Warm floors are a very popular type of heating today, used both independently and along with other systems. When it appeared, it was used mainly on the first floors of buildings, using a concrete screed.
This screed is quite heavy (about 300 kg per m2) and cannot be used in most wooden houses, especially on the second and third floors, since the ceilings of the structure simply cannot withstand such a load.
The Finns were the first to install heated floors without a wet screed, who came up with a special technology using hypno-fiber sheets. Over time, more and more new styling methods have appeared that allow you to use this type heating system in any buildings, regardless of their strength and number of storeys. They make it easy to lay pipes with coolant not only in full-fledged residential buildings, but even in such light buildings as a wooden sauna or bathhouse.
Today we will look at several ways step-by-step installation heated floor wooden joists, although in this case there are many more of them, and some changes can be made to each depending on design features premises.
Warm water floor for wooden floors step by step
So, we are making a water floor on a wooden one step by step. If the latter needs to be done from scratch, then work will begin from the following points:
- Logs are the basis of a wooden floor, and its arrangement begins with their installation. They are laid at a distance of 60 cm from each other, which guarantees high quality and the strength of the future surface. Fastening is carried out using special galvanized supports, which can be purchased at any hardware store.
- After the logs are fixed, a subfloor is laid out of ordinary boards, which is necessary for laying waterproofing and insulation. Waterproofing film it is necessary to wrap the logs themselves. As insulation, you can use a mineral slab on a basalt base, laid in several layers so that its total thickness is 10 cm.
- On top of the hydro- and heat-insulating layer, the main floor boards are laid and mounted on the logs.
If you already have a finished wooden floor, and you only have to install a heated floor, you skip the previous points and deal exclusively with preparing the base. It is thoroughly cleaned of debris and, if necessary, leveled to an acceptable standard.
In the step-by-step instructions for a heated water floor on a wooden floor, the next step is the installation of a dry screed in which the heated floor pipes will be located. It can be made from the most different materials: gypsum fiber sheets, polystyrene foam, chipboard and others. In our article on how to make a water heated floor on wooden base step by step, we will consider the option with chipboard.
- Pre-prepared chipboards are laid on the finished floor. To correctly cut out the fragments, a whole board is attached to the joists and a contour is applied to it along which the pipes will be located. The corners of the strips are made rounded in those places where the system will bend. We lay the finished fragments in the following sequence: first, one row along the walls, and then across the entire area of the room. We leave a gap between the strips, sufficient to lay the pipes in it, but not leaving too much free space.
Chipboard installation
2. We install heat spreaders - special metal sheets made of galvanized steel or aluminum, and having special profiles for pipes. They are necessary for the system to work more efficiently and for the heat to be distributed evenly over the entire surface of the floor. If you want to save money, you can use regular galvanized iron sheets, sold at any hardware store. Their thickness should be 0.5 mm. Metal sheets are attached to the laid chipboard using simple nails.
3. We lay heating system pipes into the grooves of the metal sheets, which are then connected to the collector.
4. The system is pressure tested (filled with water and kept under pressure) to ensure its tightness and performance.
5. Sheets of plywood are attached to the laid structure using self-tapping screws. They must have a thickness of at least 1 cm. A gap of 0.5 mm wide is left between the plywood, which can be filled with sealant if desired. It is necessary to ensure that the finished floor does not deform if the wood absorbs moisture and expands.
6. In the step-by-step instructions for a water-heated floor on a wooden base, the last step is laying the finishing floor covering. Using the technology described, it can be made from any materials - tiles, laminate, carpet. If a laminate is selected, then a plywood backing is not used due to its thermal insulation properties of this material. If you have to lay linoleum, you should not choose cheap options, as they can emit an unpleasant odor when heated.
Tips: 1. For heated floors, it is better to purchase pipes with a diameter of 1.6 cm, since it is in them that the coolant circulates in the most optimal way.
- Don't make it long heating circuit more than 100 m, since when traveling longer distances the coolant will cool down, and in some areas the floor temperature will be significantly lower. If you need a longer outline, it is better to break it up into sections.
- In order to make the heating system more efficient, experts recommend using foil pipe wrapping.
- Chipboard modules, milled at the factory and ready for use, can be purchased at specialized construction stores. Such kits include all the necessary components - from fasteners to metal heat spreaders and pipes. The cost of such sets significantly exceeds the price regular sheets, but at the same time, labor costs and time for creating a dry screed are significantly reduced.
