Heating the house with warm floors. Warm water floors: installation diagrams, installation methods, installation rules Warm floors in the house how to make

Heating for a private home warm floors great solution. It will create an excellent indoor microclimate in the harshest winters. If properly organized, a warm floor can be used as the main source of heat. To achieve this, you should know how to make a heated floor in a private house. In this article you will learn about the possibilities of implementing underfloor heating in your home with your own hands.

Before installing underfloor heating, it is important to do everything more necessary calculations. For example, it is necessary to determine which heat losses has your home. How to do this? When calculating heat losses, it is necessary to take into account the following parameters:

• Wall thickness and material.
• Thickness and what the foundation and roof are made of.
• The thickness and type of insulation used in the construction of the house.
• The total area of ​​doors and windows, as well as their level of insulation.
• Thickness and material of the ceiling.
• Features of the climate of your area and so on.

If you decide to create a heated floor project in a specialized design organization, then you should prepare all this and other data in advance. However, you can make such calculations yourself, but the error will be greater. For example, there are two methods:

1. By volume.
2. By area.

The best option for carrying out calculations is considered to be based on the volume of the room.

When calculating a heated floor for a private home, it is important to determine the amount of thermal energy received from it. As practice shows, heated floors produce 60-80 W/m2. In fact, this is a rather large indicator, as it might seem at first glance. If you multiply it by the area of ​​the room, the result is a high thermal energy rate.

It is important not to make a mistake here. We will discuss the issue of the heated area, not the total. For example, it makes no sense to heat the floor under a cabinet or other large items. Therefore, the calculation is done selectively.

The heated area is the area where the pipe and heating circuit are laid. To determine this area, subtract the area of ​​all objects installed on the floor. Only after this can you begin to accurately calculate the heated floor. To do this, multiply the resulting area by 60 or 80 W/m2. If it is to be used as a floor covering ceramic tiles, then multiply by 80, and for other coatings by 60.

Warm floor as the main heating - is it possible?

Before installing cable heated floors in mandatory make a project. This will allow you to accurately calculate the required material, as well as determine areas that will not be heated. Also indicate the location in the project temperature sensor and the place of connection to electrical network. You will need this project for renovation work, so save it.

To determine the exact distance between heating cables, you can use the following formula: L1=P×100/L2

· L1 – required distance in cm.

· P – total free area in m2.

· L – cable length in m.

To prevent heat loss, it is recommended to attach the heating cable to heat-reflecting material. Also make sure that the connection points between the power cable and the heating cable are not bent. As for the location of the temperature sensor, it should be located at a distance of 50-100 cm from the wall.

The first step is to lay the thermal insulation and reflective film, and then proceed to install the cable. Thanks to special mount, the cable is fixed every 30 mm. The line should not intersect with each other. There must be at least 400 mm to the boundaries of furniture and other stationary objects.

At a height of 1.2 m from the floor, install a thermostat that will control the temperature level in the room.

When the cable is completely installed, it remains to be filled with a screed. When making cement-sand mortar, do not add large fractions of pebbles to the composition. The heated floor screed must have at least 50 mm. When filling the screed, make sure that there is no air left inside it, otherwise this may lead to failure of the heating circuit. Include heating cable During the drying process, the screed is prohibited. It should dry in as natural conditions as possible. This may take about one month.

There is also a technology for laying heating mats. Their installation is much faster, since the cable is already secured to a special mounting grid with the required spacing. The principle of their installation is practically no different from the technology described above. The only thing that is necessary is to measure the operating resistance. It must correspond to the specified indicators in the product instructions.

When it comes to efficiency, water heated floors have no equal in terms of efficiency. However, it is much more difficult to install, plus the cost of such a floor is very high. However, compared to a radiator system, you will pay 20% less for energy use. So, to create water heating you will need:

• Heating boiler.
• Pipes.
• Coolant.
• Circulation pump.
• Mixing unit.
• Collector.

This concerns equipment. In addition, you will need to purchase thermal insulation, pour screed and lay flooring. Therefore, as a result, you will have decent expenses.

In most cases, water pipes are laid in the floor screed. A plasticizer is added to the solution, which increases the technical characteristics of the finished screed and also speeds up the drying process. In such a system, the heating “pie” is an excellent accumulator of thermal energy. It can maintain the required temperature in the room for a long time. Even after turning off the heating, the room will remain warm for some period.

If your private house is built of wood, then a screed will not work here. It will have a strong influence on the overlap. For this reason, it is common practice to use a decking system that is made of wood or polystyrene. It is lightweight and very easy to install.

If you choose a water-heated floor, then remember that it can be laid into the floor during the construction of the building.

So, which is the best heating system for a private home? If you have a limited budget, you can install electric heating, but it will be very expensive to maintain. On the other hand, water heating requires large financial investments at the installation stage. However, during its operation it is quite economical. There are many working schemes that can be used when installing underfloor heating. Leave your comments if you have already implemented underfloor heating in your home.

Video

The video provided details how to create a heated floor in a private home:

Warm floors are considered, in our understanding, to be a more modern heating system than radiator heating. However, this is far from true - they appeared much earlier. Stubborn historical facts indicate that heated floors were successfully used back in the days of Ancient Rome, in Korea, and in Russia too. True, it was only used then stove heating, since the system for transporting hydrocarbons through pipes did not yet exist. In the modern world, the most economically successful countries widely use underfloor heating, and this is done not only for reasons of obvious comfort, but also takes into account the fact that such heating allows saving energy resources, the demand for which is growing every year.

This type of heating is not a cheap pleasure. Parts and labor are very expensive. That is why any zealous owner may have the idea of ​​​​making a water heated floor with his own hands. Why not? Moreover, the experience of both successful and unsuccessful implementations has already been accumulated enough to give specific recommendations. The purpose of our article is to give specific advice to those owners who are going to make a warm water floor, but at the same time so that they save their money and ultimately get what they wanted - comfortable and economical heating.

Why water heated floor?

Of course, they are simpler to implement and easier to manage, but the cost of energy makes its own adjustments - this type of heating is much more expensive to operate than a water-heated floor. Only 4-5 years will pass and the warm water floor will pay for itself with interest, but only on the condition that it is done competently and correctly. This is exactly what the authors of the article want to tell our readers. Disregarding colorful catalogs with expensive equipment, and based only on the experience of people who were able to implement a warm water floor in their home.

Most heating systems currently use natural gas as a heat source - and this makes perfect sense, since this type of fuel is cheaper than others. And this trend will continue for at least several more decades. Therefore, it is best to implement heated floors with water ones, in which the coolant is heated by combustion energy natural gas. But for this, a number of conditions must be met.

Water heated floor installation

A warm water floor is a complex multi-component system, each part of which performs its own function. Let's look at its structure in the following figure.

Typical design“pie” of a warm water floor

This type of underfloor heating is called “wet” because it uses “wet” construction processes, namely pouring a cement-sand screed. There are also so-called dry heated floors, but they are made mainly. In this article, we will consider “wet” heated water floors, since they are much better, although their installation is more difficult.

A warm water floor is mounted on a stable and durable base, which can be concrete slab or soil. A vapor barrier made of polyethylene film with a thickness of at least 0.1 mm is laid on the base. The next layer of the “pie” is insulation; it is best to use extruded insulation, which has a very low thermal conductivity coefficient, high mechanical strength and reasonable cost. A cement-sand screed is installed on top of the insulation, to which a plasticizer is necessarily added - for the mobility of the mixture, ease of installation and reduction of the water-cement ratio. It is advisable to reinforce the screed with metal wire mesh with a cell pitch of 50*50 mm or 100*100 mm. There, inside the screed, there are underfloor heating pipes with coolant circulating in them. It is recommended to make the height of the screed above the pipes at least 3 cm, however, practice suggests that 5 cm is better, as the strength will be higher and the heat distribution across the floor will be more uniform.

At the junction of the walls and the screed, as well as at the boundaries of the warm water heating circuits, a damper tape is laid, which compensates for the thermal expansion of the screed when it is heated. The final floor covering must be designed specifically for use with heated floors. The best solution is ceramic or porcelain stoneware, but some other types of coating - laminate, carpet, or can also be used with heated floors, but they must have a special symbol in their markings.

Such coatings, however, require strict adherence thermal regime floor, which is achieved by using automation - special mixing units.

Requirements for premises where heating with warm water floors will be implemented

The smartest move in construction is when the underfloor heating pipeline is laid at the stage of erecting the floors. This is very successfully used in Germany, Sweden, Norway, Canada, and in other economically successful countries where energy is very expensive and therefore they use underfloor heating, which is 30-40% more economical than radiator heating. It is quite possible already in the finished premises, but it must meet certain requirements. Let's list them.

