Laminate flooring is becoming more and more popular every year. Today, manufacturers offer many different models with different characteristics, which are suitable for installation in all possible operating conditions. It is known that wood is a relatively poor conductor of heat, so wooden coverings are often not laid indoors if a system is to be installed heated floors.

At the same time, not so long ago, manufacturing companies began to offer consumers special models that can be used in conjunction with heating elements built into the floor. When purchasing such models, you will see a special mark on the packaging or sticker, which will indicate the possibility of using them together with heated floors. Such a mark is mandatory, so in the process of selecting a model, you need to pay attention to this circumstance.

Experts note the possibility of using heated floors and laminate together if the floor covering is not too thick. In other words, if you plan to install heated floors and laminated floors, then preference should be given to the thinnest models that will transmit heat better (the best option is a thickness of 7-8 mm).

There are several types of heated floors, but during installation laminated coating Indoors, it is recommended to give preference to infrared film. Infrared heated floors under laminate have high level heat transfer, and the laminated panels will not heat up too much, so there is no negative impact there will be no effect on the floor structure.

In addition, infrared film allows for maximum uniform heating of the room, which is very important for creating a favorable microclimate in the room.

Infrared heated floors are a type of electric heated floors, but their operation is designed for economical power consumption. In the event that some area infrared film is damaged, the heating will continue to operate as usual, and only the damaged section will turn off.

Also among the advantages of choosing infrared heated floors for laminate flooring are:

• Installing heating elements will not take more than an hour and everything can be done with your own hands;
• No device required cement screed, use of adhesives and other compounds;
• The operation of the heated floor can begin immediately after the laminated floor has been laid;
• During operation, the infrared film will not emit any harmful substances;
• The average service life under normal operating conditions is several decades;
• The film does not require any maintenance;
• There is no need to buy or configure additional devices and units for the film to work;
• It is possible to select a specific heating mode for a specific situation.

Despite the significant initial costs, an infrared heated floor system pays for itself within several years of use. Naturally, initially it will be cheaper to lay a cable or water heated floor. But the use of such heating elements is not recommended by many laminate manufacturers (especially if it is not possible to control the heating temperature of the system).

Of course, such a solution also has its drawbacks, which include the following factors:

• Relatively high cost of heating elements. For the simplest film you will have to pay about 900-1500 rubles per sq.m. Oddly enough, even quite decent models laminates cost less;
• Infrared heated floors are prohibited from being used in rooms with high humidity (this is more due to the complexity of installation and ensuring the protection of electrical elements);
• The need to create a high-quality, ideal, even rough base for laying, which also entails additional expenses. If there are any defects on the surface of the flooring, the heating elements may become unusable due to the incoming load.

How is installation carried out?

Installing an infrared heated floor does not require special skills or serious labor costs. In this case, you first need to carry out some preparatory work. First, the rough surface is cleaned of dirt, then the base is leveled. After this, a waterproofing layer is laid (you can use plastic film with polypropylene coating). This film will act as a substrate.

Installation of infrared film is carried out directly on waterproofing layer, which will allow you to preserve the emitted thermal energy. You need to think in advance so that heating elements are not located under cabinets, appliances and other large items. After laying the film, the laminated panels are laid according to any scheme and technology.

It is very important that the selected heated floor is equipped with a thermostat and thermostat so that you can independently regulate and set the required temperature. It must be taken into account that laminated coatings, even those that are suitable for use with heated floors, are unlikely to be able to withstand constant heating up to 29-30 degrees. The optimal floor heating mode is no more than 27 degrees.

If there are any doubts about the correctness of the work, then it is better to invite specialists (taking into account the cost of heated floors and floor coverings, this will rational decision). Installation of infrared heated floors for laminated floors can be performed in any room of any size and shape, because... Dimensions do not in any way affect the operation of sectional heating elements.

Warm floors are practical, modern and efficient system heating, which is gaining popularity and is actively used in new apartments. It is not very expensive and is available even to citizens with average incomes. In addition, unlike a water system, infrared heated floors under laminate are much easier to implement, which is another plus.

Principle of operation

Conventional heating systems operate using a direct heat exchange scheme. For example, batteries receive energy from hot water, which is heated at the nearest boiler house. This energy is then transferred to the air in the room, thereby spreading heat throughout the room. The same thing happens when using electric heaters, only the heating element is heated there.

IN warm floors, created on the basis of water or electrical (not infrared) systems, the simplest heat exchange also occurs, only in this case the screed, under which the cable or pipes are located, is heated. The disadvantage of such systems is inertia. To preheat the floor, you need to spend a lot of resources, but the cooling of the floor when the power is turned off occurs slowly, since the pipes or cables under the screed do not cool down for some time.

Film heated floors under linoleum or tiles work differently. Here, under the surface (tile, linoleum or laminate) there are transparent polyesters with carbon-coated strips (or paste). Each strip is connected to a copper bus - voltage is applied to it. When current passes through carbon paste, a radiation flux with waves 5–20 μm in length is created. The film itself and the tire heat up very little. The infrared energy flow created warms the surfaces it hits, and in this case it is the floor. Therefore, in infrared systems oh, there are no intermediate surfaces through which heat is transferred, here the floor itself heats up - it is this that is the first and last “obstacle” to heat. An analogue is the sun, which is also a source of thermal infrared radiation. Its rays heat surfaces encountered along their path.

The operating principle of infrared systems has long been known and is successfully used in wall, ceiling or wall-mounted heaters. It has successfully proven its effectiveness over the years. With the development of technology, we have learned how to lay infrared heated floors under a laminate or other covering. This became possible due to the development of carbon-coated film heaters.

Advantages

There are a number of advantages inherent to these systems:

Well, the last plus is the price. Installation of a film heated floor under linoleum will cost much less than the implementation of complex water cooling of the floor. We are talking about the cost of installation, not the film itself. However, depending on the manufacturer, the film itself may be cheaper than “outdated” floor heating systems.

Installation

Various construction teams offer the installation of infrared heated floors - this service is widespread. But you can handle the installation yourself, having at least minimal knowledge in the field of repairs and brief instructions on how to install an infrared heated floor. If everything is done correctly, such an installation will work longer than the period guaranteed by the manufacturer.

Alignment

The very first stage is leveling the floor. Naturally, the old coating must be completely removed, the surface washed and dust removed. If small holes remain in the floor slab itself (they can form during the construction of the house), then they can simply be filled with sand.

If the floor is flat, then it is necessary to lay a special material directly on it to reflect thermal radiation. The underlay for film heated floors is inexpensive and is laid over the entire area - close to the walls. To avoid shifting, this material can be attached to the floor with double-sided tape - just stick it around the perimeter. The presence of a heat-reflecting surface increases the efficiency of the heated floor and significantly reduces heat loss through the bottom. If the floor had holes, then this material will completely cover them.

Placement of thermal film

Before placing the film itself, you need to plan its position in the room and draw up an approximate connection diagram for the film heated floor. To do this, you need to know in advance the future location of the furniture in the room, since infrared elements should not be located under a closet or sofa. If there is no clear plan, then it is advisable to place the film at a distance of 60–70 cm from the walls.

Often used in residential areas standard scheme Thermal film location: several strips in the center of the room along the long side. When the location has been decided, the film strips must be cut into pieces the right size and lay them on the floor with the copper film down or up (depending on how indicated in the instructions). Moreover, they should be positioned so that the eyeliner is on one side.

The distance of the stripes from each other is individual. One manufacturer allows them to be placed end-to-end (most often), another recommends leaving a space of 3-4 cm between the strips. But no one ever allows stripes to be placed overlapping - this is fraught with overheating and failure.

If the distance between two or three stripes is higher than permissible, this will lead to uneven heating of the floor - there will be less and warmer areas on it with a difference of 2-3 degrees, although they are not easy to notice.

Insulation

The thermofilm usually comes with a special insulating tape with special clamps that are used to connect the floor to the network. Also included are cables, a temperature sensor and a thermostat (not always). Cables usually have a cross-section designed to carry a current of a given power.

Use bitumen film to cover the cut areas of the tire. First of all, they are glued to areas of the side to which wires are not connected. Simply put, it closes “open” contacts. The film must be glued well, that is, without an air bubble. When voltage is first applied, the film heats up, melts slightly and takes the shape of the compound being protected.

