Warm floors are considered, in our understanding, a more modern heating system than radiator heating. However, this is far from the case - they appeared much earlier. Stubborn historical facts show that underfloor heating was successfully used in the days of Ancient Rome, on the territory of Korea, and in Russia too. True, it was used then only stove heating, since the system for the transportation of hydrocarbons through pipes did not yet exist. V modern world The most economically successful countries widely use underfloor heating, and this is done not only for reasons of obvious comfort, but also taking into account the fact that such heating saves energy resources, the demand for which is growing every year.
This type of heating is not cheap. Components 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, in the end, get what they wanted - comfortable and economical heating.
Of course, they are easier to implement, they are easier to manage, but the cost of energy resources makes its own adjustments - in operation, this type of heating is much more expensive than a water-heated floor. It will take only 4-5 years and a warm water floor will pay off with interest, but only on the condition that it is done correctly and correctly. This is what the authors of the article want to tell our readers about. Sweeping aside colorful catalogs with expensive equipment, but 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 is completely logical, since this type of fuel is cheaper than others. And this trend will continue for several more decades, at least. Therefore, it is best to implement warm floors with water, the heat carrier in which is heated by the energy of combustion of natural gas. But for this, a number of conditions must be met.
Warm water floor is a complex multicomponent system, each part of which performs its own function. Consider its structure in the following figure.
Typical construction of a "pie" of a warm water floor This type of underfloor heating is called "wet" because it uses "wet" construction processes, namely the pouring of a cement-sand screed. There are also so-called dry warm floors, but they are mainly made. Within the framework of this article, we will consider precisely "wet" warm water floors, since they are much better, although their installation is more complicated.
The warm water floor is mounted on a stable and solid 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, as it is best to use extruded, which has a very low coefficient of thermal conductivity, high mechanical strength and reasonable cost. A cement-sand screed is equipped on top of the insulation, to which a plasticizer must be added - for the mobility of the mixture, ease of installation and reduction of the water-cement ratio. It is advisable to reinforce the tie with a 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 a 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, so the strength will be higher and the distribution of heat over the floor will be more even.
In the place where the walls adjoin to 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 working with warm floors. The best way out is ceramic or porcelain stoneware, but some other types of coverings - laminate, carpet, or can also be used with warm floors, but there must be a special sign in their marking.
Such coatings, however, require strict adherence to the thermal regime of the floor, which is achieved by the use of automation - special mixing units.
The smartest move in construction is when the underfloor heating pipeline is laid even at the stage of erecting floors. This is very successfully used in Germany, Sweden, Norway, Canada, yes, and in other economically successful countries where energy resources are very expensive and therefore they use floor heating, which is 30-40% more economical than radiator heating. It is quite possible already in a finished room, but it must meet certain requirements. Let's list them.
The most correct underfloor heating pipeline is the one that was laid even at the stage of building a house. About pipes of a warm water floor is written in sufficient detail in our portal. Obviously, for a warm floor, 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, after stretching, pipes always tend to return to their original position. This allows the use of slip ring axial fittings, which can be walled up without fear. building construction... In addition, when the pipe is broken, its shape can be restored by heating the problem area with a construction hairdryer.
PERT pipes do not have a memory effect, so only push-in fittings are used with them, which must not be bricked up. But if all the contours of the underfloor heating are made with solid pipe sections, then all connections will be only on the collector and it is quite possible to use PERT pipes.
In addition, manufacturers produce composite pipes, when aluminum foil is placed between two layers of cross-linked polyethylene, which is a reliable oxygen barrier. But the heterogeneity of the material, the difference in the coefficients of thermal expansion of aluminum and polyethylene can provoke pipe delamination. 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 best pipe is the one with the EVOH layer inside.
There are three main pipe sizes for underfloor heating circuits: 16 * 2 mm, 17 * 2 mm and 20 * 2 mm. Most often they use 16 * 2 and 20 * 2 mm. How to choose the right pipe.
One of the most important stages in the arrangement of warm water floors is their competent calculation. Of course, it is best to entrust this to specialists, but the already accumulated experience suggests that this can be done independently. You can find a lot on the Internet free software and online calculators. Most of the well-known manufacturers provide their software for free.
water heated floor
First you need to decide what temperature the warm floor should have.
Heating with warm water floors is low-temperature, therefore, the heat carrier must be supplied at more low temperatures than in radiators. If water can be supplied to the radiators at a temperature of 80-90 ° C, then the warm floor is not 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 systems of warm water floors, the optimal modes are 55/45 ° C, 50/40 ° C, 45/35 ° C and 40/30 ° C.
A very important indicator is (loops) warm water floor. Ideally, they should all be the same length, then there will be no problem with balancing, but in practice this is unlikely to be achieved, therefore it is accepted:
Moreover, it is advisable to focus not on the upper border, but on the lower one. It is better to divide the room into more loops than to try to achieve circulation with a more powerful pump. Naturally, all loops must be made with pipes of the same diameter.
The step of the layout (laying) of the underfloor heating pipe - one more the most important indicator, which is made from 100 mm to 600 mm, depending on the heat load on the warm floor, the purpose of the room, the length of the circuit and other indicators. Step less than 100 mm to do PEX pipes almost impossible, there is a high probability of just breaking the pipe. If the underfloor heating will be equipped only for comfort or additional heating, then a minimum step of 150 mm can be made. So which layout step should you use?
The contours of a water-heated floor can be laid in different ways. And each method has its own advantages and disadvantages. Let's consider them.
Each of the methods can be applied 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 in one room to meet the requirements for more intensive heating of the edge zones, without using other methods of laying. Experienced installers often do just that.
Layout of the heating circuit "snail" with a constant step (left) and with variable nudge (right) To calculate the contours, it is best to use 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 the contours, which calculate the length of the loops, which is very convenient. For example, the program "Snail", which is also distributed free of charge. For those who are not very computer friendly, you can calculate the contours yourself, using graph paper, on which to draw a floor plan on a scale and already on this sheet with a pencil "expand" the contours and calculate their length.
When dividing the premises into the contours of a water heated floor, the following requirements should be met:
Insulation for a warm water floor is required, because no one would like to spend their money on heating the earth, atmosphere or unnecessary building structures, but the floor is exactly the one that should take the lion's share of the heat from the heating circuit. For this, insulation is used. What types of them should be used? Among all their variety, the authors of the article recommend that you should pay attention to only two of them.
EPS boards can have an additional foil layer with additional markings. The marking of the plates is, of course, a useful thing, but the presence of foil only increases the cost of the insulation, and there will be no sense from it for two reasons.
The authors of the article recommend using EPS boards for insulation. The savings compared to profile mats will be obvious. The difference in cost is enough for fasteners, and there is still a lot of money left. Let us recall the popular wisdom that the money saved is akin to the earned money.
What is the thickness of the insulation in the construction of the warm water floor cake? There are special and complex calculations, but you can do without them. If you learn a few simple rules.
Additionally, it is necessary to provide for the fastening of the EPSP plates to the base material, since when the screed is poured, they will tend to float. Disc dowels are ideal for this. They need to fasten all the plates at the joints and in the center.
For attaching the pipe to the EPS, special harpoon brackets are used, which securely fix the pipe. They are fastened at intervals of 30-50 cm, and in the places where the PEX pipe turns, the step should be 10 cm. It is usually calculated that 500 pieces of harpoon brackets are required for a coil of 200 meters of pipe. When purchasing them, you do not need to chase the brand, as it will cost several times more. There are very high quality and inexpensive staples from Russian manufacturers.
The collector of the water floor is the most important element that receives the coolant from the main, distributes it along the circuits, regulates the flow rate and temperature, balances the loops of the circuits, and helps to remove air. Not a single warm water floor can do without it.
The choice of the collector, and more correctly - the collector mixing unit it is better to entrust the specialists who will select the necessary components. In principle, you can assemble it yourself, but this is a topic for a separate article. Let's just list what elements should be included in order not to make a mistake in the choice.
The collector-mixing unit is located in such a place that all the lengths of the lines from it to the loops of the heated floor are approximately equal and the main pipes are in close proximity. The collector cabinet is often hidden in a niche, then it can be placed not only in cabins and boiler rooms, but in dressing rooms, corridors and even living rooms.
After calculations and the purchase of all the necessary components, you can gradually implement a warm water floor. First, it is necessary to outline the places where the collector cabinets will be placed, hollow out, if necessary, niches, and also make passages through building structures. All slotting and drilling work must be completed before the next step.
Before this stage, it is necessary to prepare the premises for this - to take out all unnecessary, remove all construction waste, sweep and vacuum the floors. The room must be absolutely clean. When installing the boards, it is necessary to wear flat-soled shoes, as the heels can damage the surface. We list the sequence of actions when installing insulation.
After that, we can say that the installation of the insulation has been completed. Although EPS boards are dense enough to withstand the weight of an adult, you still need to take precautions when moving around them. Best to use wide boards or pieces of plywood or OSB.
The most crucial and difficult moment has come - the installation of floor heating pipes. At this stage, you need to be especially careful and accurate, and here you cannot do without an assistant. It is also desirable to have a special device for unwinding the pipe, since it is strictly forbidden to remove the pipe from the coil with rings, since then there will be very strong stresses in it, which will complicate or make installation impossible. The main rule is that the bay must be twisted, and not removed from the stationary bay. In principle, this can be done manually, but with a device it is much easier.
If there are markings on the upper side of the EPSP plates, then this is just great, then the pipe laying will be greatly simplified. And if not, then you should not "be led" on the purchase of foil-clad thin insulation made of foamed polyethylene with applied markings. There will be no sense from him. You can apply the markup yourself. To do this, markers are made on the upper side of the plates with a marker at the distance of the required contour step, and then the lines are beaten off with a paint thread - this way you can make a marking in a short time. After that, you can draw the traces of the contours of the warm floor.
screed for underfloor heating
In the designated place, a manifold cabinet is attached and a manifold is mounted in it, while without a pump-mixing group, it will be needed later. At the entrance to the collector, at the exit from it, as well as at the entrance to, each pipe must be protected by a special corrugation. However, corrugation from renowned 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 be started from the areas farthest from the collectors, and all transit pipes should be covered with foam polyethylene insulation, which will ensure maximum energy conservation to the point of destination, and will not "lose" heat along the way. Further, the pipe "emerges" from the EPSP plates, already "naked" bypasses its entire heating circuit and "dives" back and already in the thermal insulation it follows to the collector. The transit pipes themselves are placed inside the EPSP plates; for this, the passage routes are pre-cut in them with a knife.
