The floors on the ground are correct with insulation. Recommendations for installing a water heated floor on the ground Screed on the ground with a warm floor

The installation of a warm floor in itself is considered a complex engineering task. If the floor is in direct contact with the ground and serves as part of a liquid heating system, the likelihood of making a mistake increases significantly. Today we will talk about both the materials used and the phased device.

Laying a warm floor on the ground refers to complex engineering measures. This means that the contractor is responsible not only for the efficiency and long life of the heating system, but also for the normal behavior of the flooring under cyclic heating conditions. Therefore, act consistently and strictly follow the device technology recommendations.

Which pipes are suitable for underfloor heating

The first thing to do is to decide on the type of heat-conducting tubes. While the issue with the acquisition of the desired type of product is being resolved, you will have time to carry out all the necessary preparatory work. In addition, you will know from the outset the system for fixing the pipes, and you will provide everything necessary for this.

So, let's start with the rejection of pipes that do not have such a purpose as use in underfloor heating systems. This includes metal-plastic polyethylene pipes connected by a system of press fittings and PPR pipes for soldering plastic water pipes. The former do not perform well in terms of reliability, the latter do not conduct heat well and have high coefficients of thermal expansion.

Initially, a convenient and reliable mounting system for temporary pipe fastening is selected. It can also be a reinforcing mesh, to which the pipes will be tied with wire, but imagine installing in this way on an area of ​​​​100 m 2 or if suddenly several ties come off during the pouring of concrete. Therefore, a mounting underlay or rail system must be used. They are attached to the floor base while the pipes are not yet laid, then the pipes are fixed in the guides with clips or click-clamps.

The mounting system itself can be plastic or metal. There is not much difference in this, the only thing you need to pay attention to is how reliable the fixation is and whether the guides themselves can damage the pipes.

Finally, we decide on the material of the pipes. There are two types of products recommended for use in underfloor heating systems. For both, the mounting technology eliminates the influence of the human factor when bending and connecting.

Copper. Despite the increased cost, copper tubing is easy to install; soldering requires a bottle of flux and a gas burner. Copper performs best in systems of "fast" underfloor heating, which works in parallel with radiators, but not on a permanent basis. The bending of copper tubes is carried out according to the template, respectively, their fracture is extremely unlikely.

Polyethylene. This is a more common class of pipes. Polyethylene is practically not subject to fracture, but a special crimping tool is required for installation. Polyethylene can have different density, it is recommended not less than 70%. The presence of an internal oxygen barrier is also important: polyethylene poorly resists diffuse penetration of gases, while water in a pipe of this length can entrain significant amounts of oxygen from the external environment.

Soil preparation

When installing a warm floor on the ground, a “pie” is prepared, the thickness and filling of which are determined individually. But these data are important already at the first stage of work, in order to deepen the earthen floor if necessary and not sacrifice the height of the room.

In general, the soil is removed 30-35 cm below the level of the planned floor covering, taken as the zero point. The surface is carefully leveled in a horizontal plane, the geotextile layer is backfilled with incompressible material, in most cases, PGS is used for this.

After careful manual tamping of the bedding, preparation is carried out with low-grade concrete. For additional thermal insulation, this layer may consist of lightweight expanded clay concrete. It is important that the surface be brought out into a common plane located below the zero mark by the thickness of the cake plus about 10-15 mm more.

The choice of insulation

A floor pie with water heating consists of a heater tightly sandwiched between two layers of cement-sand screed. A fairly narrow range of requirements is imposed on the insulation itself.

Mainly compressive strength is normalized. Extruded polystyrene foam with a density of 3% or more is ideal, as well as PIR and PUR boards as more fireproof. If desired, you can use mineral wool slabs of grade 225 according to GOST 9573-96. Cotton wool is often abandoned due to the complexity of its installation and the need to cover the insulation with a hydrobarrier (polyamide film). It is characteristic that the minimum thickness of the plate is 40 mm, while when installing a reflective screen made of XPS, the thickness of the latter rarely exceeds 20-25 mm.

Foam polymer materials also serve as a good barrier to moisture migrating from the soil; they do not require a waterproofing device. Many may be put off by the questionable safety of styrene-containing material or the price of more expensive boards with complete chemical inertness (PUR and PIR).

The thickness of the insulation is determined by thermotechnical calculation. If the preparation used concrete with expanded clay as a filler, 10-15 mm XPS or 60 mm mineral wool will be sufficient. In the absence of insulated preparation, these values ​​\u200b\u200bshould be increased by 50%.

Preparatory and accumulating screeds

It is very important that the insulation is tightly clamped between two ties and that any movement or vibration of it is excluded. The concrete preparation of the floor is leveled with a preparatory screed, then insulation boards are glued onto it using tile adhesive under the comb. All joints are sealed with glue. If mineral wool is used, the concrete preparation must first be covered with a layer of penetrating waterproofing.

