This article will be useful to those who are planning to buy new apartment and faced a new heating trend. Very often in new buildings they began to move away from traditional risers supplying coolant (hot water) to the radiators and use a gasket plastic pipes right on the floor. This decision frightens many people, since it is not known how durable and practical it is. After all, there is no direct access to the pipes; check their condition and notice the leak in time. An article about the advantages and disadvantages of such a solution.
I’ll start right away with the fact that abandoning risers and routing pipes to radiators along the floor is absolutely justified and has a whole series benefits. There is no need to be afraid of such heating systems. Firstly, this solution allows you to install a heat meter for heating and pay for heating not according to the standard, but according to actual consumption. For example, when the apartment gets hot or when you go somewhere for a couple of weeks, you can turn off the heating and not pay for it. For example, I have had months in the winter when the heating bill for January or December included a hundred rubles. With a conventional heating system using risers, it is technically impossible to install a heat meter. The fact is that in the case of floor distribution, there is only one central riser, which is located in the entrance, and from it the heating radiates throughout the apartments. That is, heating is apartment-by-apartment. A heat meter is installed at the outlet from the riser. In the case when each battery has its own riser, it is impossible to install a heat meter, since there are several risers in the apartment and, more importantly, the coolant flows from floor to floor, which makes it impossible to calculate the amount of coolant spent on heating specific apartment. This leads to another significant advantage of installing heating pipes in the floor - if necessary, you or your neighbors above (below) can turn off the heating of only your apartment in the event of an accident or repair without harming others. While in the standard version you will have to block the entire riser from the first to the last floor. Moreover, in order to shut off the riser, you will have to notify the management company (housing office), while with apartment heating there is no need for this - just go to staircase your floor and turn off the tap.
Another significant advantage of the system is its maintainability. The service life of heat-resistant plastic pipes is twice as long as that of conventional standard pipes in risers. If a pipe needs to be replaced, the floors will not have to be opened. It is precisely this moment that scares many people away. The stereotype works: if a pipe is in the floor, it means that sooner or later the floor will have to be broken in order to replace the damaged section of the pipe. Not at all. All pipes running in the floor are laid in a special corrugation (SNiP requirement), due to which the replacement of a damaged pipe occurs without opening the floor.
Another advantage of such a heating system is the fact that the pipes running in the floor heat the floor. In addition to hot radiators, we get heated floors. Warming up is especially noticeable if the floor covering is floor tiles(for example, in the kitchen). The heating of the floor, of course, is uneven - only where the pipes pass. But you won’t have to pay extra for these “warm floors”.
Well, the last, probably the most obvious, advantage is that there are no risers in the apartment that need to be hidden or put up with the fact that they will spoil appearance rooms. Indeed, in the case of floor distribution of pipes supplying and discharging coolant, we only have in the room the radiator itself, the pipes from which go to the floor.
The only disadvantage of the system is the possibility of its damage during some repair work. It is necessary to drill the floor quite carefully. Of course, when installing flooring, be it laminate, tiles or carpet, this is not required. But there is work related to the installation of sliding wardrobes, installation of door thresholds, when the need nevertheless arises to drill the floor. But, firstly, the pipes lie at a certain depth (at least 4-5 cm), and secondly, in management company You can ask for a diagram of the pipes in the floor so that you know where exactly these pipes go (such diagrams should be there). And thirdly, in the worst case scenario, if you do damage the pipe, it can be replaced without opening the floor.
Also, many are afraid that a pipe laid under the floor may spontaneously leak. This is practically impossible, since before pouring the floor, water is supplied to the pipes under a pressure of 12 atmospheres (working pressure during heating season does not exceed 6 atmospheres). And only after checking the pipes for leaks, workers begin pouring the floor. Another thing is how well the organization followed the work technology. In any case, the organization that carried out the work is responsible and will carry out repairs, if anything, at its own expense.
In my opinion, the advantages of a floor-to-room heating system still significantly outweigh the single disadvantage that I described just above. But the final choice is yours. I hope you found the article useful. When copying an article or parts thereof, a link to the source and author is required.
Heating a modern private home depends on many factors. This includes choosing a heating boiler, the presence of underfloor heating systems, and choosing a radiator connection diagram. But most important factor that affects the energy efficiency of the system is the gasket various pipes heating in a private house, choice of diameter and installation method.
