Floor systems heating, due to its many advantages, have gained wide popularity among homeowners, including owners of wooden private cottages. But in this case the device heated floors has its own nuances, since in such houses they are rarely performed concrete bases, on which they are laid in the traditional way. In this article we will talk about these nuances and how best to install a water-heated floor in wooden house.
Methods for installing underfloor heating
In wooden buildings, heated floors with coolant can be installed in 2 ways:
- Traditional, under a cement screed sand mortar.
- "Dry" method, according to wooden joists or beams
Since in houses from wooden beam the floors of the first floor or the ceiling above the basement are often concrete, then traditional way The installation of floor water systems cannot be completely ignored. Moreover, you should not try to install warm floors on wooden joists on such foundations, this will lead to unnecessary costs, and the result may not meet your expectations. Better on draft concrete floors install a heating system under the screed, and only then lay the wood flooring.
The situation is completely different when the house has wooden floors. You should not use a screed with a heating circuit on them, and here’s why:
- The cement-sand screed exerts an additional load for which the ceiling is not always designed.
- A good wooden house constantly “breathes”, as a result of which the mortar layer can crack, since the amplitude of its expansion does not coincide with the processes in wooden structures. It will be necessary to compensate for the expansion of the heating circuit, which is quite difficult and expensive.
For reference. Sometimes wooden houses are often built from insufficiently dried profiled timber, which is why at first changes occur in the thickness of the structure, leading to cracks in the material. In such conditions, the screed will certainly suffer.
The use of various electrical systems cannot be ruled out. underfloor heating, of which the most acceptable option is to use infrared heated floors for heating wooden house. A thin polymer film with heating elements applied to it is laid directly under the floor covering; no screed is required, which greatly simplifies installation work. However, in this case, the choice of energy resources for heating a home is limited to electricity, while the coolant of water heated floors can be heated from a gas, solid fuel or diesel boiler.
Some homeowners, paying tribute to tradition, build brick stoves in wooden houses, integrating a heating circuit for water into them. In this situation, there is simply no alternative to underfloor heating circuits with coolant.
Installation of water heated floors using the “dry” method
As carriers structural elements For flooring in houses, logs and wooden floor beams are used. The logs are installed on a solid base or on a set of point supports, while the beams have 2 support points at the edges and in some cases are additionally supported by partitions. Since the beam is Basic structure ceiling, then it is not allowed to make any grooves or cuts in it, this is the main difficulty when installing a heated floor in a wooden house. The only way out is to lay a subfloor from boards or chipboard sheets, and from there you can start constructing the “pie” underfloor heating.
The situation with lags is somewhat different. When the timber is laid on a solid solid base, it is possible to cut grooves for the water circuit pipes and there is no need to make a subfloor. If the logs are supported at several points, then it is extremely undesirable to make cuts in them, as in load-bearing beams. But in any case, before installing a subfloor on top of the beams or joists, a layer of heat-insulating material is laid between them. To lay a heated floor over wooden joists on the first floor, the thickness of the insulation must be at least 80 mm, and for overlapping, 20-30 mm is sufficient. At the same time, under thermal insulation material on the ground floor should be laid waterproofing layer from polyethylene film.
Under the pretext that all floors of a private house constitute a single space, many installation manuals for heated floors indicate that the floors do not need to be insulated. Like, there’s nothing wrong with some of the heat from the heating circuit going down. In fact, this violates the very principle of operation of underfloor heating, since the heat coming from the ceilings of the room will remain in the upper zone, and in the room where the underfloor heating system is located, it may not be enough. To ensure that heat is distributed evenly throughout the rooms for which it is intended, lay a small layer of insulating material, arranging a warm, dry floor in the ceiling.
After the thermal insulation material has been laid and installed rough foundation from boards or chipboard, it is necessary to ensure that all the heat of the heating circuit is reflected upward. This is done in 2 ways:
- We need to start installing warm wooden floors from laying a foil reflective layer over the entire surface. In the case where the circuit pipes are planned to be laid directly on the insulation and through cuts in the joists, then the foil is laid only between them.
- A more expensive method is using slabs wood materials and profiled sheets of galvanized metal. Having drawn a diagram of the layout of the contours of heated floors on a wooden base, in the intervals between the pipe routes, parts made of chipboard are attached to it with self-tapping screws. Sheets of galvanized steel are inserted into the resulting grooves.