The most correct underfloor heating pipeline is the one that was laid during the construction of the house

• Considering the significant thickness of the warm water floor - from 8 to 20 cm, the height of the ceilings in the room should allow the installation of such a heating system. It is also necessary to take into account the size doorways, which must be at least 210 cm in height.
• The base of the floor must be strong enough to withstand a heavy cement-sand screed.
• The base for heated floors must be clean and level. Irregularities should not exceed 5 mm, since differences greatly affect the coolant current in the pipes; they can lead to airing of the circuits and an increase in hydraulic resistance.
• In the room where a warm water floor is planned, all plastering work must be completed and windows must be installed.
• Heat loss in the premises should not be more than 100 W/m2. If they are larger, then you should think about insulation rather than heating the environment.

How to choose a good pipe for heated floors

Warm water floor pipes are written in sufficient detail on our portal. Obviously, for heated floors it is better to choose pipes made of cross-linked polyethylene - PEX or PERT. Among PEX pipes, preference should be given to PE-Xa pipes, since they have a maximum cross-linking density of about 85% and therefore have the best “memory effect,” that is, pipes, after being stretched, always tend to return to their original position. This allows you to use axial fittings with a sliding ring, which can be walled up without fear building structures. In addition, if a pipe is broken, you can restore its shape by heating the problem area with a hair dryer.

PERT pipes do not have a memory effect, so only push-in fittings are used with them, which cannot be walled up. But if all the contours of the heated floor are made with solid sections of pipes, then all connections will only be on the manifold and it is quite possible to use PERT pipes.

In addition, manufacturers produce pipes of composite construction, when a pipe is placed between two layers of cross-linked polyethylene. aluminum foil, which is a reliable oxygen barrier. But the heterogeneity of the material and the difference in the coefficients of thermal expansion of aluminum and polyethylene can provoke delamination of the pipe. Therefore, it is better to choose PE-Xa or PERT pipes with a polyvinylethylene (EVOH) barrier, which significantly reduces the diffusion of oxygen into the coolant through the pipe wall. This barrier can be located in the outer layer of the pipe, or inside, surrounded by layers of PE-Xa or PERT. Of course, the better pipe is the one with the EVOH layer inside.

For underfloor heating circuits, there are three main pipe sizes: 16*2 mm, 17*2 mm and 20*2 mm. Most often they use 16*2 and 20*2 mm. How to choose exactly the “right” pipe.

• Firstly, the brand matters in this matter and you need to pay attention to it. The most famous manufacturers: Rehau, Tece, KAN, Uponor, Valtec.
• Secondly, the marking of pipes can “tell” a lot; it should be carefully studied and do not hesitate to ask more questions to the sales consultant.
• Thirdly, the qualifications of the sales consultant are very helpful when choosing a pipe. Don’t forget to request certificates of conformity, inquire about the availability and price of fittings, mixing units, manifolds and other equipment. It is necessary to find out in which coils the pipe is sold, and how many meters, in order to take this into account in future calculations.
• And finally, if a PE-Xa pipe is selected, then you can conduct a small test. To do this, you need to bend a small section of pipe, and then warm up this place with a hair dryer. A high-quality PE-Xa and PE-Xb pipe should also restore its original shape. If this does not happen, then no matter what is written on the label, it is simply not a PEX pipe.

Principles of designing heated floors

One of the most important stages in arranging warm water floors is their proper calculation. Of course, it is best to entrust this to specialists, but sufficient experience already suggests that this can be done independently. You can find a lot on the Internet free programs and online calculators. Most reputable manufacturers provide their software for free.

water heated floor

First you need to decide what temperature the heated floor should be.

• In residential areas where people spend most of their time standing, the floor temperature should be in the range of 21 to 27°C. This temperature is most comfortable for the feet.
• For work premises - offices, as well as living rooms the temperature should be maintained around 29°C.
• In hallways, lobbies and corridors, the optimal temperature is 30°C.
• For bathrooms and swimming pools, the floor temperature should be higher - about 31-33°C.

Heating with warm water floors is low-temperature, therefore the coolant must be supplied at lower temperatures than to radiators. If water can be supplied to the radiators at a temperature of 80-90°C, then the heated floor cannot be supplied at more than 60°C. In heat engineering there is such an important concept as temperature drop in the heating circuit . This is nothing more than the difference in temperature between the supply pipe and the return pipe. In heated water floor systems optimal modes considered to be 55/45°C, 50/40°C, 45/35°C and 40/30°C.

A very important indicator is (loops) of a warm water floor. Ideally, they should all be the same length, then there will be no problems with balancing, but in practice this is unlikely to be achieved, so it is accepted:

• For a pipe with a diameter of 16 mm, the maximum length is 70-90 m.
• For a pipe with a diameter of 17 mm – 90-100 m.
• For a pipe with a diameter of 20 mm – 120 m.

Moreover, it is advisable to focus not on the upper limit, but on the lower one. It is better to divide the room into more loops, rather than trying to achieve circulation with a more powerful pump. Naturally, all loops must be made of pipes of the same diameter.

Step of laying out (laying) heated floor pipes - one more the most important indicator, which is made from 100 mm to 600 mm depending on the thermal load on the heated floor, the purpose of the room, the length of the contour and other indicators. Make a step less than 100 mm PEX pipes almost impossible, there is a high probability of simply breaking the pipe. If the heated floor is equipped only for comfort or additional heating, then the minimum step can be made 150 mm. So, what layout step should be used?

• In rooms where there are external walls, so-called underfloor heating is used. edge zones , where pipes are laid in increments of 100-150 mm. In this case, the number of rows of pipes in these zones should be 5-6.
• In the centers of rooms, as well as in those where there are no external walls, the laying step is 200-300 mm.
• Bathrooms, baths, paths near swimming pools are laid with pipes with a pitch of 150 mm over the entire area.

Methods for laying heated floor contours

The contours of a water heated floor can be laid in different ways. And each method has its own advantages and disadvantages. Let's look at them.

• Laying a heated floor pipe in a “snake” pattern easier to install, but its significant drawback is that there will be a noticeable temperature difference on the floor at the beginning of the circuit and at the end - up to 5-10°C. The coolant, passing from the supply manifold to the return manifold in the heated floor structure, cools down. Therefore, such a temperature gradient arises, which is clearly felt by the feet. This method of installation is justified in boundary zones where the floor temperature should decrease from external wall to the center of the room.

• Laying a heated floor pipe "snail" more difficult to implement, but with this method the temperature of the entire floor will be approximately equal, since the supply and return pass inside each other, and the difference is leveled out by a massive floor screed when the calculated requirements of the laying step are met. In 90% of cases this method is used.

• Combined methods of laying underfloor heating pipes are also used very often. For example, the edge zones are laid with a snake, and the main area with a snail. This can help to correctly divide the room into contours, distribute the pipe coil with a minimum of residue and ensure the desired mode.

In each of the methods it can be used variable laying step , when in the edge zones it is 100-150 mm, and in the room itself 200-300 mm. Then it is possible to meet the requirements for more intense heating of the edge zones in one room without using other installation methods. Experienced installers most often do just that.

Layout of the heating circuit “snail” with a constant pitch (left) and with a variable pitch (right)

To calculate contours, it is best to use a special and very easy to learn software. For example, the well-known manufacturer Valtec, which distributes its program for free. There are also simpler programs for calculating the layout of contours that calculate the length of the loops, which is very convenient. For example, the “Snail” program, which is also distributed free of charge. For those who are not very computer friendly, you can calculate the contours yourself by using graph paper, on which you can draw a floor plan to scale and, on this sheet, “lay out” the contours with a pencil and calculate their length.

When dividing rooms into water-heated floor circuits, the following requirements must be met:

• The circuits should not move from room to room - all rooms should be regulated separately. An exception may be bathrooms if they are located nearby. For example, a bathroom next to a toilet.
• One heating circuit should not heat a room with an area of ​​more than 40 m2. If necessary, the room is divided into several circuits. Maximum length any side of the contour should not exceed 8 meters.
• A special damper tape should be laid along the perimeter of the room, between rooms, as well as between individual circuits, which, after pouring the screed, will compensate for its thermal expansion.

Choosing the type of insulation for a heated floor and its thickness

Insulation for a warm water floor is mandatory, because no one would like to spend their money on heating the ground, the atmosphere or unnecessary building structures, but the floor is exactly what is needed, which should receive the lion's share of the heat from the heating circuit. This is why insulation is used. What types should be used? Among all their diversity, the authors of the article recommend that you should pay attention to only two of them.