- Select the correct contour along which you will lay the pipes - the “snake” is easy to lay, but is only suitable for small rooms, since the coolant has time to cool down along the way, and cold spots will form in some areas of the floor. IN large rooms It's better to use a "spiral".
The second option for installing heated floors using joists
There is another technology that many may like. It is done step by step as follows:
- A false floor is made between the joists wooden planks, OSB and chipboard.
- Insulation is placed between the beams, which is best used as polystyrene foam with bosses. He not only has excellent characteristics in terms of thermal conductivity, but also allows you to quickly and conveniently lay pipes and metal reflectors. The surface of the insulation should almost reach the top edge of the joist, but the underfloor heating elements should not rest against the substrate.
- Grooves are prepared in the joists in those places where the pipes will cross them. The pipes themselves must be wrapped in corrugation in those places where they will pass through the groove so that, as a result of thermal expansion of the materials, they do not rub against the wood.
- Metal heat reflectors and water pipes are laid.
- The system is tested for functionality and tightness, after which you can begin manufacturing the substrate and finishing.
Warm floor with insulation
In order to shorten the work process, underfloor heating pipes can be placed directly on the insulation layer located on the raised floor. In this case, only polystyrene should be used as insulation, which will make the system operate as efficiently as possible. Mineral wool does not have similar heat-conducting properties.
At this method the pipes will be located below the log level. The space can be filled to the desired level gypsum mixture, or, if you want to completely avoid wet processes, fill it with regular sand. These materials will become a kind of analogue of concrete screed, although less effective, and will conduct heat to the main floor.
The simplest option for laying heated floors on joists
There is a very simple option for laying heated floors along joists, which does not involve creating a screed at all. It is much faster to install, but at the same time has significant drawback: due to the lack of heat-conducting materials, the floor heats up worse, and certain part heat goes down, not up. Using this technology, heat distribution elements are attached directly to the joists themselves, and the pipes seem to sag in their gutters above the raised floor. In this case, the metal plates also act as another leveling layer before finishing the floor.
Conclusion. A properly designed and installed heated floor can significantly influence the temperature and create a comfortable environment in the home. Installing a warm water floor on a wooden base is not as difficult a task as it might initially seem to a person who does not have much experience in carrying out construction work. If you strictly follow the instructions, you will be able to make a high-quality heating system that will last for many years. There are quite a lot of technologies for installing systems on logs, so everyone chooses the most suitable one for themselves, depending on the characteristics of the room and their own capabilities.
In order to make your home warm, today there are a lot of technologies. Sometimes modern engineering solutions cause mistrust and a lot of controversy. One of these questions is: is it possible to install underfloor heating on a wooden floor? For many, installing an electric or water floor on a wooden base seems difficult and sometimes even impossible. However, today we will tell you that this is not so.
This scheme allows you to clearly understand the principle of arranging a wooden floor using joists for a heated floor using the example of a water heating system
Warm floors over wooden joists have a big and main advantage - the absence of “wet” work, in particular, screeding. In this case, the base is boards. At the same time, they are subject to certain requirements:
- The thickness of beech and oak flooring should not exceed 24 mm, pine or larch – 22 mm;
- If new flooring is being made, the boards should first be laid out on a heated floor for several days. This is necessary so that they do not subsequently become deformed.
Before you begin laying cables or pipes, you need to prepare the base. There are two options here:
- Over existing subfloors. IN old surface cracks and gaps between the boards are sealed (foam plastic, mineral wool);
- From scratch. The logs treated with antiseptics and fire bioprotection are located 60 cm from each other. Cracks, mold, and rot on boards are unacceptable.
As you can see, laying heated floors in any case requires a rough foundation. The next step is to do thermal insulation. Thermal insulating material is placed tightly between the joists, which eliminates the appearance of cold bridges.
Once the rough base is prepared, you can begin laying heated floors.
Electric floors
The system consists of cables, heating mats or film. If using a cable, please note the following points:
- The system must be insulated from moisture.
- The temperature of the heated surface should not exceed 27° C. Therefore, it is recommended to use temperature sensors and.
Scheme for installing a cable heated floor on a wooden base: a heat-reflecting substrate and a mounting grid are laid on top of the insulation laid between the joists On a wooden base you can do it according to the following instructions:
- A foil-coated heat insulator (foil side up) is laid under the joists of the future floor, the layer of which is at least 30 mm.
- A mounting grid is laid on top, onto which the cable will then be attached.
- Lays in loops electrical cable. Cuts are made in the joists for the hinges.
- The heating cable is placed in the cuts and secured to the mesh using clamps.