The installation of water heated floors continues with the layout of the heating circuit pipes. For this purpose, metal-plastic pipes with a diameter of 16 mm (DN10) are most often used. The laying step here must be kept smaller than in heated floors under screed, since heat transfer in our case will not be as effective. The coolant pipe transfers heat to the coating not directly, but through air gap, hence the decrease in heat transfer. Accordingly, the average pipe laying pitch should be 150 mm, maximum 200 mm. After this, the circuit is connected to the collector, checked for leaks and can be laid finishing coat for wooden floor.
Underfloor heating "under the screed"
The technology for installing underfloor heating, which involves embedding the contours into a screed made of cement-sand mortar, is widespread and quite well known; the floor cake is shown in the figure:
First you need to ensure the waterproofing of the future slab by laying a plastic film on top concrete preparation. Then, in order to compensate for the thermal expansion of the screed, a damper tape is attached along the entire perimeter of the room along the walls, after which insulation is laid over the entire surface of the base.
In order for water-heated floors to have good heat transfer, a foil film with markings along which the pipes are laid out is laid on top of the thermal insulation. The laying pitch here varies from 150 mm (for parquet with carpet) to 350 mm (for tiles). It is necessary to ensure that the length of each circuit does not exceed 100 m. The pipes are fastened using special strips or plastic “harpoons”. At the end, the circuit is connected to the distributor and checked for leaks.
The last stage is pouring the screed. The optimal thickness of the solution layer is 3-5 cm above the top of the pipe, complete hardening time is 3 weeks. After this, you can finally make a warm floor in a wooden house by laying a finishing coating over the screed.
Conclusion
Installing a warm water floor on a wooden surface is somewhat more difficult than under a screed, and its heat transfer is less. But don’t let this worry you, it will not affect energy consumption in any way. You just need to take into account that floor circuits will not be enough for full heating and you will need to provide a radiator heating system.
Many people make a choice environmentally friendly materials and build wooden houses. This solution allows you to create cozy housing with an excellent microclimate and natural air exchange. But the question often arises about whether it is possible to make a warm floor in a wooden house and, if so, how to implement it with your own hands?
Floors in a wooden house can be on logs or on poles, one or two layers. In this case, you can install both water and electric heated floors. For this type of heating it is recommended Maximum temperature 29 degrees, if it is higher, then it is not comfortable and harmful to health.
If we talk about power density heating elements then she limited to 80-130 W/m2, but this may not be enough to use underfloor heating as the main heat source. Problems can arise both in rooms with large windows, and in small rooms cluttered with furniture, since the usable floor area will be insignificant.
In a wooden house, usually all the floors are wooden, and if you decide to lay a warm water floor in a concrete screed, then an additional load is created on them. Before making such a decision, it is necessary to calculate the load and make sure that the ceiling can withstand it.
Creating a heated floor in a house requires quite a significant financial investment, but you get effective and high-quality heating of the room, which will be cozy and pleasant to be in, regardless of weather conditions.
Since the house is wooden, in order to avoid cracking and damage to the flooring due to the presence of a heated floor, you must adhere to the following rules:
- heated floor power should not exceed 130 W/m2;
- the cable is laid evenly throughout usable area gender;
- wood covering should not be thicker than 22-24 mm;
- materials reliably protect from moisture;
- a thermostat, floor and air temperature sensor must be used;
- under a wooden covering, temperature air cushion should not be more than 40 degrees;
- Before installing wooden flooring, it is recommended that it lie for several days on a heated floor, and then it can be fixed;
- on a warm floor Carpets cannot be laid, which cover the entire heated area.
The higher cost of a heated floor, however, is associated with the need to install thermal insulation, regulation and control systems, and the installation work itself will cost more.
If you have basic work skills, you can install a warm water or electric floor system in a wooden house with your own hands.
When constructing a heated floor on the ground, the funds spent will be small, and they will be compensated by warmth and comfort. If you make a heated floor in accordance with the instructions and recommendations of specialists, then regardless of whether it is water or electric, such systems are very reliable and durable.
Design options and construction technology in a wooden house
Any type of heated floor can be installed in a wooden house, but a water floor is considered safer. If you decide to install an eclectic floor, then if you follow the rules for its installation and operation, it is also completely safe and highly effective.
When choosing an electric heated floor for heating, it can be implemented in several ways:
- heating cable;
- mats;
- infrared film;
- carbon rods.
Which is better?
