

I wonder if there's some kind of metal detector that would pick it up?

[hobbit709]

7. If you got a slab floor with buried water pipes in it, it could be the hot water pipe.

I've noticed that in my house and when I look at the location in relation to the water heater, it's right in line

[Baitball Blogger]

9. I'm not sure how I would figure this out, but, it's worth a try.

[rzemanfl]

20. We had the same thing going on. It was a pinhole leak in the hot water pipe.

If you have city water you can determine whether there's a leak by turning off all faucets, etc. in the house and looking at the water meter. If it is still showing water being used, there's a leak.


Good luck. We ended up re-plumbing the whole house to the tune of about four grand after an earlier repair lasted a few years.

[Baitball Blogger]

21. This is going to sound bizarre, but I haven't felt that hot spot since the dog died.

[rzemanfl]

22. What's bizarre is me posting to a thread from 2012!

Following a newbie posting to a thread that was over six years old. Sorry about your dog.

[Baitball Blogger]

23. I was going to ask, how does that happen?

How does a newbie find a post that old?

[rzemanfl]

24. Patience? I don't know. I clicked on their first post, saw your question

related it to my experience and was off to the races without noting the date.

[HopeHoops]

10. Do you have a stud-finder with an electrical setting?

If so, run it across the floor looking for electrical signals. If there's one under that spot, you've got a serious fucking problem.

[Baitball Blogger]

12. Sounds like an idea.

It's not always there. I can only find it at night when the tiles are real cold.

[HopeHoops]

14. Get a Zircon. They work. I've used one for years. If it's electrical, it's a major problem.

If it's just the hot water pipe, you can find it with the same device and that isn't a problem. Electrical will burn the whole fucking house down. The multi-detector unit is your best friend. My kids all know how to use it to avoid studs (or find them) and avoid electrical lines. It's a good skill.

[DryHump]

11. Decaying

Jimmy Hoffa. I've called the Feds.

[Baitball Blogger]

13. I'm thinking, it's the spirit of the gopher turtle that was buried alive.

[lastlib]

17. Mitch?? Mitch McConnell?? Come outa there, you old scamp!!

I WONDERED where he had been lately.......

[TrogL]

15. either your house is on fire or you've got a hot spring under the house

Also, as above, check your wiring.

[bluedigger]

16. I don't know, but I'd keep a plumber, an electrician, and a Priest on speed dial.

Good Luck!

[lastlib]

18. ...and an exorcist...

(just in case....)

[alpaca0064477766]

19. RELATABLE

my neighbors house is ghetto, he had a fire in the garage only the garage in 2011 and he said the house was haunted because of electrical problems, light bulb would burn out fast, microwave turned on randomly etc. Then my current neighbor has this floor hot spot problem right in front of the toilet in the master bathroom, what do you think it is. i know this is 7 yrs later reply pls. I just wanna know my neighbors house isnt haunted because im not a fan of that crap.