As an additional means of heating the bath, you can choose a floor heating system. The work involves the implementation of several stages, including preparatory work. In order to lay the underfloor heating in the bath yourself, you need to choose one of the options below.
Pros and cons of underfloor heating
Among the advantages of the system can be distinguished uniform heating of the surface over the entire area of the room. In addition, the room will not be cluttered with unnecessary heating devices, which take up a lot of space. For oversized baths, this issue is most relevant. Once you install the underfloor heating system, you can save on the cost of electricity. But there are also certain disadvantages, which are expressed in the complexity of installation, as well as in the mandatory use of a water pump. Among other things, problems with system maintenance may occur.
After you install the underfloor heating in the bath with your own hands, the pipes during operation can fail, and it will be quite difficult to detect a breakdown, especially if laying was done under a concrete base. It is worth considering that steel pipes can subsequently be damaged by corrosion. That is why it is recommended to use metal-plastic or polybutylene. The service life of such materials reaches 50 years.
Types of underfloor heating systems
Do-it-yourself floor heating in the bathhouse can be laid using one of two technologies. So, you can mount the system under a concrete floor. In this case, it will be necessary to use a monolithic screed. Such work involves the application of a sufficiently large number of forces from financial costs. You will have to perform some actions, for the implementation of which you must have certain skills. It will only be possible to start laying the finish coating after the concrete screed has completely dried. This can take about a month, which stretches the laying of floors in time. The drying period of the screed will depend on the thickness.
Do-it-yourself underfloor heating in a bathhouse can be equipped using another technology called flooring. In this case, it will be necessary to use ready-made materials that simplify the task and shorten the repair period. In this case, more will be spent. This technology can be divided into three methods of work. The first involves the use of a modular wooden system, the second - polystyrene, the third - rack and pinion.
Preparatory work
Before you make a warm floor in the bathhouse with your own hands, you need to prepare the surface, which is true, whatever technology you choose. The floor will need to be freed from the old flooring, leveled, ensuring the relative smoothness of the surface, so that the entire area does not have height differences of more than 5 millimeters. If there are deviations from this indicator, then you will need to level the floor with a screed.
Concrete laying technology
If you are thinking about how to make a warm floor in the bath with your own hands, then you can choose the concrete technology for the work. To begin with, a layer of insulation will need to be laid on the prepared surface, which will prevent heat from moving to the other side. When choosing insulation material, you need to ensure that its thickness is not less than 30 millimeters. It is important to pay attention to the density, which should be equal to 35 kg / m 3 , but not less. Most often, polystyrene or polystyrene is chosen to carry out these works. It is recommended to use ready-made mats that have special clamps. With their help, it will be possible to produce work most simply.
When a water heated floor is installed in the bathhouse with your own hands, in the next step it will be necessary to lay a damper tape around the perimeter of the room, which will be able to compensate for the thermal expansion of the concrete screed. Next, a plastic film is laid. After that, you can proceed with the installation of the reinforcing mesh, to which the pipes of the warm floor system will be strengthened with the help of clamps. Corrugated pipe will protect the expansion joints. In some cases, a reinforcing mesh is laid on top of it, which allows you to strengthen the structure.
Features of pipe laying
Homemade underfloor heating in a bathhouse should be equipped only after you have chosen a pipe laying scheme. Considering the scheme of a water heated floor, you can choose a spiral arrangement of elements. They can be laid in the form of a snake. At the same time, about 5 meters of pipe will go per square meter of floor, which is true if the installation step is equivalent to 20 cm. Pipes can be laid with a snail if the room has an overall area. But spiral laying guarantees an even temperature distribution.
Hydraulic test
At the next stage of the work, it will be necessary to test the system. Before the screed is filled in, it is necessary to eliminate the defects. Hydraulic tests should last one day, while maintaining pressure within 4 bar. After checking, you can proceed to pouring concrete screed. Its thickness should be 3-15 centimeters higher compared to laid pipes. The concrete screed after pouring should be left for 28 days, while the underfloor heating system should not be turned off, but the water temperature in the pipes should not be high.
If you decide to make a warm floor in the bath, then after the completion of the drying phase, you can increase the temperature. At the last stage, you can proceed to the masonry of the finish coating.
Polystyrene floor heating system
This technology has the advantage that is expressed in the absence of the need for work with concrete mortar. Due to this, it will be possible to maintain the height of the ceilings. The system will be based on polystyrene plates, which will act as a heat-insulating material. These plates are mounted in tandem with aluminum plates, on which heat is distributed. In these plates, which have special recesses, pipes are fixed. A plasterboard sheet is attached over this design. First you need to prepare the base, which involves cleaning and aligning it. After installation, polystyrene plates are installed, then aluminum plates are laid, which should cover about 80 percent of the floor area. Heated floors in the bathhouse with their own hands from the bottles are quite often equipped. This allows you to save money and get a durable system.