All options have its disadvantages and advantages, and their choice largely depends on what will the final coating be like?. For, it is better to use cable or mats.
For laminate, parquet or carpet, better suited infrared film or carbon rods.
Connect to the boiler, just like electric heating, it can be used as the main or additional heating of a wooden house.
Usually aquatic warm floors they are arranged in a cement screed, but in the case of a wooden house, they are often made on flooring.
On the logs
The logs are laid at a distance of 60 cm and securely attached to the base. It is convenient to do this on galvanized supports, which are first placed and secured to the base, and then the logs are fixed to them. A subfloor is attached to the bottom of the joists; it is needed to lay thermal insulation materials.
After creating the subfloor, lay a waterproofing film and a layer of thermal insulation. Usually used mineral slabs, a thickness of 10 cm is sufficient. Boards or strips of chipboard are laid on the slabs, taking into account the layout of pipes or cables.
As a heat reflector, you can purchase special plates or make them from galvanized iron; they are attached to the chipboard with nails and bent so that a plastic pipe fits.
When laying the pipe, it should not protrude above the floor level, otherwise it will interfere with the installation of the finishing material, so the thickness of the chipboard or boards should exceed the diameter of the pipe. After laying the pipes, the surface covered with sheets of plywood and a finishing coating is laid on it.
When laying sheets of plywood, be sure to leave gaps of about 5 mm between them, since when heated, wooden materials will expand. And according to the logs, an electric heated floor must be made with an air gap.
Only moisture-resistant plywood is used, and its thickness must be at least 10 mm. Seams can be filled with sealant, but you can leave it like that. After that begin laying the finishing coating.
On sheets of expanded polystyrene
In wooden timber house Rarely do they make heated floors in screeds, usually special heat-insulating plates are used, which consist of expanded polystyrene and covered with aluminum profiled material. 
The presence of an aluminum coating allows heat to be evenly distributed, and polystyrene foam prevents heat from spreading downwards.
When using such sheets on a wooden base, The cable pitch should be about 10 cm, And his power per square meter no more than 100 W. The base for the plates can be either concrete or wood, the main thing is that it is smooth and durable.
Expanded polystyrene sheets are installed only in the place of the floor where it will be heated; in other places, moisture-resistant plywood or gypsum fiber board of appropriate thickness is used.
When laying the plates, you need to make sure that their grooves match; they are connected to each other using special clamps. If you need to cut a plate of a certain size, then this will not be difficult. In the place where the floor temperature sensor will be installed, part of the plate is cut out using a regular knife.
After installing the plates, lay the cable in the grooves and check the functionality of the system. All that remains is to lay the substrate and you can lay the wooden covering.
Warm floor screed laid on a wooden base
Sometimes it becomes necessary to make a screed on a wooden floor, for example, when the joists are installed on high pillars. There are several conditions that must be met in order for a concrete screed to be laid on a wooden base:
- it must be strong and immovable;
- the distance between the lags should be small so that the floor does not sag under the weight of the screed. If this condition is not met, then you will have to disassemble the floor and add joists so that the distance between them decreases. To reduce the load on the floor, you can use cement screed, and anhydrite levelers;
- it is necessary to use reinforcing mesh, a grid with cells of 10x10 cm is sufficient.
To waterproofing film no perspiration formed, all seams are sealed epoxy putty, since it does not allow moisture to pass through. It happens that the joints between the wooden covering and the walls are quite large, in such cases they must be sealed first with foam, then with epoxy putty, or you can use liquid waterproofing.
First on a wooden base lay a waterproofing film, then insulation, this could be, for example, penofol. At the next stage they lay reinforcing mesh, pipes or cables on it, connect them and check the functionality of the system, after which filled with sand-cement mortar.
You cannot lay the screed on fresh boards; they must last in a heated room for at least a year.
conclusions
For a wooden house, a warm floor can be made either water or electric; there are several options and methods for installing it. All work must be carried out in accordance with developed technologies and recommendations, then you will be able to independently create effective and safe heating, and your home will be warm and cozy.
Useful video
Dry heated floor on joists, video:
In contact with
The modern market offers a huge variety of heating and space heating systems, which differ in their specificity and recommended areas of application.
One of key points The choice of heating system is based on the construction technology of a specific structure. Water heated floors in a wooden house are optimal choice for a wooden structure in terms of efficiency, profitability and safety of the heating system (this is especially true for cottages and country houses).
