Laying A Warm Water Floor Under The Tiles

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

• Underfloor heating installation options
• Foundation preparation
• Installation of the collector group
• Hydro and thermal insulation of the base
• Fixing heating circuits
• System testing
• Filling the screed
• Laying tiles
• The cost

Basically, a water-type floor heating system is used for a private house. In addition, ceramic tiles are most often chosen as the flooring. It creates a beautiful appearance, but at the same time has excellent thermal conductivity. In this case, a tiled floor requires careful heating, which is easily handled by a warm floor. Conventional radiator heating cannot transfer enough heat to the base to make it comfortable to walk on. Underfloor heating and tiles go very well with each other. There are different systems for installing water floors.

Underfloor heating installation options

Initially, you should think about how best to install a warm floor, which option to choose for this.

The flooring can be made with a floor screed, the flooring method (without a concrete screed device), as well as on wooden logs (installation is carried out on the top of the log). Each of them has its own characteristics and subtleties in work.

For a concrete screed, you will need to purchase a certain set of materials for work. All that will be needed in the future is to fill the construction of a water-heated floor under the tiles with cement mortar. Moreover, everything must correspond to the technology. If there are defects or voids in the base, you will have to do all the work again. When the screed is laid, it takes time for complete drying. Only then can the tiles be laid on the tile adhesive. In order for the heat to be evenly distributed over the entire surface of the floor, the thickness of the adhesive layer and the tile itself must be even.

In the flooring method, polystyrene plates are used, which have aluminum plates with grooves, into which the pipeline is placed with a selected fastening step.

The costs in this case are minimal, and the very process of laying a warm water floor under the tiles does not take much time. If it will be necessary to lay the covering, then it is best to use a moisture-resistant material, such as gypsum fiber sheets, as a base. Polystyrene is more suitable for laminate or parquet.

For wooden houses, the device of underfloor heating on logs is in demand. Two more subspecies are also distinguished here - rack or modular. When the installation is complete, gypsum fiber sheets are laid on top of the entire structure, after which it is given the opportunity to lay the tiles.

Foundation preparation

When you have the necessary amount of material on hand for work, especially for the components of a warm water floor,

you can begin preparatory measures. The surface must be free of foreign objects, debris, dust, etc. Each stage of pouring a screed under and on a warm floor requires strict adherence to technology. Each stage should provide a perfectly flat surface.

The filling process will depend on the choice. When choosing a warm water floor, which one can best be advised by experts in this direction of construction. In addition, they will be able to suggest the sequence of all work, even at the stage of preparation.

Installation of the collector group

In addition, all components of the warm water floor must be distributed. It starts with the installation of the collector itself in the collector cabinet.

The cabinet can be located anywhere, which is more convenient. But still it is mounted on the wall, strictly vertically so that it is above the level of the underfloor heating contour. It will be possible to connect several circuits to it, if necessary. This is most often done when there is a large area of the room. All heating pipes are connected to the main source, and devices are installed to regulate pressure and temperature conditions. There is also a circulation pump that allows you to constantly supply the coolant along the floor heating circuit.

The system can be turned off completely using specially installed valves. The collector itself is attached to this valve.

Hydro and thermal insulation of the base

High-quality heat and waterproofing should be arranged under the warm water floor, on which the tiles will subsequently be laid. For waterproofing, sheets of aluminum foil or polyethylene films are perfect. The insulation can be polystyrene, on one side of which an aluminum film is attached. By the way, the last material will be enough to perform both functions of the base under the warm floor.

It should be noted that a warm water floor is better than radiator batteries. He will not be able to spoil the aesthetic appearance, and will create a comfortable environment.

We must not forget here about the damper tape, which in finished form can be purchased at a hardware store. It should be fixed on the wall along the perimeter of the room at the level of the future concrete screed. The thickness is usually taken at 5-8 mm, and the height is up to 15 cm. One cannot be afraid to fix a larger amount of it. Subsequently, everything is very easily cut off with a knife. When making your own tape, it is best to attach it to the wall with self-tapping screws for reliability. This is all done for the reason that when heated, concrete tends to expand by about 0.5 mm for each meter of surface.

Fixing heating circuits

Insulation is best purchased for a warm water floor.

This is due to the fact that it has corresponding grooves into which the pipeline is fastened. But at the same time, it is very important to purchase the correct version of pipes for the installation of a heated floor. There is a huge range of them on the market. In addition to metal-plastic, there are also copper and stainless steel. But nevertheless, the material of cross-linked polyethylene, which has a sufficient set of positive qualities and performance characteristics, is of greater interest and popularity.

When there are no such grooves, then a layer of reinforcement is arranged, to which the pipes of the entire system are fixed. An additional layer of reinforcement can be installed on top of the pipes. In this case, the reliability of the entire structure is significantly increased.