On the reverse side of the strip there is an open contact. A clip is attached to each of them - it is included in the kit. You need to install it using pliers so that the special spikes pierce the film and reach the tire itself. The stripped ends of the cable are attached to the clips in accordance with the instructions (it clearly indicates where the phase, neutral, and ground are connected), the open contact is covered with bitumen films. The underfloor heating strips are connected to each other in series so that when voltage is applied they work simultaneously. It is also advisable to fasten them together with tape to prevent them from moving under linoleum or laminate or tiles.

Connection

The ends of the cables are connected to the thermostat, which should be mounted on the wall. It may not be included in the kit; sometimes the regulator needs to be purchased separately. In addition to “phase” and “zero”, you also need to connect the temperature control sensor cable to the thermostat. The sensor itself fits under the black stripes of the film - it measures the temperature on them, which allows the system to accurately control the heating. Since the sensor has some volume, it can create a bulge on the floor. To ensure the floor is level, thermal insulation material a small hole is cut under it.

The thermostat is installed on the wall - in a place to which residents have free access. Cables are connected to it: phase, neutral, grounding, from the temperature control sensor. The connection is carried out according to the instructions of the selected thermostat or the heated floor itself, but everything is intuitively clear to a person who at least has experience installing and connecting conventional sockets. If a film heated floor under carpet, laminate or tile is made of several elements, then you cannot twist the wires from them - there are certified terminal connections for this.

Before you connect an infrared heated floor to your home wiring, you need to know what load it is designed for. Most often, if the floor power exceeds 2.5 kW, then the wire from the regulator is led into the panel - to a separate machine. It would be stupid to “hang” such a powerful system on the home wiring. When everything is connected, the system is tested. If everything works fine, then you can proceed to the next step.

Laying waterproofing and laminate

To protect floor elements from water ingress, place on it waterproofing film. It has no relief and is very thin, so it does not affect the efficiency of the installation and freely transmits infrared radiation. The waterproofing layer is not applied over the entire floor area, but on the films themselves with protrusions along the edges. Well, then comes the laying of laminate, tiles, linoleum or parquet boards. This is how you install a film heated floor with your own hands. That is, everything here is intuitive even for the most inexperienced master.

As for laying the flooring, standard schemes are used here.

Exploitation

After the film infrared heated floor is installed under the laminate, it is necessary to save a plan for its placement in the room, indicating the distances from the walls. This will allow you to rearrange the room correctly, moving the furniture elements to areas with infrared stripes. If you need to install any elements on the floor with fastening to the ceiling, then the layout of the heating elements will also come in handy.

When the connection of the infrared heated floor is completed and the floor covering is laid on top of it, it is not recommended to turn on the installation immediately at full power. Linoleum or laminate must “adapt”, so to begin with it is advisable to set the temperature to 15–20 degrees, adding 3–4 degrees every day. If tiles are laid on the floor, the adhesive (or mortar) on which it is fixed must first dry at natural temperature. And a slow increase in temperature will allow you to understand the full efficiency of the film heated floor under the tile or laminate and determine the optimal value.

Manufacturers

Speaking about which film heated floor is better, we can give examples of different manufacturers offering effective solutions. Today the most popular manufacturers are Daewoo, Caleo, Heat Plus

Caleo is considered the best brand - this is a South Korean company that offers cool modern solutions in the form of infrared heated floors for laminate, parquet boards, and tiles. Kaleo films are reliable and durable, very thin, with correct installation They will last for ten years, the only drawback is the fragility of the product. The thickness of the film is only 0.42 mm, so when laying infrared heated floors under laminate or linoleum it is necessary to do it very carefully, otherwise you can simply damage the film.

Heat Plus is a popular brand that produces premium films. If you need to install an infrared heated floor with your own hands under the tiles, then with a high probability you will have to choose films from this manufacturer, namely the “Silver” model. It has a high melting point, which makes it safe and effective when used with ceramic tiles.

Conclusion

Installation of infrared heated floors under tiles, linoleum or laminate is a popular service for repair teams. IN modern apartments this system heating is used very often, which indicates its efficiency and reliability. In addition, different manufacturers provide warranties for their systems - from 10 years and above.

Video on the topic

Laminate floors are becoming increasingly popular. This is due to their affordable price, relatively simple and quick installation, aesthetic appearance, good performance characteristics, durability. But they also have a significant drawback. The material, although decorated with natural wood, but is by no means as warm as real wood. If you lay it on a concrete floor without appropriate insulation, it will quickly transfer the cold of such a base. The best decision Such a problem is to lay an infrared heated floor under the laminate.

Infrared heated floor under laminate

The process of installing this type of heated floor, although it has a number of significant subtleties, is still not excessively labor-intensive and is quite feasible to do independently.

The thermal conductivity of laminate flooring just begs for the installation of a heating system underneath it. But why exactly does infrared floor become optimal solution, because there are water circuits and electrical circuits and using heating cables or heating mats? Let's find out...

1. A water floor under the laminate will be appropriate only with an autonomous heating system, when it will be possible to independently accurately regulate the temperature of the coolant. The fact is that laminate is quite “capricious” in terms of thermal changes - they can cause its deformation, the appearance of cracks, creaks, etc. In addition, installing a water floor requires installing a screed on top of it, and this will significantly raise the surface level, which is not always possible.
2. Resistive electric flooring (cable or heating mats) is also undesirable for laminate flooring. Partly, for the same reason - the need to screed over the installed floor, and partly due to the rather uneven heating of the surface.

The film infrared floor does not have all these disadvantages. Its thickness is less than 1 mm, it does not require labor-intensive screeds, and its installation practically does not thicken the overall coating. Heating occurs due to infrared radiation with a wavelength of 5 to 20 microns, invisible to the eye, but effectively heating all objects in its path - a direct analogy with sunlight.

What other advantages are inherent in this type of heated floor:

1. The most comfortable temperature distribution in the room is created by heating the surface of objects.
2. This principle of heat transfer is the most efficient and economical - the cost of electricity consumption is approximately 30% lower compared to resistive electric heaters.
3. The film itself is heated to low temperatures - about 30 - 40ºС, which does not negatively affect the integrity of the laminate surface.
4. The high density of the radiating strips ensures excellent uniformity of heating over the area.
5. Heating begins almost instantly.
6. The system is easy to install, dismantle and reinstall. Its service life is calculated in decades - it is extremely reliable.
7. This heating system does not dry out the air at all, and, according to many medical experts, has an anti-allergic effect due to ionization of the air and removal of unpleasant odors.

The only significant drawback of an infrared floor is considered to be the rather high price when purchasing it, but it will certainly be justified after literally a couple of years of operation.

How does a film infrared floor work?

The main element of an infrared floor heating system is film heaters. Between two sheets of transparent polyester film, parallel, frequently spaced strips of carbon paste are hermetically sealed, which, when voltage is applied to it, becomes an emitter of IR energy. Each of these strips “rests” on both sides on a copper bus conductor with silver-plated contacts for connection to the power supply. The parallel connection of both the emitting strips and the film elements themselves ensures high reliability of the system - even if any element fails, the overall performance of the infrared floor will not be affected.

Infrared heating films have a standard width of 50 cm or 1 m. They are sold in different lengths - the choice is made based on the size of the room. There is provision for cutting the films along the length - every 25.7 cm there is a possible cutting line - both are necessarily indicated by an advising symbol. Cutting films in other places is not permitted.

The specific power of film heaters is 150, 220 or, much less frequently, 440 W/m². This is important to know when making a general calculation of a heated floor in order to provide for the total load on the electrical network. For heating under laminate, heaters with a power of 150 W/m² are usually used - this gives maximum heating of up to 40-45º, and higher temperatures for laminate are not recommended.

The heated floor kit also includes a temperature sensor with a cable - to control temperature parameters, a set of wires for switching, clip terminals for connecting the film element, insulating materials. For each room you will need to purchase thermostat unit, which will be placed on the wall in a place convenient for the owner. Power is supplied to it, and from here comes the wiring that supplies voltage directly to the heating elements.

Installation of warm infrared floor under laminate

Drawing up an installation diagram

Before embarking on the installation process itself, it is necessary to carefully calculate and plan the entire structural diagram of the future system.