Design and installation of a warm water floor in a wooden house are technically complex engineering tasks and require highly qualified specialists.
Our company specializes in creating heating systems various types and offers design and installation services for water heated floors at the most affordable prices with official quality guarantee.
We have been working in this market segment for more than 10 years and have a whole staff of qualified employees, our own design department, necessary equipment and extensive experience in creating heating systems of any complexity.
Advantages of warm water floors in private wooden houses
The main advantages of this type of flooring are the following:- Significant reduction in heating costs;
- No decrease in air humidity when heated;
- Lack of convection flow;
- Possibility of heating the room in winter period and cooling the premises in the summer;
- High heating efficiency with minimal energy consumption;
- Absence of necessity regular maintenance systems;
- High level of reliability, durability and safety of the system.
Key advantages of ordering installation from our company
The main advantages of ordering the installation of water heated floors under wooden floors in our company include:- Vast experience and impeccable reputation of the company;
- Creation of a turnkey system, from design to commissioning;
- Optimal market prices and provision of an official guarantee for 24 months;
- Carrying out work without prepayment and payment for services only after full implementation project;
- Availability of a whole staff of qualified employees;
- Using high-quality components and water floors from well-known global manufacturers.
Water heated floor from "MSK-Teply Dom"
The most common types of installation of water heated floors in a wooden house:
- Modular design– this installation method involves assembling a base for pipes from ready-made structural elements, which are equipped with levers for laying the circuit. The mats are laid on a flat floor covering. If the floor is uneven, level the surface using “Quality Strand Board” sheets for rough finishing or plywood sheets. After installing the main structure, a water-heated floor is installed; in a wooden house, such a structure is covered on top of the DSP. After which you can lay the finishing layer.
- Water floors "concrete"– this type of installation is used if other options are not possible. Installation is carried out on top wooden base. Before installation, it is necessary to ensure complete isolation of the wood from possible moisture ingress. Laying is done ready-made mixtures with short drying times.
- Milling method wooden covering – special grooves are made in the floor for drawing the heating circuit. These works are performed using a special milling machine. This installation is economical and does not require the purchase of additional building material. Installation is possible if the floor is level and the base is thick enough.
The specialists of the MSK-Teply Dom company perform high-quality work. When ordering the design and installation of heated floors from us, you can be sure that the work will be completed professionally and on time.
Few people can be surprised by warm floors. The time has passed when it was considered an attribute of ultra-comfortable housing. Today it is installed everywhere to make your home even warmer and more comfortable. Owners wooden buildings could not install such a system, since traditional installation technologies do not allow it.
With the advent of the flooring system, it is possible to lay warm water floors on a wooden floor without the slightest problem. We will tell you about all the popular options for installing an underfloor heating system based on lumber floors. Independent home craftsmen will find a lot of useful tips.
Water type floors are very practical way home heating. The system is a liquid heating circuit mounted under the floor covering.
Traditional technology assumes that the pipes lie in a concrete screed. A boiler is usually used to heat the coolant supplied to the circuit. Standard models heat the liquid up to 60-90ºС, which is unacceptable for heated floors.
If you put coolant at this temperature into the circuit, the floor will warm up to 45-60ºС. It will be impossible to walk on it. SNiPs regulate the permissible temperature for heated floors. This is no more than 30ºС.
To obtain this value, it will be enough to heat the liquid in the circuit to 35-45ºС. Therefore, they include in the water floor system. Here the hot liquid from the boiler heat exchanger and the cool liquid from the return pipe are mixed.
There is another simpler option. If you use a condensing type heating boiler, you will not need to install a mixing unit.
The design features of such boilers suggest the possibility of heating to relatively low temperatures. In some cases, the heated coolant is taken from a centralized system, but this requires obtaining special permission, which is not always possible to do.
A floor-type water-heated floor is a relatively lightweight design made of wooden or plastic elements, inside which heating pipes are located
Thus, the liquid entering the heating circuit, and this can be an antifreeze solution or water, heats the floor. This, in turn, heats the air. The result is fast and at the same time very uniform heating of the room.
A significant plus is the temperature distribution in the room that is most favorable for humans. Cool air accumulates in the upper part, warmer air accumulates in the lower part. It is precisely this microclimate that living organisms regard as comfortable. At the same time, convective flows, inevitable in the presence of point heat sources, are not observed.