If the thermal insulation consists of two layers of EPSP boards, then the first layer is laid first, then all communications are laid, including the transit pipes of the warm floor, and then the second layer is adjusted and cut in place.
In addition, in the area where the warm floor is located, pipes can go to radiators, as well as hot and cold water supply lines. If there are several pipes, then they can be fixed in the bundle either with disc dowels, or with a perforated metal strip and dowels. In any case, they should not protrude beyond the upper surface of the EPSP boards, so that the underfloor heating contour can be easily laid on top. All cavities are blown out with polyurethane foam, which, after hardening, is cut flush from the surface of the insulation plates.
A damper tape is glued to the walls along the perimeter of the room, where there will be warm floors, which is designed to compensate for the thermal expansion of the screed. The tape is available with or without an adhesive layer. When purchasing it, you do not need to chase the brand and overpay several times more. Nowadays, a damping tape of Russian production, worthy in every sense, is being produced. If there is no tape at all, then - this is also not a problem - it can be replaced by 1 or 2 cm thick foam, glued to the wall with liquid nails or polyurethane foam.
The damper tape should also be installed between rooms and different circuits. For this, a special tape with a T-shaped profile is produced. And in this case, it can be replaced by thin foam, glued together with polyurethane foam or glue.
Installation of pipes is done as follows:
All contours are laid in the same way. At first it will be difficult, but then, after one laid "snail" everything will be clear and the work will go without problems. When moving along the already laid contours, it is necessary to underlay boards, plywood or OSB under the legs or knees.
It is not recommended to walk in pipes in shoes. It is better to organize such "paths"
Disputes about the appropriateness of the reinforcing mesh are ongoing. Someone says that she is needed, others say the opposite. There are many examples of successful implementation of a warm floor without a reinforcing mesh and, at the same time, there are examples of unsuccessful implementation of a warm floor with reinforcement. The authors of the article argue that reinforcement will never be superfluous, but only correctly performed.
The Internet is replete with examples when a metal mesh is laid and fixed on the insulation, and only then a heated floor pipe is attached to it with the help of plastic ties. It seems to be 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, not under it. That 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 reinforcement meshes due to the fact that the reinforcement has a corrugated surface and during installation can damage the smooth surface of the pipe. And it is not worth spending extra money on the excessive strength of the screed, because it is assumed that the warm floor is already mounted on a sufficiently solid foundation. The mesh is laid with an overlap on one cell and is tied either with a knitting wire or with 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 may well be used, which will perfectly reinforce the screed and save it from cracking. It is more convenient to lay the plastic mesh as it comes in rolls. Application plastic mesh practically eliminates pipe damage, and its cost is significantly lower.
After laying the mesh, the question of protecting pipes again arises, because, 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 competent solution that will avoid damage to the pipes when pouring the screed.
Prepared cement mortar- the same as it will be when laying the screed (1 part of cement M400 and 3 parts of sand) and during the laying process, "blobs" are made from the solution, which protrude slightly beyond the surface of the mesh - 2 cm is enough. These "blobs" are made with such a frequency (30-50 cm), which will allow in the future to put boards or plywood on them and move safely. Another plus of this approach is the fixation of the mesh, because when walking on it, it tends to bend, and this can damage the welded seams.
The mortar “blobs” will fix the mesh and help you move safely This operation should definitely be carried out even before the screed is poured, since with a hidden malfunction it is easier to fix it immediately than after the floors are poured. To do this, a hose is connected to the drain pipe on the collector and is discharged into the sewer, since a lot of water will be spilled through the heating circuits. It is best if the hose is transparent - so it will be easy to track the release of air bubbles.
To the inlet of the supply manifold, which must be equipped with a shut-off ball valve, tap water is connected through a hose or pipe. If the quality of the tap water is poor, then it is worth filling the system through a mechanical filter. A pressure pump is connected to any other outlet connected to the underfloor heating circuits. This can be a free outlet of the supply manifold, the outlet of the return from the manifold and other places - it all depends on the specific implementation of the manifold assembly. In the end, a tee can be screwed into the ball shut-off valve of the supply manifold and through it both filling the system and pressure testing can be done. After testing, the tee can be removed and the manifold can be connected to the flow line.
The system is filled in as follows:
If leaks are found at the filling stage, they are eliminated immediately after the pressure is released. As a result, you should get a system of warm water floors filled with a clean coolant and de-aerated.
To test the system, you will need a special tool - a pressure test pump, which you can rent or invite experienced master having such a device. Let's describe the sequence of actions for crimping.
When the pressure in the system rises, the pipe, according to all the laws of physics, will try to straighten, therefore, it is possible to “shoot” some brackets in those places where they were “greedy” with them. Therefore, the "blobs" from the solution will greatly help keep the pipe in place. Later, when the screed is poured, the pipe will be securely fixed, but during pressure testing, a poorly secured pipe can present unpleasant surprises.
The underfloor heating screed must be poured through pipes under operating pressure. Considering that in most closed heating systems, the operating pressure should be in the range of 1-3 bar, you can take an average value and leave a pressure of 2 bar in the circuits.
It is best to use guiding plasterboard profiles PN 28 * 27 / UD 28 * 27 as beacons. They have sufficient rigidity and a smooth top surface, which is very useful when leveling the screed.
Lighthouses should be installed at the level of the finished floor minus the thickness of the finishing flooring. To fix them, very often they simply use mortar pillows, on which a guide profile is laid, and then it is sunk in level. But this approach has the disadvantage that if the beacon falls below the required level, you have to get it out, put in a fresh solution and put it back up again.
It is best if the beacons from the guide profile will have a rigid support under them, and concrete dowels and a screw of the appropriate length can serve as it. It is preferable to use special screws for concrete - pins, which do not require the installation of a dowel, which means that the drilling diameter will be smaller. If it is required to drill a hole with a diameter of 10-12 mm for the dowel, then 6 mm is enough for the dowel. The upper surface of the screw head should be at the level of the surface of the future screed.
Concrete screws - pins Lighthouses should be located no more than 30 cm from the walls. There should not be a long distance between the lighthouses, since the solution tends to settle and a pit may form on the already finished screed. Optimally - 1.5 m, then to level the screed they use building rule 2 m.When installing beacons, do the following:
It is best to use a laser level to set the heads of the pins in one plane. If in the arsenal home master it is not, then it does not matter, now this very useful tool can be rented, especially since it will only be required for one day.
The laser level is an indispensable assistant when marking and installing beacons The position of the lighthouses is marked on the wall. To do this, the thickness of the finishing floor covering is subtracted from the level of the clean floor previously drawn on the wall. The laser level is set at this mark, and then, by screwing or unscrewing the pins, their caps are set at the same level. If you use the usual building level for this operation, then it will take much longer, and the error will be higher.
Further, guide profiles are laid on the heads of the dowels, the correct installation is checked by the building level. To fix the lighthouses in their places, use a cement mortar of the same recipe as for the floor screed (1 part cement + 3 parts sand).
The lighthouses are removed from the heads of the pins, and then slides are made from the prepared solution slightly higher than the height of the screed. It is enough to do them after 1 meter, since the lighthouse will already be securely fixed on the caps of the dowels. Further, the profile is laid and pressed into the solution, and its excess from above is immediately removed with a spatula. At the end, the level checks the correctness of the installation of all beacons.
At the same time, you can check the correct installation of all damper tapes separating the rooms and circuits and, if necessary, reinforce their position with mortar.
water heated floor
Increased requirements are imposed on the screed of a warm water floor, because in addition to the mechanical loads it carries, it also experiences thermal deformations. And usually a cement-sand mortar will not work here, concrete mix must be modified with plasticizer and fiber.
The plasticizer is designed to reduce the water-cement ratio, increase the mobility of the mixture and increase its strength during drying. Mobility when laying underfloor heating screed is extremely important, since the mortar should “grip” the pipes tightly and easily release air bubbles outside. Without the use of a plasticizer, the only way to increase the fluidity 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 that which will allow the screed to grab. Typically, 1 kg of cement requires 0.45-0.55 kg of water.
The plasticizer is available in liquid and dry form. It should be applied exactly as the manufacturer recommends, and nothing else. Any "substitutes" in the form of liquid soap, washing powder, PVA glue are unacceptable.
The fiber is intended for dispersed reinforcement of concrete mix, which allows to reduce or practically eliminate the formation of cracks, increase strength and abrasion resistance, and increase bending and compressive strength. This is achieved by the fact that the microfibers of the fiber are distributed and hold the screed throughout the entire volume of the concrete mixture.
Fiber can be metal, polypropylene and basalt. For underfloor heating, it is recommended to use polypropylene or basalt fiber. Add it 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.
On sale you can find ready-made mixtures for pouring underfloor heating screed from well-known and not so famous manufacturers. The composition of these mixtures already includes a plasticizer, and fiber, and other components. With the undoubted ease of use and high quality, the cost of the finished screed will be significantly higher than the solution prepared independently.
Before pouring the screed, it is necessary to remove all unnecessary objects from the floor, if necessary, vacuum the surfaces. It is also necessary to prepare all the tools and utensils for mixing and transporting the solution. All work on pouring the underfloor heating screed in the room should be done at one time, so it is advisable to have two assistants: one prepares the solution, the second carries it, and the main contractor 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.
