Prefab homes are gaining popularity as an alternative to wood. Their main advantage - quick installation of walls and roofs. Since the weight of such constructions slight, there is no need to erect heavy foundation. The house can be mounted on stilts.
Under the floor there is a free circulation of air, which protects the wooden joists and subfloor of mold and putrefaction. It is also the biggest drawback of such a house. Even the qualities of the insulation will not protect against the cold from under the floor. To remedy this shortcoming should be installed in a warm floor frame house.
Features installation frame house
Installing the "warm floor" system frame house performs several tasks:
- improves the comfort of living;
- It eliminates the need to install wall panels;
- It reduces the cost of energy costs.
Due to the lightweight construction of a frame house, it is set on the pier foundation. When installing floor heating is not desirable to apply screed of standard cement-sand mortar, the size of 30 cm. This will increase the weight of the house and create an additional load on the foundation.
In addition to the floor heating device should take care of the insulation of external walls of a frame house. Their thickness, as well as a small overlap. Without this event will not be able to achieve an adequate level of thermal insulation of the house.
Underfloor heating is set by:
- water loop;
- an electric circuit.
When the water type of heating occurs coolant that circulates through the tubes. The apparatus includes a floor electrical cabling that produce heat.
Both types of systems can be used for a frame house. There are only a few differences in the apparatus in the water floor frame house on pile foundation. Even at the stage of its construction carefully carried out sealing of joints and try to isolate all possible cold spots.
Factors that influence the choice of a warm floor to the frame house:
- design houses;
- climatic conditions of the area where the housing is located;
- geological characteristics of the site;
- The calculation of heat loss.
Radiant floor heating is more optimal for the economy and reduce energy costs to heat your home. But the ego device requires several large cash costs than electric.
Place the water pipes under any kind of finish flooring, whether tiles, laminate flooring, linoleum, ceramic and others. Use of floor heating installation of technology in homes built with any material: wood, brick and cast concrete.
Besides these advantages, the warm floor in the frame house has its drawbacks. First of all, it is the high cost of components, as well as carrying out hydraulic calculations and a limited selection of the type of tie.
Select the type of floor heating
Proper floor heating system the device will save on heating costs and create a home and comfort. This is perhaps the best option for central heating devices, as heated lower part of the room.
After the decision to do a warm floor, select its type: water or electric.
Electrical floor heating
It has a rapid installation and easy connection. A significant drawback is the high cost of electricity, which makes for space heating costs are high.
Electric Heated floor mounted below the floor surface free of furniture. Installing it under the sofa, cupboards and bed is not effective and the cable can burn out from overheating. When calculating the power of the system is taken into account that one square meter of energy consumed 0.1 kW. For heating rooms of standard size (14-16 square meters. m.) may be required 1.5 kW of electricity.
There are two main types of electric underfloor heating systems:
- cable;
- film.
heating principle is infrared and convection.
Installation of the system is carried out in the screed. Top use almost all types of flooring. This can be ceramic tile, linoleum, laminate. Considered undesirable coated parquet flooring or cork. These materials may crack from dryness, besides cork not very well miss the heat.
Choosing the cable floor, should consider its electromagnetic radiation. In accommodation recommended two-wire line, whose negative effect on the human body is less.
Film electric floor can be installed without tie. It is spread directly under the floor. This significantly speeds up the installation process and reduces labor costs.
The advantages of the electric floor heating system is the absence or screed layer is very thin it, quick installation and instant heating.
There are also disadvantages. This high electricity consumption and dependence on its continued availability. Do not install in rooms with high humidity.
Radiant Floor Heating
Operation of water underfloor heating is cheaper. Heating occurs by the coolant, which is heated by gas or solid fuel boiler. The system is not dependent on electricity, particularly when using the boiler with wood or coal.
Standard installation of water floor provides stowage in the concrete floor, the size of which is 5-7 cm. This limited its device frame houses, where technically difficult and impractical to pour the floor or ceiling cement-sand mortar. Therefore, it was invented more innovative system - a light water floor, which is carried out without ties.
It has a number of advantages:
- smaller weight of the structure, which allows for installation of floor heating in the frame or a wooden house
- the system is ready for use immediately after installation;
- lower floor layer thickness;
- the ability to perform customized.
There are two types of lung underfloor heating:
- wooden;
- expanded polystyrene.
wood system cost is cheaper, but it is more time-consuming installation. It is used to set the logs. The thickness of the structure is small and does not bear an additional burden on home construction. For greater efficiency hardwood floor heater is additionally installed with a reflective foil.
To prevent warm air down direction using the system of floor heating light with polystyrene. Aluminum plate fixed at its soft layer, and the top side is covered with a moisture resistant gypsum sheet.
To control the water floor system using bulky equipment that allows you to disable the system in every room.
Installation of different types of underfloor heating
Electric Heated floor mounted in several ways:
- cable;
- heating mats;
- mats and infrared film.
Each of these methods has some differences. Underfloor heating with the use of cables can be placed in the screed or lay on the boardwalk. Infrared film can be placed directly under the floor finish.