1. It should be immediately provided location control element, thermostat - all the wires will converge to it. The cable part can be hidden in a groove in the wall, enclosing it in a corrugated pipe, or run along the surface, covered with a plastic box.
2. You will need to draw a graphic diagram of the location of heating film elements on the floor, taking into account all the required nuances:
3. Film cutting can only be carried out along the cutting lines specified by the manufacturer.
4. To minimize the number of contact connections, it is recommended to lay the film along the room.
5. The distance from walls and stationary heating devices must be at least 25÷30 cm.
6. There are no plans to place elements under pieces of furniture - this will cause them to overheat, waste energy and, in the worst case scenario, burn out.
7. The distance between adjacent parallel film elements is 5 cm. Their overlaps, intersections, etc. are not allowed.
8. It is considered normal to cover up to 40 ÷ 60% of the floor area with film elements.
9. The wiring diagram must be drawn on the graphic diagram. There can be two approaches here. The cables can be connected on one side of the film elements:

Sometimes, in order to avoid crossing the “phase” and “neutral” wires, they are connected from opposite sides films . This will require special care during installation to prevent a short circuit by mistake:

• The location of the temperature sensor is provided - it should be located in the middle of the film element, preferably in the coldest part of the room, but with the expectation that its standard cable is enough to connect to the thermostat unit.

If the circuit is ready, carefully thought out and tested, you can proceed to installation.

Preparing the base

In this publication, attention is focused on the installation of a film infrared heated floor, so we will proceed from the fact that the concrete base itself has already been previously prepared for the future laying of the laminate. It was given the required evenness and horizontality, the necessary repairs were carried out on “weak” places, and it was treated with impregnating strengthening and dust removal compositions.

1. Work begins with a thorough cleaning of the base - all possible debris is removed, the surface is thoroughly vacuumed.
2. To avoid wasting electricity when heating concrete screed, flooring is required thermo-reflective foil material. Its minimum thickness is 2 ÷ 3 mm.
3. The thermal reflector must be laid with the foil part facing outwards. The strips are attached to the base of the floor with double-sided tape, laid end to end and connected to each other with a special adhesive tape.

• The thickness of the material will allow you to cut recesses in it for wires, terminals, and a temperature sensor - so that after installing the heated floor, they do not rise above the general level of the film covering and thereby do not interfere with the normal installation of the laminate.

Installation of film infrared elements After all cables have been fully connected and have been carefully checked for correctness, a test run can be performed. If everything is functioning correctly, move on to laying the laminate flooring.

Between the film heated floor and the laminate there must be a layer of waterproofing material - ordinary thick polyethylene film or a standard backing for the laminate, which can come with it. The film sheets are laid overlapping, with an overlap of 15 ÷ 20 cm, glued together with tape. Such a measure will ensure the safety of the floor in case of unforeseen circumstances - for example, a heavy spill of water on the surface of the laminate.

Installation of the laminate is carried out in accordance with the technology established for a specific model. These issues are discussed in detail in the relevant sections of the site.

After complete installation of the laminated flooring, you can turn on the heating system, set the optimal temperature - about 25 ÷ 28ºС, and enjoy the comfort of the heated floor.

Video - Installation of infrared heated floors under laminate

Video - How to make an infrared floor under laminate in 1 hour

When creating a cozy home, you need to take care of both the stylish design of the premises and the creation of a healthy climate in each room. Many owners of apartments and houses choose laminate for flooring, and for maintenance comfortable temperature install an infrared floor heating system.

Is it possible to install a heated floor system under laminate flooring?

Before choosing the material and type of underfloor heating system, it is worth considering that laminated flooring material has lower thermal conductivity than tiles. Can be used to maintain a comfortable temperature water system heated floor and electric. But when choosing the first option, it is worth considering that the laminate is sensitive to temperature changes, and to achieve optimal temperature When using water systems it can be quite difficult. If electrical cables are used, the system requires a large amount of energy.

Infrared heated floors do not have these disadvantages, so it is best to choose this option when finishing the floor with laminate. It is worth noting that through the use of such systems you can save about 20% of energy.

Since the laminate is thin and uniform over the entire area, it does not interfere with the propagation of infrared rays. When using such a warm floor, radiation does not spread deep into the base, which affects the efficiency of the entire system. Another advantage of underfloor heating is the ability to quickly install and dismantle the entire system. This is convenient when remodeling or moving.

Drawing conclusions from all of the above, it is worth noting that installing a film heating system is the most optimal solution when choosing a floor covering such as laminate.

When choosing a heated floor, it is worth remembering that it can be used as the only source of heating only in regions with a warm climate. At the same time, to maintain a comfortable temperature, it is necessary to cover at least 70 percent of the area of ​​the house with film.

Before carrying out work, it is necessary to draw up a system installation diagram. When drawing up a drawing, it is important to consider the following requirements:

1. The thermostat should be located at a height of about 15 cm from the floor surface.
2. It is important to remember that the location of the sensor determines the floor temperature. That is why it should be installed in a room where there is more low temperature floor. An example is the space near windows or doors.
3. When drawing up the diagram, it is also worth considering that the infrared floor is not mounted under permanently installed equipment and furniture. If you cannot follow this rule, you should create air pockets, the height of which should be at least 10 cm.
4. The outermost panels of the infrared floor should be located at a distance of about 15-40 cm from the walls. It is important to take into account that the length of the canvas should not exceed 8 meters.

Important! The film can only be cut in certain places. At the same time, during installation, you need to remember that overlapping of elements is not allowed.

Laying infrared heated floors under laminate should only be done after reading the instructions that come with the material.

What materials and tools are needed to carry out the work?

In order to install an infrared floor system, you must purchase the following materials and tools:

• heat reflective material to be used as a substrate;
• regulator and sensors showing the temperature in different parts of the room;
• infrared film;
• electric wires;
• fasteners and insulation for canvases;
• polyethylene film used as a moisture barrier;
• scotch;
• wallpaper knife, ruler and pencil.

When purchasing infrared film, you can choose a product with bimetallic or carbon heating elements. Films of the second type are more elastic and can be used for a longer period of time.

Preparing the base for infrared film

Since the film thickness is only 3 mm, the difference in the base should not exceed this parameter. It is worth remembering that it is quite easy to damage the film, so it is important to carry out all actions carefully while working. Before starting to lay the heated floor, it is important to thoroughly clean the base and, if necessary, dismantle the materials.

When preparing the base or creating a screed, you must use a building level. You should start working only after the mixture has completely hardened.

Laying insulation

After preparing the base, it is laid on it waterproofing material. It is best to use specialized products, but many home and apartment owners choose plastic film. Its thickness must be at least 50 microns. It is worth remembering that the insulating material is located even in those places where infrared film will not be installed. If this rule is not followed, the laminate may begin to “play.”

After such work, a thermal insulation substrate is laid. It must be remembered that it must be laid with the metallized side up. To increase the waterproofing ability and prevent the material panels from moving, all joints are taped.

Installation of a heated floor system

Infrared film should be cut in advance, and not during installation. After this, the panels are laid in accordance with a pre-created pattern. It is important to lay it in such a way that the copper bars are located at the bottom. The heater strips must be positioned with the contact pads facing the wall. This is due to the fact that the wire consumption depends on their position.

Installation is carried out according to the following instructions:

1. First, you need to attach terminal clamps to the edges of the copper strips and connect the wires. Next, the connection points must be wrapped with special tape, which consists of a vinyl backing and mastic.
2. After this, a temperature sensor is attached to the underside of the infrared film. It also needs to be isolated.
3. After all the canvases are connected, you need to measure electrical resistance systems. This allows you to calculate the power of the heaters.
4. At the next stage, the pieces of infrared film are connected. Wire bundles should be placed under the baseboard.
5. Then the temperature sensor is connected and voltage is supplied.

After all work has been completed, the system is tested. It is important to check the degree of heating of each section of the heated floor. If one or more segments do not heat up, you need to check for voltage. Then the waterproofing is installed. During the work described, all joints of the material should be glued. Only after this the laminate is laid.