Thanks to this, there is no transfer of dust and microorganisms. The advantages include minimal operating costs. All this makes water floors popular among users. Comparative analysis water and electric underfloor heating systems, which we recommend familiarizing yourself with.
Features of the flooring system
The traditional version of a water-type floor involves installing pipes in a screed. It is poured with a concrete solution with special additives that increase its thermal conductivity.
As a result, the concrete pad becomes a kind of heat accumulator, which makes it possible to use such heating as efficiently as possible. However, the traditional arrangement method has disadvantages.
The wooden base has low thermal inertia, which prevents the system from functioning normally. To correct this drawback, heat-reflecting plates are installed from metal with high thermal conductivity.
The most obvious one is too heavy weight concrete screed. With a solution density of about 2000 kg/sq. m it gives a significant additional load on the base and load-bearing structures.
For reinforced concrete slabs Such a load is quite manageable. For wooden floors - prohibitive. For this reason, the traditional installation method is prohibited in such cases. The so-called flooring system is used here.
It is made in the form of a low flooring, inside of which pipes are located. Wood is most often used for its arrangement, but industrially produced polystyrene flooring has appeared relatively recently.
The pipes are placed in grooves where they are secured. It is known that wood conducts heat very poorly. For this reason wooden systems cannot be an effective source of heat.
To correct this deficiency, metal heat-conducting elements are inserted into each groove. They also strengthen the structure. There are similar details in polystyrene flooring with metal inserts, the material of which is also a poor heat conductor. In this way, a reliable and durable heating system is assembled.
Its advantages over its traditional analogue can be considered:
- Light weight of the flooring, which even wooden floors can withstand.
- Relatively easy to assemble, especially if we're talking about about industrial flooring models.
- There is no need to wait for the concrete screed to harden. Finishing work can be done immediately after installation.
- Full maintainability. For repair work It is enough to lift a fragment of the flooring to provide access to the area with a fault.
Another undeniable dignity The flooring system is multi-variant, which makes it possible to implement a variety of modifications. Most of which are homemade. The main disadvantage of the flooring scheme is rapid cooling. The floor heats up in a short time and gives off heat just as quickly.
A big plus of a water floor is the possibility of relatively simple repair. To get to the damaged fragment, it is enough to remove a section of the floor covering and remove the flooring underneath it
Actually, the heat supply is limited to that which is in coolant liquid in the pipes. Therefore, when the boiler is stopped, the room will soon cool down. For this reason, decking systems are more often used as an addition to, especially in cold regions.
Installation of a floor heating system
When laying a flooring system, you get a kind of multi-layer cake; let’s look at each layer in more detail.
Requirements for the foundation for the structure
The first layer of the cake is a properly prepared base. This can be any overlap that is pre-leveled. SNiPs regulate the absence of significant differences in heights, protrusions and roughness. The wooden floor must be level, without protruding boards.
Each board should be well secured and should not bend. The maximum permissible limit of deviation from the horizontal is 2 mm, distributed over 2 m of area in any of the existing directions.
Construction of the insulating layer
To prevent heat loss, it is necessary to install an insulating layer. The material for its implementation is selected individually, based on operating conditions. It must be moisture-resistant, fire-resistant and compatible with other building materials.
It is desirable that additional sound insulation be provided. If possible, the thinnest but most effective material is selected.
Pipe fixation option
The actual flooring under the pipes is laid on top of the insulation. There are many options here. It can be polystyrene mats with special bosses for pipes. Such mats are produced single and doubled with insulation.
In the latter case, the insulating layer may be superfluous. Sheets of lumber with cut grooves for pipes can be used as flooring. They are also produced industrially. There are also homemade floorings made from slats, bars, etc.
Pipe for moving coolant
If there is none, you can make similar elements from galvanized steel or wrap each part in thick foil. It is optimal to lay an additional layer of foil on top of the mounted pipes.
Construction of the foundation for finishing
A base must be laid on top of the pipes under the floor covering. It is selected depending on what kind of finishing coating will be laid.
If you plan to install tiles, ceramic or PVC, as well as linoleum or carpet, lay them on the metal elements of the wooden flooring moisture resistant drywall. If polystyrene mats were used to construct the flooring, GVL is laid in two layers.
The decking structure is usually covered with a base for the finishing coating. It is selected depending on the material that is preferred as a coating. For example, a moisture-absorbing substrate is placed under the laminate; moisture-resistant plasterboard or chipboard is placed under the tiles.
