Today it is safe to say that conventional heating radiators are gradually losing ground. Many people who have equipped themselves with warm floors and ceilings are convinced that they are no worse, and often even better, than a conventional heating network. In total there are two types - these are electrical and water systems. Most experts argue that the second option is the best. And therefore, many are interested in the question of how to make a warm water floor with your own hands?
What the system consists of
In order to do something with your own hands, you need to clearly understand how this or that device works. The principle of operation of a warm floor is considered quite simple. Under the floor covering are pipes connected to a single network. Hot water circulates through them. During circulation, heat exchange occurs, as a result of which the floor heats up. The system itself includes several of the following elements:
- water heating boiler;
- water injection pump, sometimes itbuilt into heating elements;
- ball type valves located at the heater inlet;
- underfloor pipes;
- collector and control system with floor adjustment;
- fittings for connecting manifold and piping system.
In order to successfully build a water-heated floor in a house with your own hands, without the help of specialists, you need to be able to understand this equipment. There is a description of the key details for this.
Description of system elements
The first and most important element is the heating boiler. It must be selected in such a way that its power is enough to heat the entire perimeter of the floor at peak times of the circuit. Plus, it should be added that he should have a little more power in reserve. In other words, it is necessary to choose a heating unit with a small margin of power. If we express this statement in numbers, then it is necessary to calculate the warm water floors with your own hands, and add about 15-20% more to the results obtained.
Another important element is a circulation pump that pumps water through pipes. Most often, this part comes with the boiler. An additional pump is required only if the area of the room is more than 120-150 square meters. m. It is also worth adding that a shut-off valve is installed at the outlet of the pipe system and at the inlet of the boiler. It is needed in order to avoid draining water from the system when it is necessary to repair the boiler.
The next important element of the system iscollector. This device is responsible for the distribution of water in each circuit, as well as for setting and adjusting underfloor heating. There are several options for collectors for arranging a warm water floor in a private house. Naturally, it will not work to make such a device with your own hands, you can only purchase it. The simplest models have only shut-off valves. They are the cheapest, but they do not have the possibility of even the minimum adjustment of water distribution. More expensive collectors are equipped with control valves, with the help of which it is already possible to adjust the distribution of the working substance.
The last element that is used when arranging a warm water shelf from a boiler with your own hands is pipes. They can be made of metal-plastic, cross-linked polyethylene or polypropylene. If the latter option is used, then it is best to choose the option that has reinforcing fiberglass.
Work before installation
Before you start parsing the step-by-step instructions for a warm water floor with your own hands, you need to consider a few steps that must be completed before starting work.
The first is the drafting. It is quite difficult to carry out all the settlement work on your own, and any mistake will be almost fatal. At this stage, it is necessary to calculate such parameters as the length of the pipeline, the installation step of the pipes, the power of the heating circuit. In addition, if there are several contours, then the calculation will have to be carried out for eachseparately. Also here you need to take into account many small nuances. To carry out a more convenient calculation, various programs are used that simplify these works. However, as mentioned earlier, any flaw will lead to improper functioning or failure of the entire system. It is best to carry out the installation of a warm water floor with your own hands, the calculation of which was performed by professionals.
Another very important step is the purchase of equipment. It is best to purchase an initially more expensive, but high-quality system than to constantly give money for system repairs.
Another very important step that should be considered at the design stage is the placement of the contours in such a way that the site does not occupy more than 40 square meters. m. Otherwise, you may encounter the problem of cracking the screed.
It is very important to prepare the base for laying the heating of a warm water floor with your own hands. It should be completely dry and almost perfectly flat. Drops of more than 5 mm are not allowed.
The last stage of preparatory work is the laying of thermal insulation material on the base. The thickness of the coating can be from 3 to 15 cm, depending on what temperature you need to achieve during heating. You can use both conventional heat-insulating materials and special mats for a water floor. Their advantage lies in the fact that they have special "lugs" - fastenings for pipes, which is very convenient.
Installation option
Before you start arranging a water-heated floor with your own hands, you need to choose the option for its installation. There are three options - concrete, wood and polystyrene.