The screed layer above the insulation must be so thick that its total thermal conductivity is at least 3-4 times lower than that of the thermal screen. In general, the thickness of the screed is about 1.5-2 cm from the final height of the ceilings, but you can freely “play” with this value to adjust the inertia of the warm floor. The main thing is to change the thickness of the insulation accordingly.

The top layer of the screed, subjected to heating, is poured after the walls are enclosed with a damper tape. The filling of the accumulative screed can, for convenience, be carried out in two stages. On the first one, about 15-20 mm are poured with reinforcement with a rare mesh. It is convenient to move along the resulting plane and fix the pipe installation system, the remainder is poured to the zero level minus the thickness of the floor covering.

1 - compacted soil; 2 - sand and gravel bedding; 3 - preparatory reinforced screed; 4 - hydrovapor barrier; 5 - insulation; 6 - reinforcing mesh; 7 - floor heating pipes; 8 - cement-sand screed; 9 - flooring; 10 - damper tape

System installation, proportions and loop pitch

The laying of underfloor heating pipes should be carried out according to a scheme previously thought out and drawn on the floor. If the room has a shape other than rectangular, its plan is divided into several rectangles, each of which is represented by a separate loop loop.

The same principle applies to floor zoning. For example, in the play area, tubes can be laid at a more frequent pace, and it is advisable not to lay them under cabinet furniture at all. In each individual coil of a rectangular shape, depending on the priority of heating, the tubes can be laid either in a snake or a snail, or a combination of options. The general rule is simple: the farther a specific point is from the beginning of the duct, the lower its temperature, on average, there is a drop of 1.5-2.5 ºС every 10 meters, respectively, the optimal length of the loop is in the range of 50-80 meters.

The minimum distance between adjacent tubes is determined by the manufacturer according to the allowable bending radius. A denser gasket is possible according to the “snail” scheme or with the formation of wide loops at the edges of the snake. It is optimal to adhere to a distance equal to 20-30 values ​​of the tube diameter. You also need to make allowances for the thickness of the storage screed and the desired floor heating rate.

The mounting system is fastened along the route of laying through the insulation to the concrete preparation layer, respectively, the length of the fasteners (usually plastic BM dowels) should be 50% more than the distance to the surface of the preparatory screed.

When laying the pipe, you should consider an improvised spool for unwinding, otherwise the pipe will constantly twist and break. When all the hinges are fixed in the installation system, they are tested with high pressure and, if the test results are satisfactory, the top layer of the storage screed is poured.

Inclusion of a warm floor in the heating system

It is recommended to lay whole pipe sections without joints in the screed layer. The tails of the loops can be reduced either to local collectors, or lead directly to the boiler room. The latter option is usually convenient when the heated floor is a little far from the boiler or if all rooms have a common corridor, which needs indirect heating.

The ends of the pipes are rolled with an expander and connected by crimping or soldering with threaded fittings for connection to a manifold assembly. Each of the outlets is equipped with shut-off valves, ball valves with a red flywheel are installed on the supply pipes, and with a blue one on the return. A threaded transition with shutoff valves is necessary for emergency shutdown of a separate loop, its purging or flushing.

An example of a scheme for connecting a water heated floor to a heating system: 1 - a heating boiler; 2 - expansion tank; 3 - security group; 4 - collector; 5 - circulation pump; 6 - manifold cabinet for heating radiators; 7 - manifold cabinet of underfloor heating

The collectors are connected to the heating main by analogy with heating radiators, two-pipe and combined switching schemes are possible. In addition to the thermostat, the collector units can be equipped with recirculation systems that maintain a comfortable temperature of the coolant in the supply at about 35-40 ºС.

Floors on the ground - a universal way to build a warm and reliable foundation in the house. And you can do them at any level of groundwater and the type of foundation. The only limitation is the house on stilts. In this article, we will describe in detail all the layers of the "floor pie" and show how to organize it yourself.

Concrete floors on the ground, imply no basements or gaps for ventilation in the underground.

At its core, this is a multi-layer cake. Where the bottom layer is the soil, and the top layer is the floor covering. At the same time, the layers have their purpose and a strict sequence.

There are no objective restrictions for organizing the floor on the ground. High groundwater is not a hindrance in this. Their only weak point is the production time and financial costs. But on such floors you can put brick or block walls, and even heavy equipment.

The correct "floor cake" on the ground

The classic floor cake on the ground implies the presence of 9 layers:

  1. prepared clay;
  2. sand cushion;
  3. crushed stone;
  4. Polyethylene film;
  5. Rough concreting;
  6. Waterproofing;
  7. insulation;
  8. Finishing screed;
  9. Flooring.

We deliberately did not indicate the thickness of each layer, so as not to set any strict restrictions. Below, approximate values ​​\u200b\u200band the factors influencing it will be indicated. But first we would like to make a very important point: groundwater levels can change dramatically in a relatively short period of time.