• Extruded polystyrene foam (EPS). This material has low thermal conductivity, high mechanical strength. EPS is not afraid of moisture, it practically does not absorb it. Its price is quite affordable. This insulation is produced in the form of slabs standard sizes 500*1000 mm or 600*1250 mm and thickness 20, 30, 50. 80 or 100 mm. For good joining of the plates there are special grooves on the side surfaces.

• Profile thermal insulation made of high-density polystyrene foam. On their surface there are special round or rectangular bosses, between which it is very convenient to lay the pipe without additional fixation. The pipe fastening pitch is usually 50 mm. This is very convenient for installation, but the price is much higher than EPS boards, especially from famous brands. They are produced with a thickness of 1 to 3 cm and dimensions of 500 * 1000 mm or 60 * 1200 mm - it depends on the manufacturer.

Eps boards may have an additional foil layer with additional markings. Marking the slabs is, of course, useful, but the presence of foil only increases the cost of the insulation, and it will be of no use for two reasons.

• The reflectivity declared by the manufacturers will not work in an opaque environment, such as a screed.
• Cement mortar is a strong alkaline medium that will perfectly “eat” an insignificant (several tens of microns) layer of aluminum before it hardens. You need to realize that foil plates are a marketing ploy and nothing more.

The authors of the article recommend using EPS boards for insulation. The savings compared to profile mats will be obvious. The difference in cost will be enough for fasteners, and there will still be a lot of money left over. Let us remember the popular wisdom that money saved is akin to money earned.

How thick should the insulation be in the construction of a warm water floor? There are special and complex calculations, but you can do without them. If you learn a few simple rules.

• If heated floors will be made on the ground, then the thickness of the insulation should be at least 100 mm. It is best to make two layers of 50 mm each and lay them in mutually perpendicular directions.
• If heated floors are planned in rooms above ground floor, then the thickness of the insulation is at least 50 mm.
• If heated floors are planned above rooms heated from below, then the thickness of the insulation is at least 30 mm.

Additionally, it is necessary to provide for fastening the EPS boards to the base material, since when pouring the screed they will tend to float. Disc-shaped dowels are ideal for this. They must be used to secure all slabs at the joints and in the center.

To attach the pipe to the EPS, special harpoon clamps are used, which securely fix the pipe. They are fastened at intervals of 30-50 cm, and in places where the PEX pipe turns, the step should be 10 cm. It is usually calculated that 500 pieces of harpoon clamps are required for a bay of 200 meters of pipe. When purchasing them, there is no need to chase the brand, as it will cost several times more. There are very high-quality and inexpensive staples from Russian manufacturers.

Selecting a collector-mixing unit for heated floors

The water floor collector is the most important element that receives coolant from the main, distributes it among the circuits, regulates flow and temperature, balances circuit loops, and promotes air removal. Not a single warm water floor can do without it.

It is better to entrust the choice of a collector, or, more correctly, a collector-mixing unit, to specialists who will select the necessary components. In principle, you can assemble it yourself, but this is a topic for a separate article. We’ll just list what elements should be included so as not to make a mistake in choosing.

• Firstly, these are the collectors themselves, which can be equipped with various fittings. They must be equipped with tuning (balancing) valves with or without flow meters, which are placed on the supply manifold, and on the return manifold there may be thermostatic valves or simply shut-off valves.

• Secondly, any manifold for removing air from the system must be equipped with an automatic air vent.
• Thirdly, both the supply and return manifolds must have drain valves to drain the coolant from the manifold and remove air when the system is filling.
• Fourthly, to connect the pipe to the collector, fittings must be used, which are selected individually in each specific case.

• Fifthly, special brackets are used to fasten the collectors and ensure the required center distance.

• Sixthly, if the boiler room is not equipped with a separate riser for heated floors, then a mixing unit, including a pump, thermostatic valve, and bypass, must be responsible for preparing the coolant. The design of this node has many implementations, so this issue will be discussed in a separate article.

• And finally, the entire collector-mixing unit must be located in a collector cabinet, which is installed either in a niche or openly.

The collector-mixing unit is located in such a place that all the lengths of the mains from it to the heated floor loops are approximately equal and the main pipes are in close proximity. The manifold cabinet is often hidden in a niche, then it can be placed not only in change houses and boiler rooms, but in dressing rooms, corridors and even living rooms.

Video: What calculations are necessary before installing a heated floor

Do-it-yourself water heated floor installation

After making calculations and purchasing all the necessary components, you can gradually implement a warm water floor. First, it is necessary to outline the places where the manifold cabinets will be placed, hollow out niches if necessary, and also make passages through building structures. All slotting and drilling work must be completed before the next step.

Installation of insulation

Before this stage, it is necessary to prepare the premises for this - take out everything unnecessary, remove all construction waste, sweep and vacuum the floors. The room must be absolutely clean. When installing slabs, you must wear shoes with flat soles, as heels can damage the surface. We list the sequence of actions when installing insulation.

• First of all, the level of the clean floor is marked on the walls using a laser or water. All base irregularities are measured using a long rule and a level.
• If the unevenness exceeds 10 mm, then they can be completely leveled by adding clean and dry sand, which should subsequently be leveled.

• If the heated floor is made on the ground or above the ground floor, then it is spread waterproofing film with an overlap of adjacent strips of at least 10 cm and overlapping the wall. The joints are taped with tape. A polyethylene film of 150-200 microns is quite suitable as waterproofing.
• Starting from the far corner of the room, the process of laying EPS boards begins. They are laid close to the walls with the marked surface facing up.
• EPS boards must fit tightly together using grooves on their side surfaces. When laying each slab, it must fit tightly to the base and be in a horizontal plane, which is checked building level. If necessary, add sand under the slab.

• If along the laying path there are obstacles in the form of protrusions, columns and other elements, then after preliminary marking the slab is trimmed with a construction knife along a metal ruler. In this case, the EPS must be placed on some kind of non-solid base so that the knife does not become dull, for example, a piece of plywood or OSB.
• When laying the next row, it should be taken into account that the joints of the slabs should not coincide, but run apart, like brickwork. In order to ensure that at least 1/3 of its length remains from the last remaining EPS slab in a row, then laying the next row should begin with it.
• If it is planned to lay the second layer of EPS, then it should be laid in a mutually perpendicular direction with the first layer.
• After laying the thermal insulation, use a hammer drill with a long drill and a hammer to secure the disc dowels at each joint - at each joint and in the center of each EPS board. The joints between the EPS are sealed with construction tape.

• If after installing the insulation there are cavities or cracks left, they can be filled with EPS cuttings and blown out polyurethane foam, but this can be done later, after the pipes have been installed.

After this, we can say that the installation of insulation has been completed. Although EPS boards are dense enough to support the weight of an adult, you still need to take precautions when moving on them. It is best to use wide boards or pieces of plywood or OSB.

Installation of a warm water floor pipe

The most crucial and difficult moment has arrived - installation of underfloor heating pipes. At this stage you need to be especially attentive and careful, and you can’t do it without an assistant. It is also advisable to have a special device for unwinding the pipe, since removing the pipe from the coil with rings is strictly prohibited, since there will then be very strong stresses in it, which will complicate or make installation impossible. The main rule is that the coil must be twisted, and not removed from the fixed coil. In principle, this can be done manually, but with a device it is much easier.

If there are markings on the top side of the EPS slabs, then this is simply wonderful, then laying the pipes will be greatly simplified. And if not, then you shouldn’t go for the purchase of thin foil insulation made of foamed polyethylene with markings applied. It won't be of any use. You can apply the markings yourself. To do this, marks are made with a marker on the top side of the slabs at the distance of the required contour step, and then the lines are marked with paint thread - this way you can make markings in a short time. After this, you can draw the routes of the heated floor contours.

screed for heated floors

A manifold cabinet is attached to the intended location and a manifold is mounted in it, without a pumping and mixing group for now, it will be needed later. At the entrance to the collector, at the exit from it, and also at the entrance to the pipe, each pipe must be protected with a special corrugation. However, corrugation from famous manufacturers costs mind-boggling money, so it is quite acceptable to replace it with thermal insulation of the appropriate diameter. Also, pipes must be protected during transitions from room to room and from circuit to circuit.

Installation of underfloor heating pipes should begin from the areas furthest from the collectors, and all transit pipes should be covered with thermal insulation made of foamed polyethylene, which will ensure maximum energy conservation to the destination point and will not “lose” heat along the way. Next, the pipe “emerges” from the EPS slabs, already “naked” it bypasses its entire heating circuit and “dives” back and, already in thermal insulation, follows to the collector. The transit pipes themselves are placed inside the EPS slabs; for this, passage routes are first cut into them with a knife.

If the thermal insulation consists of two layers of EPS boards, then the first layer is laid first, then all communications are laid, including transit pipes for the heated floor, and then the second layer is adjusted and trimmed on site.