- The temperature sensor is placed between the joists, and a temperature control device is mounted on the wall.
If the heated floors are functioning correctly, you can begin finishing the floor. It is important to remember that there must be at least 30 mm between the finishing coating and the cable.
Diagram of the installation of an infrared heated floor on a wooden floor along the logs: 1 - logs, 2 - insulation, 3 - IR film, 4 - air gap, 5 - floor base (gypsum fiber board, OSB, plywood, polyethylene film), 6 - flooring(laminate, parquet, linoleum, etc.) The most economical and simple option for heating a wooden floor is . The installation goes like this:
- Thermal insulation materials are laid out on the base;
- A heating film is fixed on top;
- The film is connected to the network;
- The finishing coating is installed.
Construction of a heated floor with a heating film on a wooden base: 1 - floor covering (laminate), 2 - PE film, 3 - IR film, 4 - cork backing, 5 - floor base (plywood, OSB, gypsum fiber board, etc.), 6 - insulation, 7 - logs As for heating mats, they are laid in a layer of tile adhesive; in other cases their use is not recommended.
"Light" water heated floor
Since electric heated floors consume a significant amount of electricity, they are not widely used in private housing construction. Most often, residents of cottages, since water is a cheap coolant.
A system of water heated floors requires the presence of a heating boiler, a pump, flow control fittings (taps, valves, bypasses), as well as control equipment(flow meters, thermostats).
Laying a water floor is possible in two ways, one of which is simple, and the other is more complex, since it includes a larger number of elements. For both options you will need:
- , the laying step of which is 20 cm;
- Thermal insulation. Best fit mineral wool because it is a natural material. Polymers are not able to withstand permanent exposure to elevated temperatures;
- Rigid base.
For more complex installations, you additionally need aluminum foil (preferably a solid sheet), metal mesh to strengthen the entire structure, polyethylene pipes high pressure, a temperature sensor in a corrugation, as well as a mechanical or automatic temperature regulator. In order to save the resulting heat, heat-reflecting screens are used. With their help, heat flows are directed upward and warm the volume of the room. More details about such a system and its installation in the video:
Making water floors on wooden floors is not so difficult, but it is necessary to take into account some features. In particular, pipes with a diameter of 16 mm are best suited for a piping system, since they are able to provide the required coolant flow in the system. The pipes should be wrapped in foil, this will significantly reduce heat loss.
The maximum length of one circuit is 100 m. However, you should always strive to reduce this indicator: the shorter the length of the circuit, the more efficient the entire system will work and you will be able to save more heat. How to reduce the length of the contour? To do this, you can divide the room into sections with maximum area 40 m2. Moreover, each of them must be equipped with an autonomous circuit. Don't forget that wet floors don't have to cover the entire floor surface.
The main advantage of the flooring system is the small thickness of the entire structure You should not skimp on a heating boiler, pump and other auxiliary equipment for a water floor. The efficiency and functioning of the entire system as a whole depends on these elements.
The main difficulty in installing a “water heated floor” system on wooden floors is its connection to the general heating system. This really requires professional skills and experience. So if you're not sure, the best option will seek help from specialists. This may cost more, but you will not have to worry about the correct installation of the system and its correct operation. Leave your opinion about the article in the comments or share your experience of installing underfloor heating systems on a wooden base.
Thanks to their many advantages, floor heating systems have gained wide popularity among homeowners, including owners of wooden private cottages. But in this case, the installation of heated floors has its own nuances, since in such houses it is rarely carried out 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 a 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, on wooden logs 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 floor heating, of which the most acceptable option is the use of 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
Logs and wooden beams floors. The joists are installed on a solid base or on many 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 a “pie” of 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 a waterproofing layer of polyethylene film should be laid.
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 a rough base made of boards or chipboard has been installed, it is necessary to ensure that all the heat from the heating circuit is reflected upward. This is done in 2 ways:
- You need to start installing warm wooden floors by 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 warm floors under the screed, since heat transfer in our case will not be so effective. The coolant pipe transfers heat to the coating not directly, but through an air gap, hence the reduction in heat transfer. Accordingly, the average pipe laying pitch should be 150 mm, maximum 200 mm. After this, the circuit is connected to the manifold, checked for leaks, and the finishing coating for the wooden floor can be laid.
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 waterproofing of the future slab by laying plastic film on top concrete preparation. Then, for the purpose of compensation thermal expansion screeds, 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.