Self-preparation of mortar for underfloor heating screed should be carried out only in a mechanized way - the quality of the mortar must be high. A concrete mixer or a construction mixer can be used as auxiliary mechanisms. No drill or hammer attachments will work here, no matter what various "truthful" sources say.
The basis of the solution is made up of Portland cement of a grade not lower than M400, which must be dry and with a storage time of no more than 6 months after the date of issue. The sand should also be dry, washed and sieved. River sand will not work - it is too regular in shape. For a 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 taken - a bucket. Considering that the density of building sand is in the range of 1.3-1.8 t / m 3, and cement during transportation is 1.5-1.6 t / m 3, you can not be afraid to measure cement and sand with buckets, since the quality the mixture will be perfectly acceptable.
The water in the composition of the solution should be about 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, therefore, when preparing a solution with water, you need to be very careful - it is better to underfill a little and then add than pour.
The technology for preparing a solution with a mixer and a concrete mixer is slightly different. With a mixer, it is necessary to stir 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 absolute majority, it is difficult to stir dry cement and sand (dry cement sticks to wet blades and a drum), therefore, part of the water with a plasticizer is first poured into it, and then cement is gradually added first, then sand, then another portion of cement and the remaining water. The fiber is added gradually. One part with water, the other with sand. At the same time, the fiber should not be thrown into the drum of the concrete mixer in a lump, but must be divided into portions and fluffed before laying.
The time for preparing the solution in a concrete mixer is usually 3-4 minutes, and with a mixer a little more - 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, then water should not be released from it, but at the same time the solution should be plastic. If you place the solution in a slide on the floor, then it should not spread much, but only settle slightly under its own weight. If cuts are made in it with a spatula, they should not blur, but should keep their shape.
Laying the screed begins from the far corners of the room and is carried out in strips along the beacons. Only after the completion of one strip, the next one is laid and leveled, the process should end at the entrance to the room. In the process of leveling, it is not necessary to immediately try to perfectly level the surface of the screed along the beacons. The main thing is that there are no failures in the screed, and small influxes and traces of the rule are easily corrected later.
After 1-2 days (it all depends on external conditions), when it is already possible to walk on the screed, it is necessary to clean its surface. First, it is trimmed with a construction knife and the damper tape protruding from the screed is removed, and then the construction rule is taken and the sharp end is pressed against the plane of the beacons. In the direction away from you, with short but energetic movements, a sweep is performed until the beacons are completely exposed. Then the resulting debris is removed, the screed is moistened from a spray bottle and covered with plastic wrap.
The next day, the beacons are carefully removed, you can also unscrew the pins, and the resulting grooves are rubbed with a solution or tile glue. The screed is re-moistened and covered, it is recommended to do this daily for the first 10 days after pouring.
After the screed has fully matured, and this is at least 28 days, you can start balancing the contours of the warm floor. And in this process flow meters on the manifold will be very helpful. That is why it is necessary to purchase a manifold with balancing valves and flow meters.
The fact is that underfloor heating loops have different lengths, respectively, they have different hydraulic resistance. Obviously, 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. At the same time, in the longest circuit, the circulation will be so sluggish that there can be no talk of any heat removal. In a well-designed project of underfloor heating, the flow rate in each circuit and the position of the control valves are always indicated, but if the underfloor heating is done on its own, then a simplified but valid technique will do.
All of the above operations are performed correctly and the flow meters show that there is circulation in the circuits, then you can start testing the warm floor with a heated coolant. It is necessary to start with low temperatures - from 25 ° С, and then every day gradually increase the temperature by 5 ° С, until the coolant is supplied to the circuits with its operating temperature. What is the sequence of actions at this stage.
The correctness of the underfloor heating adjustment cannot be assessed immediately, since such a heating system is very inertial. It takes several hours to feel the change in temperature. Therefore, everyone who made a warm floor on their own should arm themselves with patience and gradually bring the system to such a mode that would provide the desired floor temperature, taking into account the coating. To do this, you will need to "play around" with the settings balancing valves, thermal head (if the collector is equipped with them) and the speed of the circulation pump. The main thing is that the self-made water floor heating system works.
Find out how, having studied the instructions with the photo, in a special article on our portal.
Stubborn statistics indicate that the system of warm water floors, in addition to the 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 worked out, the market is flooded with any components, for every taste, color and wallet. The necessary information is always in open sources, you can always ask the experts for advice. The team of authors hope that this article has dispelled the initial fear and made it clear to the readers that it is quite possible to make a water-heated floor with your own hands.
Nowadays, many residents of private houses install a hot water floor for the main or additional heating. It has a lot of advantages: it increases comfort, heats the room evenly, does not require additional energy consumption (since it works from one boiler with radiators). The instructions in our article will allow you to install water underfloor heating without even having experience. However, before that, it is worth studying all the nuances.
Best of all, a warm water floor system is combined with laying under and tiles.
Of course, a warm floor can be made under linoleum, PVC tiles and even carpet, if there is a special mark.
But, for example, it makes no sense to heat the carpet, and the surface temperature cannot be exceeded above 31 ° C, according to SNiP 41-01-2003. Otherwise, it will provoke the release of harmful substances.
Probably, many tenants had the idea to independently connect "for free" water heated floors to the central heating system or hot water supply. And some even do so, but in most cases it is prohibited by local law.
For example, in Moscow, the government decree No. 73-PP of February 8, 2005 is in force, in Appendix No. 2 it is clearly written about the prohibition of the re-equipment of public water supply systems for floor heating.
If you break the rules, at best, you can get a fine the first time you visit the plumbers. And at worst - the risk of leaving neighbors without heating.
In some regions, the ban does not apply, but the connection requires an examination so as not to disrupt the operation of the system.
In general, from a technical point of view, such options are possible, but only when a separate pumping and mixing unit is connected and the pressure in the system at the outlet is maintained.
Note! If in apartment building there is a jet pump (elevator), then you can not use metal-plastic and polypropylene pipes.
There are several ways to arrange a warm water floor.
Three types of pipes are suitable for a warm water floor.
Before installing and purchasing materials, it is imperative to calculate the warm floor. To do this, draw a diagram with contours, which will then come in handy when carrying out renovation works to know the position of the pipes.
The graph shows the dependence of the flux density on the average temperature of the coolant. Dotted lines indicate pipes with a diameter of 20 mm, and solid lines - 16 mm. 
The graph shows data that is valid only when using a 7 cm thick cement-sand screed, covered with tiles. If the thickness of the screed is increased, for example, by 1 cm, then the heat flow density decreases by 5-8%.
The optimum temperature at the inlet and outlet should not differ by more than 5-10 degrees. The maximum temperature of the coolant should not exceed 55 ° C.
According to the above diagram, only a rough calculation can be performed and the final adjustment can be made using the mixing unit and thermostats. For accurate design, it is imperative to contact a professional heating engineer.
The technology of laying a warm water floor consists of several layers, which are laid in a certain sequence. The total thickness of the cake is 8-14 cm, the load on the floors is up to 300 kg / sq. m.
If the base is a concrete slab: 
For waterproofing, it is permissible to use ordinary plastic wrap or special materials. The damper tape is made from cut strips of thermal insulation 1-2 cm thick, or they buy a ready-made version with a self-adhesive base.
The choice of insulation depends on several factors: region, base material. For example, for floors on the ground, extruded polystyrene foam with a thickness of at least 5 cm (optimally 10) is also used, and if there is a warm basement under the floor of the first floor, then thinner options from 3 cm can be used.
The main purpose of the insulation is to direct the heat upward from the heating and prevent large heat losses.
In case the base is floors on the ground: 
It is important to tamp the preparatory layers for the rough screed carefully in layers. When compacting the base tightly and using extruded polystyrene foam, it will not be necessary to make a rough screed.
Let's say a good foundation has already been prepared: a flat concrete slab or a backfill layer without strong drops. The differences should not exceed 7 mm when checking with a two-meter rail. If there are irregularities, they can be covered with sand.
Someone puts waterproofing under the bottom of the insulation, someone, on the contrary, upstairs, and some use both here and there.
If extruded polystyrene foam is used, it practically does not need waterproofing, so its position is not so critical. But it will not allow the cement milk to penetrate between the seams of the insulation and go into the slab and will additionally hold back moisture from below.
If you fix it to the bottom of the insulation, then you can attach the pipes to the warm floor directly to the insulation. If the waterproofing is laid up, then the installation of a mesh will be required to fix the pipes.
We lay the waterproofing with an overlap of 20 cm on the walls, and on top of each other. We glue the joints with tape for sealing.
If you bought a ready-made tape, just glue it around the perimeter. It usually has a thickness of 5-8 mm and a height of 10-15 cm. The height should be above the level of the filling, the excess is cut off with a knife. If the tape is made by hand, then be sure to glue or screw it to the wall with self-tapping screws.
Linear expansion of concrete is 0.5 mm per meter when heated to 40 ° C.
Insulation sheet for a warm water floor is laid with an offset of the joints so that it is tightly connected.
The first layer of reinforcing mesh is usually laid on insulation and used as a base for attaching contours and even distribution of heat over the surface. The nets are tied together with wire. Pipes are attached to the mesh on nylon clamps.
The diameter of the mesh rods is 4-5 mm, and the mesh size - depending on the pipe laying pitch, for convenient fastening.
In addition, it is imperative to lay the reinforcement on top of the pipes, since even when using the mesh from below, it will have almost no effect if it lies at the very bottom. Or, during pouring, place the mesh on supports, creating a gap.
A water-heated floor can be installed in several ways, we will list them. 
Application of various types of pipe fasteners The pipes are laid with an indent from the walls of 15-20 cm.Each circuit is highly desirable to be made from a single pipe without welding, and their length should not be more than 100 m.The step between the pipes at the walls is 10 cm, closer to the center - 15 cm.
The layout of the warm floor is different, for example, a spiral or a snake. At the outer walls, they try to take a laying step more often or draw a contour from the feed next to cold walls. An example of a scheme for enhanced heating of external walls is shown in the photo, this option is best used in cold regions: 
In other cases, the contours are usually laid with a spiral (snail), this is a universal option.