Before installing a heated floor, it is important to learn about the features this process. Experienced builders recommend:

1. Carry out work at a humidity level of no more than 60 percent. In this case, the temperature in the room should not fall below zero.
2. It is prohibited to connect the film in a roll to the electrical network. This can only be done after installation work has been completed.
3. If damage appears on the graphite layer, it is necessary to insulate it on both sides.
4. To avoid problems with heating during operation, it is worth purchasing a second temperature sensor in order to be able to quickly replace the faulty one.
5. If the floor under which the heating system is located is flooded with water, it is necessary to disconnect it from the network and not turn it on until the surface is completely dry.
6. In apartments with low ceilings, it is better to install systems that have a low height.
7. When purchasing, you should choose only those systems that imply the possibility of non-professional installation.
8. When laying heated floors, it is worth using an additional layer of thermal insulation under the film. This will help the heat rise upward.
9. If there is a cellar in the house, it is worth installing additional waterproofing.
10. The installation of heated floors must be carried out in such a way that the entire system can be easily replaced or partially repaired.

And although this portal is dedicated to the issues of insulation and heating, the very topic of the publication - “installation of a film heated floor under a laminate” - involves a story not only about the installation of heating elements, but also about the subsequent installation of the laminated floor covering. Therefore, it seems appropriate to show the entire cycle of work carried out, so that the reader planning to undertake such a reconstruction has a fairly clear idea of ​​the scale of the upcoming tasks. The author hopes that his experience, including analysis of the mistakes made, will be useful for those who plan to do this for the first time and do everything with their own hands.

Initial conditions

The renovation was carried out in the children's room of a private house - the need for reconstruction had been brewing for a long time, and finally the final decision was made that there was no need to postpone any further.

The place where everything described happened is the city of Bendery, Moldova, Transnistria. The work was carried out in the first ten days of September 2016. That is, the practice of operating the created system has already been for two winter seasons.

The house was built in the 50s of the last century. The adobe walls are about 700 mm thick and are warm enough to survive in our climate without additional thermal insulation. The specifics of the walls, by the way, imposed certain nuances on the progress of further work - attention will be paid to this in due time.

The house was purchased in 2002, and before we moved in, it had been empty for a couple of years. So we had to work hard at first in order to have time to bring it into a lived-in state by the coming winter. This was especially true for children, since my daughter was only 3 years old at the time.

The floors throughout the house are made of planks on joists, raised above the ground level by approximately 300 mm. They did not please with straightness, but they were strong, reliable, assembled from good-quality boards 40 mm thick.

However, taking into account the fact that 50 percent of the play area of ​​children at an early age is on the floors, it was then decided to lay a pleasant blue carpet in the children's room. – both warm and soft.

At that time, when there was no abundance of construction and finishing materials (at least here here), carpet was seen as the best option. We can say that at first he was both likable and seemed to cope with his tasks quite well. But gradually all his negative qualities began to appear.

• Firstly, he became simply ugly. On its surface a lot of stains that cannot be removed have formed from spilled juices, tea, and even from a leaking printer cartridge over the past years.
• Secondly, it required almost daily vacuuming. And the further you go, the more: even small debris cannot be collected from its surface otherwise. And add to this the presence of cats (it would be like living without them in a private house) – and the picture becomes clear.
• Thirdly, it is also morally outdated. The grown-up daughter, a high school student, categorically stated that she wants to change the appearance of her “possessions.” Well, he has the right! She wanted laminate, and even picked out a model she liked from the store catalog.

So, the decision was made - we change the floor covering. But the organization of floor heating was immediately conceived - simply because the laminate itself is a rather “cold” material. The system was intended, of course, not to replace classical heating (everything is fine with that in the house), but simply to create the most comfortable conditions so that it is pleasant to walk on the floor with bare feet when there is dank autumn or frosty winter weather outside.

Now - about some features of the room itself. It is small, only about 6.5 m², close in shape to a square. And it seems like nothing special, however, there are a number of nuances that somewhat complicated the task.

If we take “clean” dimensions for calculations, they are shown on the left fragment of the illustration. But in reality adobe walls, alas, are not distinguished by their evenness - on the right fragment, the red line shows the bends at floor level. You can, of course, make an attempt to level the walls to perfection - drywall will help. But this will definitely lead to loss small area premises. The existing curvature of the walls had no effect on the feeling of comfortable living for us, and therefore, in due time, only the defects that stood out against the general background were corrected. Partially, the shortcomings were hidden by finishing - clapboard cladding and the creation of a bedside shelf (it is shown in the diagram with a brown arrow, and it was decided to leave it, only with a slight “modernization”). But when laying the laminate at the starting stage, even the slight remaining curvature still had an effect - attention will be paid to this below.

The second nuance is that the heating circuit return pipe runs along the outer wall just above the level of the old floor - it is clearly visible in the photo above, and is shown with a blue arrow in the diagram. Previously, the heating system worked on the principle of natural circulation, so the pipe has a slope - on the left side of the room a sheet of plywood can be easily pushed under it, but on the right - the gap is too small for this. This also left a certain imprint on subsequent work.

The following laminate was chosen for the flooring - the Krono Original company, Castello classic series, Art Works model. Boards size 1285x192 mm, class 32, Dubble Click type locking connection.

Prices for laminate flooring of the Castello classic series

Castello classic

A simple calculation was carried out, and according to its results, 30 boards were purchased - three packages of 9 pieces each, plus three more boards. A reserve of approximately 10% was made, and it was taken into account that one board would be used to finish the remaining bedside shelf. The store administration immediately discussed the possibility of exchanging defects, purchasing additional boards, and even returning unused ones. True, it turned out that there was no need to resort to any of this measures.

Now – about the “warm floor” system. It was decided not to make the heated area continuous over the entire area. Those areas where a person’s foot usually “steps” are quite sufficient. As a result, we settled on the following scheme.

There is no particular point in placing infrared film under the bed (item 1). But when you get up on a cool morning, it will be very nice to put your bare feet on a heated section of the floor. Therefore, a meter-long piece of film (item 3) along the bed is planned here.

In the far right corner from the entrance there is work zone – desk(pos. 2) with a computer. From the door to the table and partially under it there runs a second “comfort zone” - a two-meter heating section (item 4).

In total, three linear meters of heating film elements are needed. Most suitable option In terms of price and performance parameters, it turned out to be a South Korean-made film with a width of 500 mm and a specific power of 220 W/m². The total power of the created system is low - only 330 W, that is, no special additional load is expected on the home electrical network.

Included with the film heater were two coils of wire (stranded copper with a cross-section of 1.5 mm²) with blue and red insulation, a set of terminals and insulating pads. In addition, a thermostat was purchased separately for installation in a standard socket box. A model with push-button control and the possibility of weekly programming of operating modes was chosen.

So, the basic materials were purchased. Others were also used - this will be mentioned in the course of further presentation.

It was planned to spend three days on the work. But, as it turned out in reality, it took five - due to inexperience, unforeseen problems, etc. But in the end everything was decided positively.

So, let's move on to consider practical side- actual progress of work performed.

Floor with laminated coating and infrared film heating system - step by step and step by step

The first stage is preparing and leveling the floor

This stage at the planning stage seemed generally unproblematic. In practice, it turned out that not everything was so “rosy” and simple.

But under a laminated coating such a level difference is unacceptable - compliance with a single plane is required. Therefore, it was planned to carry out the alignment using OSB sheets 10 mm thick.

How this was done practically is in the table below (all pictures expand when you click the mouse).