In our practice, there were cases when, within 5-7 years, dry semi-basements and cellars in private houses had to be filled up, because groundwater completely flooded the underground premises. At the same time, such a phenomenon was observed not in one separate house, but immediately in the whole block of private buildings (40-60 houses).

Experts explain such phenomena by improper drilling of wells under water. Such actions lead to mixing of aquifer lenses, fracturing and alteration of aquifers. Moreover, they can drill a well far enough from your home. So be careful about the purpose of each layer of the floor cake on the ground and do not think that there are extra elements here.

  1. prepared clay. The purpose of this layer is to stop groundwater. In general, the three lower layers of the floor cake are for this purpose. Of course, if you, removing the fertile layer, have reached the layer of clay, then you do not need to bring and fill it up, only a little preparation is required. But more about that in due time.
  2. Sand. There are no special requirements for sand. You can use any, for example career and not even washed.
  3. Rubble. Large, fraction 40-60 mm.

These three layers are responsible for cutting off the capillary rise of water. A layer of clay cuts off the main access, sand weakens the capillary water rise and weakens the pressure of the upper layers, and crushed stone does not allow water to rise in principle. At the same time, each layer must be rammed. The thickness of each layer is at least 10 cm. Otherwise, it makes no sense to fill it up. But the maximum height should be explained in more detail. The fact is that ramming is most often done with homemade devices. The weight of such instruments is 3-5 pounds.

It has already been empirically proven that it is impossible to compact a layer of crushed stone, sand or clay more than 20 cm with a hand tool. Therefore, the thickness of one of the first three layers is maximum - 20 cm. But, if you need to make the floor cake higher, then tamping can be carried out in two stages. First, 15-20 cm of sand are poured and rammed well. Then another layer of the same thickness is poured, and rammed again.

The order of occurrence of clay-sand-gravel layers cannot be changed. The reason here lies in the fact that if sand is poured on top of rubble, then after some time it will seep through it. Which in turn will lead to subsidence and destruction of the concrete layer, and then the deformation of the entire floor.

  1. Polyethylene film. Be sure to take the film with a sleeve, and fit without cutting. That is, there will actually be two layers of polyethylene. It is intended solely to prevent the solution from draining from concrete into rubble.
  2. Rough concreting. The minimum layer thickness is 8 cm. Sand can be taken from a quarry, but it must be washed. But crushed stone is required with a fraction of 10-20 mm. This layer will be the basis for the final part of the floor on the ground. Dispersed steel fiber reinforcement is recommended.
  3. . With properly carried out preliminary work, ordinary roofing material without powder can cope with waterproofing. If in doubt, you can lay the roofing material in two layers.
  4. Thermal insulation. It is recommended to use only Extruded Polystyrene Foam (EPS) here. The thickness should be determined depending on the region and climatic conditions. But we do not recommend the use of XPS with a thickness of less than 50 mm.
  5. Finishing stitch. Depending on the project, underfloor heating pipes or electrical underfloor heating cables can be integrated into it. Sand is used only river. This layer must be reinforced. Dispersed reinforcement with steel fiber is possible. The thickness of the screed is at least 50 mm.
  6. Flooring. Concrete floors on the ground, organized in a private house in this way, have no restrictions on the use of flooring.

Do-it-yourself flooring on the ground

Before starting work, calculate the depth of excavation. The calculation is carried out in reverse order. That is, the threshold of the front door is taken as zero. Then begin to summarize the thickness of each layer. For example:

  • Linoleum - 1 cm;
  • Finishing screed - 5 cm;
  • Insulation - 6 cm;
  • Rough screed - 8 cm;
  • Crushed stone - 15 cm;
  • Sand - 15 cm;
  • Prepared clay - 10 cm.

The total depth turned out to be 60 cm. But keep in mind that we took the minimum values. And each building is different. Important: add 5 cm of depth to the result obtained for you.

Excavation is carried out to the estimated depth. Of course, that the fertile layer will be removed, but clay may not always be at the bottom. Therefore, we will describe the process of organizing a floor cake on the ground in full.

Before filling the layers, draw with chalk, at all corners of the foundation, level marks in 5 cm increments. They will facilitate the task of leveling each layer.

Soil compaction

For these purposes, any clay will do. It crumbles in an even layer, and before tamping it is abundantly moistened with an aqueous solution of liquid glass. The proportions of the solution are 1 tsp of liquid glass and 4 tsp of water.

For compacting the first three layers, you can use a one and a half meter piece of timber 200x200. But the process will be better if you make a special fixture. To do this, a piece of channel is welded in a T-shaped manner to a one and a half meter piece of a metal pipe. The lower part of the channel should not have an area of ​​​​more than 600 cm 2 (20 by 30 cm). To make the rammer heavier, sand is poured into the pipe.

The compacted layer of prepared clay is well moistened with cement milk. For its preparation, 2 kg of cement is dissolved in 10 liters of water. Make sure that no puddles form on the surface of the clay. That is, it should be fairly even.