Under laminate on wood flooring Drywall is not installed. Instead, foamed polyethylene or a cardboard backing is placed on aluminum plates to absorb excess moisture.
Instead of GVL, you can use moisture-resistant types of chipboard or plywood. Good decision– glass-magnesium sheets, which also conduct heat well, which is absolutely not superfluous when arranging a heated floor.
Options for arranging a water floor
Flooring under a water floor can be made by the most different ways, which is especially popular with home craftsmen. Let's consider several options for such designs.
Option #1. Implementation of a ready-made solution
This is the easiest method to implement. IN hardware store A kit for making flooring is purchased. There may be two types of such a solution. The first is polystyrene mats equipped with pipe fastenings.
They can be duplicated with a layer of insulation. In this case, they can be laid directly on the base. The main advantage of such mats is their extremely simple installation. However, they are not strong enough to install flooring directly onto mats.
Under soft coverings, as well as under tiles, you will have to lay two layers of gypsum board. The flooring can also be assembled from modules made from chipboard. They are factory-made with recesses for pipes with a certain system pitch. The modules are equipped with fasteners, metal heat-distributing plates and pipes.
Polystyrene mats – perfect solution for arranging a water floor. This option allows you to install a super-thin water floor that eats up a minimum of room height
To connect parts together, it is provided lock connection, which makes assembly much easier. Such structures are quite durable and do not require additional reinforcement. Their main disadvantage is their high cost.
Any of ready-made solutions requires careful preparation grounds. If it is an old floor, a thorough inspection is carried out. Damaged areas are discarded and repaired. The boards are securely fixed, height differences are eliminated. Then all debris and dust are removed and the base is primed.
After it has dried, insulation is laid and secured, if required. The next stage is laying the mats. On outside Each of them is applied with a suitable glue, usually “liquid nails”, and the plate is glued to the base. It is important that the glue sets well and holds the mat securely in place.
If it is intended to lay chipboard flooring, it is assembled in strict accordance with the instructions issued by the manufacturer. After the pipe channels are ready, installation begins. can be produced by a “snake”, “snail” or any other suitable method.
The elements are combined into a single system and connected to heating system. Next, pressure testing and testing of the functionality of the water floor is carried out, after which the installation of the floor covering begins.
Option #2. Flooring on joists
Work begins with preparation wooden base. If it is an old floor, all necessary repairs are carried out. Then you need to lay the logs on which the warm water floor will lie under the wooden floor. The prepared logs are set strictly according to the level with a distance between elements of about 0.6 m.
This best option, you can place parts at a greater distance. But in this case, thicker boards will be required to form the flooring.
Preparing the base is very important point. It is advisable to lay a new subfloor under the structure, but you can also use the old one if it is in good condition. All damaged areas must be repaired
If you want to save money, instead of a base, you can nail corners or slats to the joists, on which the insulating coating will rest. But you need to understand that in this case it should be hard and not friable. Insulation is laid on the prepared base. It can be polystyrene foam, stone wool high density, polystyrene, etc.
After forming the heat-insulating carpet, they begin to manufacture the flooring. To do this, take boards with a thickness of at least 0.03 m. They begin to screw them to the beams. The first one is fixed at a distance of 0.02 m from the wall surface; a similar gap is made when fixing all other parts.
An important point is the choice of the width of the boards attached to the floor. It must correspond to the width of the metal heat distribution plates, which will subsequently be inserted into the resulting grooves.
The pipe will be laid in a “snake” pattern, which requires making grooves for its turns. To do this, leave special gaps about 0.15 m wide at equal distances from each other.
To form a bend in the pipe through which the coolant circulates, part of the boards is fixed at a certain distance from the wall
In practice, it looks like this: Two boards are screwed at a distance of 0.5 cm from the wall, the next two - at a distance of 5 - 7 cm. And so on until the end of the row.
On the opposite side of the base, those boards that were fixed to the wall are screwed at a distance, and those with a gap are screwed closely. This creates a groove for the bend of the pipe. After the entire flooring has been laid, the installation of heat distribution plates begins.
They are inserted into the grooves formed by the boards and securely secured with staples or regular nails. It is optimal for the sides of adjacent plates to meet.
Then a continuous heat transfer screen will be formed. Now you can start laying the pipes. It's easier to do it together. One worker will unwind the coil, and the second will do the actual laying.
With a little force, the part is pressed into the groove of the heat distribution plate. Return pipe It is best to run the contour loop along the wall under the flooring boards.