Illustration
	The room is cleared of all the furniture in it. The carpet in some areas looks even worse than it previously seemed.
	The old wooden skirting boards were dismantled. They are already so unsightly that they went straight to the trash - for firewood. Instead, at the final stage of work, plastic ones will be installed, matching the floor covering. The blue ellipse shows the area of ​​the bedside shelf where it is planned to convert it into a convenient niche for gadgets. And under this niche there will be a “warm floor” thermostat and a socket for a charger. Convenient - clapboard cladding eliminates the need to cut out sockets in the wall for socket boxes and a hole for the power cable.
	Finally, the old carpet is rolled up and taken out into the yard. Its back once had a rubberized base. This layer has already crumbled in large areas and remains on the floor as black dust (the arrows show the preserved areas of the base and with complete shedding of the substrate, right down to the pile). The picture is scary, and once again convinces me that the experience with carpet was probably my last.
	I had to immediately start cleaning - clear the floor of black rubber dust. This is after cleaning, during which I got dirty from head to toe.
	And this is the picture that emerged. By the way, my wife and I no longer remembered about this - that under the carpet we also leveled the surface with plywood. True, plywood is a very strong word. In fact, due to the shortage (at that time) of materials, all available scraps were used, and the result was this “patchwork quilt.” So the next and, it turns out, unplanned task is to dismantle this “mosaic”.
	This sounds easy, but in reality it took quite a lot of time and required a lot of effort. The difficulty is that only certain sections were secured to the boards with self-tapping screws. Mostly small nails with very frequent pitches predominate (shown by the red arrow). So there was a lot of fuss. Moreover, just to ensure safety, I didn’t want to leave extra nails under the electric “warm floor,” so after breaking out the plywood “patches,” they were not driven into the old plank floor, but pulled out. The opening floor is in very good condition, with the exception of one small area in the corner - it is outlined in the illustration with a yellow ellipse.
	In this section of the board there are also no signs of decomposition, but for some reason the covering here is assembled from short sections - perhaps a hatch into the cellar was once planned, and then the decision was changed. From below, the boards rested on chocks, which sank into the ground, which resulted in general instability and subsidence of this area. The repair turned out to be simple. Three crossbars were attached to the good-quality floor boards from below, under which the same lumps of support were placed. Well, then the short sections of boards that were removed were returned to their place. It turned out strong and stable.
	After cleaning the surfaces, we moved on to leveling the floor with OSB sheets. On this side and up to about three-quarters of the length of the room the floor is horizontal. And then the downward slope begins. Since the sheet is shorter than the length of the room, it is offset in an uneven direction. And here, on the remaining horizontal sections that do not require leveling, it will be easy to fix the missing narrow strips of OSB.
	The opposite side is another matter. Here the unevenness is even expressed in two ways. Firstly, the far left corner is not quite straight, and the edge of the sheet had to be trimmed somewhat (shown by the red lines). And secondly, and this is the main thing, the level is decreasing from almost zero in the far corner to approximately minus 45 mm in the near corner (the increase in the difference is shown by the blue arrow). There's some tinkering to be done here.
	It was decided to carry out the alignment using the following algorithm. To begin with, a beacon-platform is fitted and secured to the floor, which ensures the horizontal position of the sheet. This beacon is nothing more than a piece of timber of selected thickness (shown by the red arrow). Then the sheet was removed to the side, and picked up from this area using a regular level and a series of beacons were fixed along the wall to the far corner, where the difference goes to zero, that is, the areas become thinner (the direction is shown by the blue arrow). And then from each of these beacons, in a similar way, a line of platforms is made along the sheet, right up to the border of the transition to a flat section of the floor (a series of yellow arrows). After careful fitting, all platforms were screwed to the plank base with self-tapping screws (with preliminary drilling to prevent cracking).
	These are the areas before placing the sheet in place. By the way, on the far rows we didn’t even have to “build rows”, since the deformation of the plane there was small. And on the repaired section of the floor, it even became necessary to slightly remove the resulting protrusion with a plane.
	The sheet fit perfectly into place. Checking with a level proved its compliance with the horizontal plane. The beacon areas are located quite often, and when moving along the surface there was no deflection of the sheet (and believe me, I am quite tall and weighty). In addition, a little later another step was taken to make the coating more stable - this will be discussed below. Please note that the row of beacons closest to the edge is made so that it simultaneously serves as a support for the second sheet, which will then be laid end-to-end with the first.
	The sheet is fixed to the plank floor surface. Black self-tapping screws were used with a length of 35 mm (on a flat area of ​​the floor) to 75 mm in areas of large differences. The illustration shows the “trajectory” of screwing in the fasteners, in increments of approximately 200 mm. From the edge of the sheet - at least 20 mm, otherwise you can get a crumbled area. The tightening torque on the screwdriver (ratchet) was adjusted so that the head of the screw was immersed in the thickness of the sheet by about half a millimeter.
	After screwing the sheet, it was decided to also fill the remaining cavities from below with polyurethane foam. In the right places between the beacon pads, holes with a diameter of 10 mm were drilled in the OSB so that the nose of the gun would fit into them well. Filling was carried out until foam appeared from the adjacent hole. It didn't require much foam - the gaps weren't that big. The illustration shows a picture after the foam has expanded and hardened. All protruding excess was cut off and removed. And the sheet, in addition to being supported on the platforms, also received a fairly hard cushion from below. His position became absolutely stable. In addition, the deformed section of the floor is located exactly where the bed is located. That is, no special dynamic loads are expected here. So you don’t have to worry about the reliability of the leveled surface.
	The algorithm for aligning the second sheet is exactly the same. From the lighthouse already standing in the center, a series of platforms should be fixed along the wall (red arrow) to the point of the greatest level difference (green arrow). And then rows of beacon-platforms are laid out towards the center of the room, before moving to the horizontal section (yellow arrows). There was no long rule at hand, so a two-meter segment was used instead profile pipe– it turned out even more convenient: the pipe itself is heavy, and this simplified the selection of the height of the platforms. However, I had to tinker with cutting out the sheet itself - its near edge repeats the configuration of the bedside shelf and all the protruding corners at the entrance to the room. But this is in particular, just a little more marking and jigsaw work. By the way, when cutting and adjusting the sheets along the walls, a deformation gap of about 7-10 mm was left (due to the unevenness of the wall, it fluctuated somewhat within these limits). And between the sheets (and inserted fragments) a gap of about 5 mm was also left. These gaps are in case of linear expansion of the material when heated.
	The cavities under the second sheet were also filled with foam. After it hardens, the excess is cut off and removed.
	Next, it was the turn of the remaining areas that were not closed. Everything is simple here - fragments of the required size were cut out and, after adjustment, they were attached to the plank covering with self-tapping screws. Then all deformation gaps were also filled with polyurethane foam. Ignore the un-removed baseboard on this wall. It is simply so firmly embedded in the old wall that it was decided not to touch it, otherwise a “new front” of work would appear. And according to preliminary estimates, after installing the laminated coating, it will be perfectly covered with a new baseboard.
	Finally, everything is finished, excess foam along the expansion joints is cut off, and cleaning is done with a vacuum cleaner. Before us is a ready-made, even, reliable coating for the subsequent installation of a “warm floor” system.

The second stage – connecting the power line for the “warm floor”

In truth, this block of work was carried out in parallel with the first stage. There was enough time - while the polyurethane foam was hardening after each laid sheet of leveling coating. Yes, and I wanted to do all the “dirty” work right away - leaving them for later, and then cleaning again is hardly reasonable.

So, the power of the floor heating system is small - a maximum of 330 W. Plus, in parallel with the thermostat, it is planned to install an outlet to charge a smartphone and tablet, and, if necessary, to turn on the laptop power supply. That is, the power of this load is low. However, in the room where the renovation is being carried out, there was no line convenient for connection. But in the next room, through the left wall, there is a dedicated line with copper wire with a cross section of 1.5 mm² (that is, it is enough for 3 kW). And on this line there is only lighting (with LED lamp 13 W), night light and two sockets, also mainly used for chargers. That is, you can easily “cling” to it. And the location is such that it is possible to organize a supply line to the installation site of the “warm floor” thermostat with minimal disruption to the finish.

Although the load is low, just in case, for a “warm floor” with an outlet parallel to it, it was decided to install a separate 6-amp circuit breaker.