The most common method is the concrete method of pouring the floor and laying pipes. If this method was chosen, then the work is carried out according to the following principle. A cement-sand type screed will be used as a base. A layer of waterproofing material is placed on a perfectly flat concrete surface. A layer of thermal insulation is placed on top of it. Next, the pipeline system is installed directly. It is important to note here that the pipes must be fixed. In the case of doing all the work on arranging a water-heated floor with your own hands in a large room, a reinforcing mesh is used for this purpose. If the work is carried out in a small room, then the use of plastic brackets or fastening strips is allowed. After fixing the pipe network, you can start pouring the final cement-sand base with the addition of plasticizers to it. The final stage - laying the flooring (carpet, etc.)
Additional methods
In addition to the concrete method, two more methods are used - polystyrene and wood. However, they are much less common.
If we talk about the polystyrene system, it differs from the concrete one in that it is much lighter. It uses a base made of special polystyrene boards, characterized by a high degree ofthermal insulation. The form of this material is suitable for the most common installation of a water-heated floor with your own hands. On the edges of all elements have special locks. With these elements, you can create a monolithic coating. A small plus is that laying pipes on such a coating does not require special additional fasteners. Pipe laying is carried out by simply pressing and placing the element in the groove. Metal plates are laid on top of the pipeline, on which it is already possible to lay the floor covering.
The third option is the installation of a wooden water-heated floor with your own hands. In this case, you can use trimming boards, plywood, MDF boards as a basis. To equip the floor, it is necessary to dissolve the wood slabs into small strips 13-18 cm wide. They are laid on a wooden floor with a small distance between each other under the pipes. A system of thermal distribution plates with grooves for heating pipes is mounted on top. The grooves of these plates must be placed so that they are included in the distance between the wooden strips. The use of fasteners in this version is also not required. From above, all this is covered with a plastic film, on which plasterboard sheets are laid. It is they who serve as the basis for a fine floor covering. Thus, a do-it-yourself wooden warm water floor is created.
Tips for preparing the base and thermal insulation layer
There are a few tips for installing underfloor heating that you should follow, regardless of whetherwhich arrangement was chosen. The first such recommendation is to lay a layer of thermal insulation on a perfectly even surface.
It is practically necessary to follow this advice, as it will help to avoid emergency situations in the heating operation. If the old base is not suitable, then it is best to remove a small layer and make a smooth concrete screed. After the solution dries, it is necessary to check the result of the work with a level. It is worth adding here that private houses built a long time ago are distinguished by the fact that they have a "walking" base. If this is the case, then for arranging a warm water floor in a private house, you will also have to use a reinforcing mesh. Its use will help to avoid troubles such as cracks.
After that, you should divide the available space of the room into several sectors. Each sector will have its own heating circuit. Next, you can move on to thermal insulation. To date, there are many different materials, but the most practical and cheapest will be a sheet of expanded polystyrene. In order to avoid any deformation under the influence of elevated temperatures, a damper tape can be used. The laying of this element is carried out in those places where the floor is connected to the wall, as well as at all joints between the sectors in the room. Further, the process of laying a warm water floor with your own hands in a private house looks like this:
- insulation layer is laid and formed;
- laying a layer of waterproofing;
- fixed reinforcing mesh;
- pipes are being installed.
Laying pipes for a warm water floor. Instruction
The next step is to attach the piping system to the reinforcing mesh. In order to achieve the desired result, you can use special clamps or flexible wire. It is very important to tighten the clamps correctly here. It is not necessary to overtighten too much, since during the movement of the working medium inside the pipe, minimal displacements of the pipeline are possible. A tightly tightened clamp can cause damage in such a situation. Do-it-yourself installation of a warm water floor should begin from the place where the water supply system and the heating circuit are connected.
The extreme end of the pipe must be attached to the manifold. After that, you can proceed to the phased process of laying the system on the frame. The desired contour radius is set using a spring that is put on the pipe. This will also help to avoid such a problem as a strong bending of the product and the subsequent deformation of the entire system.
