How To Lay A Pipeline For Floor Heating

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

Definition
Pros and cons
Installation prohibition
Foundation preparation
Material calculation and selection
Installation of a collector and a heating boiler
Fixing pipes
Underfloor heating screed

In order not to find yourself on the cold tiles after taking a shower, you should arrange correctly a system of warm floors in the apartment. To do this, you will need to know certain points and nuances that you should pay attention to during the installation process. In addition to directly installing a warm water floor, to complete it, you will need to perform a high-quality screed. Floors under a warm water floor can be of completely different content. Everything comes from specific circumstances.

Definition

Underfloor heating is generally referred to as one of the possible heating systems in the rooms of the living quarters. The main feature is that the circuit of the system piping is located in the floor space, and is not fixed to the walls, as with radiator heating. This option brings a large number of positive moments, which attracts many performers.

The beginning of the consideration of the installation of a warm floor and a screed device should be focused on traditional options for heating systems, which are often located under the windows in the room. After heating, the air from the radiators goes upstairs, that is, to the ceiling. It follows from this that the bulk of the heat will be located near the heating devices themselves, as well as at a height as high as possible to the ceiling. At the same time, almost no warm air enters the floor. As a result, you have to stomp on the cold floor covering, which is very unpleasant after a shower or coming from a cold street.

The technology of the device for a warm water floor considers all this from a completely different side, taking into account all the shortcomings and complaints of users. Hot air begins to radiate from the floor and rise upward. Consequently, it is the base that receives the bulk of the high temperatures. It is very pleasant to walk, and one feels comfortable in the room, since the heat does not leave high, but is kept at a distance of about 2-2.5 meters from the floor. Near the ceiling itself are the lowest room temperatures.

As for the cost, the water version will be somewhat larger in installation than, for example, an electric one. But the operation process is much simpler and less expensive. It can act not only as the main source of heat in the room, but also as an additional one. At the same time, it is very important to correctly and in compliance with the technology to fill the screed.

Pros and cons

Installation of a warm water floor has both its advantages and disadvantages, which everyone should know about, that he wants to arrange such a system in his home.

In addition to the fact that the temperature in the room is distributed evenly, starting from the very base and over the entire area, much less money is spent on heating, even if these are large rooms. Energy savings can be almost halved if rooms have high ceilings of more than three meters. It makes no sense to let warm air there, which is concentrated exclusively at the level of a person's growth.

No heating devices, as well as their connection with each other, will not be noticeable. Everything is very neatly hidden in the base of the floor, where a concrete screed or any other version of it is made. You will have to spend a few times on the device of a water heated floor, so that later you can enjoy comfort and coziness for a long time.

The disadvantages of using such a system include the complex installation process. If you perform such work for the first time, then a large number of shortcomings can be made, which will appear already in the first days of heating the room. This suggests that it is best to pay attention to the services of specialists who will not only perform high-quality installation, but will also give a guarantee. The main thing is to use proven materials from leading manufacturers in the work and pay special attention to the pipeline.

Installation prohibition

Before starting the installation of a water floor, you should familiarize yourself with the recommendations for its implementation, as well as find out the moments when there are restrictions on its installation in specific living quarters. It is most popular in private buildings. In addition, it is usually laid in apartment buildings as the main heating system. There won't be any problems here either.

If there is a desire to complete everything in the apartment and at the same time there is a direct selection of the heat carrier from the central heating, as well as hot water supply, then a ban has been introduced. If, in this case, a water heat-insulated floor is used, then in the general scheme the pressure will begin to drop significantly, as well as the temperature regime of the coolant. An exception is the use of a heat exchanger. In any case, it will be necessary to agree on the adoption of such a responsible decision with the operating organization. They will not always give a positive answer.

It is also important to choose a flooring option that will be on top of an arranged water heated floor. There should not be any low-quality components in them, as they will very quickly lose their original presentable appearance, and also begin to deteriorate. This is more true for parquet and laminate. It is not uncommon for heating to emit an unpleasant odor from the floor covering. The low efficiency of the underfloor heating system will be in the case of using materials with high heat-insulating ability. These include carpet or the same parquet. It will not be superfluous to generally get advice from specialists or a store representative on the choice of high-quality material for flooring on top of a water-heated floor system.

It is important to understand that the heating system of an apartment reaches a temperature of 80 ⁰ degrees, and 40 ^{0 is} enough for a warm floor

Foundation preparation

The device of a water-heated floor begins with preparatory measures. First of all, you should think about the complete dismantling of the old coating and floor screed. You do not always know and visually see what is in the thickness of the old screed and under it. Therefore, it is best to get rid of it completely and re-fill. This will be much safer and more efficient.

At the very first stage, you should make high-quality floors for a warm water floor. They must fully correspond to the horizontal level. This is especially true for areas with significant elevation differences. The choice of the screed option depends on the contractor and specific requirements.

We must not forget about the waterproofing layer, which should be located exclusively on a clean and prepared surface. In addition, a damper tape is attached around the perimeter of the room. It should be located along the line between the contours, if there are several of them in a heated floor of a water type. All these subtleties are necessary in order to protect the screed itself from destruction as a result of thermal expansion.