How this was all done is in the table below:

Illustration
	Three panels of the bedside shelf lining have been removed - they will be shortened and slightly altered. In the upper part there will be a convenient niche for all small things and a telephone, and in the lower part there will be a “warm floor” thermostat and an additional socket. This is where the power cable will be laid. Convenient - it can be easily hidden behind the remaining cladding.
	IN next room The socket from where power will go to the “warm floor” has been temporarily dismantled. To install the machine, a small built-in box with four module spaces was purchased. To recess it into the wall, a niche is cut out in it. The leveling wall cladding here is made of plasterboard, which made it possible to cut a very neat “window” exactly to the size of the box. Under the drywall - first the old plaster layer, and then it begins clay wall, in which it was easy to cut a niche of the required depth.
	True, under the layer of clay there was also brickwork, half a brick thick. But it is deep and does not interfere with the installation of the box. A hole is drilled through this masonry into the next room with a hammer drill to allow the cable to pass through. The niche for the box, in addition, is connected by a hidden channel to the adjacent socket - for parallel connection to the power line. Not shown in the photographs, but a piece of cable was immediately pulled through this channel and connected to the socket terminals. The phase will break through the machine, and the zero – through the standard zero bus of the box.
	Here is the same hole, but in the room where renovations are being carried out. When drilling, of course, a fair amount of plaster was turned out. But this is not scary - the wallpaper was prudently trimmed and tucked. All that remains is to cut a very small fine (it is conventionally shown here with a yellow arrow), about 200 mm long, to the edge of the cladding. And then the power cable will “dive” under the cladding, be placed under it and “float up” only at the location where the thermostat is installed. (The trajectory of its laying is shown by a green arrow). Looking ahead, I will say that after laying the cable, the torn section and the fines were carefully repaired gypsum putty, and after it dries, the wallpaper is returned to its place. So there are no traces left.
	Here he is - VVG cable 2×1.5 after laying to the installation site of the thermostat.
	The removed lining panels are shortened at the top. In two of them, windows were cut out with a jigsaw for installing socket boxes. The socket boxes used are those that are used for drywall, that is, with stoppers that are pulled from behind. A small “arch” is cut out from the bottom of the central panel - this is for passing the power wires and the signal wire of the “warm floor” temperature sensor. The panels with socket boxes, of course, are just put in place for now, not secured.
	Looking ahead a little, we can immediately show that a regular socket was installed in the right socket, as planned. The cable from the next room is connected to its terminals. And another piece of the same cable extends from the terminals - it will be connected to the thermostat. For now he is left alone. It is important that when carrying out this switching, do not make a mistake with the location of the phase and zero - this is required for the correct operation of the programmable thermostat. Therefore, it is better to adhere to the recommended color coding of wires. In my case, blue (zero) and brown (phase).
	In the next room, the switching of wires also ends - the phase with a break through the machine, the zero through the bus without a break. The socket is returned to its place. The box is installed in a cut-out niche.
	The box was already installed well in the niche, but for greater reliability I decided to secure it with silicone hot-melt adhesive. And I didn’t have to mess with the solution, and it turned out very quickly, durable and nice.

In fact, everything is done with the electrical connections - it is ready for further installation of the heating system. Naturally, I carried out a check - a short-term switching on with an audit of the correct location of the phase and zero. Everything turned out as it should.

The third stage – installation of film infrared “warm floor”

Let's move on to perhaps the most interesting stage. Everything is ready to begin work directly on the “warm floor” system.

Illustration	Brief description of the operation performed
	The stage begins with a thorough cleaning. It is important that there are no small solid fragments left on the floor surface - it must be completely clean. And then the next step will be to lay an elastic insulating reflective substrate on the floor - foil polyethylene foam. It was purchased with a small reserve - 7 m². The roll has a width of 1000 mm, the thickness of the substrate is 5 mm. Required Tools– a sharp knife, a stapler with staples, foil tape. Laying this layer solves two important problems at once: - firstly, the installation of an infrared floor itself requires a thermally insulating reflective layer to direct radiant energy upward; - secondly, the technology of laying laminate involves the use of a thin elastic backing that conceals all possible minor irregularities in the base.
	Laying the substrate is a very simple operation. A strip of the required length is cut from the roll and laid on the floor with the foil side up. The edges rest against the walls, since, of course, no deformation gap is required here. I must say that even the stapler was not particularly needed - the material lays perfectly on the slightly rough OSB surface without moving. At first I fastened the sheets in the corners with staples, then I stopped - it’s quite possible without them.
	The next strip is laid end to end with the first. And then this joint line is glued on top with foil tape. The result is a continuous, seamless reflective coating.
	The last strip had to be cut to fit the remaining uncovered area, but this does not cause any difficulties. As a result, in literally 15 minutes the room is completely covered with a reflective substrate.
	It was decided to put the remaining large fragment of the substrate to good use. A reflective screen was made from it, which was attached to the heating radiator. I had to fiddle around a bit to get it in there, making the slots for the brackets. But now the heat transfer of the battery will be higher.
	We finished with the substrate - it was the turn of the film heaters. First of all, the purchased three-meter roll is cut into two sheets - 1 and 2 meters. The cut must be made exclusively along the drawn lines with the appropriate signature. On this film model, these lines are located in increments of 250 mm. The cut canvases are placed in the planned places. Important - they should lie with the shiny “copper” side down. By the way, if positioned correctly, all the inscriptions on the film become readable. Otherwise, they are obtained in a mirror image.
	After carefully checking the position of the film sheets so that they no longer move, they should be fixed to the floor. For this, reinforced construction tape was used - the canvases were glued to the substrate along both long edges. But so far – not completely. The edges must be left with a “degree of freedom” - they will have to be raised more than once when connecting wires and insulating cut busbars. It turned out as shown in the illustration.
	The heating film sheets are ready for switching. It's time to once again clarify the scheme according to which it will be produced. In order not to omit the intersection of wires on the floor, it was decided to connect the phase and zero with different sides canvases The wire consumption is somewhat higher, but the amount that was given complete with the heating elements was quite enough. Where the phase will be located and where the zero will be located has absolutely no meaning for the heating film. The main thing is not to mistakenly place a phase and zero on one bus So, the illustration shows an electrical switching diagram. 1 - the temperature sensor with its signal cable is shown in green. It will be located under a meter-long sheet of film, in the center, so that the sensor head fits exactly on the heating black carbon strip. 2 - points for connecting the terminals of phase wires to the bus bars of the heating fabrics. Accordingly, the red lines show the routes for laying these wires. 3 - neutral wires and points from the connection in the terminals with the busbars are shown in blue. 4 - it is mandatory to carefully insulate the places where the busbars of film heating elements are cut that are not used in switching. All the wires converge at one point - and it falls exactly on that same arched “window” cut out in one of the cladding panels.
	Work began with insulating the cut ends of the tires. The heaters were supplied with special insulating pads. They are a rectangular fragment of a rather thick elastic rubber-bitumen sheet, covered on one side with a polymer film, and on the other with a protective paper backing covering the adhesive layer. To isolate the area where the tire is cut, one such pad is required.
	To begin with, this paper backing is carefully removed.
	Then the pad with its adhesive layer is pressed from below to the cut point of the tire, so that approximately half of the pad ends up at the bottom - stuck to the surface of the film.
	After this, the insulating pad is folded over the edge of the sheet and glued on top of the film. Then, with a fairly significant application of finger effort, this resulting “cocoon” is compressed over its entire area. Essentially, the tire cut is insulated.
	This insulating cocoon ends up being quite thick, even after very tight crimping. But we can’t allow anything to stick out above the surface, otherwise there will be difficulties with laying the laminate. Therefore, exactly along the contour of the resulting “pattern”, a window is cut out in the substrate with a sharp knife. In this “nest” everything will be perfectly hidden flush with the general surface.
	Similar operations are carried out at all bus cutting points where there will be no switching, that is, in three more places.
	The next step is connecting the power supply wires to the heating elements. The wires are laid out on the floor approximately along the routes of their laying. These routes, by the way, can be drawn on the substrate in advance with a marker for convenience.
	The connection of wires to the busbars of film heaters is carried out using terminals, each of which has two large petals and a crimp clamp for the wire. The upper tab of the terminal must be inserted into a special “pocket” located in the area where the bus is cut. To make it easier to slip it in there, it is first recommended to widen this “pocket” somewhat with the tip of a thin screwdriver.
	Then the upper petal of the tire is inserted into this “pocket” and pushed in until it stops.
	The blades of the terminal are brought together - compressed, at first simply by the force of the fingers...
	...and then, finally, they are crimped using pliers. Contact of the terminal with the bus is ensured - now you need to connect the wire to the terminal.
	This is also easy. The wire is stripped of insulation approximately 8 mm from the edge, the veins are twisted into a tight “pigtail”. Then this bare area is inserted into the terminal clamp, which is immediately then carefully crimped with pliers. The clamp also consists of two petals, and it is better to crimp them not immediately, but one by one. Well, if it is necessary to connect two wires in a terminal to connect heating films in parallel, then I used one side of the clamp for one conductor, the other for the other. It turned out securely and neatly.
	Immediately after such assembly, the finished terminal connection must be insulated. Two insulating pads will already be used.
	The first, after removing the protective paper backing, is glued from below. It should completely cover both the entrance to the bus and the entire terminal, capturing the beginning of the insulated section of the connected wire.
	After removing the paper backing, a second overlay is glued mirror-like to the bottom from above.
	The resulting knot is pressed very carefully with your fingers. By the way, the arrow in the illustration shows that, just in case, the places where the tire edges were insulated were also taped on top with strips of construction tape. This is not a requirement and is not specified anywhere, but the cost of adhesive tape is cheap, and the reliability is much higher.
	Windows are also cut out in the foil substrate for these isolated switching nodes. In addition, thin grooves are cut along the marked lines into which the wires are hidden.
	Similar operations are repeated with the second wire. It is important, we emphasize once again, not to connect two different wires to the same busbar on both sides of the heating element.
	After the power wires are connected to the heating film elements, you can install a temperature sensor. It will be placed in the center of the black carbon strip, in the middle of the second block of these strips from the edge, on a short meter section of the “warm floor” - its position from below is shown by the green arrow.
	Specifically, the sensor head is fixed in place on the back side of the film with a strip of construction tape.
	For the sensor itself, a window was also cut in the substrate. A groove is also made for the signal cable. However, it turned out that the sensor head is still too thick to be completely hidden in the elastic backing layer. That is, an unacceptable tubercle appears above it.
	I had to work with a chisel to cut out a recess in the OSB leveling sheet. After this, all sawdust was carefully removed, and the bottom of the resulting recess was taped with foil tape. After laying the sensor, the groove with the signal cable was sealed with tape on top.
	The switching of the heating elements is, in principle, completed. You can “beautify” - the film sheets are finally fixed to the floor surface along the perimeter with tape. Grooves are cut out for the wires, and after laying, they are immediately sealed with the same tape.
	All three wires (red phase, blue neutral and white signal temperature sensor) ultimately converge in one “finishing” groove, follow it to the wall and there “dive” into the cut arched passage. Nowhere on the floor surface did any wire intersect with another - this is very important to ensure the safe operation of the heating system.
	Finally, when the wires are brought behind the casing, that is, to the place where the thermostat is connected, the final “sealing” of all system elements located on the floor is carried out with tape. This is the picture we got.
	You can proceed to installing the temperature sensor and then checking the functionality of the system.
	In order not to have to deal with tinning the bare ends of the wires to clamp them into screw terminals thermostat, wherever it was required, I installed and crimped these terminal lugs.
	Here are both “cold ends” - this is what the wires coming from the heating elements are usually called.
	Just in case, I check the load resistance with a multimeter. The result was 137 ohms - very close to the value calculated by Ohm's law of 146 ohms. We can move on.
	Through the socket box, which remains empty for now, having cut windows in it, I insert wires in pairs - a power cable coming from a nearby outlet, “cold ends” from the floor heaters and a signal cable from the temperature sensor. All of them will be connected to the corresponding terminals of the thermostat. Naturally, all work is carried out with the power line de-energized - this can now be ensured by turning off the recently installed 6-amp machine.
	And now the panel with the socket box finally takes its place and is fixed with self-tapping screws to the frame (the fastener heads will subsequently be hidden by finishing corners). According to the rules, the thermostat must be located at least 400 mm from the floor level. In this case, it turned out to be 450 mm, that is, everything is within the normal range.
	For the “warm floor” system, we purchased the following thermostat – it provides the ability to program operating modes by the hour per day, taking into account weekends and weekdays during the week.
	To install the thermostat, you must first disassemble it in order to get to the mounting support that will attach it to the socket box.
	The decorative frame is removed - it is simply held on by plastic latches. The metal bracket is clearly visible from above.
	This bracket is moved upward with the help of a screwdriver and thereby releases the attachment of the device to the caliper.
	That's it, disassembly is complete.
	The support is immediately attached to the socket box with two self-tapping screws.
	You can move on to connecting wires. On the back of the thermostat there are terminals with very clear indications of their purpose. 1 and 2 are the power cable, phase (L) and neutral (N), respectively. 3 and 4 – load, that is, the “cold ends” of the heating film elements are connected here. Both 6 and 7 are terminals for connecting a temperature sensor. Here the polarity of the wires does not matter.
	And since I have all the wires ready, switching takes only a few minutes. First, install and clamp the contacts of the temperature sensor into the terminals.
	Then - the wires from the load, observing the color marking of phase and zero (although, by and large, this does not really matter here either).
	And finally, the wires from the power line are connected, and here maintaining the correct position of the phase and zero is a prerequisite. The device is ready to test the functionality of the system.
	I turn on the power automatically.
	The message “OFF” appeared on the thermostat display - turned off. It’s already good – “signs of life” are visible.
	I press the power button. Floor heating does not start. But this is only because the factory presets on the thermostat are 24 degrees. And the work is carried out in early September in conditions of hellish heat. And the floor surface in the room itself already has a temperature of more than 28 degrees, as evidenced by the sensor readings located on the right side of the display. That is, the thermostat is working correctly - the power does not turn on. But you still need to check, so in manual mode I raise the heating limit to 33 degrees. It worked instantly - a heating symbol appeared on the screen, and after a few seconds my legs felt the temperature of the film increase.
	No more is needed. The system is functioning normally, so you can complete this stage of work. The power turns off again automatically, and the thermostat finally takes its regular place in the electrical outlet. There is no need to worry him anymore.