After the entire circuit has been laid, check again for correct installation and connect it to the heating system. The water floor must be pressure tested. Then you can begin preparing for laying the flooring.
Option #3. Guide design
They start by preparing the base. As in previous options, it must be leveled and strengthened. Then any suitable insulation is laid on the base.
Most simple method Laying a water floor is a “snake” type, so it is used most often. For a structure made of guides this will be the best option. To determine the dimensions of the parts, an accurate floor plan is drawn.
There are several options for laying a warm water floor. The simplest of all options is a snake; the figure shows its diagram
It marks the areas where the equipment serving the water floor will be installed and the places where the pipes will be connected. Then, with strict adherence to the selected laying step, guides are drawn. The number is being counted necessary details, and their sizes are determined.
Now you need to prepare the guides. They are cut from any suitable and available material. After which you can begin installation. The parts must be laid on the base in strict accordance with the developed plan.
Each guide is placed on a rough base and securely attached to it with self-tapping screws. Between the parts there should be channels necessary for installing pipes. In areas where the pipeline turns, the sharp corners of the guides must be rounded so as not to accidentally damage the pipes.
After all the slats are secured to the base, begin laying the foil. To do this, take material with a thickness of at least 50 microns. The sheets are pressed into the channels, carefully going around each recess. Literally “laying out” foil on each channel.
To prevent the sheets from moving out of place, they are fixed to the slats using a stapler. For better heat transfer, it is advisable to wrap the pipes with the same foil before laying, but this is not necessary.
In order to make a smooth turn of the pipe and not accidentally damage it, the guides in the bending areas must be rounded. Their sharp corners are removed
Then the pipe is laid inside the prepared channels. To hold it in place, in some areas it is attached to slats or to the floor with metal plates. Upon completion of installation, the water floor is connected to the heating system and mandatory pressure testing is carried out. If it does not reveal any leakage problems, begin preparing for the installation of the finishing coating.
These are only three options for installing floor heating. In practice there are many more of them. Home craftsmen adapt them to their conditions, selecting available materials and suitable technologies.
You will be introduced to the rules, formulas and an example of calculating an underfloor heating system, which we highly recommend reading.
They can be purchased at any store. The only drawback of this solution is the high cost, but installation is simple and very quick. Lovers independent work They can simply assemble the flooring from scrap materials. It will turn out cheap and quite functional.
Please write comments in the block below. Tell us about how you built an underfloor heating system in your or a neighboring house with wooden floor. Share useful information, ask questions, publish photographs on the topic of the article.
Today there is a steady trend towards modernizing the equipment of each home, therefore owners strive to increase the productivity of various functional parts and increase free space in my house. The article will talk about how to replace the usual heating circuit in a private house with a water-heated floor on wooden joists, doing all the work yourself.
Features and nuances of water heated floors
A significant difference between a water heated floor and an electric one lies in the dependence on the coolant supply. If electric variety only requires connection to electrical circuit, then the water floor must be connected to the heating system of the entire house, which significantly complicates the installation and operation process. The important thing is that such a system is not visible on the surface, and therefore photos of the room will not be spoiled by protruding pipes and various fasteners that create discomfort during operation.
According to the standard, the structure of such a system includes:
- water heating boiler that heats and supplies coolant;
- a pump that circulates coolant in the heating circuit;
- a pipeline network arranged in such a way that the coolant flows to all corners of the room and the heating is uniform;
- a system of valves, gate valves and bypasses, each of which is designed to control and regulate coolant circulation. The bypass is very important in this list, since it allows the coolant to bypass the pump during repair work in the event of a malfunction;
- controllers and sensors that allow you to monitor temperature, pressure, circulation speed and other system parameters.
Based on the above, the owner should understand that installing a high-quality water-heated floor under a wooden floor is a local task, but organizing a reliable heating system throughout the house is very important. Naturally, the emphasis is on laying the heating circuit in the ceiling on joists, since this process most difficult to implement.
Preparing the base for heated floors
To install a heated floor along joists, it is necessary to prepare the base for laying all subsequent layers in the “pie” of the floor.
This process consists of the following stages:
- the subfloor must be perfectly leveled: all cracks, potholes and other defects are eliminated by stripping, sanding and puttying. A surface slope exceeding 0.2% is unacceptable, which means: with a distance between certain areas on a 4-meter floor, the slope should not exceed 8 millimeters;
- a waterproofing layer of polyethylene film or special materials protecting floors from moisture penetration. It is important that the sheets of material used are securely fastened with adhesive tape;
- Then the installation of wooden logs begins, and insulation is laid between them.