Almost immediately after the contact of cement with liquid glass, the chemical process of crystallization begins. It passes quickly enough, but during the day it should not be disturbed in any way crystal formation. Therefore, do not walk on clay, but rather leave work for a day for a technological break.

The main layers of the "floor pie"

Sand. After a day, you should start filling the sand. At the same time, try not to walk on the first layer. Pour in the sand and step on it. Chemical processes between liquid glass and cement will continue for another week and a half. But air access is no longer needed for this, and water is present in the clay. Having poured a layer of 15 cm, boldly step on it and tamp.

Rubble. Spreads evenly over the surface of the sand and is also rammed. Pay attention to the corners. It is very important that after tamping the surface is as even as possible.

Polyethylene film. Laid with an overlap of 10 cm and glued with adhesive tape. A small, 2-3 cm bend on the walls is allowed. You can walk on the film in soft shoes with extreme caution. Remember that a plastic film is not, but only a technological layer to prevent cement milk from flowing into crushed stone.

Rough concreting.“Skinny concrete” is being prepared in the following proportion: cement M500 - 1 hour + sand 3 hours + crushed stone 4 hours. For dispersed reinforcement, steel fiber should be added at the rate of 1 kg. fibers per 1 cube of concrete. Try to level the freshly poured mortar, guided by the corner marks. On a more even surface, it will subsequently be more convenient to lay layers of waterproofing and insulation.

48 hours after pouring, the concrete must be hardened. This will require a solution of liquid glass in water (1:10) and cement. First, the solution is passed over the entire surface. You can use a roller, or you can use a spray bottle. Then concrete is powdered with a thin layer and immediately begins to be rubbed into the cement into the surface. It is most convenient to do this with grout.

This procedure increases the strength of concrete by an order of magnitude, and in combination with liquid glass makes it as waterproof as possible. Concrete will mature within a month and a half, but work can begin on the next stage in a week.

Warming and waterproofing

To create a waterproofing layer, the floor surface is cleaned and treated with liquid bitumen. The roofing material is overlapped, with an allowance of 3-5 cm. The joints are carefully soldered using a building hair dryer. Wall allowance 5 cm. IMPORTANT: Make sure that the roofing material adheres to the corners, do not leave voids. The second layer of roofing material is laid with an offset of half the width of the roll. During waterproofing work, it is best to walk on the surface in shoes with soft soles (sneakers, galoshes).

For thermal insulation, the best option is extruded polystyrene foam. A layer of XPS 5 cm thick replaces 70 cm of expanded clay. And additionally, XPS has a practically zero water absorption coefficient and a rather high compressive strength. We recommend laying 3 cm thick XPS in two layers. In this case, the laying of the top layer is carried out with an offset. This method guarantees the absence of cold bridges and increases the heat-insulating properties of the floor cake. The joints between the XPS boards are glued with special adhesive tape.

Proper thermal insulation of the floor cake is an extremely important component for the energy efficiency of the whole house as a whole. Up to 35% of heat escapes through the floors! Even if the floors themselves will not produce heat (warm floors), they must be thermally insulated as much as possible. This will allow you to save on heating in the future quite impressive amounts.

Floor screed

Glue along the room, 15-20 mm thick. In this case, the lower part must be glued to the XPS boards. To reinforce the floor on the ground in residential premises, a masonry mesh with cells of 100x100 mm is used. Wire thickness 3 mm. The grid must be placed on the supports so that it is approximately in the middle of the screed layer. To do this, it is placed on special stands. But you can use ordinary corks from PET bottles.

The installation of beacons is possible, but in combination with a reinforcing mesh, this will create a rather bulky and extremely fragile structure. After all, if the mesh is rigidly fastened, this will require additional costs for fastening and it will be necessary to violate the integrity of the XPS. And if the reinforcement is not fixed, then it can easily change the levels of the beacons. Therefore, it will be more convenient to pour this layer and then level it with a self-leveling screed.

For the finishing screed, the solution is diluted in the proportion of 1 part M500 cement + 3 parts river sand. Work is carried out promptly. For rough leveling of the surface, you can focus on the corner marks.

After pouring the finishing screed, it must be allowed to gain strength within 3-5 days. With a thickness of 5 cm, the maturation period of this layer will be 4-5 weeks. During this time, regular wetting of the surface with water is required.

Acceleration of the cement hydration process is unacceptable! After about a month, you can check the degree of readiness. To do this, in the evening they take a roll of dry toilet paper, put it on the floor and cover it with a pan on top. If in the morning, the toilet paper is dry, or slightly damp, then the layer is ready. You can level the floor with a self-leveling screed.

Self-leveling screed is spread according to the manufacturer's instructions and poured onto the surface of the concrete floor. With scrupulous performance of work, height differences do not exceed 8-10 mm. Therefore, a minimum amount of self-levelling screed is required. It dries pretty quickly. And after 1-2 days, the floor cake on the ground will be completely ready for laying the flooring.