In places with a large accumulation of pipes, in order to avoid overheating of the surface, some of them are covered with a heat-insulating tube.
Metal-plastic 16 mm and 20 mm can be easily bent by hand, without the use of special tools. In order to evenly bend the pipes with an angle of a small radius and at the same time prevent it from cracking, the corners are bent in several passes (hand interceptions).
At an angle of 90 °, you will need about 5-6 interceptions. This means, first, resting on the thumbs, make a small bend, then slightly shift the arms towards the bend and repeat the steps.
The presence of kinks on pipes in places of sharp turns is unacceptable.
Polypropylene pipes are much more difficult to bend because they are springy. Therefore, for bending, they are heated or made, but in the case of a warm floor, they are simply attached to the mesh, making the bends less sharp.
The installation of a water-heated floor begins by connecting the first end of the pipe to the distribution manifold, and after laying the room, the return line is immediately connected (the second end).
In most cases, the circuits are connected via a distribution unit. It has several functions: increasing the pressure in the system, regulating the temperature, uniform supply to several circuits, combining with radiators.
There are many schemes for connecting to the boiler, which we wrote about in the article about: with manual adjustment, with weather automation and auto-adjustment using servo drives and sensors.
Eurocone fitting The pipes are connected to the manifold using Eurocone clamping fittings.
When you have completed the installation of all circuits, be sure to pneumatically test the system for leaks. For this, a pressure test is done with the help of a compressor. A small household compressor with a pressure of more than 6 bar is suitable for testing. The pressure in the system is brought to 4 bar and left on for the entire time until the system is started.
Since air molecules are much smaller than water molecules, even a slight depressurization can be detected. In addition, the water can freeze if you do not have time to connect the heating, and nothing will happen with the air.
The screed is poured only after the installation of all the contours and hydraulic tests... It is recommended to use concrete not lower than M-300 (B-22.5) with crushed stone with a fraction of 5-20 mm. A minimum thickness of 3 cm above the pipe is made not only to obtain the required strength, but also to distribute heat evenly over the surface. Weight 1 sq. m. screed with a thickness of 5 cm is up to 125 kg.
With a screed thickness of more than 15 cm or at high loads, an additional calculation of the thermal regime is required.
With an increase in the thickness of the screed, it takes more time to heat it up to a certain temperature after switching on, and the inertia of the system also increases. The lower the thermal conductivity of the screed, the higher the temperature of the coolant will need to be made.
Examples of dividing a large room into zones The absence or incorrect position of the thermal gaps is the most common reason destruction of the screed.
Shrinkage seams are made in the following cases:
For this, a damper tape is laid around the perimeter of the seams. In place of the seam, the reinforcement mesh must be divided. The expansion gap should be 10 mm thick at the base. The upper part is treated with a sealant. If the room has a non-standard shape, it must be divided into simpler rectangular or square elements. 
If pipes pass through expansion joints in a screed, in these places they are laid in a corrugated pipe, 30 cm corrugation in each direction (according to SP 41-102-98 - 50 cm on each side). It is recommended not to separate one contour with expansion joints; supply and return pipes must pass through it.
Correct passage of contours through technological seams When laying tiles on expansion joints, the likelihood of their peeling off due to different expansion of adjacent slabs increases. To avoid this, the first part is laid on tile adhesive, and the second part is attached to an elastic sealant.
For additional separation, expansion joints of an incomplete profile can be used. They are made with a trowel, 1/3 of the thickness. After the concrete has set, they are also sealed with a sealant. If pipes pass through them, they are also protected by a corrugation.
A fairly common occurrence is the appearance of cracks on the screed after drying. This can provoke a number of reasons:
It is very easy to avoid them:
For underfloor heating, it is imperative to use a plasticizer to increase the elasticity and strength of concrete. But you need to apply special types non-air-entraining plasticizers for underfloor heating.
Without experience, it will not work to make a cement-sand screed for a warm floor without crushed stone / gravel, and the correct branded DSP will cost more than factory concrete. Therefore, in order to avoid cracks due to a violation of the composition of the solution, it is concrete with crushed stone that is poured.
Mortar M-300 from cement grade M-400, washed sand and crushed stone is made according to the following proportions.
There is also another option using granite screening instead of sand, the following elements were used for its preparation:
High-quality concrete should not release water during installation (delaminate). If everything is done correctly and the air temperature is 20 ° C, it should begin to set in 4 hours, and after 12 hours it will not leave traces of heels.
After 3 days after pouring, the screed will gain half of its strength, and will harden completely only after 28 days. It is not recommended to turn on the heating system until this moment. 
Wood does not conduct heat as efficiently as concrete, but installation on it is also feasible. For this, distribution plates made of aluminum are used. The pipes are laid in wooden grooves made by fixing pre-prepared boards.
For the installation of linoleum, carpet and other materials that require a flat surface, a leveling layer of chipboard, plywood or gypsum fiber board is laid above the pipes. If parquet or laminate will be used as a topcoat, the construction of a warm floor can be slightly simplified, without the use of an equalizing layer.
When choosing plywood and chipboard, make sure that they have sanitary-hygienic and thermomechanical characteristics, allowing them to be used together with underfloor heating.
The price for a warm water floor is formed from several components:
On average, the price of a water heat-insulated floor for a turnkey installation together with all materials and work will cost about 1500-3000 rubles. Per 1 sq. M. m.
Below is an approximate estimate for a house of 100 sq. m., but the prices for water heated floors are highly dependent on the region, so it is best to drive in your data there and make an independent calculation. It does not include the costs of installation and purchase of radiators, a boiler, topcoat and a screed.
| Estimates for the installation of a water-heated floor system on the 1st floor. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| № | Material name | Unit rev. | Qty | Price | Sum |
| 1 | Extruded polystyrene foam 5 cm | m2 | 96 | 227 | 21792 |
| 2 | Mounting mesh 150 * 150 * 4 | m2 | 106 | 30 | 3180 |
| 3 | Polyethylene film 250 microns | m2 | 105 | 40 | 4200 |
| 4 | Metal-plastic pipe 16 mm | m. p. | 700 | 39 | 27300 |
| 5 | Damping tape from backing | m2 | 30 | 50 | 1500 |
| 6 | Manifold Valtec 1 ", 7 x 3/4", "Eurocone" | PCS. | 2 | 1600 | 3200 |
| 7 | Manifold connection fitting (Eurocone) 16x2 mm | PCS. | 14 | 115 | 1610 |
| 8 | Pump-mixing unit | PCS. | 1 | 14500 | 14500 |
| 9 | Dowels and screws | PCS. | 300 | 1,5 | 450 |
| 10 | Mounting tape | m. p. | 50 | 11 | 550 |
| 11 | Other accessories for warm water floor | poses | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Total by materials | 78282 | ||||
| Name of works | Unit rev. | Qty | Price | Sum | |
| 1 | Rough screed | m2 | 96 | 60 | 5760 |
| 2 | Damper tape installation | m. p. | 160 | 60 | 9600 |
| 3 | Laying waterproofing | m2 | 100 | 60 | 6000 |
| 4 | Laying the mounting grid | m2 | 110 | 150 | 16500 |
| 5 | Installation of pipes | m2 | 96 | 300 | 28800 |
| 6 | System pressure testing | m2 | 96 | 20 | 1920 |
| Total by work | 68580 | ||||
| 1 | Total by materials | 78282 | |||
| 2 | Total by work | 68580 | |||
| 3 | Total | 146862 | |||
| Overhead transportation costs | 10% | 14686 | |||
| In total, according to the estimate, the installation of a water-heated floor system is 1 floor. | 161548 | ||||
Installation of warm water floors is shown in the video:
Water or hydraulic floors are the most common type of insulated floors. Firstly, the water floor is lower in price during installation and subsequent operation. Secondly, you can do it yourself without resorting to the help of professional stackers, which means you can reduce costs. Thirdly, the water floor is considered safer for human health, compared, for example, with electric, infrared, where electromagnetic radiation is an inevitable consequence.
The water floor has two types of installation.
The floor becomes a source of heat in the room, providing horizontal uniform heating in any part of the room. The heat spreads vertically, creating a natural effect of "feet warm, head cold", in contrast to radiator heating, where the heat goes up and then returns down.
Such a heating system works especially well where there are high ceilings. The air does not dry out, the apartment warms up evenly. Aesthetically, hydraulic floors also benefit as there is no need for wall-mounted radiators, space is freed up. In addition, a water-heated floor is economically profitable in operation, its energy consumption is lower, which means that the costs of maintaining the system are reduced.
When choosing a water floor, heat loss should be taken into account, which should not exceed 100 W / m2. To reduce them, thermal insulation should be taken seriously. If heat loss is high, it is better to combine water floors with wall-mounted radiators.
Laying underfloor heating in toilets and bathrooms has its own challenges. Often, the water heating pipe is connected to the heated towel rail pipe, which leads to an elevated temperature, the floor overheats unnecessarily.
Difficulties arise where the ceiling is low, since the screed above the pipes must be significant in thickness, you have to raise the floor to a height of about 10 cm.And if the bathroom is located above a cold basement, the rise reaches 15 cm.Additional costs also fall on strengthening floor slabs and others supporting structures, as well as the reinstallation of doors.
To install a hydraulic floor heating you will need:
Laying a water floor heating system requires careful preparation of the base. To begin with, you will have to completely, to the ground, dismantle the old floor screed and level the floor horizontally. After dismantling the screed, the surface must be thoroughly cleaned of debris, particles of the old screed, dust, dirt, layers.
The cleaned sub-floor must be covered with a heat-insulating layer and then a waterproofing layer. After the necessary manipulations, the damper tape must be fixed around the entire perimeter, then laid according to the lines passing between the pipe contours.
Insulation is necessary so that there is no heat outflow downward. Foamed polyethylene (penofol) covered with foil is best suited. If there is a heated room on the floor below, any insulation will do, most reliably - expanded polystyrene in sheets. Its thickness is approximately 20-50 mm. If you insulate the floor on the ground floor, which is located on the ground or above a cold basement, you will have to resort to an expanded clay mound, and choose thicker polystyrene sheets, approximately 50 - 100 mm.