The installation of the floor heating system is complete. And the next stage lies ahead - laying the laminated flooring.

Prices for film infrared heated floors

film infrared heated floor

Stage four – laying the laminated flooring

Laying laminate flooring, in principle, is not included in the list of traditional topics on the portal dedicated to heating and insulation. But abandoning the story like that, mid-sentence, is also not the case. Therefore, the subsequent stages will be considered until the end of the repair, but not to the slightest detail, but simply with an illustrated listing of the main operations. But still with the obligatory emphasis on some possible errors.

You might be interested in information about what it is

So, the stage began with another thorough cleaning - it is unacceptable to leave even small debris under the laminate, since the installation may not go well, and over time, squeaks in the coating may appear.

After cleaning, the entire floor surface was covered with polyethylene film 150 microns thick. In my case, I got by with one canvas, with an overlap of about 100 mm on the walls. If one sheet is not enough, then they are laid with an overlap of approximately 100 mm, with the obligatory gluing of the overlap line with waterproof construction tape.

What is it for? In essence, polyethylene becomes a waterproofing layer. Who knows if a bucket of water will be accidentally knocked over on the floor, or a full cup of tea will be dropped? Liquid penetration into the heating film elements must not be allowed.

The installation of the laminate itself did not seem so challenging task, since in the instruction video everything looked extremely simple:

Video: installation process of film heated floor under laminate

Was compiled approximate diagram installation At the same time, attention is drawn to one important point. In the conditions of the existing room, if you start by laying a whole board from the wall (widthwise), then at the end you end up with a narrow strip only about 10-12 mm thick. Naturally, it is impossible to snap such a narrow fragment into the lock efficiently, and you won’t leave such a gap either. This means that it is necessary to reduce the width of the starting strip by about 60 mm - then the finishing strip will become quite acceptable for laying the width.

As can be seen from the video instructions, for lock connection The next panel is joined to the previously laid one at an angle, and then, when lowered down, the lock snaps into place.

But I have a heating system return pipe running along one wall, which was noted earlier. Therefore, the coating has to be shortened somewhat (the space behind the pipe was subsequently filled with small scraps - they are almost invisible there). But this, in turn, means that it is impossible to carry out high-quality wedging of the starting strip from the outside wall.

To wedge the coating from the remaining walls, liners were prepared - sawn from the remaining waste OSB sheet 10 mm.

Everything seems to be ready - we can start.

The first strip was prepared and laid. And immediately the first problem is that due to the existing curvature of the wall, this strip cannot be stably positioned along it with emphasis on the wedge inserts. I had to make a non-trivial decision - temporarily, in the area that would be covered by the baseboard, fix the assembled strip to the floor surface with screws. They will be removed at the end of installation work.