In addition, in the area where the heated floor is located, pipes to radiators, as well as hot and cold water supply lines, can run. If there are several pipes, then they can be secured in a bundle either with disc dowels or with a perforated metal strip and dowels. In any case, they should not protrude beyond the top surface of the EPS slabs, so that the heated floor contour can be laid on top without any obstruction. All cavities are filled with polyurethane foam, which, after hardening, is cut flush from the surface of the insulation boards.

Along the perimeter of the room where there will be heated floors, a damper tape is glued to the walls, which is designed to compensate for the thermal expansion of the screed. The tape comes with or without an adhesive layer. When purchasing it, you don’t have to chase the brand and pay several times more. A Russian-made damper tape that is worthy in every sense is now being produced. If there is no tape at all, then this is also not a problem - it can be replaced by foam plastic 1 or 2 cm thick, glued to the wall with liquid nails or polyurethane foam.

Damper tape should also be installed between rooms and different circuits. For this purpose, a special tape with a T-shaped profile is produced. And in this case, it can be replaced by thin foam plastic glued with polyurethane foam or glue.

Pipe installation is done as follows:

• 10-15 m of pipe is unwound from the coil, thermal insulation and a corresponding fitting for connection to the collector are put on its end.
• The pipe is connected to the supply of the corresponding outlet of the manifold.
• The pipe is laid along previously marked routes and secured with harpoon clamps on straight sections after 30-40 cm, and on turns after 10-15 cm. The pipe should be bent carefully, without creases.

• When laying, you should not try to fasten the pipe immediately, but should first lay it out approximately along the routes for 5-10 m, and only then fasten it with brackets. The pipe should lie on the insulation without tension, there should be no force that tries to pull the staples out of the EPS.
• If for some reason the bracket has flown out of its place, then it is mounted in another place, at a distance of at least 5 cm.
• After bypassing the entire circuit of the heated floor, the return pipe returns to its supply pipe and follows next to it to the collector. If necessary, thermal insulation is put on it.
• Upon arrival at the collector, the pipe is connected to it with the appropriate fitting.

• Near the corresponding loop of the heated floor on the wall, as well as on paper, the length of the contour must be written down. This data is necessary for further balancing.

All contours are laid in the same way. At first it will be difficult, but then, after one “snail” has been laid, everything will be clear and work will go no problem. When moving along already laid contours, you need to lay boards, plywood or OSB under your feet or knees.

Walking in shoes through pipes is not recommended. It is better to organize such “paths”

Video: Laying a heated floor pipe

Installation of reinforcing mesh

Disputes about the appropriateness of reinforcing mesh are ongoing. Some say that it is needed, others say the opposite. There are many examples of successful implementation of a heated floor without a reinforcing mesh and, at the same time, there are examples of unsuccessful implementation of a heated floor with reinforcement. The authors of the article claim that reinforcement will never be superfluous, but only if done correctly.

The Internet is replete with examples where a metal mesh is laid and secured onto the insulation, and only then a heated floor pipe is attached to it using plastic ties. It seems convenient, but this is not reinforcement, but simply placing an absolutely useless mesh under the screed, on which money was spent. Reinforcement is when the mesh is inside the screed and not under it. This is why the authors recommend placing the mesh on top of the pipe.

To reinforce the screed, a metal mesh made of wire with a diameter of 3 mm with a cell size of 100 * 100 mm is suitable - this is quite enough. It is not recommended to use mesh made from reinforcement due to the fact that the reinforcement has a corrugated surface and during installation can damage the smooth surface of the pipe. And you shouldn’t spend extra money on the excessive strength of the screed, because it is assumed that the heated floor is already installed on a fairly solid foundation. The mesh is laid overlapping one cell and tied either with knitting wire or plastic clamps. The sharp protruding ends must be bitten off so that they do not damage the pipe. Additionally, the mesh is attached to the pipe in several places with plastic clamps.

Instead of a metal mesh, a plastic mesh can be used, which will perfectly reinforce the screed and save it from cracking. It is more convenient to lay plastic mesh, as it comes in rolls. Application plastic mesh practically eliminates damage to pipes, and its cost is significantly lower.

After laying the mesh, the question of protecting the pipes again arises, because when moving in shoes along metal mesh, you can easily damage both it and the pipe. Therefore, it is again recommended to move only on boards, plywood or OSB. But there is still a very smart solution that will avoid damage to pipes when pouring screed.

Getting ready cement mortar- the same as it will be when laying the screed (1 part M400 cement and 3 parts sand) and during the laying process, “lappers” are made from the solution, which protrude slightly beyond the surface of the mesh - 2 cm is enough. These “blunders” are made at such a frequency (30-50 cm) that will allow you to later put boards or plywood on them and move completely safely. Another advantage of this approach is the fixation of the mesh, because when walking on it it tends to bend, and this can damage the welds.

“Bands” from the solution will fix the mesh and help you move safely

Filling the contours. Hydraulic tests

This operation should definitely be carried out before pouring the screed, since in case of a hidden fault it is easier to eliminate it immediately than after the floors have been poured. To do this, a hose is connected to the drain pipe on the manifold and discharged into the sewer, since a lot of water will be spilled through the heating circuits. It is best if the hose is transparent - this will make it easy to track the release of air bubbles.

Connect to the input of the supply manifold, which must be equipped with a shut-off ball valve. tap water through a hose or pipe. If the quality tap water low, then it is worth filling the system through mechanical filter. A pressure testing pump is connected to any other output connected to the underfloor heating circuits. This may be the free outlet of the supply manifold, the return outlet from the manifold, and other places - it all depends on the specific implementation of the manifold assembly. In the end, you can screw a tee into the ball shut-off valve of the supply manifold and use it to fill the system and perform pressure testing. After testing, the tee can be removed and the manifold connected to the supply line.

Filling the system is done as follows:

• On the collector, all the contours of the heated floor are covered, except for one. Automatic air vents must be open.
• Water is supplied and its purity and air output are monitored through the drain hose. During production, process grease and chips may remain on the inner surface of the pipes, which must be washed off with running water.
• After all the air has escaped and the water flows absolutely clean, shut off drain valve, and then the already washed and filled contour is overlapped.
• All these operations are performed with all circuits.
• After flushing, removing air and filling all circuits, turn off the water supply valve.

If leaks are detected during the filling stage, they are eliminated immediately after the pressure is released. The result should be a system of warm water floors filled with clean coolant and de-aired.

To test the system, you will need a special tool - a pressure testing pump, which you can rent or invite an experienced technician who has such a device. Let us describe the sequence of actions during crimping.

• All underfloor heating circuits connected to the collector are fully opened.
• Clean water is poured into the container of the pressure testing pump, and the pump supply tap is opened.
• The pump builds up pressure in the system twice as high as the working pressure - 6 atmospheres; it is controlled by the pump pressure gauge and on the manifold (if it has a pressure gauge).
• After raising the pressure, a visual inspection of all pipes and connections is carried out, which, in principle, should only be on the manifold. The pressure is also monitored using a pressure gauge.
• After 30 minutes, the pressure is again raised to 6 bar and all pipes and connections are again inspected. Then after 30 minutes these steps are repeated. If leaks are detected, they are repaired immediately after releasing the pressure.
• If no leaks are detected, then the pressure is again raised to 6 bar and the system is left for a day.
• If after 24 hours the pressure in the system has dropped by no more than 1.5 bar and no leaks are detected, then the underfloor heating system can be considered correctly installed and sealed.

When the pressure in the system increases, the pipe, according to all the laws of physics, will try to straighten, so it is possible to “shoot off” some staples in those places where they were “greedy” with them. Therefore, “blobs” from the solution will greatly help to hold the pipe in place. In the future, when the screed is poured, the pipe will be securely fixed, but during pressure tests, a poorly secured pipe can present unpleasant surprises.

Video: Filling the system with coolant

Video: Pressure testing of a heated floor system

Installation of beacons

The heated floor screed must be poured through pipes under operating pressure. Considering that in most closed systems heating working pressure should be in the range of 1-3 bar, you can take the average value and leave a pressure of 2 bar in the circuits.

It is best to use plasterboard guide profiles PN 28*27/UD 28*27 as beacons. They have sufficient rigidity and a smooth top surface, which is very useful when leveling screeds.

Beacons should be installed at the level of the finished floor minus the thickness of the finishing floor covering. To secure them, very often they simply use mortar pads, on which a guide profile is laid, and then it is recessed according to the level. But this approach has the disadvantage that if the beacon falls below the required level, it has to be taken out, fresh solution added and set again.

