Many owners of private homes today install water heated floors. This is due to the fact that they have a lot of advantages. Firstly, with their help, you can increase the comfort of living in the house. Secondly, additional energy costs are not required. Thirdly, the installation can be carried out independently, without spending money on the services of specialists.
Of all systems, the water circuit has particular advantages. It allows you to distribute warm currents over the entire height of the room, provides hygiene and does not dry out the air. Savings in heating costs can reach 50%.
As one of the methods of installation of such a system, a concrete screed device is used. This approach is the most successful, therefore, it is often abandoned by owners of houses with wooden floors.
The device of a warm water floor is carried out in several stages. To begin with, the rough surface is cleaned of debris and dust. At the next stage, a waterproofing layer is laid. The damper tape is used in the next step. It is located around the perimeter of the room. It compensates for the linear expansion of the material when exposed to heat.
It is important to lay the thermal insulation, which will act as a layer. The next step will be the installation of pipes. The installation of a heated floor of water on a concrete base ends with a check of water circulation. This allows you to remove excess debris, air and construction debris. At the next stage, a reinforcing mesh is laid on the pipes. Close the system with a concrete screed. It can be represented by a semi-dry mixture or a self-leveling composition. Once the rough surface is dry, you can proceed to the installation of the film coating.
What waterproofing to choose
If you decide to use concrete as a rough foundation, then you need to choose a good waterproofing material for it. If leaks occur, the entire system will prevent water from entering down. The most commonly used waterproofing materials are:
- polyethylene film;
- rolled roofing material;
- mastic.
Polyethylene must have a density of 200 microns or higher. As for mastic, it is the most successful waterproofing material. Experts recommend using it when arranging water floors in multi-storey buildings. This layer can be laid in one of several ways.
When it comes to rolled bituminous materials, they are rolled out on a leveled surface. Preparation may be a thin screed or primer. Rolling is carried out indoors. Cloths should be located with an overlap. The bottom surface is heated by the burner and glued to the base. Joints should be given special attention.
The plastic film must be rolled out, providing allowances for the walls around the perimeter. Only 10 cm will be enough. Cloths should be placed with an overlap. 10 cm should be left on the seams. They are connected with tape.
In a wooden house with beam ceilings, it is not recommended to use plastic film. The device of warm water floors in the house can be accompanied by the use of liquid mastic. Its application is carried out with a brush or a construction spray along the perimeter of the room. It is necessary to make a layer of 2 cm. There should not be any gaps. The material must penetrate into all pores, forming a waterproof circuit.
What kind of insulation to use
To date, many types of insulation materials are known, among them it should be highlighted:
- rolled;
- sprayed;
- bulk;
- mats;
- tiled.
For a water floor, it is customary to use extruded polystyrene, mineral wool slabs , polystyrene mats with bosses and rolled foam polyethylene. If the work is carried out in a private wooden house or apartment on the first floor, then the thickness of the insulation should be more than 10 cm.
When the material is laid on the second floor, enough foamed polyethylene with a reflective surface will be enough. Its thickness should be 5 cm. The device of warm water floors in the house provides for the installation of thermal insulation using special technology. If rolled material is used, then it must be laid end-to-end; the joints should be glued with foil tape. On a concrete base, like a wooden surface, mats or boards are laid as tightly as possible to each other. Joints should be glued with tape. The sides are smeared with glue, this increases the strength of the joints.
Polystyrene mats are for sale today. On the surface, they have protrusions called bosses. They are used for laying pipes. If there are no such protrusions, then a reinforcing mesh is laid on top of the insulation, to which the heating elements are fixed.
Pipe Installation Recommendations
The device underfloor heating may include the use of products made of copper, metal or polyethylene. The most popular today are polypropylene, metal-plastic and polyethylene pipes. Copper is expensive. A more dense structure has plastic. But it has one important drawback, which is expressed in creases in those places where the bend is carried out.
Polyethylene pipes are more plastic, but they give off heat much worse. Heating elements are usually laid according to the following methods:
- the snake;
- snail;
- double snake;
- double snail.
The simplest solution is the snake, which is most often used by home craftsmen. 150 mm must be retreated from the walls. A distance of 100 mm must be maintained between the turns. The maximum limit is 300 mm. Pipes should be located closer to each other along the outer walls and near the windows.
When installing a warm water floor in a room with an area of more than 40 m 2 , two or more circuits must be made. For this, a distribution cabinet is provided. For adjacent rooms, one circuit cannot be laid.
Fastening pipes to the insulation
If you purchased mats with spikes, then the heating elements should be located in the grooves, additional fixing is not required. When the surface is smooth, you can use reinforcing mesh, tires or plastic clamps for fastening. In the first case, fixation is carried out with plastic clamps. Clips can also act as fasteners; they are available for different pipe diameters.
The device of a warm water floor necessarily provides for checking the system for leaks after installing the heating elements. To do this, water is supplied to the circuit. The pressure created should be 6 bar. Under such conditions, the system should continue to operate from one day to two. Joints are checked for leaks. If deficiencies were found, then they should be tried to correct promptly.
Types of screeds used
For underfloor heating should not use traditional cement mortar, since its strength is not high enough. This quality can cause thermal cracking. Screed can be:
- wet
- semi-dry;
- self-leveling.