Modern building materials offer special heaters with special channels for pipes. They are more expensive, but more reliable and less troublesome to install. When the insulation is laid on the floor, a reinforcing mesh must be laid on top. Thus, it will be possible to fix a new, still damp, screed layer that covers the entire pipe system.
In addition, it is convenient to attach the hydraulic floor pipe to the mesh using plastic ties. This method is more convenient than the construction of many fastening strips and clips.
Before proceeding with the installation, the manifold must be installed. It is set after the contour calculations.
The selection of a collector (or several collectors) is carried out after the calculation of the number of circuits. When choosing a collector, you need to decide in advance how many leads you need to connect the circuits to it. In addition, the device must have a waste water drain and an air vent valve.
The purpose of the collector is to distribute hot water flows, as well as to regulate, activate and deactivate the heating hydraulic system.
Choosing a collector is not worth saving. The simplest, cheapest, collector has only shut-off valves, and this makes the operation of underfloor heating not convenient. Collectors with built-in control valves are, of course, much more expensive. But by adjusting the water flow in the premises, in each hydraulic loop, as well as the temperature of a particular room, you can save much more.
If we are talking about industrial building, a large office, or a similar type of premises, then ideal option there will be a manifold with pre-mixers, as well as with special servos. What are mixers for? They will allow you to regulate the temperature of the water supplied to the pipes, while mixing hot water with already cooled one.
Of course, the collectors of such technical level Will "eat up" the bulk of the funds that will have to be spent on the installation of a water floor. Of course, in an ordinary apartment or a private house, where the loads are constant and one mode of operation of the system is enough, you can get by with collectors of a simple type.
The collector is placed in a special box, it is mounted on the wall. It should be empty under the box, here it will be necessary to supply circuit pipes from all rooms. The cabinet, for interior aesthetic reasons, can be painlessly "drowned" in a wall or in a niche, its width is 12 cm.
An important rule: the pipes must be below the manifold box. This is done for free air venting.
When putting the whole system together, it is important to adhere to the instructions that accompany the manifold. And only after the box with the manifold is installed, you can start laying pipes.
The first step is to calculate the exact pipe routing. It is best to order the calculation of the estimate for laying the water floor to a specialist estimator or do it with the help of specialized computer calculation programs. It is difficult to calculate manually, and an error in calculations will cost a lot and will cost a pretty penny during rework.
The consequences of incorrect calculations, for example, can be undesirable effects: insufficiently active circulation of water inside the pipes, heat leakage in certain areas of the floor, uneven heating of the room, alternation of cold and hot areas of the floor (the so-called "thermal zebra").
The most important rule when calculating: if a warm floor is laid in several rooms, then the total length of the pipe is calculated separately for each.
Based on these parameters, the length of the pipe and the distance between pipe segments during installation (“spacing”) can be calculated so that the heat transfer is optimal. The step is usually 10-30 cm. The higher the heat loss in the room, the narrower the step should be (10-15 cm). If the room does not lose heat, there are no cold walls, huge windows, balconies in it, then the step, respectively, can be made wider - 30 cm.
When distributing pipes, it is necessary to create a route for laying. Passing through the pipes, the water heated in the boiler cools down, and this circumstance should be taken into account when determining the route of laying the pipe contours. A few rules should be remembered, violation of which may then affect the quality of heating and the inconvenience of using the entire heating system. What are these rules?
The main thing to consider when choosing a water heating boiler for a warm hydro floor is the power. It must correspond to the sum of the capacities of all floor sectors, plus - there must also be a power reserve of 20% (at least 15%, but not less).
To circulate water, you need a pump. Modern boilers are designed in such a way that the pump is included with the boiler and is built into the boiler. One pump is enough for 100-120 sq. m. If the area is larger, you will need an additional one (one or more). Additional pumps require separate manifold cabinets.
The boiler has a water inlet / outlet. Shut-off valves are installed at the inlet / outlet. They are necessary to shutdown the boiler in case of minor breakdowns or stop the boiler for preventive purposes, so as not to completely drain the water from the entire system.
If several collector cabinets are provided, you will need a splitter for the central inlet so that the water is distributed along the hydraulic system evenly, and tapered adapters.
For laying a water floor, you will need fastening profiles with easy-to-step slots, which will allow you to fix and secure the pipes. The fixing profiles are screwed to the sub-floor using dowels and corresponding screws.
The pipes must then be pressed against the reinforcing mesh and secured with a plastic tie. It is not necessary to tightly pull and pinch the soft pipe, the loop should be more or less free. The pipes to be laid must be bent in the necessary places carefully, carefully, but must not be pinched. This is especially true for polyethylene pipes, which are vulnerable to deformation processes.
If a white spot or strip appears during pinching, the material cannot be used, it has become deformed, during operation, a crease or stretching may form. A damaged pipe goes to waste, it must not be placed in the water heating system in order to avoid breakthrough and leakage.
After the floors have been laid, the ends of the pipes are brought to the collector. If necessary, pipes are laid through walls (only non-load bearing). Then an insulating layer (polyethylene foam) is wound around the pipe. Convenient for connecting pipes is the so-called Euro-cone system, as well as, as an option - compression fitting.
So, after installing the system, you need to check its operation under high pressure... The test takes place with water supply (pressure 6 bar), the test period is 24 hours. The system is tested ideally with cold water and hot water. During both cold and hot pressure testing, it is necessary to ensure that all system elements are in working order, function properly, and that the pressure does not drop by more than 1.5 barv.
After making sure that there are no failures, leaks, pipe expansions in the system, you can complete the process of laying a water-heated floor by pouring a screed over the pipes.
It should be noted that when a screed is intended for tiles on top of a warm floor, the thickness of the pour should be within 3 - 5 cm. For a laminate or similar coating, the screed is made thinner.
Filling should be carried out with the water heating system working, at pressure. Finally, after pouring the screed, you need to be patient and wait at least 28-30 days. And only after the expiration of this period, you can continue the repair - to do the flooring.
Underfloor heating with water is quite an attractive solution. But if you want to install them yourself, without resorting to the help of professionals and without spending money on their services, you will have to thoroughly study the topic and learn all the subtleties. You should know both the principles of connection and the methodology for arranging the base. Laying will also have to be done using a special technology.
There are many varieties of warm water floor on the market. It is produced by dozens of leading manufacturers. But regardless of the specific brand and model mandatory components are:
Each of these building blocks has its own characteristics... So, pipes must be made of polypropylene with a reinforcing fiberglass layer, otherwise there is a high risk of excessive expansion in a hot state. Polyethylene has less thermal expansion. In this case, the optimal diameter of the pipes is from 1.6 to 2 cm. When buying, find out if they will withstand a pressure of 10 bar when pumping water heated to 95 degrees.
The collector, with the help of which water enters the pipeline, is sometimes called a splitter. One of these devices sorts hot water along the heating circuits, and the other collects it after passing through the entire system. Both devices are placed inside a manifold cabinet. High-quality performance of the collection group also includes:
A manifold with a shut-off valve is impractical, so it is better to choose options equipped with control systems that provide a smooth change in the flow of the coolant to a particular circuit.
The exact length and installation spacing when installing pipes are calculated individually for all rooms (rooms). There are no uniform standards here. If you do not feel prepared enough for self-calculation using specialized software, use the services of design organizations. Designers will need to know what the size of the room is, how powerful the boiler will be installed, what the walls in the house (apartment) are made of, what are the properties of ceilings and partitions. The type of floor covering, the device of the insulation layer and the diameter of the pipes must be taken into account.
The project should indicate not only what is the length of the pipe, but also the installation step and the rational laying path. Additionally, heat losses and hydraulic resistance are calculated (it must be strictly the same in each circuit). It is undesirable to use large contours (100 m and longer).
It is better to divide each such into several smaller ones. All contours are strictly one pipe, therefore, joints and couplings when laying in a screed are prohibited. Verandas, attics and loggias are heated by an option that is separate from the adjacent rooms.
Remember that pipes should be laid starting from the outer walls, and the uniformity of heating reduction is achieved through the "snake" scheme.
In rooms where there is only interior walls, the construction of a warm floor should be spiral, directed from the boundaries of the room to its middle. In this case, a double step is maintained between any pair of turns.
For your information: you should select and buy a collector only after how the number of contours and their characteristic features will be calculated. The simplest solution, with only isolation valves alone, is relatively cheap, but the lack of flexible adjustment options will cause a lot of inconvenience. The other extreme to be avoided is an expensive manifold equipped with servos and pre-mixers.
Such equipment in a private house or apartment is completely superfluous, with the exception of giant cottages. When deciding which boiler to install, be guided, first of all, by its power, which, even when operating in peak design mode, should have a reserve of at least 15%.
To ensure the mixing of hot and cold heat transfer fluid, thermostatic mixers are used. They are two-way (paired structures are placed on the supply and return pipes) and three-way (with the addition of an electric drive, they are mounted on the boiler outlet). Take care of the presence of a servo drive, a thermostat: investments in these devices are justified by the fact that it will be more convenient to use the system. Servos are installed on the water supply combs.
Mechanical thermostats are relatively simple and reliable in use, so it is easy to use them even for people who are poorly versed in technology. Electronic controllers are a little more complicated, and if you need to flexibly adjust the parameters of the underfloor heating, you will have to purchase a programmable device.
Having sorted out in general terms with the device and the configuration of the floor heating equipment, now let's see how it works. From the boiler (in rare cases from a heated towel rail), water enters the pipeline. Going through thermostatic valve, she transfers a certain portion of heat to him. When a certain temperature is reached, the valve starts the process of mixing water taken from the return pipe. For this purpose, a two-way or three-way valve is opened, installed before the circulation pump (inside a special jumper).