It is best if the beacons made of a guide profile have a rigid support underneath, and concrete dowels and a screw of the appropriate length can serve as it. It is preferable to use special concrete screws - pins, which do not require the installation of a dowel, and, therefore, the drilling diameter will be smaller. If you need to drill a hole with a diameter of 10-12 mm for the dowel, then 6 mm is enough for the dowel. Top surface The screw head should be level with the surface of the future screed.

Concrete screws - dowels

Beacons should be located at a distance of no more than 30 cm from the walls. There should not be a large distance between the beacons, since the solution tends to settle and a hole may form on the finished screed. Optimally - 1.5 m, then the construction rule of 2 m is used to level the screed. When installing beacons, do the following:

• Two lines are drawn from the walls to the left and right of the entrance at a distance of 30 cm - this will be the position of the outer beacons.
• The distance between these two lines is divided into equal parts so that it does not exceed 150 cm. It is desirable that one of the stripes falls directly on the entrance to the room. If necessary, the strip at the entrance can be smaller.
• Lines for the position of future lighthouses are drawn on the floor. Marks are made on them for the location of the dowels in increments of 40-50cm.
• Using a hammer drill with a drill corresponding to the dowel, holes are drilled to a given depth.

To align the dowel heads in one plane, it is best to use a laser level. If in the arsenal home handyman If you don’t have it, it doesn’t matter, now this very useful tool can be rented, especially since it will only be needed for one day.

Laser level— an indispensable assistant when marking and installing beacons

The position of the beacons is marked on the wall. To do this, subtract the thickness of the finishing floor covering from the finished floor level previously drawn on the wall. The laser level is set to this mark, and then, by screwing or unscrewing the dowels, their caps are aligned at the same level. If you use a regular building level for this operation, it will take much longer, and the error will be higher.

Next, guide profiles are placed on the dowel caps, and the correct installation is checked using a building level. To fix the beacons in their places, use a cement mortar of the same recipe as for floor screed (1 part cement + 3 parts sand).

The beacons are removed from the dowel caps, and then slides are made from the prepared solution slightly higher than the height of the screed. It is enough to do them every 1 meter, since the beacon will already be securely fastened to the dowel caps. Next, the profile is laid and pressed into the solution, and its excess on top is immediately removed with a spatula. Finally, the level checks the correct installation of all beacons.

At the same time, you can check the correct installation of all damper tapes separating the rooms and contours and, if necessary, strengthen their position with a solution.

water heated floor

Video: Installation of beacons for underfloor heating screed

Pouring heated floor screed

Increased demands are placed on a heated water floor screed, because in addition to the mechanical loads it carries, it also experiences temperature deformations. And usually a cement-sand mortar will not work here; the concrete mixture must be modified with a plasticizer and fiber.

The plasticizer is designed to reduce the water-cement ratio, increase the mobility of the mixture and increase its strength when drying. Mobility when laying underfloor heating screed is extremely important, since the solution must tightly “grab” the pipes and easily release air bubbles out. Without the use of plasticizer the only way To increase the mobility of the mixture is to add water to it. But then only part of the water will react with the cement, and the rest will evaporate for a long time, which will increase the setting and hardening time and reduce the strength of the screed. The water-cement ratio should be exactly the same as to allow the screed to set. Typically, 1 kg of cement requires 0.45-0.55 kg of water.

The plasticizer is available in liquid and dry form. It must be used exactly as the manufacturer recommends, and no other way. All sorts of “substitutes” in the form of liquid soap, washing powder, PVA glue are not acceptable.

The fiber is intended for dispersed reinforcement concrete mixture, which makes it possible to significantly reduce or virtually eliminate the formation of cracks, increase strength and abrasion resistance, and increase bending and compressive strength. This is achieved by the fact that fiber microfibers are distributed and fasten the screed throughout the entire volume of the concrete mixture.

Fiber can be metal, polypropylene and basalt. To screed heated floors, it is recommended to use polypropylene or basalt fiber. It is added according to the manufacturer's recommendations, but it is recommended to use at least 500 grams of polypropylene fiber per 1 m 3 of the finished solution. To get a mixture with best properties, add 800 or more grams per 1 m 3.

You can find it on sale ready-made mixtures for pouring heated floor screeds from well-known and not so well-known manufacturers. These mixtures already contain a plasticizer, fiber, and other components. Despite their undoubted ease of use and high quality, the cost of the finished screed will be significantly higher than a solution prepared independently.

Before pouring the screed, you must remove all extra items from the floor, if necessary, vacuum the surface. It is also necessary to prepare all the tools and utensils for mixing and transporting the solution. All work on pouring a heated floor screed in a room must be done at one time, so it is advisable to have two assistants: one prepares the solution, the second carries it, and the main person lays and levels the screed. All windows in the room must be closed, the screed must be limited from exposure to drafts and direct sunlight.

Independent preparation of a solution for screeding a heated floor should be done only by mechanization - the quality of the solution must be high. A concrete mixer or a concrete mixer can be used as auxiliary mechanisms. construction mixer. No attachments for a drill or hammer drill will work here, no matter what various “truthful” sources say.

The basis of the solution is Portland cement of a grade not lower than M400, which must be dry and with a shelf life of no more than 6 months after the date of issue. The sand must also be dry, washed and sifted. river sand won't fit - it's too regular in shape. For screed, the ratio of cement to sand should be 1:3 by weight, but in practice, few people weigh sand and cement, and a universal measurement method is used - a bucket. Considering that the density of construction sand is in the range of 1.3-1.8 t/m 3, and that of cement during transportation is 1.5-1.6 t/m 3, then you can not be afraid to measure cement and sand in buckets, since the quality mixture will be quite acceptable.

The water in the solution should be approximately a third of the mass of cement, that is, for 1 bag of 50 kg of cement, approximately 15 liters of water are needed. However, the use of a plasticizer reduces the water-cement ratio, so when preparing a solution with water you need to be very careful - it is better to underfill a little and then add it, rather than overfill it.

The technology for preparing the solution with a mixer and a concrete mixer is slightly different. Using a mixer, you need to mix dry cement, sand and fluffed polypropylene or basalt fiber at low speeds and then gradually add water with a plasticizer dissolved in it. In gravity-type concrete mixers, of which the vast majority are, it is difficult to mix dry cement and sand (dry cement sticks to wet blades and drums), so first part of the water with a plasticizer is poured into it, and then gradually add first cement, then sand, then another portion of cement and the remaining water. Fiber is added gradually. One part with water, the other with sand. In this case, the fiber cannot be thrown into the drum of a concrete mixer in a lump, but must be divided into portions and fluffed before loading.

The time for preparing the solution in a concrete mixer is usually 3-4 minutes, and with a mixer it is a little longer - 5-7 minutes. The readiness of the solution is determined by its uniform color and consistency. If you take a lump of solution in your hands and squeeze it, no water should come out of it, but at the same time the solution should be plastic. If you place the solution in a heap on the floor, it should not spread much, but only settle a little under its own weight. If you make cuts in it with a spatula, they should not blur, but should hold their shape.

Laying the screed begins from the far corners of the room and is carried out in strips along the beacons. Only after one strip is completed, the next one is laid and leveled; the process should end at the entrance to the room. During the leveling process, there is no need to immediately try to perfectly level the surface of the screed along the beacons. The main thing is that there are no dips in the screed, and small sagging and marks from the rule can be easily corrected later.

After 1-2 days (it all depends on external conditions), when you can already walk on the screed, you need to clean its surface. First, the damper tape protruding from the screed is cut with a construction knife and removed, and then the construction rule is taken and pressed with the sharp end to the plane of the beacons. In the direction away from you, with short but energetic movements, stripping is done until the beacons are completely exposed. Then the resulting debris is removed, the screed is moistened with a spray bottle and covered with plastic wrap.

The next day, the beacons are carefully removed, you can unscrew the dowels, and the resulting grooves are rubbed with a solution or tile adhesive. The screed is moistened and covered again; it is recommended to do this daily for the first 10 days after pouring.

Balancing the contours of a warm floor. Commissioning

After the screed has fully matured, which is at least 28 days, you can begin to balance the contours of the heated floor. And manifold flow meters will help a lot in this process. That is why it is necessary to purchase a manifold with balancing valves and flow meters.

The fact is that the loops of the heated floor have different lengths, and accordingly they have different hydraulic resistance. It is obvious that the “lion’s share” of the coolant will always follow the path of least resistance - that is, along the shortest circuit, while others will get much less. In this case, in the longest circuit the circulation will be so sluggish that there can be no talk of any heat removal. A well-designed underfloor heating project always indicates the flow rate in each circuit and the position of the control valves, but if the underfloor heating is done on your own, then a simplified but effective method will do.