Most people are attracted to the idea of the device warm system, based on a wooden floor base, is skeptical. After all, everyone knows that temperature changes trigger deformation processes - and in general, wood-like materials have too low a coefficient of thermal conductivity for such a design to be effective. However, new technologies are emerging that make it possible not only to additionally heat individual rooms, but also to organize quite comfortable main heating in an unconventional way. We will tell you how to do it on a wooden floor in a private house in this article.
Basically, the issue of installing heated floors on prefabricated wooden foundations arises in individual households. In the apartments, all floors are concrete, and such technology may only be necessary if you do not want to remove the old wooden flooring or parquet during renovation. And in houses, even if the floors of the first floor are arranged in the form of a concrete screed on the ground, the overwhelming majority of interfloor ceilings - even in brick houses, are constructed from beams.
- This design is a multilayer sandwich, the top of which is the subfloor of the above room. If the house is just being built, heating elements can be placed inside this pie; if it is already in use, floor heating can be organized without removing the sheet flooring.
- The layering of the structure can be different and depends both on the structure of the floor as a whole and on the type of floor covering that is supposed to be laid at the finish. And note, this does not necessarily have to be a board, carpet or any decorative particle boards. This may well be ceramics, which, when proper preparation The base fits perfectly on wood.
- With the same success, heating elements can be installed under any coating, and the choice of one or another installation technology depends on their type. It is possible, for example, to provide for traditional wet screed, on which it is very convenient to install not only ceramic, but also quartz vinyl tiles. And it’s not so much about convenience as it is about the better ability of the solution layer to accumulate and transfer heat.
Note! However, today there are alternative ways to improve heat transfer prefabricated wooden floor. For example, for laying water pipes or cables, metal plates were invented that warm up to the temperature of the coolant and give off heat well.
The plates have recesses, thanks to which heating elements do not protrude to the surface and do not interfere with the installation of the finished floor. Only a thin membrane is laid between them, which helps remove steam from the internal space. This is if the coating itself is vapor permeable. You can pour and on top of the plates, only in this case the layer between them should be waterproof.
Are there any advantages to not having a monolithic screed?
If there is a concrete monolith floor in the cake, the principle of the heating effect is more or less clear to everyone. Heating elements - whether pipes with hot water, molded electrical cable or rolled mats and films - give away thermal energy nearby material.
- If it is a stone, which is a concrete screed, then it heats up perfectly and gradually transfers heat to the overlying layer. If it is a tile made from natural or artificial stone(ceramics also belongs to this category), the tandem turns out to be simply ideal, since their properties are approximately the same.
- But when the heat source is shrouded not in a material that transfers heat, but insulating it, the efficiency of heating the premises is significantly reduced. Hence the need arose to use metal strips that could accumulate and transmit instead of structural material.
- However, in some situations, the absence of a screed is even preferable. For example, if there is a building under the first floor, into which heat should not flow. Or in old houses, where after many years of use the floor beams may lose some of their original strength, and it is undesirable to load them with a rather massive layer of concrete.
On a note! Let us give one more, very significant argument in favor of a prefabricated heated floor, which does not have a screed. Such a floor can be used immediately after installation, whereas when concrete pouring You must first wait the required 28 days to gain strength (you can walk, but you cannot apply heat). Moreover, even without a screed, you can lay any covering, including tiles, at the finish.
Methods for dry assembly of heated floors
The most common method of installing layers of insulated flooring is the laying option. In this case, pipes or other heating elements are laid either between the joists or on top of the rough boards.
Between the joists
In the first case, a special structured substrate is laid between the lags, into the recesses of which it is very convenient to install pipes.
It is best to take the substrate with a reflective top layer, but you can also use regular foil insulation. Simply, thanks to the recesses in the special substrate, you don’t have to figure out how to fix the pipes in the desired position.
But if necessary, you can always come up with something, as the photo below convinces us of. Here, transverse strips were installed between the logs, to which the heating elements were fixed with metal clamps. Finally, all this is sewn up with sheet material, on top of which a decorative covering is already mounted.
On rough surface
In the case of laying pipes or cables on top of a subfloor or an old plank floor in the latter, it is necessary to mill grooves into which the metal plates that we have already mentioned above must be inserted. The only problem is that the tool needed for this is unlikely to be at hand, and not everyone can handle it. And hiring a specialist for this work will cost about 65 rubles/m2.
To avoid milling, you can use the method shown in the example below. Here, in order to install galvanized plates, boards were mounted on a wooden base. They were chosen to be of such a thickness and installed at a pitch that would allow the protrusion in the plate to fit perfectly into the gap.