Now you can begin installing underfloor heating on a wooden floor using one of the methods described below.
The simplest installation methods
The following varieties are considered simple installation methods:
- directly onto the heat-insulating layer of material laid between the joists;
- on a thermal insulation layer, which is raised above the frame of logs using a rigid base.
The system design in both cases has the following structural elements(top down):
- a water heating circuit made of pipes laid at intervals of 20 centimeters, but a different step can be chosen if the installation features of the log require it;
- thermal insulation layer;
- rigid base;
Complicated method
The system described above becomes more efficient, but also more difficult to install due to an increase in the number of functional elements.
It all starts with a heat-insulating layer, but the top is covered with aluminum foil. The use of this material increases the degree of heat reflection, which determines the concentration of the generated heat and its direction into the room. If it is not possible to cover the entire surface with a single sheet of foil, then you will need to additionally use double-sided adhesive insulating tape to connect the cut pieces.
Next is laid metal grid, usually used to reinforce screeds on wooden joists to strengthen the structure being created. A modern warm water floor on wooden logs involves the use of not only pipes, but also a heating cable. Using this element in combination with polyethylene pipes is highly effective. Such a heating circuit can be heated much higher than the temperature of the coolant in the main heating system of the house. Also sometimes they make a heated floor on the ground in a private house, which is a pretty good option.
Autonomous control of the temperature of the coolant in the heating circuit of the heated floor is carried out using its own sensor, installed in a corrugated tube and connected in a specially designated place. In addition to this, in common system heating available whole line various sensors. They concern not only the warm floor, but also the main heating circuit.
The frame made of logs is specially processed for laying heating circuit pipes. By making slits of appropriate sizes, the owner will greatly facilitate the installation process. Next, the installation of the selected floor covering begins and upon completion of the work, you can supplement the system with an external temperature controller. The last element can be either automatic or manual.
Using Heat Reflective Plates
Regardless of which method of laying the water heating circuit was chosen, there is a problem of loss of heat generated. You can increase the efficiency of the system and minimize possible heat loss.
To do this, the water floor is laid on wooden joists using the following elements:
- heating pipes;
- a thermal insulation layer at least 10-15 centimeters thick;
- a frame made of logs installed horizontally, and not vertically, as with the standard installation method. Thus, it is convenient to place wings of heat-reflecting plates on the joists. Moreover, each plate has grooves corresponding to the diameter of the pipes being laid, which also facilitates the installation of the heating circuit.
Nuances of the water floor installation process
If a water heated floor is installed according to wooden beams, then you should know a number of rules:
- the step between adjacent joists should be at least half a meter so that thermal insulation boards fit into it with a noticeable stretch, but without the need to apply extra effort. This can be controlled by the bending of the slab created when it is “pushed” into the space between the joists;
- It is best to use pipes with a diameter of 1.6 centimeters for installation, since in practice the coolant circulates best in them;
- regarding how to make a heated floor on wooden floor more efficient, experts say that wrapping pipes with foil will significantly reduce the loss of generated heat;
- the length of the heating circuit should not be more than 100 meters, since a larger distance increases the heat loss generated by the coolant, which has to travel this entire route;
- if a longer heating circuit is required, then it can be divided into separate sections with an area not exceeding 40 square meters separately (more details: " ").
When laying a warm water floor on a wooden floor, it is better to choose a separate option between a single 80-meter heating circuit and two 40-meter ones. You will have to spend 2 times more on installation Money, but together the two sections will be more productive than the whole system.
There is no need to lay the system so that the contour area completely corresponds to the area of the room. It is enough to correctly calculate the efficiency of the system taking into account the floor covering used. For example, if a heated floor is laid under wooden board, you need to glue the gaps between the flooring and the walls around the perimeter of the room. This will compensate for the expansion of the boardwalk when heated.
Bottom line
Laying a water floor is not as difficult as it may seem to someone inexperienced in construction work to the owner. When properly connected to the general heating system of the house, high-quality heating is guaranteed. It is important to carry out the work clearly, accurately and in compliance with all professional recommendations.
If any difficulties arise, you can always contact specialists who will take responsibility for all stages - from purchase necessary materials before testing and putting the system into operation.