Any owner of a private house faced the problem of heating. Floors are a particularly important heating element. The right floors do not let dampness into the house and keep it warm for a long time. Recently, floors on the ground are rapidly gaining popularity.

They are effective because they are practical, reliable and relatively inexpensive. If a basement is not planned during construction, then on the ground in a private house is one of the best options for thermal insulation.

Such a design is built directly on the ground, taking into account all its irregularities and will help prevent cold from entering from its surface. This option is far from the easiest, but it can be implemented independently, without hiring workers or equipment.

Such floors have nothing to do with baking. They are called "pies" due to the fact that their thermal insulation has many layers and in appearance they slightly resemble a layer cake. If you still decide to build, then keep in mind that underfloor heating on the ground requires some measurements.

For example, groundwater should not be too high, because this will make your "pie" float. You should also make sure that the soil is strong enough, because the whole structure can simply settle. It should also be remembered that the “pie” reduces the height of the room, and the dismantling of such a structure is a difficult matter, so everything must be done correctly the first time.

Foundation preparation

The device of your structure includes several layers, and therefore several stages too.

Don't move on to the next step until you've completed the previous one.

The first thing we must do is to prepare the base directly on the ground itself. For this you need:

  • remove the layer of earth. This must be done without fail, because the fertile layer is usually loose, and the remains of vegetation can then begin to rot and decompose - this will cause an unpleasant smell, and it will be impossible to be in the room. The floor cake requires about 20 centimeters, or even more (depending on the region).
  • Tip: measure each level and calculate how deep you need to remove the soil. Leave marks on each of the levels to make it easier to navigate;

  • remove all rubbish and stones. This is also very important, because one unnoticed pebble can cause unevenness;
  • the remaining clean soil is leveled and compacted. This must be done very evenly - along the level.

Separating layer

To prevent anything from moving apart, the foundation of the pit must be lined with geotextiles or dornite. It is better to choose the first, because it also protects against the germination of weeds.

The correct underfloor heating cake must be separated from the parts of the foundation and the basement (the lower part of the building wall lying on the foundation) with a special layer. It is strictly forbidden to rest the plate on the protruding parts of the structure.

The correct floor should be made in the form of a floating screed.

Underlayment

Further, some variation is allowed. So that the floors on the ground do not settle down the correct cake, there are several options for laying. The underlying layer must be selected taking into account the height of the groundwater, the expected loads, the same looseness of the soil, and so on.

Most often, a concrete layer is used - this is the most reliable and proven option. But there are cases when it is impossible to use concrete, then the following materials can be used:

  • sand. It is used exclusively on dry soils to avoid water absorption through small holes in the sand. It is noteworthy that such a process can occur even in cases where dew forms on the surface. It will also be more difficult with sand because it needs to be perfectly evenly compacted, again, this must be done with the help of a level;
  • rubble. Crushed stone works well at high groundwater levels. In a layer of crushed stone, capillary absorption is completely impossible. Laying should also occur evenly;
  • natural soil. It is used quite rarely and is, most often, coarse sand or gravelly soil (soil with a grain content larger than 2 mm, but less than 50 mm). It will fit if neither groundwater nor special looseness of the soil is observed.
  • expanded clay. Also suitable.

Mineral wool boards (thermal insulation material made from mineral wool and a synthetic binder) will be an excellent insulation. They have a high density, are quite strong and live for a long time. Such plates are laid in two layers, they can be vulnerable to moisture, so they need to be treated with a water-repellent substance.

Footing

Whatever bonding material you use, you will still need a footing. You will need B 7.5 lean concrete mix. We remind you that lean concrete is concrete in which the content of cement and water is reduced, and the content of filler is increased.

Such material is much “weaker” than its “fat” counterpart, but at the same time cheaper. In our case, it is impractical to use a stronger concrete composition.

The footing is not reinforced, but must be separated from the basement or parts of the foundation. For this, pieces of foam or a special tape are suitable.

If you want to further reduce the cost of the floor cake on the ground, then you can use the saturation of the upper layers of crushed stone with cement milk. The resulting crust should be perfectly even, and its depth should be several centimeters. This trick will help make a waterproof concrete crust.

Waterproofing and insulation

Finally, we got to waterproofing and insulation. At this stage, it is necessary to isolate from moisture. We will do this with a waterproofing film or a special membrane. Lay the film overlapping, and seal the gaps at the joints with construction tape.

The first thing you need to put is waterproofing material, and not thermal insulation.

As a heater, use a layer of expanded polystyrene foam or dense polystyrene. You can also use special plates, but we advise you to do this only if the load on the surface of the structure is large.

You can choose the thickness of the layer yourself, depending on the climatic conditions of the region, usually it is from 5 to 20 centimeters. Joints and cracks fill with construction foam.