It is doubtful that this method provides any savings, because you have to pay for milling and boards one way or another. If it is not possible to lay heating elements between the beams - you do not want to dismantle the old floor, or the small height of the ceiling does not allow installing another tier of logs, it is much more convenient and cheaper to use heating films rather than pipes. True, due to the cost of the coolant, such a floor may turn out to be more expensive in operation.
You don’t even need to make a screed on top of them - just cover the system with a protective film and lay the laminate. But under rolled materials you will have to arrange an intermediate hard layer in the form of plywood or other sheet materials. But this is a double-edged sword.
On a note! Such a layer will become an additional obstacle to heat - reflective elements will not help much either. For greater efficiency For heating, mortar screed is still better. In the case of film, it can be made very thin, from a self-leveling floor or a self-made mortar without large filler, which adds increased weight to ordinary concrete. Just keep in mind that the filler mixture must contain additives that make the monolith immune to elevated temperatures.
There is no uniform technology for assembling heated floors on wooden bases. Everything here needs to be decided based on specific situation, and there are quite a lot of options. You can come up with your own way of arranging layers, only in this case you need to correctly compare the abilities of a particular material to perceive and transfer heat.
Sequence of work on a wooden base
As already noted, now most developers provide heated floors immediately during the construction of a house. Thanks to them, real estate can always be sold more profitably, and the buyer will be sure that he will definitely not freeze in his new home. But people don't always buy ready-made houses, but try to build them themselves whenever possible. Everyone understands perfectly well that it works out cheaper, and it’s easier to correct your own mistakes than other people’s.
Require special attention wooden buildings, since wood is highly susceptible to shrinkage. This applies not only to the frame of the house, but also to its internal lining, which after a year becomes not so attractive: cracks appear from which it blows, and in some places there are cracks.
Often, only then does the owner begin to think about installing heated floors. But there is furniture on them, and disassembling the covering to get to the joists is too labor-intensive work. How to get out of this situation?
Analysis of the “flight” step by step
We propose to consider this situation in more detail, using a specific example as a basis.
Table. Step-by-step instruction on installation.
| Steps, photo |
|---|
In many countries around the world, when heating a house or apartment, they have long abandoned radiators and installed a “warm floor” system. As is known, according to the laws of physics, the air, when heated, rises up, therefore, often when batteries are installed near windows, the floor remains cold, which contributes to the rapid cooling of heated air, and this leads to big losses thermal energy. This is especially noticeable for the family budget if the house has heating system, since heating a house requires a large amount of fuel. And it is very uncomfortable to walk in slippers or barefoot on a cold floor - this, by the way, often becomes the cause of colds, especially among children.
In many private houses, and in apartments of old housing stock, too, the floors are boardwalks. When carrying out renovations, many owners want to update the floor covering, laying, for example, linoleum, and at the same time creating a heating system. Therefore, they have a question: can it be laid on a wooden floor under linoleum.
It turns out that such floor modernization is quite possible, and even in several versions. Let's look at how to choose the right system and how to install it yourself in a high-quality manner.
Types of “warm floors” and their scope
There are several effective floor heating schemes using coolant from a water heating system (autonomous or even central), and using electricity as an energy source. Types of “warm floors” may differ in their installation technology and in the possibilities of using one or another finishing coating.
| Warm floor type | Illustration | Installation method | Flooring type | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| optimal | acceptable | |||
| Direct heating systems | ||||
| Water heated floor |  | “wet”, in a screed | ceramic tile; porcelain stoneware; a natural stone; laminate; tree; | carpet, linoleum |
 | “dry”, using special heat exchange plates | laminate, parquet, board, | carpet, linoleum |
|
| Resistive heating cable |  | “wet”, in a screed | ceramic tile; porcelain stoneware; a natural stone | laminate; tree; linoleum; textile covering |
| Self-regulating heating cable |  | “wet”, in a screed | ceramic tile; porcelain stoneware; a natural stone; tree | linoleum; textile covering |
| Resistive heating mats | ceramic tile; porcelain stoneware; a natural stone | laminate; tree; linoleum; textile covering |
||
| Infrared heating systems | ||||
| Rod mats |  | “on wet”, in a thin screed or layer of tile adhesive | ceramic tile; porcelain stoneware; a natural stone; laminate; carpet; linoleum | |
| Film heaters with carbon filling |  | "dry" | laminate, parquet, board | linoleum, carpet |
It can be seen that most types of “warm floors” are able to function normally only in combination with concrete screed or a layer of tile adhesive - it becomes a kind of heat accumulator, accumulating and releasing heat into the room. But, as follows from the table, there are also varieties that allow “dry” installation, without the use of mortars. They are the ones that will be optimal for a wooden base.
