Today, few people are surprised by the warm floor in the apartment. It’s nice to come to visit after a walk along a cold street and immediately warm up. But when the owners of the apartments themselves begin to think about installing a warm floor, a lot of questions immediately arise, some of which concern the substrate in such a system.
The underfloor heating itself is a heating system that heats the air at the bottom of the room. For its normal functioning, you need to properly install and select the appropriate substrate.
Types of warm floors
1. Water. Their design is pipes with hot water laid in the floor screed. Heating is provided by power from the heating system of the house.
The advantage of such a floor is that it does not consume electricity, and the disadvantage is the decrease in pressure in the pipes of the entire entrance. Some utility workers prohibit the installation of such floors. This optionmore suitable for private houses, where water is heated in an individual boiler room.
2. Electrical. This species is subdivided into three more groups:
- film;
- cable;
- electric floors on mats.
Film coatings are considered the most perfect today. They can be mounted on almost any surface, and also serve as a base for tiles, laminate and linoleum. Another name for film floors is infrared. The heating of a room with such a base is carried out by reflecting radiation from all objects. The film construction can only be mounted in open areas of the room.
Cable floor heats the room by converting electrical energy into heat. The design of such a base fits directly into the screed. A cable floor consumes more electricity than a film floor.
Warm floor on mats can be mounted on a ready-made screed, this is its main difference from the previous type. Most often, this design is mounted under the tile. This is due to the fact that the mats are quite high, and the laminate or linoleum on them will bend. Before laying the tiles on the spread mats, a special adhesive is distributed and the finish coat is mounted.
Functions of the substrate under the warm floor
1. Thermal insulation. Underfloor heating redirects radiation from pipes, thus achieving maximum efficiency in space heating.
2. Soundproof. Mounting the substrate helps to dampen extraneous noise.
3. Facilitates the installation of the finish coat and gives additional rigidity to the floor.
4. Hydro and vapor barrier in water floors.
5. Leveling. Underfloor heating can hide small surface imperfections.
Types of substrates for underfloor heating
Several types of substrates have been developed for the installation of underfloor heating. Depending on the heating method, it is better to use different materials. For example, for floors with the conversion of electrical energy into heat, only fire-resistant substrates should be used, and for water - moisture resistant. Before you find out which underlay under a warm floor is better, you need to get acquainted with all its varieties.
Expanded PE Foam Pad
Underfloor heating, obtained by foaming polyethylene with hydrocarbons, is perfect for it. Many hosts choose it because of its low price.
The main positive properties of the foamed polyethylene foam substrate are excellent antistatic performance and resistance to moisture. It also has good soundproofing properties.
The service life of foamed polyethylene foam is long enough, so you can be sure that repairs to such a floor will not be needed soon. Thanks to this substrate, efficient and high-quality heat transfer to the room is ensured. In stores, there may be an unusual foam underlay for underfloor heating, foilthe surface of which helps to reflect even more heat.
The scope of foamed polyethylene foam is quite wide, it can even be used as a substrate for warm water floors. The disadvantage of this material is the inability to endure exposure to high temperatures for a long time. Therefore, for example, a water floor can only be used for a limited amount of time. This disadvantage makes buyers pay attention to other types of substrates.
Features of installation of foamed polyethylene foam substrate
The material is produced in the form of rolls. It can be easily cut into several pieces of the desired length and width. Separate elements are interconnected with construction tape, while they should only be located end-to-end.
Extruded Styrofoam Underlay
This backing has high compressive strength. Heat loss during its use will be very small, since there are pores in the structure of the material. It has an optimal moisture absorption rate, which eliminates the risk of condensation.
Features of installation of extruded polystyrene foam
Material is produced in the form of standard sheets and rolls of different thicknesses. The special qualities of extruded polystyrene foam allow it to be laid on any base coat without the use of special fasteners and adhesives. Additional waterproofing of the floor can be performed by gluing the joints with a special metallized adhesive tape. Embossed substratestacked protrusions down.
Accuracy in sheet dimensions allows you to calculate the required amount of material, which helps to reduce costs. To achieve the best result, it is necessary to entrust the installation of the coating to professionals or independently study all the details of the work.
Cork backing
This material is chosen by lovers of everything natural. The cork underlay under the warm floor is obtained by pressing wood particles glued together with suberin. As a result, at the output, the material is able to withstand temperature jumps and the release of various vapors.
Cork is most often used as a substrate for warm water floors. The high price justifies the excellent performance of the cork.
Features of cork backing installation
The material is produced in the form of rolls. The thickness of the substrate can be different. During installation, you need to use only high-quality tools that will not provoke crumbling and deformation of the sheets.
Optimal water floor underlay
The most suitable substrate for a warm water floor should be an excellent waterproofing material. In this case, it will protect the floor in case of an accident. A reflective surface will help distribute heat effectively.
Thus, foil underfloor heating is the best option for water-type heating.
Optimal underlay for electric floors
Substrate for underfloor heating filmmounted under the cover tape. The main properties that it should have are thermal insulation and heat-reflecting characteristics. Cork meets these requirements.
The best option for a substrate for a cable underfloor heating can be called a combination of several materials, in which a metallized layer must be present. It should be borne in mind that when the correct underlay is made for underfloor heating, the laminate is easier to install and does not deform longer.
Thus, a foil combined material can be considered a universal substrate for underfloor heating.