The mixed liquid, passing through the circulation pump, touches the thermostat, which ultimately gives commands to open and close the coolant supply from the return circuit to the main one. Thanks to such a scheme, the water temperature is maintained in the specified range of values and is instantly corrected when it deviates from it. Then the water flows into the distribution manifold (but only in a large room, where there is a need to distribute the coolant along several circuits and then pump it in the opposite direction).
By installing underfloor heating in several rooms at once, install a manifold that regulates the temperature. This is necessary not only because everyone needs their own degree of heating, but also because the completely identical length of the circuit cannot be maintained. The adjustment is especially useful if one of the rooms is internal and the other has external walls.
Thermostats can measure the heating of the air in the room, or the temperature of the floor covering. Focus on what is important to you and do not confuse these two types.
Make sure there is a bypass in the heating system. It will allow you to keep the equipment in perfect order, if suddenly the water supply to all circuits is stopped at the same time.
Water heat-insulated floor economical. A low temperature of the coolant (not exceeding 50 degrees) will reduce the current consumption of an electric boiler by 20% (in comparison with heating with radiators). Uniform heating of the entire area of the dwelling with a physiologically comfortable temperature distribution (22 degrees on the floor itself, 18 degrees at face level) can also be considered a positive side. The hidden location of the heating system completely excludes burns and mechanical injuries in direct contact with it and the coolant, which is especially important if there are children in the house.
A safe water floor is also serves for a long time. Properly executed installation and correct selection of components allows the system to be used for 30-40 years. Unfortunately, there are also disadvantages. For example, the increased complexity of installation (if you do not understand the problem enough or do not have the necessary experience, contact the professionals, or choose the electrical option). Incorrect installation will not only reduce the heating efficiency, but also increase the risk of leakage.
If, due to installation errors, normal wear and tear, or due to any other problem, water begins to leak, you will have to disassemble the floor, dismantle the heating structure, change it completely or partially, and only then reconnect it. Finally, in private residential buildings it will not be possible to use water floors as the only sources of heat.
Long-term (tens of hours) heating cannot be considered a disadvantage: the more that significant thermal inertia will allow the floor to stably heat the air even with short-term interruptions. Be prepared that laying a water floor (even with your own hands) will be significantly more expensive than installing it electric option... Some materials in terms of 1 sq. M can cost at least 1,500 rubles. When a team is involved, it will need to pay no less.
A good result is achieved if the floor is raised by at least 10 cm. Costs are also associated with the installation of control systems, manifold boxes and air vent valves.
Such a heating system in an apartment room can only be used theoretically. The technical hurdles are very serious. The fact is that to feed the pipeline with a ready-made hot water extremely dangerous and simply prohibited, and special heating of cold water is expensive and difficult. In addition, any efficient systems voluminous and heavy, that is, they take away a considerable part of the height of the room, exerting a significant load on the surface of the floor and ceilings.
In private wooden house thermal loads on individual circuits, if they differ, are insignificant. Therefore, carefully consider whether it is worth installing expensive, complex automatic control systems in a small home. A large cottage or house with unheated rooms is another matter.
Put the water floor in frame house quite possible, but its installation has important difference- due to the foundation lightweight to the limit, it will be necessary to abandon the use of heavy concrete screeds or cement-sand mixtures. It is more correct to use dry polystyrene styling. It was specially designed for frame dwellings. Please note that in order for the thermal effect to be maximum, you will have to think about good insulation external walls, which are usually thin.
Its specificity water system underfloor heating has also in the bathroom. If it is installed in an apartment, we recommend that you get advice from a design organization, as well as form and register an official project and obtain consent from neighbors. It is advisable to feed the circuit with a heating medium from a heated towel rail, and two-way valves at the inlet will not reduce the water temperature below and above the riser. Regardless of whether you need to heat the bathroom in an apartment or in a private house, pay maximum attention to waterproofing. It is worth spending money on a special kind of film or euroruberoid.
The base is poured using expanded clay or fine gravel. To exclude the appearance of irregularities, beacons must be installed. Please note that you cannot walk on the bathroom coverings filled with screed for 5-6 days. In this case, you will have to regularly wet the surface, otherwise it may crack. Since a rare builder will be able to independently make a cement mixture (which will not be covered with an intricate pattern of cracks in the next few years), it is better to purchase a completely ready-made composition in the store. And to do experiments another time, when thinking over the design of a heated bathroom, for example.
In the process of installing water heated floors, you need to use 18 different tools. You will definitely need:
From hand tools you will need:
Work with coatings is carried out with a spatula and a paint brush. You need to measure the required dimensions with a tape measure and a meter ruler, but besides them, you will also need a sanding mesh or sandpaper.
In addition to tools, you will also need materials:
The old screed according to the technology must be completely eliminated in order to expose the base overlap. Level the floor surface immediately if the deviation from the horizontal exceeds 1 cm.If cracks, chips and cracks remain after removing the old floor covering, use a cement or gypsum leveling mixture. Further, making sure that there is no dust, dirt and debris left on the surface, a layer of waterproofing is placed on top of it.
The perimeter of the base is occupied by a damper tape, which will help to compensate for the thermal expansion of the main floor covering during heating. It is important to take into account that when there are several contours at once, the tape should be placed in the intervals of contours close to each other.
To reduce unproductive heat loss, you will have to additionally insulate the floor. Only in rare cases is it initially ready in this sense. The choice of thermal insulation material is determined by the following considerations:
Modern manufacturers offer special insulation materials for warm floors. One side of such heaters has channels for installing pipelines. It is recommended to use mineral wool, expanded polystyrene and special mats. To strengthen the screed layer, a reinforcing mesh structure is used to which pipes can be attached. Their attachment is provided with plastic ties, so there is no need for fastening strips and special clips. When the base is ready, there is no point in waiting for something else - it's time to start installing the floor heating equipment itself.
Installation of a water underfloor heating always begins with the installation of a manifold cabinet. They put it in such a way that the distance to the pipelines going to and from all rooms is approximately equal. You can hide an unsightly-looking cabinet by building it into the wall (load-bearing walls are not suitable for this). Please note that the drawer is located above the warm floor, otherwise the air outlet will be blocked.
In a modern system (with rare exceptions), circulation is provided by pumping equipment. The pump that is installed inside the boiler is enough to pump water over an area of 150 sq m, even if the building is two-story. If the total area of the building is larger, you will definitely need to install additional pumps with advanced functions.
In order to be able to service the heating system without draining the water, the boiler inlet and outlet are equipped with shut-off valves. Using them, you can disconnect the heater for repair and maintenance at any convenient time. In the presence of two or more collector cabinets, the main supply line is equipped with a splitter, immediately behind which narrowing adapters stand.
The connection of pipes to the manifold involves the use of compression fittings or Eurocone devices. If necessary, you can pass such pipes through the walls, close them on all sides with an insulating layer of foamed polyethylene. When all parts are stowed and each unit is connected in its proper place, the system must be tested. After supplying water to the pipes, they are kept under a pressure of 5 or 6 bar for 24 hours (depending on the design operating value). If such a check did not lead to the appearance of visually noticeable extensions, you can safely proceed to pouring the concrete layer.
It is allowed to fill the screed only when supplying fluid at the planned pressure. Drying time to readiness is at least 4 weeks (in ideal conditions). If tiles are laid on top, the screed should have a thickness of 30-50 mm, and the pipes are distributed at a distance of 100-150 mm from each other. Failure to comply with these rules, even if the connection of all elements is correct, will lead to uneven heating of different parts of the surface.
Under laminate or linoleum, the screed can be thinner. Then a reinforcing mesh helps to compensate for the decrease in its strength. If the underfloor heating is placed under the laminate, it is not necessary to install thermal insulation, otherwise the energy efficiency of the heating will be reduced.
Shrinkage seams are necessarily equipped in the screed if:
For the decoration of screeds, it is allowed to use a cement-sand mixture based on Portland cement (at least M-400, and even better, use M-500). When ready-made concrete is used, its grade should be M-350 and higher. In addition to laying the damper tape, the reinforcing mesh is divided where the seam passes. The thickness of each seam is 1 cm, and the upper part is treated with a sealant. When passing pipes in these places they should only be placed in the outer corrugated pipe.
The start-up of water floors should take place at the onset of the first cold weather. Please note that the thermal inertia of the floor covering is high and it will take a few days, when it is overcome, that the optimal conditions will be created.
You cannot connect the underfloor heating to the battery (as well as to the existing central heating and hot water supply system)! This will not only cause sanctions from the regulatory authorities, but will also lead to disruption of the normal operation of communal systems. Be sure to install an autonomous heating boiler, which will become the source of hot water in the system. In addition to manual adjustment, you can control the warm floor by means of a servo drive and a sensor, or weather automation.
Since the system must have control and regulatory components, it must be connected to electricity. Underfloor heating in different rooms can be controlled by one thermostat only if the thermal conductivity of the floor covering completely coincides. Such a scheme requires the same or slightly different contour lengths. Thermostats can be connected to power grids directly or through an RCD, which is much safer.
To lay power cables, either a groove in the wall or an additional protective corrugation is used.
It should be borne in mind that at the time of the initial connection the machines must be in the off position. Carefully look at which wire to which phase should be connected. An alternative installation scheme (without a concrete screed) will be disassembled a little further. For now, let's just say that its main options are placing pipes in polystyrene foam grooves, or in grooves made of wood. It's time to see how the pipes of the water-heated floor will be laid.
Modern technology for installing underfloor heating involves laying pipes with special fixing profiles. The profiles themselves are attached to the base with dowels or screws. The advantage of this solution is that the profile is supplied with clamps during production. You do not need to carefully measure the step from one loop to another and carry out its careful calculation. A simpler option is fastening with plastic ties, pressed against the reinforcing structure.
However, the simplicity of such a scheme requires the elimination of unnecessary pulling force. Make sure that the loop is free. The pipe coil is carefully unwound, and not immediately, but directly in the process of work. The manufacturer's instructions always dictate that the bend is gentle b along the smallest possible radius. When using polyethylene structures, it is most often 5 pipe diameters. Do not pinch the product if a whitish streak appears on it., since this means the appearance of a crease, which subsequently will easily break through and lead to flooding.