An example of the arrangement of a modern boiler room, in this case using a copper pipe
Types of pipes used for heating in a private house
Depending on the design of the heating system of a private house, the material of the pipe for connecting radiators and connecting the boiler room may be different. Let's look at the main options used in our work.
Steel pipes
There are materials made from galvanized steel, stainless steel, and ferrous metal. The advantage of such products is their high thermal conductivity, which allows heat to be transferred not only to the radiators themselves, but also to the supply pipes. With proper arrangement of the heating system, a sealed circuit is obtained, which eliminates leaks throughout many years.
Steel pipes in the heating system. Side connection option Thanks to the large internal diameter, steel water and gas pressure pipes can be used to construct inclined heating systems, which was actively used in the last century. Such systems operate without the use of pumps. Steel is ideal for laying a system of cast iron radiators heating. Today, corrugated materials are made from stainless steel, which are quite easy to install.
Copper pipes
Due to high properties flexibility, such systems are often used to equip a boiler room. To bend a pipe, just heat it to high temperature, after which it is necessary to bend and then cool. Copper can withstand up to 400 MPa.
A big advantage of using copper is its resistance to temperature changes, due to which the walls of the material do not collapse even if the heating circuit completely freezes. The connection of various sections is carried out using capillary soldering or using compression fittings. The products are characterized by a high thermal conductivity coefficient, resistance to high and low temperatures, minimal hydraulic resistance, high durability. The main thing is not to combine heating systems by connecting copper and aluminum pipes, since such contact will lead to a breakdown in strength common system.
An example of using a copper pipe for wiring a heating circuit Polypropylene pipe
This material is known to everyone. It has been actively used for many years, easily withstands pressure up to 10 atmospheres, and is connected using fittings and transitions. In those places where it is necessary to switch to metal, a transition is used. Such pipes may well be laid superficially, since they have an aesthetic appearance, but they can also be “packed” into a finished floor screed or walled up in walls.
For hot water A polypropylene pipe with metal reinforcement is used, which increases its strength when heated. Installation is carried out using special equipment, which involves heating the pipe itself and the connecting fitting or tee, bend and other elements.
Along with polypropylene, metal-plastic material is used, which is used to equip underfloor heating systems. High strength allows pumping coolant for 50 years or more. Cross-linked polypropylene is also used for underfloor heating systems.
Heating installation in a house using polypropylene pipes. Option for installing a collector with a circulation pump on the bypass Types and layout of heating pipes
It is important to choose the correct pipe laying method. Alternatively, a distinction is made between single-pipe and two-pipe system gaskets
With a two-pipe installation, the system has a supply and a return line. This increases the cost of the project, but increases the efficiency of the heating system, since the cooled water directly enters the return line, where, using a circulation pump, it is pumped back to the boiler and quickly heated. That is, the heating boiler needs to spend less energy heating water rather than heating it constantly.
Two-pipe heating system As for the one-pipe system, here, with smaller investments, the consumer initially pays more. The fact is that cooled water from the radiator enters the supply, where it obviously dilutes the water by approximately 15-20%. Thus, water will flow to the next radiator in the system at a temperature equal to 80-85 percent of the primary values.
Example of a one-pipe heating system Attention! The very last radiator in the circuit will be significantly colder than first. This should be taken into account when constructing the heating circuit. Many people think that such problems can be compensated for using a circulation pump, but this is not the case, since pumps only increase the intensity of water exchange with the boiler.
It is the two-pipe heating system that is the most efficient. Now you need to figure out how to connect the radiator. There is a bottom connection, a side connection, and a diagonal connection. Of all the above methods, it is most convenient to connect “bottom”. But such a connection is not capable of 100% converting the coolant energy into heat for your home, since the radiator is only half warm. The maximum efficiency is achieved by a diagonal connection, which involves cutting and laying supply pipes into the wall.
With a diagonal connection, the “supply” comes from above from the heating boiler, and the return flow leaves from below, from where the cooled water is again supplied to the boiler. When connecting diagonally, you should definitely choose a two-pipe system so that the coolant circulates faster in a closed circuit.