But this problem turned out to be not the main one. After assembling the second strip, a dozen unsuccessful attempts were made to connect it with a lock to the first. Nothing worked - on one side the connection goes approximately to the center of the room - on the other the lock does not work. And vice versa. Frankly speaking, there was a slight panic until I thought of looking for advice on forums on the Internet. It turns out that the case is quite common and can be due to several reasons:

1 - the floor surface may have, although not particularly noticeable, curvilinear deformation that interferes with the normal operation of the locks.

I was sure that my gender was straight, but I still checked again to make sure that this was not the reason.

2 – after purchase, the laminate was not allowed to sit in the temperature and humidity conditions of the installation room.

Also by the way - the boards were unpacked and lay in the next room with exactly the same conditions all the time that the floor was leveled and its heating system was installed. That is, three days is the minimum.

3 – factory defect of laminate. In any game, no, no, and there are boards with imperceptible distortions of shape. Moreover, it happens that the amount of such cancer reaches as much as 10%!

I decided to check it out. And when inspecting the first board of the second row, it was discovered that its end side with the lock was not completely perpendicular to the longitudinal one! That is, when assembling a strip, the result is not a straight line, but a broken line invisible to the eye, and the error at the opposite end of the assembled strip is a good one and a half millimeters! Naturally, there can be no talk of any operation of the locks along the entire length.

I put this board aside and took another one with preliminary control of the corners. And the strip went down with ease, the locks immediately worked along the entire length!

I carefully checked all subsequent boards for the straightness of the corners. But, as it turned out, this one was the only one that was defective - it then went to finishing work.

Well, in the future - no special problems emerged, and installation went very smoothly. There were a couple of “rough spots” - I’ll mention them below:

Illustration	Brief description of the operations performed
	Unfortunately, in the excitement of the “struggle” with the starting lines and the experiences associated with it, I forgot about photography. So in the first illustration there are already two rows laid. But the most important thing is still visible. Firstly, these are inserts that had to be laid only along one wall - the reason has already been explained. Secondly, the screws with which the starting strip was fixed to the floor surface are visible. They were subsequently removed.
	And in this picture you can clearly see the opposite edge - the same return pipe of the heating system that interferes with the “classic” installation of the laminated coating. So I had to adapt.
	The third strip has already been assembled along the length (with end locks) and laid out along the longitudinal line of the lock. All that remains is to lift it, move it forward a little and lower it - it easily connected with the second one.
	But with the fourth stripe there is a hitch again, he resists. True, the reason was discovered quickly. At the corner, at the intersection of two milled grooves of the lock, there remains such a thin spike. It has no practical meaning - just a “production cost”. But, as it turned out, this “bastard” is capable of jamming and interfering with the connection.
	The solution is trivial - before assembling the next strip, all such spikes were cut off with a knife.
	This is the picture we got.
	And in order not to stop at all, it makes sense to completely check the locks of each board. It doesn't take much time.
	For example, in the locking groove of one of the boards there was also a small “surprise” in the form of a caked, glued spool. Surely, if it had remained unnoticed, there would have been a problem during assembly.
	To check the grooves, I used the back side of a jigsaw file. I ran it along the entire length and the groove was guaranteed to be clean. If there is any obstacle, you will definitely feel it.
	Otherwise, installation went quickly, almost as easily as shown in the video instructions. And the main problem was, rather, the thoughtful placement of the boards according to the pattern. So that identical patterns on this, say, not quite ordinary surface design, do not appear in a row. And on top of that, it is important to rationally use the remaining trimmings to minimize waste. But a pre-compiled diagram, which takes into account the necessary shift of the boards and the possibility of using the remaining fragments, helps to cope with this particular problem without much difficulty.
	It’s important to always have a broom and dustpan at hand. Small debris may get on your feet, the inadmissibility of which has already been mentioned. By the way, a small solid fragment remaining under the laminate can be very potentially dangerous. Over time, under the influence of dynamic load on the coating, it is quite capable of gradually “chewing through” both the plastic film and the heating element. So we monitor cleanliness from the beginning to the very end of installation.
	And in just a few hours - the finished floor covering. The last row is narrow, only about 80 mm wide, but it is also well secured with a lock with the previous one. And so that it doesn’t get “bulky”, an ottoman was temporarily placed. With its (small) weight it will help this narrow strip to “lie down” in place. After completing the installation of the last row, the screws were removed from the first strip and all spacer inserts were removed. The floor is left in this form until the next day - it is advisable to give it a little time to adapt to the assembled state.

The next morning - everything is fine, the boards lie amazingly evenly, there are no creaks or bends anywhere. We tried to turn on the “warm floor” system (again with a slightly elevated heating threshold). Literally in a minute there is a quite noticeable effect. Naturally, after this the system was immediately turned off - its time would come later, with the onset of cold weather.

The fifth stage, the final one – “finishing final beauty”

Here I will try to be as short as possible – just to demonstrate the result of the repair as a whole.

Illustration	Brief description of the operation performed
	The task of the day is to put everything in order, finish the decoration, bring in the furniture and hand over the finished room to the owner. I start with a niche shelf above the thermostat
	From the laminate fragments remaining after cutting, I cut out parts for the bottom and side walls of this niche. I immediately install them in place - the bottom is on small self-tapping screws, the heads of which will then be hidden decorative corner, walls - with silicone hot melt adhesive. The fixation turned out to be very good.
	The next step is a long bedside shelf. This is where the defective board will go. It is cut to size, laid, and secured with small self-tapping screws.
	Next comes the framing of all external and internal corners with a decorative plastic corner.
	Niche shelf after framing.
	After this, a long bedside shelf is framed.
	It's time to install the skirting boards. The first step is to cut off the plastic film protruding around the perimeter from under the coating. The blanking strips covering the cable channel are removed from the baseboards. There are no cables to be laid - just fastening screws will be screwed through this channel.
	Marking is being done - first, the most complex unit at the door will be designed, with several external and internal corners.
	An assembly is assembled from short sections of plinth and profile parts (external and internal corners and caps).
	And so that it does not fall apart during final installation, the parts are fixed together on the back side with small drops of silicone hot-melt adhesive.
	Fastening the corner unit through the cable channel with a self-tapping screw.
	On a straight section everything is much faster.
	After fixing the plinth, the cap strip of the required length is cut out and installed in place.
	Another internal corner- and the left wall.
	There is no need for a plinth along the outer wall (there is a return pipe there), that is, there is one more small area to the right of the door.
	The previously removed fragment of wallpaper was carefully glued in place where the cable passed through the wall.
	You can bring in furniture. But in order not to scratch the laminate, these elastic pads are glued to the legs of the bed, chairs, and tables. They are presented in a wide range in the store and are inexpensive.
	The bed is in place.
	And then - a temporary workplace. Temporary because it was decided not to bring the old desk back. - it will be too disharmonious with the updated look of the room. It will be used as consumable material in the manufacture of a new homemade comfortable table.
	By the way, here it is, a table made a little later - style and design in strict accordance with the wishes of the owner of the room.

Well, that’s all - the “full stop” was reached around lunchtime on the fifth day.

* * * * * * *

The renovation has been going on for two years now. That is, it is possible to evaluate the intermediate results of operation.

The coating is reliable - no creaks or areas of instability appeared.

The underfloor heating works perfectly. In accordance with the instructions supplied with the thermostat, the system operating modes were programmed. It turns on to heat up to a level of 25 °C at 5.45 and works in this mode until 8.00 - while my daughter is getting ready for school (first to the gymnasium, and now to the university). From 8.00 to 15.00 the heating threshold is 18 °C, so the heating elements practically do not work at this time. I repeat that the house has good heating and it is never cold, that is, there is no need to run a “warm floor” at a time when no one is walking on it. From 15.00 to 23.00 - again at 25 ° C, at night - 18 ° C. On weekends, the mode is divided only into daytime (heating) and nighttime.

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I can’t say that this mode of operation had any significant effect on the overall energy consumption. Everything turned out really very economical.

But in winter it’s really nice to walk into a room barefoot – a feeling of increased comfort. And in particular, of course, the cat and cat appreciated this - in the cold they like to sleep on the floor in their daughter’s room.

Let's finish here. Don’t judge too harshly - it was my first experience with both flooring and laminate, and it seemed to me that it was quite successful. I will be glad to listen to comments, suggestions, and critical statements. I will answer your questions. read on the website.

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Evgeniy AfanasyevChief Editor

Author of the publication 24.08.2018