Self-adhesive radiant heating underlayment and apparatus for manufacture

An apparatus for making a self adhering heated underlayment, said apparatus comprising:

• first and second rollers positioned in a parallel opposed relationship to one another to define an inlet nip and an outlet nip, said rollers operative to rotate in a cooperative manner to draw a first membrane, a flexible heating element and a second membrane into said inlet nip;
• a first release sheet cutter arrangement adapted to cut a first release sheet covering a lower adhesive surface of said first membrane at first and second locations between lateral edges of said first membrane and remove a first strip portion of said first release sheet between said first and second locations as said first membrane is drawn into said inlet nip;
• a second release sheet cutter arrangement adapted to cut a second release sheet covering an upper adhesive surface of said second membrane at first and second locations between lateral edges of said second membrane and remove a second strip portion of said second release sheet between said first and second locations as said second membrane is drawn into said inlet nip;
• wherein said inlet nip compresses a first adhesive surface of said first membrane exposed by oval of said first strip portion of said first release sheet to an upper surface of said flexible heater element in conjunction with compressing a second adhesive surface of said second membrane exposed by removal of said second strip portion of said second release sheet to a lower surface of said heater element.