As for the installation methods, if the heating system is being changed in an already finished house, for example, in a frame house, then nothing is tapped and the pipes are laid on top of the floor or along the walls. To do this, it is necessary to install a pipe clamp every 70 cm, which is important specifically for hot heating, otherwise the PVC material will be deformed. It is precisely these pipes that people often work with, since their low cost and high durability allow them to reduce the overall costs of the project.
An example of laying a heating circuit over walls by installing pipes on clips and clamps If the house is just being finished and the floors have not yet been poured, then it is most convenient to lay PVC pipes under the finishing screed. As a rule, it is never less than 7 cm, so with such a layer of concrete you can organize hidden laying of polypropylene heating pipes. If the pipe is properly soldered, you can prevent leaks. The main thing is to pressurize the system before pouring the finishing screed. For this, a system with a pressure gauge is used, designed to fill the circuit with water, thereby creating a pressure in the pipe of about 2-3 atmospheres. The circuit is pressurized and allowed to stand for about 5 hours. If the pressure has not dropped during this time, it means the installation was successful.
As for the choice of radiator connection scheme, today the beam scheme is actively used. The radial circuit represents the connection of each radiator to the central collector, which is installed in the boiler room. A main pipe runs from the collector to the heating boiler, which is often larger in diameter than the diameter of the supply pipes. Thanks to the radial connection, it is possible to use metal-plastic pipes or cross-linked polypropylene.
Here it is not at all necessary to install heating in the wall, and also to observe rectangular turns. It is enough to lay them under the floor, which will facilitate installation and increase the pace of work. This scheme is considered the best for solid pipes that are not soldered.
Description. An example of a radiant heating scheme from a collector in a private house. SNIP requirements
The general SNIP regulating ventilation and heating is registered under number 41−01−2003. There are other norms, among which are:
- SNiP 2.04.05-91 (clause 3.58). Regulates the installation of decorative screens and grilles on heating radiators.
- SNiP 41-01-2003 (clause 6.5.13.). Indicates the need to install shut-off valves, except in rooms with a high probability of coolant freezing.
- SNiP 3.05.01-8 (clause 3.18). Regulates the slope of the heating circuit with a pipe length of more than 500 mm.
- SP 40-108-2004 (clause 3.2.1). Regulates the connection of a copper pipe to a boiler with aluminum terminals.
Sealing and thermal insulation
Only metal connections have to be sealed. The fact is that when working with HDPE pipes, they are soldered, which does not require additional sealing. For metal-to-metal joints, plumbing linen must be used. This is the most inexpensive method, which, together with the paste, allows you to achieve 100% tightness.
It is necessary to wind the flax in the direction of movement of the object that will be screwed onto the thread, so that when screwing the flax does not turn. Instead of flax and paste, you can use fum tape, as well as other means.
An example of applying sanitary linen with paste for additional protection from leaks of threaded connections As for thermal insulation, there is a special insulation on sale that is made to fit the diameter of the pipe. It is recommended to isolate the coolant supplied from the boiler to the heating radiators. This especially needs to be done if the pipes lie against the wall under the floor, since this is where the maximum level of heat loss is observed. As thermal insulation material you can choose basalt wool, glass wool, polystyrene foam and other insulation.
Important! Don't save money. When laying underfloor heating systems, it is always recommended to install the pipe on the insulation. For the central part of Russia, at least 5 cm of penoplex is used.
Budgeting
When you are at the stage of calculating the heating circuit, proceed from the fact that 1 section is selected based on 1.2 square meters of room. Do not forget to take into account the margin; if two walls in your room are adjacent to the street, you need to add a margin of up to 30%. That is, for a room of 15 square meters adjacent to the street, which will have a warm floor, it is recommended to install a radiator with at least 12 sections.
To create excess intersection pressure in the circuit, it is necessary to operate with the diameter of the supply pipe. That is, from the boiler to the main collector there must be a pipe of at least 32 millimeters in diameter. Next, a pipe of the same diameter will go to each circuit, approximately 4-5 meters for each wing. This will create excess pressure in the circuit. Next, you need to narrow it, choosing a diameter of at least 25 mm for each radiator. When water rises to the radiator, it is necessary to narrow it up to 20 mm, inclusive.
