2023 Author: Philip Bishop | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-06-03 21:41
- Device
- DIY installation
- Polystyrene water underfloor heating system
To feel all the charm of the coziness and comfort of your apartment, the premises you need a warm water floor, which you can easily install with your own hands. It is not as easy as it seems at first glance. If you are not well versed in this type of work, then you better turn to specialists. Well, if you decide to do it all yourself, then this information is for you, we will figure out which device, the technology of laying and installation on our own and photo instructions. See also how to choose a warm floor correctly.
First of all, you need to draw up a project, then make all the necessary calculations related to the load of the heating
system, moreover, for each room separately. It is optimal to correctly calculate the contours of the water floor. All these works should be carried out by people with experience in arranging such structures.
Experience shows that the device of a warm water floor is best suited for country-type buildings. In city buildings, you will face a number of problems associated with installation and connection to the central heating system. This is prohibited by law.
The advantages include the fact that by using warm water floors, your electricity consumption will significantly decrease, which means that your cash costs will also decrease. In addition, the electromagnetic radiation that we receive in huge quantities will bypass you and your loved ones.
Properly designed water floors have an advantage over electric floors, as the heat in the room will be evenly distributed.
Device
For each room it is necessary to select the optimal floor heating system. And, as you know, there are three of them.
- Installation using concrete screed.
- Installation without concrete screed - floor technology. Here it is a little more complicated, since the flooring (linoleum, tiles, laminate, etc.) is laid through additional waterproofing (foamed polyethylene, cardboard) on aluminum sheets.
- The last type is wooden. This is the installation of a warm water floor on floor slabs or on wooden blocks - logs.
The complete set of a warm floor looks like this: a flooring made of heat-insulating material, metal-plastic or polymer pipes, fasteners, a set of couplings, locknuts for a connection, a pump that creates pressure and circulation, and a concluding element - a concrete screed and the floor itself.
DIY installation
The first technology is concrete. It is the most commonly used among all other types. Experience shows that warm water floors can be made by a person who is at least a little versed in plumbing and construction and who has instructions at hand. Let's take a look at this mounting technology.
What is needed for this. First of all, we do the layout of our premises. Sectors should be approximately 40 m 2. In this case, the parameters affecting the temperature characteristics of the concrete screed will be compensated.
Then, on the floor slabs, we lay polystyrene or polystyrene foam as an insulating material. Thermal insulation is needed so that there is no heat loss. To compensate for the thermal expansion of the screed, we lay a special tape along the walls. The next step will be to lay out the reinforcement mesh, which is a fastening and fixing element for pipes.
Now we turn to pipe distribution and laying. Many are worried about how to make a water-heated floor with their own hands so that the heat spreads evenly. It's simple. The pipes can be laid as you like, but basically they are laid in a spiral or snake, shifting the center, with a shell. The photo below shows the main options for laying water floor pipes.
After laying the pipes, we proceed to their fastening to the reinforcement mesh, using special clamps at a distance of 90-100 cm. To avoid deformations, the clamps should not be tightened strongly. Since bodies expand when heated, therefore, our pipes can also fail.
For reference: according to the technology, the pipes are laid from each other at a distance of 10-35 cm, from the wall, the pipe of the water floor must be at a certain distance and the return temperature of the water heated floors depends on this.
Assembly. We insert and fix the first end of the pipe into the supply manifold. Then, based on the project, we lay along the contours of the pipes and fix them in the above way. The length of the spiral should be approximately 50-60 meters. Having completed the work with the first circuit, we insert the end of the pipe into the return manifold. The manifold should have as many outlets as you are going to lay out the circuits.
To avoid problems in the future, the installation of a warm water floor must be performed according to the instructions. When pipes cross the expansion joint located between the contours, a corrugated hose or corrugated pipe should be used.
Having finished the work related to the assembly and fasteners, we check the system for leaks. To do this, it is necessary to fill the pipes with water and create a pressure 1.5 times higher than normal (0.6 MPa). It will be better if specialists are engaged in this check.
When the installation of a warm water floor is completed, you can proceed to work with the screed. There are many mixtures used specifically for warm floors, for example, Teplolux-Glims - one of the recommended ones. When installing a screed, the pressure in the pipes must be working. As a result, your floor will rise by 5-7 cm.
Polystyrene water underfloor heating system
This system is intended for rooms with low ceilings, consisting of polystyrene boards, into the grooves of which heat distribution plates are inserted.
Stages of overlay layers depending on the topcoat - laminate, parquet or tile
| 1b. Topcoat (tiles) | |
| 2a. Substrate (expanded polyethylene, cardboard, etc.) | 2b. Prefabricated screed (GVL, CSP, etc.) |
| 3. Laying underfloor heating pipes | 3. Laying underfloor heating pipes |
| 4. Installation of aluminum plates | 4. Installation of aluminum plates |
| 5. Polystyrene pipe inserts with grooves | 5. Polystyrene pipe inserts with grooves |
| 6. Base | 6. Base |
Thus, the installation of a thermal water floor with your own hands will be carried out using the following technology: Thermal insulation is laid on the floor slabs. You need to start laying from the corner, and in accordance with your plan, evenly distribute all the polystyrene boards in the room. Further, these plates are fitted with heat distribution plates. Upon completion of laying the slabs, carefully insert the pipes of the contours into the mounting slots. They will now be flush with the plates. Checking can be done without a screed. And if everything is fine, we remove the temporarily laid finishing floor and make a screed. Wooden water-heated floor system.
This technology is well suited for timber construction. In such a house it is not difficult to make warm water floors with your own hands. Mineral wool or polystyrene is laid between the wooden logs, which serve as thermal insulation.
You can apply a modular type of system. This is a chipboard structure with already prepared pipe channels.
Or, the rack system, by the way, is not complicated either. Between the chipboard plates, pre-screwed to the base with self-tapping screws, plates and pipe contours are laid. The width of the chipboard slats should be within 150-300 mm. The photo shows in detail the technology and device for laying a wooden water floor system. In principle, there is nothing complicated, with your own hands you can do everything exactly the same.
The finishing floor is laid on top of aluminum sheets, on a waterproofing material. Before proceeding with the installation of linoleum or laminate, a gypsum fiber gasket is laid on the aluminum plates.
Thus, you learned the device of a warm water floor and its installation can be done by hand, without resorting to the help of specialists, if you have knowledge in this area and use this instruction from the website for repairing an apartment with your own hands. Stay tuned and find out a lot of useful information on repair. Leave your comment or share your experience.
