Installation of a warm floor, installation instructions

In winter, especiallyin frost, traditional heating is not enough. We often come across the fact that "the floor is blowing", and this gives a significant inconvenience, because it is extremely important to keep our feet warm. Especially the warm floor is relevant for those who have small children. As a rule, electric floor heating is used in bathrooms, loggias, verandas or baths. This option is a wonderful addition to the basic heating of housing with the help of electric heating radiators in apartments and houses where it is impossible to install hot water heating. Installation of a warm electric floor is quite simple, and today there are many options for this. This makes it possible to install it easily and without any problems.

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Materials and tools necessary for the installation of a warm floor

Before you start using the electric floor under your own hands, you need to stock up on everything you need to work so you do not get distracted and have everything you need.

So, you will need the following:

• The very system of the warm floor itself, to which the heating cable belongs, sometimes with a pre-reinforced mesh.
• Copper cable for grounding.
• Mountings.
• RCD protection system.
• Connecting wires.
• Controller.
• Thermal sensor.

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Calculation stage

In order to correctly and easily calculate the amount of required material, it is best to use the already prepared tables from the manufacturer. The basic principle is to correctly calculate the heat loss of the room, after which the desired step of laying the wire and the required length for the entire room is selected.

For film systems, the calculation is much simpler: you need to select the number of elements to cover the entire area of ​​the room. Also, the calculation must include a wire for connecting the electrical floor and the regulator from the meter and to the system components from the regulator.

Important! Direct connection of the floor heating to the outlet is prohibited.

According to the calculations and the received power for the entire surface of the warm floor, it is necessary to check the total electrical input for its ability to withstand the load. In the event that the existing input is small, it must be replaced and installed with suitable automatic fuses.

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The most common options for installing electric underfloor heating systems

There are several ways to install an electric underfloor heating system with your own hands, and they can differ from each other:

• The heating element is built into the screed layer and then the floor covering is laid.
• The warm floor is laid on top of the screed under the ceramic tiles.
• The laying is carried out directly under the floor covering( refers to the film floors).

Method 1

The first option is optimal for heating living quarters, bathroom, kitchen, loggia. In this case, the installation of a cable floor heating is implied.

Important! The system is installed on a waterproofing and a warming layer, and a screed is formed on top of a small layer.

Method 2

If on the floor below you have a pre-insulated premise, then you can install an electric warm floor immediately under the tile, without laying the thermal insulation layer, without making a screed.

Important! In itself, ceramic tiles and a layer of special glue insulate the heating elements.

Method 3

Installing a film warm floor, which is also called infrared, is a great option if you are going to install a warm floor under a layer of laminate or linoleum, but do not have the ability or desire to do major repair work.

In this case, the heater is laid in the form of a layer of foam foil polyethylene on the existing screed. From above, electric elements are installed, if necessary a waterproofing layer, and only then the floor covering itself.

Important! Install the infrared floor in the screed or under the tile can not.

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Distribution of heating units and control elements

First of all, it is necessary to create a detailed plan for installing a warm floor on paper. Note that:

• Do not install heating cables or film in places where you plan to put massive pieces of furniture and large household appliances.
• The area free from heating elements must be provided in places where heating pipes and other heat sources pass.
• In the event that the heat output is limited, for example, to furniture, or additional heating comes from outside, the elements can overheat and fail. In addition, furniture may be damaged. This is a significant disadvantage of warm floors: it is undesirable to rearrange the room.
• As a result of the development of the plan, you will get the correct figure, which is inscribed in the rectangle of the room. It is within this circuit that a warm electric floor will be laid.
• The most optimal option is to create separate circuits for different rooms, even if symbolically separated, with separate regulators and a power wire.
• If you fill the screed, you should lay a damper belt between these areas on the floor surface.

Important! A feature of warm electric floors is that unlike hydraulic systems, the elements of the same circuit are heated equally.

After the plan is completely made up on paper, it must be transferred to the floor surface. Mark the location of the regulator on the wall in a convenient place. Immediately make a hole for the mounting box and lower the strob to the floor. Since the amount of materials you have already calculated, you can start working.

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Preparatory work before installation of the warm floor:

1. If necessary, before dismantling the electric floor heating with your own hands, remove the old screed completely to the base and thoroughly clean the surface.
2. Then it is necessary to lay a waterproofing layer with a margin of about 10 cm on the wall.
3. Immediately on the surface of the wall, you need to fix the damper band around the perimeter: when heated, it compensates for the thermal expansion of the floor.
4. Surplus of waterproofing and tape can be cut further.

Important! To ensure that the heat does not go off, it is necessary to insulate the base of the floor.

Type of insulation should be selected, depending on how the room is located, what type of surface. In this case, keep in mind the target orientation of the heating system:

1. . If the warm floor is a means that complements the main heating system, foam foil( foamed polyethylene foam) will suffice as a substrate.
2. If under your apartment on the floor below there is a warmed, well-heated room, then you can use any solid insulation 20-50 mm thick, for example, sheets of extruded polystyrene foam.
3. When installing a warm floor on a loggia or veranda that was not previously heated, form a more solid and dense insulation layer. For these purposes, it is possible to use a mineral wool or polystyrene foam with a thickness of up to 10 cm.

Important! Over the layer of insulation can lay the reinforced mesh. This is not always necessary, because for a thin layer of screed it is enough to add microfiber or plasticizer to the solution.

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Installing the electric underfloor heating

Before installing the warm floor cable, it is necessary to check its resistance and check with the passport. It is impossible that the take-off is more than 10% of the declared data in the documents.

Important! It is possible to install an electric warm floor both with fixing on the reinforcing mesh with the help of screeds, but not tightening tightly, so with the help of special fastening tapes.

Installation of a warm film floor is simple:

• Elements spread over the warming layer. If the manufacturer recommends a certain stowage technology, it may be necessary to attach it with a special scotch tape or the lugs on the element.

Important! If you make such a floor in the bathroom or bath, be sure to ground the reinforcing mesh, and ground to the regulator. Use copper tinned wire for this purpose.

• In places where the wire is located above the line that separates the slabs, it is necessary to hide it in the length of the corrugated tube. This is necessary to prevent cable breakage during thermal expansion of the plates.
• The connection points must be noted on the floor plan of the apartment. In the future, it will come in handy if you have to do repairs to your underfloor heating.
• After you have installed all the elements in their places, you should check the resistance of the wire again. Include warm floor is possible only if the resistance is slightly different from the preliminary measurements.
• Then it is necessary to lower the corrugated pipe by the rod from the regulator, the other end of it placing between the nearest cable strips in the middle. Inside the corrugated pipe, you should place a temperature sensor - with it you can adjust the work of the warm floor.

Important! Some masters advise to use for the temperature sensor a tube with a slightly larger diameter than the one that is bundled with the cable. For example, place the temperature sensor inside the tube before you fill the floor, and once again do not pull it out. Since heat is transferred to the surrounding screed, the cable will not heat up to maximum temperature.

• If everything is within the normal range, then you must disconnect the system and remove the regulator until you have completed all the finishing work. Next, the screed is formed, and after it completely dries, the entire system is tested. If the result is positive, you can start installing the floor covering.

Important! In case of installation of a film floor in a screed there is no need, therefore a laminate or linoleum can be stacked at once.

Surely you noticed that installing a warm electric floor is not such a difficult task. With the use of our advice and recommendations, you will be able to cope with this work, and in your apartment will always be cozy and warm.