Using fittings when welding polypropylene pipes More is not always good. It is not advisable to use pipes of larger diameter everywhere, since the permeability of water will be better, but its quantity will increase, which will lead to heating of a larger volume of liquid. From here extra costs for heating. The coolant is lifted to the floor above through a pipe of at least 32 mm.
An installation kit is included for one radiator. These are two taps, a plug, a Mayevsky tap, 2-3 hooks. Tees, transitions, couplings are considered individually, depending on the number of radiators in the house, their location, and the method of laying the pipe.
SNiP standards require installation of radiators in an ideal geometric plane. It is necessary to set the radiator at the level, otherwise airing will occur and the coolant will not flow further. It is necessary to install a Mayevsky crane for aluminum radiator. Aluminum, when interacting with water, releases a gas that must come out. That is why after a couple of weeks, the pressure in the circuit may drop by 0.1-0.2 from the nominal value.
Important! Consider the nuances. The circuit must have a supply valve, which is separated from the main water supply circuit in the house by a check valve.
Using a Mayevsky tap on a radiator to remove air from the system Try to install polypropylene heating pipes in a floor screed only when the product has a warranty period of at least 40 years. Otherwise, the pipe must be serviceable so that you can always make repairs.
When installing the radiator, make sure that the window sill does not cover it by more than 30%. The recommended height of the radiator from the floor is 6-8 centimeters, from the radiator to the window sill no more than 10. Be sure to install taps on each heating radiator in order to be able to adjust the coolant.
Installation of taps on the radiator in order to further regulate the temperature of the coolant and the possibility of completely isolating the radiator from the system in case of repair At the bottom of the heating circuit, there must be provision for draining water into the sewer system. This is necessary in case of repairs. There should be air vents at the top of the heating circuit that will allow air to escape without creating an air lock. When using heated floors, be sure to install a separate pump on the collector. It is installed on the supply, in the direction from the boiler to the heated floor. Be sure to use taps at each connection and branch, which will make repairs easier in the future.
Increasingly, you can find a method of installing a heating system that uses a hidden gasket.
Heating pipes are laid in the floor, laid in grooves inside the walls, under a suspended ceiling.
A heated floor system is also used, in which the entire heating system is hidden under the floors of the room.
Let's try to figure out what restrictions on pipes and methods of installation are imposed by the gasket in the floor - both on the supply pipes and on the heating system.
According to current building regulations and rules, installation under the floor must be carried out using corrugation, and for steel pipes - without using corrugation.
Instead of corrugation you can use steel pipe larger diameter.
During installation, it is necessary to provide hatch holes in those places where there are detachable pipe connections. These are perhaps the most important ones provided for by Russian standards.
There are inconsistencies in current standards and applied technologies. Russian standards do not in any way regulate special rules for the installation of polypropylene and polyethylene pipes.
In addition, it is not taken into account that reinforced plastic pipes resist compressive loads, periodic compressive loads that occur when walking on the floor, even better than the screed itself, and theoretically they also do not need to be laid in sleeves, corrugations, etc.
According to current standards, the laying of heating pipes in the floor is not regulated in any way regarding thermal expansion, which can reach 10% for polypropylene pipes, or for the installation of radiators and other devices taking into account thermal expansion. And this is the cause of many accidents.
Construction companies producing shut-off valves and valves have long gone ahead and provide special connections for radiators taking into account thermal expansion and deformation. The standards of the Republic of Belarus went a little further, in which there is a group of norms regulating the installation of plastic heating pipes in floors. However, they do not take into account all the subtleties; often it is not enough to be guided by these rules alone.
The situation is very bad in compliance with current standards and installation of heated floors.
According to the standards, most underfloor heating pipes cannot be used at all.
However, as practice shows, heated floors made of plastic pipes have been in use for a long time and have proven their reliability and safety.
The same can be said about warm floors from copper pipes.
The only thing that the standard clearly regulates is the maximum temperature of the heated floor in the room - 26 degrees for residential premises, 31 degrees for rooms in which people are not constantly present, for swimming pools, benches in saunas, etc.
Therefore, when installing plumbing systems in the floor, we are guided by complex technologies offered by various plumbing manufacturers.