Installation according to the "snail" or "spiral" scheme is recommended for large rooms, and makes heating more even. The classic "snake" works best in small rooms, and if you want to supply heat to the floor covering in a medium-sized room, it is advisable to prefer the "double snake", in which the hot and return pipes are directed in parallel.
Whichever methods are chosen, try to reduce the number of joints between the pipes, as well as the number of their turns. Such areas, despite all the perfection of modern technology and careful execution by professionals, dramatically increase the threat of leakage. Ideally, connections should only be made at the inlet and outlet of the boiler.
For connecting pipes, in addition to the options listed above, there are also such devices:
The rules of work indicate that regardless of the method of holding the pipes, their fixation is provided by nets with a square cell of 15x15 mm, the wire diameter is maximum 0.5 cm. human factor, but also remote.
The final choice of the installation option should take place taking into account the private properties of the premises and the functionality of their individual parts. The "snake" system is designed to supply water initially to a cold area, and only then throughout the rest of the floor, for example.
When the screed under the laminate or linoleum is thinner than usual, an additional reinforcing mesh is placed directly under it above the heating pipe contour.
A long wait (about a month or even more if the weather conditions are unfavorable) does not suit everyone. A floor covering can be used instead of a concrete screed. Once you have laid the pipes, you will need to form a backing for the finished floor. If there is a laminate on top, use cardboard and polyethylene foam. Pouring under the tiles is also optional. For it, as well as for linoleum, a special structure is prepared based on cement-bonded particle boards.
A warm water floor on a wooden floor is mounted using aluminum distribution plates. The boards are preliminarily prepared, in which the necessary grooves are formed. You can make the most flat surface in the bathroom with your own hands if you lay chipboards, plywood or gypsum fiber sheets over the pipes. Always check carefully to ensure that these materials comply with health standards.
You can connect a warm water floor without a screed by laying pipes, both between the logs and on the surface of the subfloor. The modular variation (wooden blocks with milled grooves) can be replaced by a strip, in which the plywood sheet is covered with strips. The intervals between them are for the installation of pipes. Laying between the logs necessarily requires the use of waterproofing, insulation, reflective plates with holes for the passage of pipes, the pipes themselves, a sheet of plywood and the final coating.
The imposition on the flooring also implies the placement of insulation in the breaks of the logs on top of the waterproofing, and plywood or draft boards are placed above. Nuance: grind the boards so that channels for laying pipes appear. The reflective layer is made of foil attached to the boards using staples. The pipes in the channels are held by narrow metal plates placed on top, the plates themselves are also attached to the boards.
Instead of boards, you can use polystyrene mats of standard dimensions 1x0.5 m, attached to each other with a fastener in the "lock" format.
Always (regardless of the installation method of the underfloor heating) maintain a distance of 0.1 m to the wall, as this will significantly dampen the effect of thermal expansion of the floor materials. A hydrophobic coating is placed over the deck or logs. Only after this comes the turn of the formation of the final floor.
In addition to the two described options for forming a heated floor without a screed, it is allowed to use a foam or wood substrate, chipboard. Lightweight, relatively thin floors are more expensive and not very durable, but they are recommended for use:
In addition to lightening the structure, the underfloor heating system without a screed has another indisputable advantage - it is easier to repair. Even the best pipes, laid correctly and handled with care, can suddenly burst. If you still want to use a full-fledged screed, but do not wait 28 days for complete drying, it is worth applying semi-dry mixtures. Special additives in them allow you to reduce the required amount of water, but the cost of such building materials is higher than in a simpler version.
Keep in mind that the installation of underfloor heating without a screed is permissible only if the floor level drops are 0.2 cm for every 2 square meters of surface. If it is less even, the constricting layer, albeit the thinnest, still needs to be created.
Even experienced home craftsmen, who for the first time tackle the installation of underfloor heating, can make serious mistakes. Often the dried concrete screed is covered with a network of cracks. The reasons for this defect are varied. You can avoid its appearance if:
The minimum density of the insulation is 35 kg per cubic meter. Covering it with a polyethylene film will help prevent the concrete from drying out too quickly.
Eliminate assembly errors by 95% (except those caused by carelessness, haste and manufacturing defects) will help drawing up sketch projects. Having thought over the implementation of the system, "seeing" it on a sheet of paper, you can detect shortcomings in advance and avoid their manifestation. It is better to mark on the sketch the areas for the placement of furniture and other places where for some reason the circuit with the coolant should not pass.
The entire area to be heated is divided into sections of 15 sq m each. On any site, the step of installing the pipeline is 10 cm. A common mistake is that people do not think in time which wall is better to install the collector, or they bring it too close to some heating circuits, moving it away from others. Choose the right heat source that connects to the underfloor heating.
A comfortable life is ensured at a coolant temperature from 40 to 45 degrees, which allows you to warm the floor up to 26-30 degrees. Such heating is provided by condensing boilers, while other heating devices are not able to heat water less than 60 degrees.
Never put a heat-insulating layer on top of a warm floor and do not use carpets indoors., because these solutions will only worsen the quality of heating. Remember that polystyrene thermal insulation is dense, and it is not able to correct the unevenness of the rough screed, so from the first steps you need to do everything as accurately as possible. As for the thickness of polystyrene, contrary to the recommendations of most manufacturers, it is not required to withstand 10 cm (as a rule, even on the first floors 8 cm is enough).
On top of the layer of thermal insulation, you should not just lay a reflective film (this is a mistake), but it should be laid out evenly and wound up behind the polystyrene around the edges... The lower material itself should be pressed more tightly against the walls through the damper tape. Do not tape the parts together, as they are intended for a completely different purpose. It can be harmful to health.
It is more correct to grease the edges of the blocks with glue. Another mistake that often occurs in the work of non-professionals and "shabashniks" is the different indentation of pipes from the walls. Real masters make it at least 100 mm and uniform in all rooms.
If it is necessary not only to lay pipes, but also to organize the turn of the pipeline, it is imperative to bend the metal-plastic structure manually (and not with the help of springs and other auxiliary tools). Please note that the reinforcing mesh should not touch the surface of the pipes, as this is considered a gross mistake. The contours undergoing thermal contraction and expansion will constantly push the network, and it will soon be deformed and out of order.
According to experts, in the coldest parts of the room it is necessary to compact the step of laying the "snake" to 0.1 m. First of all, this is done by laying a warm floor near the outer walls. Do not try to heat more than 40 square meters of floor with one circuit. It is also worth organizing separate circuits for neighboring rooms with different temperature conditions. Mounting metal-plastic pipes under the screed is preferable to installing piping made of other materials. The temperature of the coolant should increase systematically with the exit to the level you require 70-72 hours after connection.
Best point pump installation - a return pipe located immediately in front of the boiler. Most often, expansion tanks are mounted in the highest section of the circuit, however, membrane closed systems can be performed in any other way. If you are supplying a gas boiler from a main pipeline and not from cylinders, you should obtain the approval of the local authorities. Only specially trained personnel working in licensed organizations should be involved in the work.
Loops from a single pipe with a cross section of 1.6, 1.7 or 2 cm have a minimal risk of leaks at the joints.
The average temperature of the floors of residential premises is 26 degrees, according to the current standards, and in those places where people are periodically, and a special thermal regime is required, it is 31 degrees. The highest permissible difference in heating of individual parts of the floor and coatings in different rooms is 10 degrees.
In order for the heat output to be optimal and not to force the system to work beyond measure, it is necessary to carefully level the floor.
Deviations from the plane by more than 5 mm are inadmissible... Their presence leads to overfilling of the circuits with air and unstable, ineffective heating operation. The functions of steam and waterproofing are often performed by a polyethylene film, and its minimum thickness is 0.02 cm, otherwise it will not be possible to guarantee full protection of the insulation from dampness.
Laying of the film should be carried out with an overlap of up to 100 mm, and its boundaries are kept duct tape, which covers the intersection of the floor and walls. When all the lower layers have been laid and even the pipes themselves have been installed, they need to be pressure tested in different ways, depending on the material. Thus, metal-plastic structures must be subjected to an internal pressure of 6 bar for 24 hours. Before this, the circuits are filled to 100% with water, and the air is exhausted to the end through the drain taps.
There is another option: the coolant is filled in, its temperature is brought to 80 degrees, it is kept this way for 30 minutes, after which, while maintaining the pressure pressure, a concrete screed is placed.
If the piping is made of XLPE, the pressure must be reduced by adding water and then retesting after 30 minutes. Then they wait 90 minutes, restore the previous pressure and leave the heating circuits alone for 24 hours. At the end of this pause, the pressure drop should be at most 1.5 bar.
After installing and inspecting all piping parts and accessories, photograph their location and write a description with reference to landmarks. Subsequently, if it is necessary to repair the warm floor, such information will greatly simplify and speed up the work.
When you need to heat a very small area (the area around a sofa, armchair, table and other furniture, for example), flexible rolls with built-in plastic tubes are preferable. The technology allows cutting off the desired part of the roll, bending it at any angle - the main thing is that the channels for the passage of the liquid remain intact.
Compliance with these points will allow you to achieve complete success in the installation of a warm floor and enjoy its stable operation for several decades.
For information on how to make a water-heated floor with your own hands, see the next video.
The decision to independently organize floor heating using a water heating system raises the question: "How to properly design and install a warm water floor with your own hands?" This system is quite difficult to install. But this "complexity" is compensated by further ease of use and more comfortable heating of the room, in comparison with radiator heating... It is possible to reduce the cost of installing a warm floor by excluding the services of qualified craftsmen from the work process, that is, at your own peril and risk, take the entire installation process into your own hands. It is necessary to correctly calculate, select and purchase the necessary materials, prepare the floor surface for the installation of the heating system and ... just do it!
