How To Choose The Best Technology For Underfloor Heating Without Screed In A Wooden House

2023 Author: Philip Bishop | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-08-25 07:54

• Types of floor without screed
• Benefits
• Application of a decking structure
• Materials
• Polystyrene base
• Wood flooring
• Possible mistakes

Everyone wants to arrange a warm water floor in their room due to the large number of positive qualities and uniform heating of the room from the floor. But not all rooms can afford to fill the concrete floor screed. In this case, a warm floor is equipped without pouring, which reduces the cost of preparing the solution, as well as the installation process and waiting time until it dries completely. In addition, without a screed device, the used space between the ceiling and the floor is not lost, and the whole process takes a short period of time.

Types of floor without screed

This version of the device for a warm water floor is perfect for those rooms where, for certain circumstances, it is not possible to pour a concrete screed. Most often these are wooden buildings, rooms where the ceilings are already very low, and there may also be situations when the problem is in the delivery of concrete to the work site.

There are several options for installing a warm floor without a screed.

There are two types of them:

1. Polystyrene. The basis of the floor is the laying of mats made of a suitable material (polystyrene) In this case, we must not forget about the heating circuit itself, which can be laid according to various schemes. The logs used during installation can be installed not only on the logs, a wooden base, but also a previously made concrete screed to level the surface.
2. Wooden. Here, wooden plates are used, on one side of which there are special channels where pipes are placed. This system can be installed in the same way as polystyrene.

The lightest is the polystyrene system. But in this case, a large load is created on the supporting beams. All these subtleties must be taken into account before the installation process. It will not be superfluous to make preliminary calculations. Aluminum plates are used as fixing elements for pipes of a warm water floor.

In the absence of a concrete screed, it will be necessary to install a layer of thermal insulation. Most often, experts recommend purchasing dry materials, such as mineral wool. There are also more modern products - gypsum fiber.

In addition to sheet material, all types of backfills have excellent thermal insulation qualities.

Technologies do not stand still and are constantly putting on the market an increasing number of new methods and ways to arrange a warm water floor. In it, polyurethane began to be used as an insulating material, but not in its natural form, but by spraying it over the surface. A spray gun is used here.

When we have a wooden base in front of us, then steel galvanized plates are laid on it. Next, the polyethylene backing is laid to prevent the cracking of the parquet boards after they are laid. If linoleum or cable tiles are used as a coating after installing a warm water floor, then GVL sheets are most popular as a substrate.

Benefits

By choosing the option of installing a warm water floor without pouring a screed, everyone will receive a certain set of positive qualities, which include:

• The choice of any base for the heating system.

• There will be no significant reduction in the height of the room due to the insignificant thickness of the entire "pie" of the resulting structure.

  

• Light load on floor slabs or other foundations. Especially important for old buildings or the presence of a wooden house structure.
• Regardless of the type of overlap, this structure can be made, since its total weight almost puts pressure on the base.
• You can proceed to the flooring of the topcoat immediately after installing the selected version of the underfloor heating device without a screed. You don't have to wait for the concrete screed to dry.
• Less appearance of dirt and dust and complete absence of water during operation.

Application of a decking structure

The scope of application of the floor structure is quite wide. But one should remember about the possibilities at which it can be realized. The design decision may not provide for the possibility of reducing the distance from floor to ceiling. In this case, all other elements in the room may suffer.

It is difficult to deliver ready-made concrete to the floors of a multi-storey building. Therefore, here you have to consider other options for arranging a warm concrete floor without pouring a screed. Even on site it is very difficult to mix the required amount of mortar.

It is impossible to make a concrete screed in structures such as frame houses, log houses, as well as panel boards. When using a dry system, the total weight of the structure is reduced by almost 10 times compared to concrete mortar. In the latter case, a height of about 5-7 cm is also added.

But without fail, you will have to arrange waterproofing, since dry material is very susceptible to moisture.

Materials

If there is a need to perform a warm floor without pouring concrete, then you will have to visit a hardware store where you can purchase the appropriate material.

Here, special attention is paid to heating pipes, on top of which it will be necessary to lay a moisture-insulating bedding, to produce flooring of any kind. Even such little things will tell you how to make a high quality water heat-insulated floor.

Among pipes, polypropylene and polyethylene products are in demand. If you want to get high quality and reliability of the whole structure, you will have to spend a little more money and purchase copper pipes or stainless steel pipes.

As a coolant, not only ordinary water can be used, but also antifreeze, since they cannot have any destructive effect.