• If the pumping and mixing unit has not yet been connected, then it is being installed. The underfloor heating collector is connected to the supply and return lines.
• All circuits of the heated floor are opened completely, the supply and return ball valves of the manifolds are opened at the inlet. Automatic air vent valves must be open.
• The circulation is turned on. The maximum temperature is set on the head of the mixing unit, but the boiler does not turn on yet; the coolant must circulate at room temperature.
• The pressure in the entire heating system is brought to working pressure (1-3 bar).
• All contours of the heated floor are closed, except for the longest one. The position of the flow meter on this circuit is noted and recorded.
• The second longest circuit opens completely. If the flow rate in it is greater, then the balancing valve is tightened until the flow rate is equal to the longest one.

• Next, all circuits are opened sequentially in descending order of their length, and the flow is regulated by balancing valves.
• As a result, the flow rate in all circuits should be the same. If this is not the case, then you can adjust the adjustment on the contours without touching the longest loop.

All of the above operations are performed correctly and the flow meters show that circulation in the circuits is occurring, then you can begin testing the heated floor with heated coolant. You need to start with low temperatures - from 25°C, and then every day gradually increase the temperature by 5°C, until the coolant is supplied to the circuits with its own operating temperature. What is the sequence of actions at this stage?

• The temperature on the thermostatic valve of the mixing unit is set to 25°C, the circulation pump is turned on at first speed, and the system is allowed to operate in this mode for a day. At the same time, the circulation through the flow meters is controlled and adjusted.
• After a day, the temperature rises to 30°C, and the underfloor heating system is left on again for a day. The flow and temperature of the supply and return are controlled.
• The next day the temperature rises another 5°C, to 35°C. This is much closer to the operating mode of a heated floor, so it is already worth adjusting the temperature difference between the supply and return collectors. If it is in the range of 5-10°C, then this is normal, but if it is more, then the speed of the circulation pump should be increased by one step.
• The maximum temperature to which you can raise the temperature in the heated floor supply manifold is 50°C, but it is better not to do this, but check it at operating modes - 45°C or 40°C. The temperature difference between the supply and return is checked in the same way. The pump must operate at the lowest possible speed to maintain a temperature difference of up to 10°C.

The correctness of the underfloor heating adjustment cannot be assessed immediately, since such a heating system is very inertial. It may take several hours to feel the change. temperature regime. Therefore, anyone who has made a heated floor on their own should arm themselves with patience and gradually bring the system to a mode that would ensure the desired floor temperature taking into account the coating. To do this, you will need to “play around” with the settings of the balancing valves, thermal heads (if the collector is equipped with them) and the speed of the circulation pump. The main thing is that the water heated floor system, made by yourself, works.

Find out how by studying the instructions with photos in a special article on our portal.

Conclusion

Stubborn statistics show that the system of warm water floors, in addition to obvious comfort, also provides significant energy savings. The same statistics indicate that the number of successful independent implementations of such heating is growing every year. All technologies have already been developed, the market is flooded with any components for every taste, color and budget. The necessary information is always available in open sources; you can always ask experts for advice. The team of authors hopes that this article dispelled the initial fear and made it clear to readers that it is quite possible to make a water heated floor with your own hands.

Video: How to calculate and make a water heated floor with your own hands

In rooms heated using underfloor heating technology, the feeling is much more comfortable than with a traditional radiator system. When the floor is heated, the temperature is distributed optimally: the feet are warmest, and at head level it is cooler. There are two heating methods: water and electric. Water is more expensive to install, but cheaper to operate, so this is what is used more often. You can slightly reduce installation costs if you make a water-heated floor with your own hands. The technology is not the simplest, but it does not require encyclopedic knowledge.

Design and principle of operation

For water heating of a heated floor, a system of pipes is used through which the coolant circulates. Most often, pipes are poured into a screed, but there are dry installation systems - wooden or polystyrene. In any case, there is a large number of small cross-section pipes laid under the floor covering.

Where can it be mounted?

Because of large quantity Water heating pipes are made mainly in private homes. The fact is that the heating system of early high-rise buildings is not designed for this heating method. It is possible to make a warm floor using heating, but there is a high probability that either your place will be too cold, or your neighbors above or below will, depending on the type of power supply to the system. Sometimes the entire riser becomes cold: the hydraulic resistance of the water floor is several times higher than that of a radiator heating system and it can block the movement of the coolant. For this reason, it is very difficult to obtain permission from the management company to install a heated floor (installation without permission is an administrative offense).

The good news is that in new buildings they began to make two systems: one for radiator heating, the second is for water heated floors. In such houses, permission is not required: the corresponding system was developed taking into account higher hydraulic resistance.

Principles of organization

To understand what you need to make a water heated floor with your own hands, you need to understand what the system consists of and how it works.

Adjusting the coolant temperature

In order for your feet to feel comfortable on the floor, the temperature of the coolant should not exceed 40-45°C. Then the floor warms up to comfortable values ​​- about 28°C. Most heating equipment cannot produce such a temperature: at least 60-65°C. The exception is condensing gas boilers. They show maximum efficiency at low temperatures. From their output, heated coolant can be supplied directly to the underfloor heating pipes.

When using any other type of boiler, a mixing unit is required. In it, cooled coolant from the return pipeline is added to the hot water from the boiler. You can see the composition of this connection in the diagram for connecting the heated floor to the boiler.

The operating principle is as follows. The heated coolant comes from the boiler. It goes to the thermostatic valve, which, when the temperature threshold is exceeded, opens the admixture of water from the return pipeline. In the photo there is a jumper in front of the circulation pump. A two-way or three-way valve is installed in it. Open it and mix in the cooled coolant.

The mixed flow through the circulation pump enters the thermostat, which controls the operation of the thermostatic valve. When the set temperature is reached, the supply from the return stops; if it is exceeded, it opens again. This is how the temperature of the water heated floor coolant is adjusted.

Contour distribution

Next, the coolant enters the distribution comb. If a water heated floor is made in one small room (a bathroom, for example), in which only one loop of pipes is laid, this unit may not exist. If there are several loops, then it is necessary to somehow distribute the coolant between them, and then somehow collect it and send it to the return pipeline. This task is performed by the distribution comb or, as it is also called, the underfloor heating manifold. Essentially, these are two pipes - supply and return, to which the inputs and outputs of all underfloor heating circuits are connected. This is the simplest option.

If the heated floor is installed in several rooms, then it is better to install a collector with the ability to regulate the temperature. Firstly, different rooms require different temperatures: some prefer +18°C in the bedroom, others need +25°C. Secondly, most often, the circuits have different lengths and can transfer different amounts of heat. Thirdly, there are “internal” rooms - in which one wall faces the street, and there are corner ones - with two or even three external walls. Naturally, the amount of heat in them should be different. This is ensured by combs with thermostats. The equipment is not cheap, the circuit is more complicated, but this installation allows you to maintain the desired temperature in the room.

There are different thermostats. Some control the air temperature in the room, while others control the floor temperature. You choose the type yourself. Regardless of this, they control servomotors mounted on the feed comb. Servomotors, depending on the command, increase or decrease the flow area, regulating the intensity of the coolant flow.

Theoretically (and practically it happens), situations may arise when the supply to all circuits is cut off. In this case, the circulation will stop, the boiler may boil and fail. To prevent this from happening, be sure to create a bypass through which part of the coolant passes. With this system design, the boiler is safe.

You can watch one of the system options in the video.

Laying a warm water floor

One of the key components of the system is pipes and their fixation system. There are two technologies:

Both systems are imperfect, but laying pipes in a screed is cheaper. Although it has a lot of disadvantages, it is due to its lower cost that it is more popular.

Which system to choose

In terms of cost, dry systems are more expensive: their components (if you take ready-made, factory-made ones) cost more. But they weigh much less and are put into operation faster. There are several reasons why you should use them.

First: the heavy weight of the screed. Not all foundations and floors of houses are able to withstand the load created by a water-heated floor in a concrete screed. Above the surface of the pipes there must be a layer of concrete of at least 3 cm. If we take into account that the outer diameter of the pipe is also about 3 cm, then the total thickness of the screed is 6 cm. The weight is more than significant. And on top there is often another tile on a layer of glue. It’s good if the foundation is designed with a margin - it will hold up, but if not, problems will begin. If there is a suspicion that the ceiling or foundation will not bear the load, it is better to make a wooden or polystyrene system.

Second: low maintainability of the screed system. Although when laying underfloor heating circuits it is recommended to lay only solid coils of pipes without joints, periodically the pipes are damaged. Either it was hit with a drill during repairs, or it burst due to a defect. The location of the damage can be determined by a wet spot, but it is difficult to repair: you have to break the screed. In this case, adjacent loops can be damaged, causing the damage area to become larger. Even if you managed to do it carefully, you have to make two seams, and these are the potential places for further damage.