Installation rules for different types of pipes
- Steel pipes. As already mentioned, they can be laid under the floor without using corrugation. However, some protection is still necessary. It’s unlikely that anyone would want their neighbors’ ceiling to be heated by your pipe, or the heat from it to be used to dry out the wooden floor beams, which causes fragility of the wood and cracks from drying out. Therefore, it is necessary to wrap a hot pipe, regardless of its type, in thermal insulation made of polyurethane foam before installing it in the floor. It is also necessary to provide hatches in the floor where there are valves, inspection devices, detachable connections, and not to block access to them. This is especially true for valves and inspection devices.
- Metal-plastic pipes. Most often, laying heating pipes in the floor of an apartment is done using them. They have sufficient strength and a reduced coefficient of thermal expansion due to the presence of a reinforcing metal shell inside the pipe. During installation, it is necessary to install expansion couplings every 10 meters of pipe, which are considered a detachable connection. In addition, when connecting radiators, it is advisable to install special compensation racks. Pipes must be laid in.
- Polypropylene pipes. It is recommended to use pipes with a strength rating of at least pH25. The installation rules are the same as for metal-plastic pipes.
Installation in screed, dry floor system
Installation in screed and dry floors is done in thermal insulation. A prerequisite is that the top of the pipe and thermal insulation be covered with a layer of screed or dry floor backfill with a thickness of at least three centimeters. It is advisable to hide the pipe in a corrugation after installing thermal insulation.
Installation under wooden floors
Wooden floors are now rarely used in apartments.
More often it is necessary to lay heating pipes in a wooden floor.
When installed under wooden floors You don't have to use corrugation.
It will be enough to simply install a thermal insulation layer.
It is necessary that there be a distance of at least 5 cm from the pipe to the logs and other structures that can deform and affect the pipe. The pipes are secured to the main floor using brackets.
If the floor is made on wooden load-bearing beams, and there is a basement below, the installation of heating pipes is carried out according to the same rules as for the basement. Thermal and waterproofing is installed, and a number of other additional requirements are met.
Warm floor
Heated floor pipes are laid in a screed made of mortar or dry floor with sand filler. Warm floors based on wood are very ineffective. Every 10 meters of the heated floor pipe you need to make a compensation coupling.
It is impossible to close it from above with a floor. If you want it to also participate in the heating process, you can fill it with regular sand and lay a steel sheet on top. Expanded clay sand should not be used for dry heated floors.
The screed solution or dry floor backfill must cover the pipe on all sides by at least 3 cm. You can use steel, copper pipes, metal-plastic pipes and polypropylene pipes with a pH value of 25 or more. The most important rule is that permanent connections must be made with high quality; the system must be pressure tested before closing it with a screed.
How to make a screed over a heated floor is presented in the video:
Pipes for heating in the floor (in the interfloor or basement ceiling) are installed either during the hidden installation of the heating system, or during the installation of the “warm floor” structure. It is worth noting that in these cases it is fundamentally used different types pipes and use various technologies pipeline assembly.
Therefore, in this article we will describe the installation of heating pipes in the floor, placing emphasis on all the details technological process. In addition, we will say a few words about the “warm floor” technology itself.
Heating pipes under the floor: materials and requirements
Not just any pipe can be installed under the floor covering, since the future system must be strong enough and withstand both internal and external pressure.
In addition, the pipe should not be subject to corrosion. Otherwise, the system owner will have to regularly dismantle the ceiling to replace the rusted section. Heating pipes under the floor should not penetrate vapors, and especially oxygen, since it is this that leads to the development of rust, which destroys power structures and fasteners.
Taking these factors into account, it is possible to make a heating system in the floor using pipes exclusively from these materials:
- Copper pipes. This option is the most expensive, but such pipes meet all the standards for hidden heating installation. Copper does not corrode, is resistant to mechanical damage and does not allow oxygen to pass through.
- Polymer pipes made of vapor-proof material (polybutylene or polyethylene). These pipes are quite resistant to external and internal pressure and are not subject to corrosion at all. At the same time, polymer materials lack hardness and are easy to cut, so it is recommended to install these pipes in cement screed, which acts as a protector.
- Multilayer metal-plastic pipes made of composites. These pipes are hard, durable and rust resistant. At the same time, metal-plastic will cost much less than copper. This option can be called the most optimal of those currently presented on the construction market in Russia.