On top of the resulting "sandwich" lay another layer of waterproofing material or just roofing material. This is optional, but if you live in a humid region with high groundwater, it's best to play it safe.

damper layer

Lay a damper tape over the walls, which will be slightly higher than the planned thickness of the screed. This is necessary in order to isolate the future screed from the bearing elements of the foundation or basement.

We remind you: the floor on the ground of the cake is strictly forbidden to be rigidly connected with the elements of the base.

Instead of tape, you can use strips of polystyrene foam, which also needs to be laid a little higher. Excess pieces can then be cut off.

floating screed

Such a screed performs several functions at once: it produces thermal insulation and sound insulation at the same time. The design feature of this screed is that the solution is placed on the surface of the insulation, and not on the base.

Well, or on a layer of roofing felt, if you covered the insulation with it from above. Here's what to look out for:

  • it is desirable to do everything at once. In large rooms, this will not be possible, so separate the finished and unfinished areas with partitions. This will create an expansion joint and help the screed to subsequently take on completely;
  • if possible, pour over plaster beacons;
  • the thickness of the screed should not exceed 20 centimeters, the minimum should not be less than 5. Be guided by the expected operational loads and the type of future flooring.

Reinforcement of the floor on the ground

Reinforcement is an important step that will help strengthen the concrete screed. The metal mesh will also serve to fix the pipes on it.

The reinforcing mesh should be a wire with square cells with a thickness of 5 to 10 centimeters. Depending on the design features, the thickness may vary.

The grid laying is as follows:

  • a protective layer is laid from below - a polymeric material. The thickness of this layer should not exceed 1.5 - 3 centimeters.
  • grid installation;
  • installation of special beacons (in small rooms this is not necessary);
  • pouring the mixture.

Walking on a non-hardened mixture is not advisable; it is better to install special paths along which you will move. Even when the mixture is taken, it is better to continue walking along these paths anyway, metal meshes have a much lower density and can bend under the weight of a person.

Stiffening ribs under partitions

In order for the cake of a warm water floor to hold better, it must be strengthened. This is done by stiffening ribs. To create them, it is laid under the partitions - a material that consists entirely of closed small cells.

The material must be laid intermittently, and the resulting voids should be used for laying the reinforcement. Thus, it should turn out that the entire structure is evenly reinforced with reinforcing bars.

Underfloor heating contours

For even greater savings in a warm floor on the ground, you can install it, this will allow you to create a literally warm floor. The reinforced mesh has just the right dimensions for placing a heating pipe on it.

To connect to the collectors, pipes are brought out near the walls. The walls must be pasted over with a protective tape. As for all other communications, they need a similar system.

After the final filling of the "pie" everything will be ready. Then you are free to do the floor the way you want. This design is just one of the possible options, if you wish, you can modify any of its elements. It all depends on your finances and construction conditions.

Video: underfloor heating cake on the ground

Floors on the ground are arranged in individual residential buildings, baths and utility rooms with all types of foundations, with the exception of columnar ones. On any soil, you can make a dry and warm floor. It is a reliable, practical and durable design.


Modern owners of private houses prefer to heat the premises through the floor. The best option for such heating is floors mounted directly on the ground. If we consider them in a section, then this is a layer cake, consisting of several layers. The bottom layer is the primer, and the top coat is the top coat. The layers are arranged in a certain sequence, each with its own purpose, thickness and function.

The main disadvantage of floors on the ground is the high financial costs and the time required for their manufacture. Requirements are also imposed on the soil: it should not be too loose, the standing groundwater should not be closer than 5–6 m.

The layered construction of a warm floor on the ground should provide sound and heat insulation, prevent the penetration of groundwater, not accumulate water vapor in the floor layers and create comfortable conditions for residents.

concrete floors

Concrete floors on the ground do not provide for a basement and space under the floor for its ventilation.

Important! When laying concrete floors on the ground with a close standing of groundwater, it should be borne in mind that their level can change within a short time. This must be taken into account when laying layers.

The classic floor on any soil consists of 10 layers:

Layers that protect against groundwater and distribute the load

  1. Cushion made of compacted clay. It is necessary to stop the rise of groundwater. If, after removing the layer of soil, you reach the clay, then it must be properly prepared. A layer of clay cuts off the penetration of groundwater upwards.
  2. Sand pillow. Its purpose is also to prevent the ingress of groundwater and equalize the load on the ground. Sand weakens the capillary rise of water and evenly distributes the pressure of the floor layers lying above it on the ground. Any sand will do.
  3. Large rubble. This is a kind of drainage, its purpose is to make the foundation strong, to distribute the load. It generally does not allow water to flow upwards due to the capillary property. Crushed stone is used fractions - 40–60 mm.

The first three layers should be placed in this order, each with a thickness of 10 cm in a compacted state. Layers must be rammed.

Advice. It is difficult to compact a thick layer of sand or clay manually, therefore, when dumping such a layer, thinner layers (10–15 cm) must be successively added and compacted.