Third: commissioning of a heated floor in a screed is possible only after the concrete has reached 100% strength. This takes at least 28 days. Before this date, you cannot turn on the heated floor.

Fourth: you have a wooden floor. It's hard in itself wooden floor- not the best idea, and also a screed with an increased temperature. The wood will quickly collapse and the entire system will collapse.

The reasons are serious. Therefore, in some cases, it is more advisable to use dry technologies. Moreover, making a wooden water-heated floor with your own hands is not that expensive. The most expensive component is the metal plates, but they can also be made from thin sheet metal and, better yet, aluminum. It is important to be able to bend, forming grooves for pipes.

A variant of a polystyrene heated floor system without screed is demonstrated in the video.

Materials for heated water floors

Most often they make a water heated floor in a screed. We will talk about its structure and necessary materials. The diagram of a warm water floor is shown in the photo below.

All work begins with leveling the base: without insulation, heating costs will be too high, and insulation can only be laid on flat surface. Therefore, the first thing to do is prepare the foundation - make rough screed. Next, we will describe step by step the order of work and the materials used in the process:

• Roll out around the perimeter of the room and damper tape. This is a strip of thermal insulation material, no more than 1 cm thick. It prevents heat loss from heating the walls. Its second task is to compensate for the thermal expansion that occurs when materials are heated. The tape can be special, or you can also lay thin foam plastic cut into strips (no more than 1 cm thick) or other insulation of the same thickness.
• A layer of heat-insulating materials is laid on the rough screed. For underfloor heating, the best choice is polystyrene foam. Extruded is best. Its density must be at least 35 kg/m2. It is dense enough to withstand the weight of the screed and operating loads, has excellent characteristics and a long service life. Its disadvantage is that it is expensive. Other, cheaper materials (foam, mineral wool, expanded clay), have a lot of disadvantages. If possible, use polystyrene foam. The thickness of thermal insulation depends on many parameters - on the region, characteristics of the foundation material and insulation, and the method of organizing the subfloor. Therefore, it must be calculated in relation to each case.

• Next, a reinforcing mesh is often placed in increments of 5 cm. Pipes are also tied to it - with wire or plastic clamps. If expanded polystyrene was used, you can do without reinforcement - you can fasten it with special plastic brackets, which are driven into the material. For other insulation materials, reinforcing mesh is required.
• Beacons are installed on top, after which the screed is poured. Its thickness is less than 3 cm above the level of the pipes.
• Next, the finished floor covering is laid. Any suitable for use in a heated floor system.

These are all the main layers that need to be laid when you make a water-heated floor with your own hands.

Pipes for heated floors and installation schemes

The main element of the system is pipes. Most often they use polymer ones - made of cross-linked polyethylene or metal-plastic. They bend well and have a long service life. Their only obvious drawback is their not very high thermal conductivity. The recently introduced corrugated stainless steel pipes do not have this disadvantage. They bend better, cost no more, but due to their lack of popularity, they are not yet used often.

The diameter of the pipes for heated floors depends on the material, but usually it is 16-20 mm. They are stacked according to several schemes. The most common are spiral and snake; there are several modifications that take into account some of the features of the premises.

Laying with a snake is the simplest, but as the coolant passes through the pipes, it gradually cools down and reaches the end of the circuit, which is already much colder than it was at the beginning. Therefore, the zone where the coolant enters will be the warmest. This feature is used - installation begins from the coldest zone - along the outer walls or under the window.

The double snake and spiral are almost free of this drawback, but they are more difficult to install - you need to draw a diagram on paper so as not to get confused during installation.

Screed

You can use a regular cement-sand mortar based on Portland cement to fill a water-heated floor. The grade of Portland cement should be high - M-400, or better yet M-500. - not lower than M-350.

But ordinary “wet” screeds take a very long time to gain their design strength: at least 28 days. You can’t turn on the heated floor all this time: cracks will appear that can even break the pipes. Therefore, so-called semi-dry screeds are increasingly being used - with additives that increase the plasticity of the solution, significantly reducing the amount of water and the time for “aging”. You can add them yourself or look for dry mixtures with the appropriate properties. They cost more, but there is less hassle with them: according to the instructions, add the required amount of water and mix.

It’s possible to make a water heated floor with your own hands, but it will take a decent amount of time and a lot of money.

Heated floors in the home are becoming increasingly popular not only because it is fashionable. Firstly, it is very convenient, secondly, if the system is built correctly, it is economical and, thirdly, incredibly comfortable. As soon as you get into a room with heated floors, you start thinking about how you can do something similar at home. Owners of private houses are lucky: they can install any floor heating system. You just need to choose which one.

Heating a private house with heated floors

Floor heating can be the main heating system, or it can serve to improve living comfort. The roles are different. How to decide? It all depends on what climate zone your home is located in and how well it is insulated.

Heating a house with heated floors is only possible if, subject to the recommendations for floor temperature (the surface should have a temperature no higher than 30 o C), its thermal power will be sufficient to replenish the heat loss of your home.

Determining heat loss

How to find out heat loss? In general, you need to order a thermal engineering calculation from specialized organization. This is a rather tedious and rather complex calculation, which takes into account:

• wall material and thickness,
• materials and thickness of the foundation, roof,
• type and thickness of insulation of each structural element Houses,
• area of ​​windows and doors, degree of their insulation,
• material and thickness of floors,
• climatic factors;
• a lot more things.

By the way, the design organization will require all this data from you along with the house plan, so you can prepare in advance.

Calculating all this on your own is time consuming and not at all easy: thermal engineering calculations are one of the most complex in the industry. But you can still try to estimate the heat loss yourself, albeit with a large error. There are two methods: by area and by volume. If you apply correction factors correctly, you can achieve more or less accurate results. But the volume calculation method seems more correct. It is described in the article:

Try this method to roughly estimate heat loss separate rooms and the house in general.

We count the heat coming from the floor

Determining the required amount of heat is not everything. Now you need to find out how much of this heat heated floors can give you. Practice has established that, on average, 60-80 W/m2 can be “removed” from one meter of floor. Don't be alarmed, this is not enough. After all, we are talking about the entire heated floor area. Considering the number of “squares” of the room, this is already decent.

But make no mistake! We are talking about the heated area, not the total area. The fact is that there is no point in heating the floor, say, under a large cabinet that you are not going to move, there is no point in heating a refrigerator or washing machine, heated floors under cabinets in the kitchen, etc. In addition to the fact that this is irrational, some heaters are afraid of the so-called “locking” - this is when some things are placed on them. This threatens them with overheating, which can cause cables or infrared film to burn out.

Zones in which a pipe with coolant will be laid out and will be a heated area. To calculate it from total area rooms, subtract the area of ​​objects under which there is no point in heating the floor, and you get the required figure.

Now you can calculate how much heat a warm floor can give you in each room. To do this, multiply the found heated area by 60 W/m2 or 80 W/m2. Which one specifically? If there are tiles in the room, 80 W/m2 can be considered, for all other coatings the figure is usually 60 W/m2.

Can underfloor heating be used as the main heating system for a home?

To find out whether it is possible to heat a private house only with heated floors, compare the results obtained with the calculated heat losses. If a warm floor can provide no less heat than the room loses, it can be the main heating system.

If there is not enough heat from the floor, a combined system is made. Radiators are often combined with heated floors. But you can also use convectors or infrared emitters, and you can make not only the floor, but also the walls or ceiling warm. You won’t be able to install water floors there (although if you set a goal, you can do that), but electric floors can be done easily. You can combine heated floors with another new heating system - baseboard. In general, there are a lot of options, especially for a private home.

When planning combined system Some rooms can only be heated with heated floors. Those where the heat removal from floor heating is sufficient to compensate for losses. Usually in these rooms there are tiles, not many items, or the pieces of furniture are small in size (corridor, hallway, kitchen, bathroom, etc.). In others, you can install heated floors together with radiators.

How realistic is it to heat a private home with heated floors? Quite realistic and doable. Provided that your house is well insulated and is located not in the north, but at least in the middle zone.

What kind of heated floors to make in the house

But you can heat the floor in your house using different systems. Which ones are better? It’s hard to say, but more often they are installed in houses. Maybe because it’s closer to the radiator system we’re used to, or maybe they don’t want to pay high electricity bills.

Water heated floors: types of installation, pros and cons

The most economical to operate are water heated floors. But the system is complex and expensive to install. But you will pay less for heating monthly. And even less than when using radiators. By about 20%.