In the first case, we are talking about concrete with the addition of a plasticizer. According to its content, a semi-dry screed is similar to concrete, a smaller volume of water is added to its ingredients. The screed should be raised 5 cm above the pipes. If the floors in a concrete wooden house are not strong enough, then it is better not to use a concrete screed, as it has an impressive weight. You can apply gypsum boards. They are staggered in 2 layers. This technology is suitable for rooms with low ceilings, because the thickness of the “cake” of the floor will not be more than 15 cm.
The device of a warm water floor on a concrete base necessarily provides for the laying of the finish coating, they can be:
- tile;
- parquet;
- linoleum;
- laminate.
As one of the important conditions for the selection is the marking of the material. You should read the manufacturer's recommendations, which indicate whether it is possible to use one or another coating for the system in conjunction with a warm floor. Specialists recommend paying special attention to linoleum and laminate.
Is it possible to lay underfloor heating on the ground
Water heated floor can be laid on the ground, if you use the installation method using a concrete screed. This technology allows you to achieve several goals. You can make a rough floor and prepare the foundation for laying the finish coating. Such a design will include work that is used to prepare concrete slabs in residential and industrial buildings.
If you correctly lay a warm water floor, then you can protect the room from dampness, provide thermal insulation and prevent freezing of the floor, and also prevent the appearance of cracks in the slab after several years of operation.
Features of the device floor on the ground
The device water heated floor on the ground provides for the laying of the cake, which consists of:
- powders;
- crushed stone layer;
- rough screed;
- waterproofing;
- thermal insulation;
- reinforcement;
- finish screed.
Sand is poured onto the base. The thickness of this layer should be approximately 15 cm. The soil is compacted with a vibrating plate. Careful tampering must be ensured to prevent soil subsidence. Sand must be compacted using wet technology. If ground water is located close to the surface, then a drainage system should also be formed.
The device of warm water floors in a private house at the next stage involves laying a layer of crushed stone. Stone or any other similar material is poured onto the compacted layer. It is necessary to carry out its ramming. Instead, claydite is often used. The thickness of this layer with sand should be 30 cm. But the thickness of the rough screed varies from 10 to 15 cm.
Before pouring concrete, it is necessary to lay a reinforcing mesh. If the foundation has a large area, then it will be necessary to provide a compensation distance between the zones. Damper tape is laid in the formed gaps. If you do not use the departments to compensate for the load during installation of the soil base, then in the future this will cause cracking of the screed. Cracks can be eliminated by filling the screed and covering it with a film.
Next, the structure is poured with water every day for a week. The installation of the floor under water warm floors on the ground involves the installation of waterproofing. It is located throughout the plate. The ends of the material should go to the walls 15 cm. After completion of the work, there will be ends that are cut with a paint knife. If the floor will be laid on the ground, then it must be insulated.
If a comparison is made with a conventional screed, then in this case, a screen is installed that will reduce heat loss. Polystyrene plates or polystyrene can act as an insulating layer. Expanded polystyrene for a device for underfloor heating should cover the surface of the screed. The edges of the material should protrude 15 cm. The optimal thickness of the polystyrene used is from 5 to 10 cm.
When work is underway on a soil base, reinforcement is necessarily carried out. At the next stage, you can proceed with the installation of the water circuit. At this stage, a reinforcing mesh is used, it is laid on a rough screed. The fittings serve two purposes. Firstly, it acts as a base for the water circuit. Secondly, it provides reinforcement. This prevents tearing of the finish layer of the screed.
The device of warm water floors with your own hands ends with the laying of the finish screed. For this, cement mortar is used. Beacons should first be placed on the surface, along which the solution will be pulled together and straightened. The finishing screed will be the basis for the decorative coating, therefore high demands are placed on it on the plane.
Underfloor heating under the tile: the main mistakes
If you want to carry out work on bulk soil, then you may make mistakes. Quite often, they cause the destruction of the plate during operation. The phased production of the "pie" must be strictly observed. Experts advise to carry out heat engineering calculation. It allows you to determine the thickness of the powder, the power of the heating system and the characteristics of thermal insulation.
When installing a water heated floor under a tile, you can make a mistake, which is expressed in the absence of compensation gaps. Do not neglect the tamping powder. If the waterproofing is not installed correctly, this can cause freezing of the screed and accumulation of condensate. Damp will form in the room.
On a soil base you must pour sand, then there is a layer of crushed stone. You can use any kind of raw material, but large-sized river sand will be the best solution. The minimum soil density after compaction will depend on atmospheric and weather conditions. These parameters are calculated according to special tables.
The nuances of the work
The installation of warm water floors in an apartment is often accompanied by the need to minimize the height of this system. To achieve the goal, you must completely remove the old screed. The surface is cleaned of debris and leveled so that irregularities in the transverse and longitudinal directions are not more than 5 mm. If this value is exceeded, then self-leveling floors or screed can be used for leveling.
The technology of the device for warm water floors may include the use of lag or beams as a rough surface. Laying a concrete screed in this case is impractical. It is better to perform dry installation. If you abandon the concrete surface, then this will create the prerequisites for the emergence of a temperature zebra on the floor surface. In order to avoid this effect, the wiring diagram is performed in compliance with a certain technical solution. To achieve a good result, it is necessary to reduce the pitch between the pipes. Under them are also reflective surfaces, which are also called deflectors.
Finally
The installation of warm water floors on a concrete screed necessarily involves the use of thermal insulation. If you do not want to use polystyrene, then you can use its analogues. The main thing is that their density is equal to or greater than 25 kg / m 2 . If you prefer a smaller thickness, you should purchase foil insulation with aluminum film as a protection.