There are other options for attaching the pipeline to the poured concrete screed. These are various fasteners in the form of clamps, latches. In any case, you should adhere to the installation technology, which indicates that the pipes should be located no closer than 10-15 cm from the walls in the room. In addition, the standard step is selected at 10-12 cm. The length of the loops should not exceed 10 cm.

An important stage is the choice of a specific scheme that allows you to fix the pipeline on the base of the floor. It can be not only purely "snake" or "snail", but also combined, when both options are combined in one room. In the latter case, everything is done to improve the quality and efficiency of the entire underfloor heating system. Since the "snake" does not have all the positive qualities due to the presence of a warm floor only in the area of the coolant outlet, experts recommend arranging a double "snake". All this should be previously displayed on the circuit diagram, so that later it would be easier to connect it to the collector. In addition, this option will make it possible to correctly and accurately calculate the number of floor heating components. For a more accurate calculation, use the warm water floor calculator.

System testing

If the system is arranged, before pouring the concrete screed, it should be checked for operability and tightness of all connections. Pressure testing (hydraulic test) is in progress.

This stage will allow you to detect all defects in the installation of a warm water floor, which could subsequently appear after laying the tiles.

The entire system must be filled with water at a pressure that is about half the normal operating pressure. You can additionally use an air compressor for better results. Everything is carried out for at least a day. The main thing is that nothing manifests itself. Better to wait an extra day, but be sure that everything works fine. Otherwise, when the tile is already on the surface, you will have to dismantle it and dismantle the screed at the hotel area in order to make repairs. But it will be problematic to eliminate all this on your own without extra costs.

Filling the screed

For tiles, the main thing is to arrange a high-quality concrete screed. Usually it is 30-60 mm in height. It is worth remembering that the floor covering can only be installed after about 1 month after pouring the mortar.

During this time, it dries up and the cement sets. In some cases, measures are taken to accelerate the drying process. To do this, a heater is turned on in the room, but its temperature should not be more than 25-30 degrees. Otherwise, the surface will dry out and dry unevenly. But the best option in this case is natural drying, when there is additional screed care. Better to wait an extra week and not worry about quality.

The self-leveling mixture will allow to reduce the time spent on pouring the floor screed over the warm floor for laying the tiles. It will be ready 10 days after the end of the installation. More accurate time frames are written on the packaging from the manufacturer, which should be familiarized with before carrying out work.

Laying tiles

There are no special conditions for laying tiles on a warm water floor. Here they correspond to any other surfaces.

It is important not to turn on the warm floors immediately after installation and to monitor the temperature during operation.

A special tile adhesive for underfloor heating is used as a binder. It must be able to be used in a floor heating system. Conventional adhesives will not be able to withstand constant temperature changes, especially at uncontrolled fluid temperatures.

The glue is applied with a notched trowel. The height of the teeth depends on the layer of the tile connecting element and the floor. Once the adhesive has been applied to the back of the tile, it should be pressed against the floor surface and pressed a little, holding for a while. It will not be superfluous to surface horizontally using a building level. In some cases, you will have to press one of the sides closer to the base in order to squeeze out excess glue.

For the evenness of the seams between the elements of the tiles, special crosses are used, which can be of different widths. They are installed after laying the tiles on a warm water floor in the corners. Subsequently, they are removed, and when the glue dries, grouting is performed. The glue can dry for even two days. All this is also spelled out in the recommendations from the manufacturer.

In the process of laying tiles on the base of a concrete screed on a warm floor, the entire system should not be in working order. Everything turns off until the end of the work. The warm floor turns on after the tiles have been laid and the glue has completely dried. When the grouting is done, the full functioning and heating of the floor in the room begins.

The cost

As for the cost of not only the warm water floor system, but also the tiles laid on the surface, then everything will depend on certain factors:

1. Purchased material for installation, manufacturer, brand, quality. But no one recommends saving on such a system. After all, everything is done not for a year or two, but for decades ahead. It is better to purchase everything of high quality once, than to spend money on repair work later.
2. Collector group cost. More expensive product options have the ability to automatically adjust the room temperature and loop pressure.
3. Work on the installation of a concrete screed, completely leveling all surfaces.
4. Installation of underfloor heating, which is often carried out by specialized teams.

Average price indicators for each square meter of warm water floor is 1500-3000 rubles. This includes the material and all installation work. If the work will be carried out not only in one room, but in a house with a large area, then the cost of work will be somewhat reduced. The total cost should be calculated individually. A profitable warm floor will be obtained by independently performing the entire process from start to finish. But for this, the necessary amount of experience and knowledge.

The floor covering in the form of a tile, as well as the water-heated floor itself, interact perfectly with each other. The latter carries out high-quality heating of the material, and the tile itself is excellent for walking on it with bare feet.

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