What is needed for a water floor in the house? Lots of equipment:

Heating cables appeared first, then they began to make mats from them. This method is still popular in Europe (in northern countries with similar climates too). So the technology can be trusted. If we talk about price, then among electric heaters for the floor, cables are the cheapest. Cable mats are a little more expensive, but they are easier to install.

In recent years, they have been gaining popularity. And all because they emit heat in the infrared range. It is worth saying that they are installed quickly and simply, using the “dry” method without screed. Well suited for installation under laminate or wooden floors, as they heat the floor evenly. Striped films for heated floors are more common on the market, but there are also films with a continuous coating. So they are better under a floorboard or parquet, as they heat more evenly, which is important for wood.

One of the types of electric heated floors is infrared carbon film

Film floors with tiles are not very good: ordinary carbon films in the screed are destroyed, and their smooth surface does not bond well with tile adhesive. Therefore, they are installed in a dry screed under GVL slabs or chipboard, and tiles are already laid on them. But there are special films with through perforation that were developed specifically for tiles. So, if you wish, you can lay them down.

Infrared films work well on ceilings or walls. This is for the case when the heat transfer from the floor is not enough for heating. You can heat up part of the wall (necessarily the inside, not the outside) and turn on this heating as needed.

Liquid electric floors

This is a new product on the market: . This is a symbiosis of a water floor that is heated by electricity. There are two systems so far, and both have different device. In one polyethylene pipe filled with antifreeze, a seven-core heating cable is inserted inside, the pipe is sealed hermetically, laid in the floor screed, and the ends electric cable installed on the mounting box, which is already connected to the thermostat. It turns out that this is essentially water heating, but the coolant is heated electrically by a cable. Interesting solution.

Warm floor XL Pipe (X-L Pipe) from the Korean campaign Daewoo Enertec - electric-water heating

The second type of liquid electric floors- capillary system. Here the principle is a little different. Thin tubes are also laid in the screed. They are connected to the control unit. It heats the coolant, creates pressure and controls the temperature. This method is an excellent method for heating one room: there is no need to fence a complex system, and there is no electricity in the floor.

Results

With so many options, it's easy to get lost. So let's summarize. The cheapest ones during operation are water floors. They can be installed not only in screeds, but also using flooring systems - without mortar. The disadvantage of water floors is the significant costs at the installation stage.

Electric heated floors are more often used for floor heating only in some rooms: they “draw” a lot of energy, and you need to pay for it. But at the installation stage they require less investment.

Comfort and coziness in the house during the cold season depends on the temperature conditions of the room. Poorly heated apartments and cold floors create a threat of colds for family members. One of the means to maintain a stable temperature in a living space is heated floors. Not always and not everyone has enough money to call specialists to install them. It is important to learn how to make a water-heated floor with your own hands. Today we will tell you about it.

What is a warm water floor?

Water heated floor the whole system modern heating, replacing radiators.

Water floor heating schemes

The simplest installation layout is snake.

Pipes are routed from the collector in the form of loops, covering the entire area of ​​the room. Each loop goes from one wall to another, replacing the previous one. This method allows you to completely warm up only part of the room. Hot water comes only from that side. As it passes through the entire heating system, it loses heat. A cooled pipeline does not sufficiently warm up the part of the room remote from the coolant.

The design of a water heated floor with a snake in a private house is a labor-intensive process. Temperature changes in double snake are reduced, but installation remains labor-intensive.

The most in a known way The laying of pipes is considered to be a spiral, otherwise a snail. It evenly heats all rooms in the house.

Spiral covers the entire perimeter of the room, starting from the edges gradually approaching the center, and then from the center to the opposite side. A pitch of 10 mm avoids thermal pits. Installation using this method is quite easy and can be done by one person without an assistant.

Snail It is convenient because the bending of the pipes in it is insignificant. A spiral can be made in any part of the room, going around difficult places. It can insulate the cold spaces of the room - at the outer walls, at the entrance to the veranda. An advantage of this scheme will be the possibility of establishing any pitch between the pipes.

Exists combined method pipe laying – combination of snake and spiral. The snake can be installed, for example, at the entrance, where special heat is not required, and the snail can be installed in the central part of the room to create thermal comfort

Stages of installation of warm water floors

Stage 1 - installation technological unit into the manifold cabinet.

Stage 2 – floor preparation.

The floor surface must be horizontal without unevenness. Exceeding the level is allowed only by 5 mm. If the surface is uneven, then additional concrete screed. We remove debris from the base with a powerful vacuum cleaner, then seal the cracks and crevices with cement.

Stage 3 – laying damper tape.

It is necessary in order to separate the heating plate from the walls, to prevent heat loss and to compensate for temperature deformations. Tape thickness 5-8 mm, height 15 mm. The tape must be laid around the perimeter so that after the screed and finishing coating it protrudes above them. Upon completion construction work the edge of the tape protruding above the surface of the finishing installation is cut off.

Stage 4 – We put a layer of thermal insulation, which will prevent heat loss from the circuits.

Expanded polystyrene or penoplex is used as a material for waterproofing. It also serves as a basis for laying pipes. Expanded polystyrene mats are overlapped on top of each other, inserted into the grooves. If the coating is exposed to moisture from below, then a vapor barrier is laid under these slabs. Thermal insulation can also be ordinary polyethylene film. You can use multifoil. Then a reinforcing mesh should be placed on top of the heat-insulating material, to which the contours are attached using plastic clamps, steel wire, a stapler and a clamp. Excellent fastening of pipes to reinforcing mesh is a PVC strip.

Stage 5 – Do-it-yourself water heated flooring for a private house also involves laying pipes.

The pipes are laid in a snake or snail pattern. The segments between them (step) are laid out in accordance with project documentation. From correct installation The efficiency of the heating will depend. The contours should be no more than 60-90m. If the room is large, then several more contours should be laid. It is important that they are the same length, from a single piece, otherwise the seal will be broken.

We cut off the ends of the pipes and attach them to the collectors. Tighten the Eurocone fitting with a wrench.

Stage 6 – check the heating system for leaks.

To do this, you need to fill the system with water under pressure. The pressure should be several times higher than usual, but not less than 0.6 MPa. This pressure should be maintained for 30 minutes. Following hydraulic test 2 hours have already passed, and the pressure rises to 1 MPa.

Stage 7 – if the pressure testing was successful, then you need to pour the concrete screed. It hardens in about 28 days.

Screed for heated water floors

The screed is a cement-sand mortar with the addition of a plasticizer.

The modifier can be liquid or dry.

The dry plasticizer is diluted with water 1:2. The modifier helps remove excess liquid, making the solution plastic and homogeneous.

The screed in a warm water field protects the pipes from external influences and prevents depressurization of the pipes. It has good heat transfer: receiving heat from the pipes, it transfers it to the air in the room.

Types of coating

Water-heated floors are mainly used for tiles and porcelain stoneware.

These floor coverings heat up quickly and do not emit harmful substances. They are durable, do not undergo deformation, and will last a long time. Wide design solution will make the tiles a beautiful floor covering to suit your taste.

You can also use other materials: laminate, PVC tiles, linoleum, carpet.

You just need to take into account the features of these materials and listen to the advice of experts on using them as floor coverings for a heating system.

Wood shrinks at elevated temperatures. Therefore, there is no need to warm up the circuits above 27 degrees.

Thermal and sound insulating linoleum will not allow heat to pass through. Thermal conductivity is greater the thinner the linoleum. In addition, you need to take into account that small particles may get into it, which will be felt by your bare feet. Therefore, it is advisable to lay it by professionals. If you take on the linoleum coating yourself, do it carefully so that finishing materials lay down straight.

Chipboard, plywood or gypsum fiber board are laid on top of the pipes.

Laminate used as a floor covering in a heated water field has high thermal conductivity. The thinner its layer, the faster and more heat it gives off. This floor heats up faster, creating comfortable conditions for those living in the house.

Parquet is less reliable because it is exposed to high temperatures and pressure changes. This is a capricious material, so it requires careful care and sufficient moisture.

Cost of water heated floor

The price for a water-heated floor is on average 1500-3000 per sq. m. m. This price is made up of the cost of all materials: pipes, fasteners, insulating material, boiler, pump, manifold cabinet, floor installation work.

Water electric heaters are a system consisting of pipes of 20 mm diameter. There is a heating cable inside them. The antifreeze coolant is static and does not move, so a pump, boiler, or manifold are not needed.

Installed in a screed. Operating principle: when the power is turned on, the coolant heats up. When antifreeze heats up, pressure increases, promoting rapid and uniform heat distribution.

So, we told you about the warm water floor system with our own hands, and touched a little on electric floors. We hope that after reading the article, you have learned a lot of important and useful information about this system and will be able to buy a water heated floor and install it yourself.