On the comb (the starting point of the laying), the end of the contour is connected and a new one begins. In other words, the next contour will start from the same point. Thus, the installation of a warm water floor with your own hands continues until all the required space is filled. It is very important to note here that the number of circuits will be clearly limited by the number of outlets at the collector, and therefore you need to decide in advance how many there will be and select the appropriate part. After all the circuits are connected on the comb, you can embed the system into the water supply channel.
Screed and start up
After completing the two previous points, we can assume that the installation of pipes is completed. However, some more work needs to be done before starting the heating. Do-it-yourself warm water floor should still be checked. It is necessary to carry out hydraulic tests. You can also check yourself if you wish. To do this, liquid is poured into the system under pressure of 0.7 MPa. In addition, a visual inspection of the system for damage, deformations is carried out. If such are identified, then all of them must be eliminated at this stage.
If no deviations were found during the inspection and testing, then you can start pouring the concrete screed. In order to start work, it is necessary to ensure a constant pressure in the system in the region of 3 bar, and also to ensure that the average temperature is constantly maintained inside the room. Filling the screed will provide not only the basis for the final coating, but also an additional layer of thermal insulation. For the preparation of a concrete mix, it is best to choose cement grade M-300 and sand.
The final touch is the laying of the flooring. Naturally, you can proceed to this stage only when the concrete solution is completely dry. It is also worth noting here that not every type of coating can be successfully operated together with this type of heating. The best choice is the laying of ceramic tiles. If you want to lay, for example, parquet, then you need to be marked on the packaging"For floor heating".
Warm water floor under the tiles with your own hands
Here, the selection of floor heating tiles will be a rather important step, since not every kind of product can be used.
It is very important that the tiles have anti-slip and wear-resistant characteristics. Although it is worth noting that these two requirements apply to any type of tile. Those tile models that can be used for flooring are marked with a foot icon. Some have a shaded toe, an indication that there is an improved wear resistance rating. The presence of anti-slip qualities is most often required if the tiles will be laid on underfloor heating in the bathroom. Most often, it can be distinguished visually. It has some reliefs, patterns and so on. If the room where you need to lay the tiles is dry (kitchen, hall, etc.), then you can get by with a regular matte product.
The next two important points are moisture resistance and strength. Both qualities will directly depend on such an indicator as the porosity of the tile. Floor tiles are characterized by low porosity, and therefore a low water absorption coefficient. This means that the mechanical strength and water resistance are at a high level. Porcelain stoneware products are characterized by good performance. The cost of this product is lower than that of other types of tiles and tiles.
It is worth adding that there are currently many synthetic analogues of ceramic tiles. However, use them to cover the water floor heatingneed to be very careful, adjusted for high temperatures.
Pros and cons of such heating
The advantages of arranging a water-heated floor in a private house with the hands of the owners include the following points:
- Economy. Having a warm water field in the house will reduce the energy consumption of the house by about 20%. The reason for this was that the coolant temperature is relatively low - from 30 to 50 degrees Celsius.
- High comfort. A warm water floor creates a uniform heating of the entire area of \u200b\u200bthe house. At the level of the legs, the temperature is about +22 degrees Celsius and about +18 degrees at the head level. This temperature will be enough to walk barefoot on the floor.
- Safety of use. Since the heating system is under the floor covering. Any possibility of human contact with the coolant is excluded. This means there is virtually no risk of burns or other injuries.
- Service life. If all requirements are met and all rules are observed, a properly installed water heating system will last about 40 years.
However, like any other system, this one has its drawbacks. The main disadvantage lies in the fact that the process of installing a warm water floor with your own hands in a private house is a rather long and very laborious task. Basically, all the difficulties arise due to the fact that the design has the shape of a "sandwich". If you make a mistake with the sequence of laying each layer or during installation work, then most likely there will be a leakage of the working substance. A significant disadvantage will be the fact that it will not work to use the water floor heating system as the only source of heat. The power of the system is too small for this. You will have to supplement the heating system with radiators and other heating devices.