Features of fastening heating pipes under the floor
The technology for installing and fastening the heating pipeline in the floor depends on the type of pipes chosen, their wall thickness and diameter. After all, during the installation of a hidden heating system, they try to avoid cut-ins, joints and other areas connected using fittings.
In other words, the pipeline must be laid in a screed or in a wall in one section, and it is advisable to create all bends, corners and roundings with your own hands or using pipe benders. Naturally, such a pipe laying scheme is only suitable for flexible construction materials, such as cross-linked polyethylene, metal-plastic and copper.
You need to know that the heating distribution in the floor must be carried out according to a pre-designed diagram. If you cannot work it out yourself, then you should use an alternative solution - a pipe system layout diagram marked on a heat insulator or waterproofing substrate.
The pipes are attached to the floor using special strips, inside of which there are landing slots for required diameter. In addition, you can use single clips or paper clips. The most the best option is the laying of heating pipes in the floor or screed, certainly in grooves cut in the panel insulation.
As a mandatory heat-insulating material, special slabs of extruded polystyrene foam are used, in which holes are pre-equipped for laying pipes of the required diameter. These slabs are installed on a bitumen waterproofing mastic. The pipes themselves are placed in grooves and bent if necessary.
Heating pipes in a screed
The location of heating pipes inside the floor covering or screed allows you to abandon the use of unaesthetic heating radiators that spoil the interior of the room. In addition, the “warm floor” is not inferior to some convectors in its efficiency and heat transfer, and everything acts as a radiator flooring.
Warm floors can be installed in any room, both in the kitchen by covering the screed with tiles, and in any other functional rooms by laying parquet or laminate on top of the heating system.
The process of installing a “warm floor” is carried out in accordance with the following instructions:
- Before starting installation, you need to make the surface of the floor level, pour a layer of self-leveling floor on top of the concrete screed, which eliminates all kinds of cracks and irregularities in the structure of the rough finishing of the floor.
- After eliminating unevenness in the ceiling, you can install horizontal waterproofing. Usually it is used as a coating or roll waterproofing material. It is best to use water-based mastic, which acts as an adhesive for the insulation.
- Then follows the installation of heat-insulating material. Some hydrophobic material is used, for example, extruded polystyrene foam. This substance can withstand high floor loads and acts as a frame for the piping system. The minimum thickness of insulation is one centimeter.
- Having fixed the insulation to the mastic, you can begin installing the pipeline structure. It is necessary to avoid gaps, joints and connections in his body. A solid pipe from a coil is rolled out over the insulation, giving it the desired shape using reinforcing mesh with staples. Curves can also be formed using perforated strips or insulation with knurled channels. Optimal size pipes - 16 millimeters.
- After installing the pipes, it is recommended to perform pressure testing. This process is a leak test. This procedure must be performed before pouring the upper level of the screed, because the pipe may be damaged through no fault of yours, and a heavy object falling onto polymer pipes can cause serious damage to them.
- Having completed the pipe installation process, you need to take care of the reinforcing screed, which will hide the relatively soft pipes. Please note that the screed must be laid exclusively on top of the pipeline filled with coolant. Otherwise, pipes from soft materials may develop defects under the weight of concrete. To fill the screed, you can use a standard cement-sand mixture or ready-made sand cement. The volume of the required solution depends on the area of the room with a heated floor and the selected thickness of the top screed, which is usually 3-7 centimeters. You can turn on the heating system after the screed has completely hardened; this process takes about a month.
After the final screed has hardened, the flooring can be installed directly on it - parquet, tiles, laminate and the like. Please note that if there are no problems with the choice of tiles for installation over a “warm floor”, then the choice of parquet or laminate can cause serious difficulties for the buyer. This is due to the fact that these materials must have special markings indicating that they can be used for installation above a heated floor.
It is advisable to lay heating pipes under the floor in the warm season and good weather. If deadlines do not allow you to use the classic “warm floor” system, then you can use alternative option, a flooring system that is even easier to install.
Floor heating (water or dry)
This type of underfloor heating system has recently appeared on our market and has already received many positive reviews. A water-based “warm floor” is simply necessary in cases where the installation of a classical system is impossible for various reasons, such as the weight of the structure or installation time. One square meter a regular “warm floor” weighs up to 300 kilograms. Naturally, installing such a heavy system is unacceptable in premises of an old building or with a wooden floor.