The material for warming the base will fully depend on the purpose of the warm floor, as well as its location:

A thicker layer will have to be bought when installing thermal insulation on the first floor, where an unheated basement is additionally located below. The thickness can be up to 100 mm. In order to spend less money, a layer of expanded clay is also poured, on top of which sheets, such as expanded polystyrene, are laid.
If there is a heated room below the level of the floor where the water floor is being installed, then it is enough to choose a layer of expanded polystyrene up to 50 mm high. The main thing is that the thickness is such that it will cope with negative manifestations.
There may be cases of installing a water floor as an additional heating system. In this case, you can take foamed polyethylene with a foil coating. It is the latter that will allow you to retain heat and direct it into the room from the base of the floor.

After the insulation layer, the reinforcing layer follows. With its help, the screed feels more reliable, which will cover the entire underfloor heating system with all components. It is possible to fasten the underfloor heating pipeline to the reinforcement mesh using special fastening elements.

Material calculation and selection

In order to determine exactly how much material will have to be bought in order to complete the installation of a water floor, you should first draw a plan for the location of the elements on the floor. For this, a sheet of paper is used, on which the parameters of the room are transferred in strict proportions to scale. Reflected on the paper are pieces of furniture that are more likely to remain in their places in the end, as well as other components, under which you will not have to install the underfloor heating system. All these sections must be bypassed with a pipe. At the same time, a specific scheme for the implementation of a warm floor is selected, as well as a technology for pouring a screed and a floor covering. As a result, it remains only to put on the paper the execution of fastening the pipes on the base, to calculate their total length. After that, the result is multiplied by the selected scale.

As for other components of the entire system, you can even buy a complete set, which will include:

Water heating boiler.
Distribution pipes and pipes to be located on the surface.
The delivery pump, which is most often part of the purchased boiler.
Fittings, connecting elements, fasteners.
Collector.
Ball valves, etc.

The complete list of materials will depend on the specific indoor conditions. As for the screed for underfloor heating, the materials for purchase will depend on the option chosen. For concrete screed - sand and cement, various additives, and for dry construction - backfill and sheet materials.

Installation of a collector and a heating boiler

The collector is selected depending on how many circuits will be arranged in the underfloor heating system. The number of its conclusions should correspond to the number of circuits. The entire setting of the warm floor, as well as its adjustment during operation, will be fully included in the number of functions of the collector. The use of control valves as part of the component allows you to adjust the water flow for each loop. Such a collector will cost a little more, but on the other hand, when used, it will make it possible to adjust exactly so as to obtain uniform heating.

It is very important that the system has a water drainage valve as well as a drain. In the presence of servo drives, as well as special mixers, the temperature of the water in the pipeline is regulated as needed. But it's worth noting that automatic tuning is not always as effective as it seems. The cost of the equipment will be significantly higher than the usual options. Sometimes it is easier to correctly configure the system operation once in order to fully use it.

The manifold must be installed in a manifold box. Its thickness is often 120 mm. Everything will depend on the so-called collection group, which will be included in its number. All possible sensors, drains, air vents, etc. should be provided.

This all suggests that the collector box is initially installed, and everything else is already located in it. If you mount the cabinet in the wall, then it will not be noticeable at all. Moreover, the insignificant thickness will allow you to perform all the work quickly and efficiently.

The box should be located above the heated floors themselves. There should not be a pipe branch upward from it. All of them should go to the bottom. This will allow the air exhaust system to work fully.

When a water-heated floor is needed, installation and installation are carried out in compliance with the technology. In this case, it is impossible not to buy a boiler for the heat carrier heater. Everything will depend on the required power. Even at the maximum moments of loading the system, the boiler must cope with heating the water, and plus to this have some margin in the power level. That is, it should not work to the maximum, for wear and tear.

In order for the water to function fully throughout the line, a pump is installed. Most often it is already built into the heating boiler, whatever it may be. Additional pumps are provided if the area of the room is significant within 100-150 m ².

Fixing pipes

Fastening of pipes is mainly carried out to the base of the floor using special elements, which can be dowels, screws, plastic ties, clamps, etc. The choice will depend on the very foundation, as well as on the preferences of the performer. The main thing is that the quality always remains at a high level.

If it is necessary to bend the pipe, this should be done as accurately and accurately as possible. There are limitations on the maximum radius for each type of pipe. This should be adhered to during the installation of a warm water floor. Otherwise, the surface of the products will crack and will have to be replaced.

The piping ends that will be fixed to the manifold are best routed through walls. At the same time, we must not forget about their insulation using foamed polyethylene. For connection, a compression fitting is most often purchased.

It is important to select a specific pipe-laying pattern. They can be mounted on the base in the form of a "snake", according to the "snail" scheme, or combine certain elements in one, when it is necessary to obtain a higher quality of heating. In the latter case, it most often refers to the walls from the street side, as well as to the colder areas inside the room. But the distance from the wall to the nearest circuit of the system should not be less than 15 cm.

Until the last and important stage of the installation of a warm water floor - screed, it is required to check and test the performance of the system. If the tests are successful, you can continue to work further.

Underfloor heating screed

When all the work on the arrangement of the components of the underfloor heating on the base of the floor is completed, you can begin to pour the screed. But in this case, much will depend on her choice.

In addition to the concrete screed, a dry screed can be arranged, where wet types of work are completely absent. Moreover, they all have their own advantages and disadvantages.

Until the end of the screed, the system must not be left in operation. Although some experts still recommend turning on the heating of the pipeline when pouring the concrete screed for better and faster drying. Experimenting is certainly not worth anyone. It is enough to fully comply with the technology and not deviate from the stages to the side. Only in this case, the installation of a warm water floor will be the best, with a whole set of positive aspects.