  1. Waterproofing layer (roofing material or polyethylene film). It is placed directly on the crushed stone, and it serves both to protect the crushed stone from the concrete solution from flowing into it from above, and as an obstacle to the penetration of water vapor into the concrete layer from below. The film is laid with a whole sleeve (without cutting) with an overlap, wound onto the walls, gluing the places of overlaps with adhesive tape.
  2. Rough coupler 80 mm and thicker. For it, washed sand and fine gravel (10–20 mm) should be taken. Steel fiber is added to the solution or reinforcement is used. For the screed to be ready for the next stages of work, it needs to withstand a certain time.
  3. Waterproofing layer (coated waterproofing, roll or film). If the first layers are laid correctly and efficiently, roofing material without powder in 1-2 layers or a film with a thickness of at least 120 microns can be used for waterproofing. The waterproofing layer must be monolithic. If roofing material is used, the overlaps are smeared with bituminous mastic, the overlaps of the plastic film are glued with adhesive tape.
  4. Insulation. You can insulate the floor with expanded clay, extruded polystyrene foam, polystyrene foam. The thickness of polystyrene plates and foam sheets depends on climatic conditions, but not less than 5 cm. Expanded clay is covered with a layer of 15 cm.
  5. Waterproofing. On expanded clay or other insulation, it is recommended to lay waterproofing. This will protect the insulation from moisture from the upper layers and improve its thermal insulation properties. At this stage, a thick polyethylene film is used, which is laid in a continuous layer.
  6. The screed is clean. It can accommodate floor heating heaters (water heating circuits, cable mats or heating cable). A layer of finishing screed is poured 50 mm or more. It is reinforced using composite or steel reinforcement, fiber is added to the solution.
  7. Finish coating. If all layers are made in the specified order, any coating can be laid.

Pros and cons of concrete floors on the ground

Advantages

  • Reliably protect the room from the cold. No matter what the weather is outside, the soil will always be warm.
  • Any insulation and waterproofing materials are applicable, as well as any coatings for finishing the floor.
  • The main load is distributed over the ground, no additional calculations are required. If a heavy load is expected, you just need to increase the thickness of the three lower layers.
  • It is possible to organize the heating of the house through the floor, which will quickly heat up and evenly distribute heat, preventing drafts.
  • Protect the house from mold, reproduction of microorganisms.

disadvantages

  • It is required to take into account the location of the groundwater level.
  • They can significantly reduce the height of the room with certain design features of the house.
  • The technology is not applicable for pile and column foundations.
  • If a system malfunctions, its repair and dismantling is a very time-consuming and financial undertaking.
  • The installation of floors is a lengthy and complex procedure in terms of volume of work, as well as costly in finance, it is best to perform such work during the construction of a house.

How to make a concrete floor on the ground yourself

It is best to remove the soil and fill in the first three layers immediately after the construction of the foundation of the house. First, calculations are made to what depth the soil needs to be removed. The level of the finished floor is taken as the zero mark. Add up the dimensions for the thickness of each layer, for example:

  • laminate + substrate -1.5 cm;
  • screed + waterproofing - 6 cm;
  • thermal insulation + waterproofing - 6–11 cm;
  • concrete screed 8–10 cm;
  • crushed stone, sand, clay - 15 + 15 + 10 cm;

The total value is 61.5 cm. If the layers are thicker, the soil will have to be removed to a greater depth. Add 5 cm to the resulting depth.

A hole is dug over the entire area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe building to the calculated depth and the soil is removed. For the convenience of subsequent work on the walls of the foundation along the entire perimeter, the levels of the floor layers are marked. This will make it easier to align them. The soil does not necessarily contain clay, for clarity, we give the procedure for working on soil that does not have a layer of clay.

Floors on the ground: preparation and pouring

Clay.

Any clay is poured with a layer thickness of at least 10 cm. It is leveled and watered abundantly with weak liquid glass (solution of 1 part of glass in 4 parts of water). The wet layer is tamped with a piece of timber 200x200mmx1.5 m. On a large area, you can use a vibrotamping or vibrocompacting machine by renting it. If, as a result of compaction, the layer turned out to be thinner, the clay is poured and compacted again.

Advice: a durable rammer can be made from a channel cut (20x30 cm) by welding a piece of a metal pipe into it, into which sand is poured for weighting.

Clay is one of the layers of the concrete floor

The leveled compacted clay layer is poured with milk from cement (2 kg of cement is stirred into 10 liters of water) so that there are no puddles, and left for a day so that the process of chemical interaction of cement with liquid glass is completed completely. Walking on it at this time is not recommended.

Sand

Trying not to walk on the prepared clay layer, they pour sand on 15 cm. You can walk on it. It is leveled and also compacted to the appropriate mark on the wall of the foundation of the house.

rubble

It is covered with sand and also carefully compacted with a rammer. Especially carefully align the rubble in the corners, tamping it tightly. The result should be a flat horizontal surface.