Warm water floor is a variant of heating systems popular today. To correctly make the installation of a water underfloor heating, you must have basic information about the installation of water systems and know the "pitfalls" of this process. After all, the apparent simplicity in practice turns into a mass of interrogative and problematic situations, which, with experience, could have been foreseen in advance.
The principle of operation and the device of a water underfloor heating is quite simple - the coolant, heated by the boiler to a certain temperature, circulates through a special pipeline mounted in the floor of the room, transferring heat to it from the coolant in the pipes.
Take it easy! Our negative experience of knowledge of cases of leakage of heating systems instills fear, what if there is a leak? What's with the floor? .. What's with the neighbors? What words can you hear from them in such a situation?
Today's "advanced" technologies offer people such special pipes for a warm water floor, which (with proper installation) virtually exclude the possibility of damage to the pipeline in the floor!
A reliable device for a warm water floor presupposes the use of high-quality components, the list of which should be drawn up in advance and purchased one-time, so as not to “rent” kilometers to the nearest or profitable building supermarket.
Here is a sample list of required materials:
Before making a water-heated floor, we are preparing a "springboard" for installation works, namely, to optimize the condition of the concrete base on which the pipes for the warm water floor will be mounted.
3.1 Dismantling old screed, if any, to the ground.
3.2 The base of the floor is leveled strictly horizontally - differences in height up to 10 mm are eliminated.
3.3 By laying the waterproofing material, the base is waterproofed. In a multi-storey building, for example, such waterproofing will save you from the need to make repairs at the neighbors below, if suddenly the warm floor "leaks". In a private house or on the ground floor, such waterproofing will be a serious obstacle to the slow but "sure" penetration of moisture (dampness) from the ground into the thickness of the concrete screed of the warm floor.
3.4 A damper tape is glued along the perimeter (along the walls), designed to further compensate for the thermal expansion of the concrete screed when the underfloor heating system is heated.
Note! Underfloor heating can be installed using several "zone" contours in one room. This allows you to differentially set the temperature regime in different parts of the room. If there are several circuits, a damper tape is also laid between them.
3.5 Hopefully you are planning to heat your floor, not the ceiling of your neighbors or the ground under your house. If so, take care of the insulation of the base of the floor.
Floor insulation is performed in several ways, based on the location of the room and the type of heating in it.
An interesting opportunity! If there are sufficient funds, to optimize the thermal insulation process, you can use specialized insulation mats with already prepared channels for laying pipes in them.
3.6 The next step is to fix the reinforcing mesh designed to "anchor" the concrete screed covering the underfloor heating pipe system.
Attention, savings! The pipes of the heating system can be attached to the same reinforcing mesh with ordinary plastic clamps. This will allow you to save a little money by excluding fasteners for underfloor heating pipes from the shopping list.
Let's look at the “near-walled” fragment of the “pie” section of the warm floor:
The best option for underfloor heating is polypropylene or cross-linked polyethylene. The cost of installing a heating water floor when using polyethylene pipes will increase slightly.
When using polypropylene, it is advisable to choose pipes reinforced with fiberglass, since polypropylene itself has a significant coefficient of thermal expansion. Fiberglass reinforcement prevents expansion polypropylene pipe, which in turn, has a positive effect on the quality of the concrete screed underfloor heating.
XLPE pipes received wide use today and have a less "significant" temperature coefficient of expansion.
Pipe size - diameter 16-20 mm.
The maximum heating temperature is at least 95 o C.
The maximum pressure is not less than 10 atm.
The design of a water underfloor heating when using more than one floor heating circuit assumes the use of a manifold cabinet with all the necessary devices for connecting and controlling the underfloor heating circuits.
Collector- this is a metal pipe-"comb" with branch pipes for connecting circuits heating appliances... Collectors are designed to provide the possibility of differentiated regulation of various heating circuits.
The collectors are equipped with either shut-off or control valves. Shut-off valves are designed only to completely disconnect the heating circuit from the system (cheap, but inconvenient), and control valves allow you to smoothly change the supply of coolant to the heating circuit.
It is imperative that the manifold has an air valve, as well as a drain outlet.
A collector group is assembled in the collector cabinet, which usually consists of two (supply and return) "combs", on which the necessary valves are mounted.
The manifold cabinet must be designed when developing the entire heating system for a house or apartment. It is desirable that this be a place evenly distant from all heating devices, usually in a wall niche just above the floor level. The collector is selected based on the number of heating circuits connected to it.
The manifold cabinet MUST be installed above the level of the heated floors. The pipes should only go down from it - otherwise the air exhaust system will not be able to function normally.
Attention! - Why is it so difficult? - you ask. And you will be right. The collector group is not cheap and ... If you use one underfloor heating circuit and do not want to "complicate" the system for additional costs, you can install water underfloor heating to the main pipes using "tees" with the obligatory installation of control valves on the supply and return pipes.
A thermostat for a water-heated floor can be installed in the collector group. There are collectors with electromechanical servo drives on the valves that allow you to fully automate the "climate" control over underfloor heating and heating radiators throughout the house. The special pre-mixers installed in them are fed into the underfloor heating circuit to ensure the required heating temperature, the already mixed hot and cold water... It is impractical to install such systems in a private house, where the thermal loads on various heating circuits do not fluctuate sharply (The cost of a warm water floor at this age is instant), even if you are installing a warm water floor with your own hands.
How to calculate a warm floor for it effective work? Indeed, for each room it is necessary to make an individual calculation of the heating circuits. To do this, you can use specialized computer programs or the services of design organizations available to you.
Incorrect calculation of a warm water floor or complete ignoring of it (installation of the system "by eye" and even without experience of such work) can lead to the appearance of a thermal "zebra" on the floor (alternation of warm and cold zones), uneven heating of the floor in the room, heat leakage into cold uninsulated areas.
Parameters taken into account in the calculations:
Based on these parameters, the length of the heating circuit, the pipe pitch, as well as the layout of the pipe in the concrete screed are determined (more on this below). These parameters will determine the heat transfer rate of the floor of the room.
There are several practical ways to fix floor heating pipes on a prepared surface:
Use of special profiles with pipe fixing sockets, which are fixed to the floor surface with dowels. Such profiles make it possible to lay the pipe easily and evenly.
Fastening pipes to mats with bosses (when using a specialized thermal insulation material for the floor).
Do-it-yourself warm water floors using heat-insulating mats.
Fixing the pipe to the reinforcing mesh with plastic ties. In this case, the screed loop should be left free, taking into account the possible thermal deformations of the pipe during heating.
Fixing the pipe to the reinforcing mesh with plastic ties This is how the finished mounted contours of the water floor look like when different types pipe fixing:
The pipe is usually laid in increments of 100 to 300 mm. The principle is simple: the smaller the step, the more power! But with a "small" step, the total length of the underfloor heating circuit increases, which increases the hydraulic resistance. In addition to the length of the pipe, the hydraulic resistance is influenced by each pipe turn.
Circuits longer than 100 m must be divided into several and a collector system must be installed. The contours must be made approximately the same (in length and number of turns) in order to equalize their hydraulic resistance.
Attention! One INTEGRAL pipe section is used for each circuit. It is NOT ALLOWED to use joints, couplings in the floor screed! Therefore, it is imperative to calculate the required length of the pipe before purchasing it or to mount the pipe on the floor from a solid coil (in the case of purchasing one for large-scale works).
The contour calculation for each room is performed separately. One underfloor heating circuit cannot be used to heat two adjacent rooms, especially at different temperature conditions in them. For example, you cannot lay one contour of the warm floor in the living room and loggia. In fact, all the heat will go to heating the loggia, and the living room will not warm up well, especially if water enters its circuit after passing along the loggia circuit.
Underfloor heating, water installation of which is made without observing elementary practical recommendations, instead of warmth in the house can bring problems.
For a loggia, attic, veranda, hallway, you need to calculate and lay your own circuit connected to the collector system.
The pipe arrives at the place of laying, usually in the form of a coil. Therefore ... You cannot pull the pipe out of the bay (and this is so easy to do) - it must be unwound gradually, laying and fixing it on the floor.
The bending radius of pipes is a critical value! It should not be less (for polyethylene pipes) five diameters. With a critical bend of the pipe, a whitish strip may form at the bend, that is, it was formed by a hall. It is not recommended to lay a pipe with a crease in a screed due to possible damage in the future process of operation during high temperatures and pressure.
When laying pipes through walls (when connected to a manifold), they must be “dressed” in a polyethylene foam insulation. And to connect to the collector itself for polyethylene pipes, either a crimp fitting or a Eurocone is used.
The choice of the installation scheme is determined by the individual parameters of the room and the functional purpose of its various zones.
For example, a warm water floor is laid in such a way that first the hot coolant enters the cold zone of the room (near windows, balconies, external walls), and then warms up the rest of the room. This functionality is possessed by the "snake" scheme. Optimum uniform heating of a room of the correct shape can be easily ensured by placing the pipe in the form of a "spiral".
After completing the installation of the underfloor heating pipes, it is ALWAYS necessary to check them under high pressure. For this, the system is pressurized with a pressure of at least 5-6 atm for 24 hours.
After visual inspection of the pipes for leaks, swellings or expansions, the concrete screed is poured, which is carried out when there is a working pressure of the coolant in the pipes of the system.
Turning on the heating system for heating for the "quickest drying of the concrete screed" is CONTRAINDICATED for the latter.
What else should you pay attention to:
Attention! In the case of underfloor heating, do not lay a layer of heat insulator under the laminate! Let the warmth flow to your feet.
The installation of the final floor covering can be carried out after a period of 28 days from the moment of pouring! Do not hurry! Allow the screed to "calm down".
The system starts up with the onset of cold weather. At initial start-up, the heating time for floors can be quite long. This is determined by the inertness of the floor heat-insulating "cake". But in the future, this inertia will play a positive role. For example, in the event of an emergency shutdown of the boiler, the floors will remain warm for a sufficiently long time.
Let your home be provided with comfort and coziness with warm water floors made by your own hands (yours).