Of course, if desired, you can also lay a “wet” screed on the plank floor, having first done good waterproofing, then any type of “warm floor” system is suitable for installation. However, you need to take into account the huge weight loads - the base must be reliable, laid from thick, high-quality boards. This is not always cost-effective, and sometimes it is simply impossible, since this will raise the floor level very significantly.
This article will discuss options for installing “warm floors” that do not involve “wet” work and are laid on a dry wooden base. These systems include film infrared heating and one of the varieties of water floor.
Preparing the base
Whatever option is chosen, the board covering, especially if it is not new, requires some preparation.
- In order for the “warm floor” system to be effective, all cracks and gaps should be eliminated on the wooden floor.
- If the plank floor is new, not impregnated with drying oil and not covered with paint, then it should be covered antiseptic and wait for it to dry.
"Ennoblement" of the old wooden covering plywood
When choosing film for installation infrared system The surface of the plank covering must be perfectly flat. If there are significant differences on it or some boards protrude higher than others, then you will have to use scraping or lay sheets of plywood on top. The edges of the sheets of leveling coating should lie in the same plane, not higher or lower than the plywood sheet laid next to it. In addition, they must be tightly fitted to each other.
You might be interested in information on how to install
Laying a water floor does not require such careful leveling - here the flooring will be made of boards with cut grooves for laying pipes. But it will be necessary to seal the cracks and treat the wooden base if plywood is not mounted on its surface.
Installation of a water heated floor on a wooden base
The work of installing a water-heated floor without using a screed can be carried out in several ways.
- So, special polystyrene foam mats are laid on the floor, into which heat exchange plates with grooves for the pipe circuit are then inserted.
- The same plates can be inserted into specially left gaps between wooden floor boards.
- Another option is when grooves are milled into the wooden base boards, into which first the heat exchangers and then the pipes are laid.
If it is not possible to purchase such heat exchange plates, then you can use another approach - using aluminum foil. This is the option that will be considered. As you can see, it is quite accessible for DIY, even for those home craftsmen who have never installed any underfloor heating before.
You might be interested in information about what it is
Certain materials will be required to complete the work. Their number will depend on the area of the room and the required heating efficiency.
- Board for laying the contour. Its quantity must be calculated for the area of the insulated room. Such parts are made from high-quality planed boards with a thickness of 45 ÷ 50 mm. It is best to immediately order in the workshop, in addition to processing exactly to size in thickness, milling grooves of 20 × 20 mm along the entire length - this is enough for laying a 16 mm pipe. The location of the grooves must correspond to the pitch of laying the circuit pipes. The easiest way to do this is to select the width of the board based on the required laying pitch, and select a “quarter” of 20 × 20 mm from one of its sides. Then, when installing the coating, the grooves will automatically be at the required distance from each other.
Prices for PEX pipes for water heated floors
The laying step can be different - from 100 ÷ 150 mm, if you plan to use a “warm floor” as the main heating, and up to 300 mm, if you only need to create additional comfortable conditions in room. Taking a smaller step is unnecessary and difficult to do for technological reasons (it is quite difficult to bend a pipe under a small radius). A step above 300 mm will lead to a “zebra effect” - warm and cold stripes will be noticeable on the floor.
If the owner of the house has a manual router at his disposal, then he can choose the “quarters” himself.
- Beam for laying logs with a section of 30×50 mm. It is purchased based on installation on floors in increments of 500 ÷ 600 mm.
- Plywood sheets (or OSB) 80÷100 mm thick, also based on the entire floor surface.
- Insulation made of foamed polyethylene with a foil surface 5÷6 mm thick. Its footage is also calculated for the entire area of the room.
- Insulation, also made of foamed polyethylene, but without a foil coating. A thickness of 1÷1.5 mm is sufficient here.
- Seamless metal-plastic pipe with a diameter of 16 mm. The number of meters must be calculated in advance, since the system must consist of a single pipe, without connections.
The easiest way to calculate is using the formula:
L = k× S / H
L– required amount pipes;
k– increasing coefficient taking into account contour rotations;
S– floor area on which the contours will be laid out;
H– selected laying step.
The k coefficient can be taken from 1.1 to 1.3 - as the laying step increases.
To make the calculation easier, there is a calculator below:
