Today there are many options for heating systems. They differ in the cost of installation, operation, as well as their efficiency. One of the best heating options is underfloor heating. This system can be mounted independently both in a private house and in an apartment.
There are several types of such systems. They must be properly selected and installed. This will allow you to operate the presented type of heating as efficiently as possible. How to make a warm floor will be discussed in our article.
General Description
Before considering how to make a warm floor, you need to know the features of this system. It is one of the newest and most effective to date.
Heating elements are mounted in the structure of the base of the room. These can be pipes through which the coolant circulates, electrical wires or film. The choice depends on how the system is used.
During its operation, the heater makes the floor surface warm. Warmlygradually rises up to the ceiling. Here the air cools down and sinks to the floor again. In this case, a person in such a room becomes warmer much earlier than in a room with a wall-mounted convector of the same power.
The fact is that batteries and other similar wall-mounted heaters provide intense air heating in the upper part of the room. The space near the floor always remains colder. Therefore, more energy is required to make a person comfortable in such a room. A warm floor, on the contrary, consumes less energy, while creating the most comfortable heating. The heated air is concentrated at the bottom of the room.
Types of systems
Considering how to properly make a warm floor, you need to start by choosing the right design. There are water and electric varieties of designs. They differ in how they work.
Water heated floor connected to the boiler. From it, the heated coolant enters all the circuits of the system. This type of heating is suitable for a private house. The boiler can operate on solid fuel, gas or electricity. The choice depends on indicators of economic feasibility and the possibility of using a particular resource in a particular area.
Electric floor heating is suitable for an apartment. It is easier to install. If it is impractical to install a boiler in an apartment, an electric type of system will be the best solution. To make the right choice, you need to consider the features of each system.
Features of water types of systems
Considering how to make a warm floor in a private house, the best option would be to install a water system. It will need to be equipped at the stage of building construction or in the process of major repairs. In this case, the floor covering will be created almost from scratch.
A separate heating circuit will depart from the boiler to each room, and a coolant will circulate through the pipes, the temperature of which should not exceed 55 ºС. This process must be monitored by a temperature sensor. After the boiler, a special comb is mounted. It will open and close the armature of each circuit.
When the water in the pipe of one of the circuits becomes colder than the set level, the sensor will work. The shut-off valves will open, letting a new portion of hot liquid into the pipe. After the water is heated, the mechanism will block the flow of heated coolant from the boiler. It is very important to plan the installation of a water heated floor along with the purchase of a boiler. It must have an appropriate capacity that can meet the heating needs of the premises.
Installation of water floor heating
Making a warm floor with your own hands in the house is quite simple:
- You will need to prepare the base. The old screed is removed to the lag or foundation.
- Next, you need to fill in a layer of expanded clay. A layer of thermal insulation is laid out on it and a rough screed is poured.
- When it dries, thermal insulation is laid on the floor. Styrofoam with a thickness of at least 3see
- Waterproofing is laid out on the insulation layer.
- Next, mounting plates are installed. A pipe will be laid out on them, which can be made of different materials. The contour is created from a special heat-resistant plastic, which most often has a red color.
- The pipe is laid out on a prepared base in the form of a "snail" or "snake". The choice depends on the preferences of the master. For each room, a separate circuit is created, which is connected to the boiler.
- Next, the pipes are poured with a layer of screed of at least 5 cm. The composition should include plasticizers.
- When the screed dries, you can create a finish coat.
Water floor in the apartment
Some landlords are wondering how to make a warm floor from heating. It should be said right away that such an action is illegal. It is possible to install a water heated floor in an apartment only if there is an autonomous boiler. It will need to be legalized in the relevant municipal institutions.
If you run pipes from central heating, then the temperature will drop significantly on the subsequent length of the line. At neighbors, the water temperature in the batteries will not be able to reach the set level. Such violation of the use of the heating system is punishable.
It should also be noted that the pipes that are in the floor may begin to leak after a certain number of years. If there are neighbors from below, it iscan lead to a flood, damage to their property. A water heated floor requires raising the floor level by at least 10 cm. This will require the installation of new doors. It is more expedient to install an electric type of system in the apartment.
Electrical type systems
Apartment owners may have a question about whether it is possible to make a warm floor in their home. This will be possible with the electrical system.
It comes in several forms:
- The first variety is a wire that is mounted in a coupler. It is used only during major repairs.
- The second type of electric floor is mounted immediately in tile adhesive. This greatly simplifies installation. In this case, it is possible to carry out the arrangement of a new floor without even removing the old coating, if ceramic tiles were previously laid on the base. On top of such a system, you can install tiles, laminate.
- The easiest to operate is the underfloor heating film system. This warm floor is mounted in just an hour. At the same time, it is not filled with screed or tile adhesive. This is the best option for those owners who want to lay a laminate or linoleum. In this case, you can not even carry out a major overhaul.
Screed mounting
Finding out how to make a warm floor in a house or apartment, you need to consider several installation options.
The first type of heating systems involves pouring the heating wire into the screed(this cable is about 7mm thick):
- First prepare the base. On a flat floor, you need to lay a layer of insulation, for example, polystyrene foam. Its thickness must be at least 2 cm (or more).
- Next, a layer of waterproofing is laid. Metal mounting rails are placed on it. With their help, the wire is fixed.
- The electric cable should be laid out in a “snake” in increments of 7 to 15 cm. The narrower the turns of the wire lie, the faster the floor will heat up.
- Further, a cement-sand screed is poured onto the wire. It is better to choose a special solution for these purposes, which includes plasticizers. When laying a warm floor, the appearance of air pockets is unacceptable.
When the screed hardens, the finish coat is laid out on it.
Installing the wire into the tile adhesive
Considering how to make underfloor heating yourself, you need to study the second installation option. It has a lot of advantages. In this case, a thin cable is used, the thickness of which is about 3 mm. It is most often produced in the form of mats. The wire in this case is already fixed on a special polymer mesh 50 cm wide. It is rolled out onto a flat concrete floor.
In some cases, you will need to lay out the wire yourself. The step should be from 5 to 12 cm. If a warm floor is installed in an apartment on the second floor and above, you can not lay thermal insulation, since there is a heated room below. The thickness above the wire will be kept to a minimum to optimize heat loss.
When the wire or mat is laid out,you can apply a layer of tile adhesive. Its thickness can be only 5-7 mm. It is best to choose ceramic tiles as a finishing coating in this case. It is a durable material with high thermal conductivity. Electricity costs will be minimal. Laminate, on the other hand, will contain heat, and more energy resources will be required.
Film Editing
Considering how to make a warm floor with your own hands, you need to consider another type of system. It is a film infrared heat-insulated floor. It is mounted under a laminate or linoleum. It is not laid screed, tile adhesive. Such solutions quickly corrode the thin film.
Inside such a system is a conductive paste. It heats up to 50 ºС. The laminate can not be heated above 30 ºС, so first you need to lay the substrate under the laminate on a flat base. There is a film on it. Wires are brought to it with the help of metal contacts, with which the contacts are pierced in two places of the heating sheet.
They are isolated with bituminous material. The top is covered with plastic clips. In places where they will be laid, recesses are cut out on the substrate. This will drown the junction of the wires with the film. Next, a laminate is assembled on top.
Temperature controller
When figuring out how to make a warm floor in a house, you should also consider a heating control system. Each manufacturer of electrical heating systems provides for their operation in the maximum mode. To reduce heat, a thermostat is used. This device has in its design a built-in or remotesensor.
The thermostat is installed on the wall. Wires are brought to it from the household network and from the warm floor. The sensor will monitor the heating temperature. If it is built into the housing, then turning off and on the heating device will be carried out in accordance with the level of air heating. Remote sensors control the temperature directly on the floor.
Temperature controllers can be mechanical or programmable. The first option allows you to set the heating level manually. The device will keep it during the day at a given level. Programmable models are more economical. For them, you can install a program by which they will work during the day.
Installing a thermostat
Knowing how to make a warm floor, we must not forget about installing a thermostat. It is mounted at a level of at least 1 m from the surface. If a remote sensor is included in the kit, it is placed in a corrugated pipe and installed next to the wire turns. Next, a network and wires from the floor are brought to the device. On the back of the thermostat there are terminals that are designed for each specific type of wire.
We hope that the answer to the question of how to make a warm floor will now not cause you any difficulties.