For thermal insulation, it is better to buy a polystyrene foam plate, which additionally creates a barrier for heat to escape to the lower part. It is very easy to lay pipes on the slab due to the presence of special grooves or protrusions. The step, the arrangement of the elements relative to each other, can be chosen independently based on the purpose of the room itself and the desired result. A lock is used to fix the plates.

Modules can also be made of wood. They are also provided with appropriate channels to make the pipe installation easier. The width of the plate is selected depending on the laying step.

Polystyrene base

First, it is worth deciding which method of installing pipes for the warm water floor system is chosen.

It can be a spiral, a snake, or choose a combination of these schemes in one room to achieve maximum effect.

The thickness for polystyrene boards is usually the standard 30 mm. If you need more insulation layer, you will have to use several layers of material for work. But before that, a high-quality leveling of the base is made. All differences and errors must be eliminated, as well as all possible debris and old screed, old coating, etc.

Plates can be completely different: have grooves, be straight or swivel. Each of them has a special lock with which they are attached to each other. The average pitch of the slabs is 15 cm, but you can buy 30 cm.

In the process of doing the work, the main thing is not to get confused about how exactly to arrange the pipes in the warm water floor system. The complexity of the scheme increases due to the choice of a specific type of slabs. For this purpose, it is necessary to pre-number each slab on the basis of the floor in order to correctly make their flooring. But the bottom line will be more effective.

The material for insulation requires metal plates to be laid before placing the pipes of the water-heated floor system. It's always worth sticking to your plan. After that, lay the substrate on top, on which the finishing is arranged. For floors other than parquet and laminate, certain rules must be followed. A dry screed is made under the tile from plywood sheets, drywall or chipboard sheets.

Wood flooring

This technology is intended mainly for wooden buildings. There are also several methods here:

1. Rack base.
2. Based on modules.

It is the second option that is more popular due to the use of plates in which the grooves for the pipeline are already provided. In addition, work without screed significantly reduces the time frame for completing work. With a great rush, some will not be able to wait for the solution to dry completely and lay the pipeline. But in no case should you mount a warm water floor in a finished screed.

Previously, on the basis of the floor, the location of the lag is made with the selected step. A material for hydro and thermal insulation is laid between them. On top, at a distance of 20 mm, wood slabs are mounted. This distance must be maintained to compensate for expansion from elevated temperatures.

For the slatted method, you will need to carefully prepare the subfloor. The pipe installation scheme should be foreseen in advance and followed during the installation process. The laths are laid out with a consistent distance to fix the circuit pipes located on a metal plate.

The topcoat can be of completely different thicknesses. With a thickness of up to 10 mm, it can be placed on top of the plates, but do not forget about the sound insulation layer. For the tile, prepare the surface: lay chipboard or drywall sheets. In this case, the joints must be processed to obtain a flat surface without flaws. It is under the tiles that they basically arrange a warm floor in order to thoroughly warm it up in the kitchen, in the bathroom.

Possible mistakes

In the process of installing a warm water floor, it is not uncommon for mistakes made by masters, especially beginners. To avoid this, you should consult with specialists and clarify with them all possible difficulties of work, how to get a warm floor that does not require a screed.

To get an answer on how to make underfloor heating without a concrete screed, initially it is worth measuring the entire structure. This is also done at the end of the work.

Many people forget about it or consider it inappropriate. In reality, the stage allows you to find serious violations that can be eliminated before manifestation. If you leave everything as it is, then over time, in any case, a breakdown will appear, or more energy will be consumed. In this case, the possible subsequent pressure on the subfloor is carefully calculated.

Temperature sensors will need to be replaced over time. If they are located in the depths of the structure, then there will be problems to get them, and then install a new one. In addition, it will be easier to periodically check its serviceability if access to it is open.

You should not be in a hurry during the installation of a warm water floor system. This is especially important if the installation of a water-heated floor is carried out in a clay screed or other wet screed, when it takes time for the mortar to set. Premature engagement of the system will damage the entire structure.

The correct screed for a water-heated floor does not tolerate savings. Good materials will produce a truly effective system that will extend your life. Low-quality products will lead to early breakdowns, failure of individual components. More money will be spent on repairs than buying quality products in advance, but at a higher price.

Having chosen a certain technology for installing a warm water floor, you must follow it to the very end. The process itself does not tolerate deviations and will only lead to damage to the entire circuit or its individual sections. But this option of installation without a screed allows you to get a lightweight structure on which you can easily make the flooring of any type of flooring.

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