The system is controlled by a thermostat. Therefore, the installation work begins with installing it on the wall. Fasten it to the wall, at a distance of 30 cm from the floor surface. The thermostat is placed in the hole on the wall surface and the channels are fed thereto for laying cable.
If the room where the cable floor, humidity, temperature regulator must be placed in another room will be installed.
The surface on which the electric cable floor is installed, covered with polyethylene film and the insulating material. Then laid reinforcing mesh, which is attached to the cable.
Yield of the heating cable is connected to the thermostat and verify operability of the system. Then a thin layer of screed is poured.
Electric floor heating system in a frame house set on wooden joists. Under them is spread waterproofing layer and the thermally reflective layer special foil. On logs in places laying systems make cuts in that and put the cable in any way.
Top for protection of floor heating systems lay Finish coating of plywood or chipboard, and then finishing the floor.
The device water floor heating in any frame house carried out in two ways. The first of these - the device floating screed, the thickness of which should not exceed 5 cm. The design of the house has to withstand this load without any problems.
Filling starts with floor device waterproofing layer. It is laid on the sub-floor basis. For this purpose, a polyethylene film. It is spread on the floor with an overlap. K between the wall and a strip of material attached mounting tape.
The film serves to avoid moisture absorption from solution rough base and prevents its adhesion to the concrete.
The next step is the device insulation layer. Apply any rolled insulation and heat-reflecting foil. On top of this layer is spread reinforcing mesh and glue on the wall damping tape.
When a large area of the room (40 sq. m.), it is separated into several independent parts, which are placed separately contours pipes.
Sami tubes arranged in two ways: snake, or a snail. In the context of a frame house, laying do steps 10-15 centimeters.
Water-side fixed to the reinforcement mesh with clamps, so that they did not move while pouring.
After the complete installation of the system is carried out its test for leaks. To do this, the system is filled with water and leave for a day. At a constant level of pressure in the pipes begin to fill screed.
To do this, put beacons, which will be poured cement-sand mortar. Begin to pour screed on the opposite wall from the door. When grasping beacons solution was removed, and the void is filled with liquid cement mortar. Extra pieces of polyethylene film is removed.
Floating screed, the creation of which has been described above, has no contact with any wooden floor, nor with such walls of the house. Therefore, the tree will not be subject to the enlargement process and the desiccation, which may cause damage to the frame house.
On the wooden deck floor heating system was assembled as follows. The initial stage is laying the polyethylene film layer on the substrate. Then they spread insulation - polystyrene foil.
Then, from the board frame to make the water circuit. To do this, cut out grooves in the boards for the tubes. Laying is performed with a minimum step. Top system water floor covered metal sheet for a more uniform distribution of radiant heat. Next layer - plywood or particle board sheets, which are stacked and finishing flooring. Be sure to check the system for leaks by pressure testing.
Device screeds under dry polystyrene laminate
Above it was a lot said about the fact that the standard screed is not really suitable for a wooden house.
One innovative embodiment underfloor installation under the laminate in frame houses is the use of dry polystyrene screed. It is carried out in several stages.
First, on the floor lay a light polystyrene blocks. They are interconnected with a locking mechanism, which is on each panel. The room is 40 square meters. m. The assembly is carried out for several hours due to its light weight and convenient size polystyrene blocks.
Then, on the basis of the flexible tubes are installed into the prepared grooves. Scheme stacking them may be different: serpentine, spiral, volute and other. After the final installation of pipes carried their hydraulic test. The purpose of this event is to identify leaks and other errors in the system.
In the next step the surface of the polystyrene blocks lay special plate that distribute heat and set the waterproofing material.
The final step is to laminate flooring on the produced dry screed.
Rules underfloor heating operation
Underfloor heating systems, regardless of their type, have low operating costs. They do not need special maintenance, and the service life of ten years.
In case of damage the electrical components of the system, they are not a threat to human life, but their replacement is very troublesome thing.
water and electric underfloor heating system will serve you well if certain recommendations for the proper installation and to ensure optimal conditions for the work:
- The first important factor in the parameters of its power stand for optimal system performance. A common mistake is to set the floor heating cable into a screed with high or low performance. It depends on the capacity of the cable laying step. At its lowest value (up to 100 W per m. Cube) it is 16 cm. In this case, the floor heating will occur unevenly linear stripes. If the power is higher than necessary (from 190 watts per m. Cubic) stacking step may be less than 6 cm. This would lead to overheating of the coils extending near and system breakdown.
- Underfloor heating installed under the floor surface, which will be furniture, major household appliances, plumbing. The lack of uniform heat transfer can lead to overheating of the joints of the system and its failure.
- For underfloor heating systems should use the floor finish, which is aligned with it. For example, carpet, laminate, linoleum, granite and ceramic tile. It is not advisable to install the floor heating material with low thermal conductivity. The heat generated by the tubes or cable, will be displayed, which will lead to overheating.
It is necessary to correctly apply the thermostat in the electric type of floor heating, not allowing its operation under heavy load. Without this element is strictly forbidden to use the system. For reliability and durability of the floor heating is recommended to take a break in his work.