Another obvious disadvantage of installing a heating system in a screed is the height of the structure; usually it “steals” more than 7-10 centimeters of height from the room. Flooring systems became a way out of this situation. They allow you to install water heating under the floor without large losses in room height and unnecessary load on the floors. In addition, this system can be used immediately after installation, rather than waiting a whole month until the screed is completely ready.
Of course, not everything is so smooth with water decking systems. They are less efficient than the traditional option and cool down faster. This suggests that such a system is unlikely to be suitable for full independent maintenance of room temperature. However, for residents of southern latitudes, this option may be suitable if the house is well insulated.
If you do not live in the south, then in addition to the floor heating option, you need to use other heating systems, as a rule, they are radiators, and in some situations convectors. The fact that the flooring structure cools down faster means that they gain faster operating temperature and spend less energy on it.
Dry “warm floors” are divided into two types: polystyrene and wood. Regardless of the material used, they include 2 components: heat distribution metal strips and flooring system blocks. Due to the low level of thermal conductivity of the base material, laying pipes directly into the grooves of the blocks does not provide the required heat transfer, so they are laid in aluminum plates.
Wood flooring systems are especially popular.
Their advantage is environmental friendliness and high level accessibility, and installing such a structure yourself is quite easy. On sale you can find ready-made modular dry “warm floors” made of wood. They are blocks made of chipboard or OSB, in which channels for pipes are laid. The width of the modules is determined by standards - 13, 18 or 28 centimeters, and they are connected using the lock method.
Polystyrene water floors are truly weightless; standard systems have a thickness of 15 to 70 millimeters. When choosing this type of “warm” floor, you can save on thermal insulation, since polystyrene itself acts as it. The slabs are laid on a clean and level base, and if necessary, a layer of heat-insulating material is first laid. The plates of this system can be rotary or simple. They are installed so that pipes can be laid in this scheme.
After the installation of polystyrene or wooden modules is completed, heat distribution plates made of metal are laid out on them. They contain grooves into which pipes are installed.
Regardless of the selected material for the heated floor system, a damper tape must be placed around the perimeter of its installation. She will compensate thermal expansion floor and will not allow cracks to appear between the wall and the floor. If there are several circuits in one of the rooms, they must also be separated with a damper tape.
Heating is an important component of comfort and coziness in any private house or apartment, especially in regions with harsh climates. Technologies for the construction of heating systems are constantly being improved, offering consumers more and more economical and convenient solutions. Installation of a heated floor involves laying a pipeline on the floor surface and pouring it over a concrete screed. The room is heated by circulating hot water through pipes in the floor from a centralized system or from a heating boiler.
In fact, there are two ways to install heating in the floor under a screed: open and hidden. Each of them has its pros and cons.
Open way
At open method the pipeline runs along the perimeter of the room, connecting radiators, which, as a rule, are located under window openings. In older houses they were more often used metal pipes, in modern ones, preference is given to plastic.
The use of plastic pipes requires a lot of fastenings, which does not always look aesthetically pleasing.
Pay attention! From collector wiring in this case, you will have to refuse, since placing so many pipes in open form will be virtually impossible.
Hidden way
The hidden method involves laying a pipeline under the surface of walls or floors, and laying in walls is used relatively rarely. Such a procedure will be unreasonably complicated: you will need to rout the walls and install thermal insulation.
The most popular method of concealed installation of a heating system is laying pipes in a concrete floor screed.
A layer of waterproofing, insulation and reinforcing mesh are laid on the subfloor. The pipeline is fixed in accordance with the chosen scheme, after which the structure is filled with concrete mixture. Since the floor is poured after the pipes are laid, there is no need for labor-intensive gating.
Another indisputable advantage is correct principle heat distribution. In classic heating schemes, radiators give off heat to the walls, along which it moves to the ceiling area, and only then, when very cool, enters the living area.
Here the situation is the opposite. The maximum heat level is in the floor area, from where the heated air gradually rises to the ceiling, which creates more comfortable conditions for people in the room, but at the same time the heating system located under the screed creates its own inconveniences.