Polyethylene film

Uncut sleeves are laid with an overlap of 10–15 cm, led onto the walls by 3–5 cm. The overlaps are carefully glued with adhesive tape. It is recommended to move in shoes with soft soles, trying not to damage the film with sharp edges of pieces of rubble. Although experts say that this is just a technological technique, the film also performs its waterproofing functions.

Rough coupler

For it, you can order ready-made "skinny" concrete or make a solution yourself by mixing M500 cement with crushed stone and sand in a volume ratio of 1: 4: 3. Metal fiber is also added to the mixture in the amount of 1–1.5 kg per 1 m 3 of the solution. The solution can be poured, aligning with beacons or marks on the walls of the foundation. It should be borne in mind that the even horizontal surface of the rough screed will simplify the further stages of the floor installation.

After two days, the concrete is ironed with a mixture (10: 1) of water with liquid glass and dry cement. They do it this way: with a roller or spray gun, moisten the entire surface of the screed with a solution, then sprinkle it with a thin layer of dry cement and rub it with a grater into the concrete. This technique will increase the strength of concrete by an order of magnitude and increase its resistance to water. The screed needs at least 1.5 months to fully mature, but subsequent work can be carried out after 1-2 weeks.

Waterproofing

The prepared rough screed is covered with liquid bitumen (primer), especially carefully smearing the corners and capturing 5 cm of the walls. On such a bitumen-treated base, strips of roofing material are glued with an overlap of 10 cm and a 5 cm overhang of the walls. In places of overlap, the strips are heated with a hairdryer or coated with bituminous mastic.

The strips of the second layer are placed offset by half the strip in the same way. Ruberoid is especially carefully glued in the corners of the room. When performing this type of work, it is recommended to move on the floor in shoes with soft soles.

thermal insulation

The purpose of laying this layer is clear. The best material in this case would be extruded polystyrene foam (EPS) slabs. A 5 cm thick sheet of this heat insulator replaces expanded clay, poured with a layer of 70 cm in its effectiveness. The material practically does not absorb water and is characterized by high compressive strength.

In order for XPS sheets to serve more efficiently, they are recommended to be laid in 2 layers, each of them 3 cm thick, shifting the joints by 1/3 or ½ sheets. This will completely eliminate cold bridges and improve the thermal insulation properties of the insulation. The joints of the XPS boards in each layer should be glued with special adhesive tape.

If expanded clay or mineral wool is used as a heater, an additional layer of waterproofing material, for example, a polyethylene film, will be required to protect the insulation from the moisture of the finishing screed.

Finishing screed

Along the perimeter of the room, a damper tape 1.5–2.0 cm is fixed to the walls for the entire height of the screed. The end of the damper tape is fixed on the insulation boards. The screed is reinforced with a 3mm masonry mesh with a mesh size of 100x100. If it is planned to install a warm electric floor, a reflective waterproofing material is placed on the XPS sheets. When installing water heating circuits, the thickness of the screed will be needed more, the water heating pipes must be in the thickness of the screed.

The reinforcing mesh is positioned in such a way that it is in the screed and does not protrude onto its surface. To do this, use coasters, pieces of wooden bars, metal profiles or, for example, corks from plastic bottles. The combination of reinforcement and leveling beacons is a rather complicated task, therefore it is recommended to pour the screed according to the mark on the walls, and then pour a self-leveling self-leveling floor over it with a thin layer.

For screed, ready-made dry mixes are used or a solution is prepared from washed river sand and cement in a ratio of 3: 1. The work is done quickly. The screed will be hardened for 4-5 days, and its final readiness will be in a month. The use of ready-made mixtures with special additives will accelerate the maturation of the screed. Its readiness is checked with a paper napkin, laid on the floor and covered with a sheet of polyethylene. If the napkin remains dry in a day, the screed is ready for applying a self-leveling mixture and installing top coats.

Wooden floor on the ground on logs

In private homes, wooden floors are most often made. There are several reasons for this:

  • in frame houses, the wooden floor is a continuation of the overall structure of the building;
  • wood is a natural material that is safe for the health and life of the residents of the house. Some types of wood have a beneficial effect on health;
  • the tree is easy to process and lay even for a beginner in construction work;
  • wood treatment with antiseptics significantly increases its service life;
  • floors are easy to repair and open if necessary.

The device of a wooden floor on the ground in a private house on the ground floor is quite feasible with your own hands. The floor can be insulated, communications, a basement can be hidden under it. It is laid on logs, which can be mounted when tying the strip foundation.

As a log, logs sawn into two halves, bars with an aspect ratio of 1: 1.5, double thick boards of coniferous wood are used. If the logs were not mounted when tying the foundation, they can be placed on prepared soil or on brick posts on a concrete base.

Logs are placed at a distance, which is determined by the thickness of the floorboard. So, if the board is 50 mm, the logs are set after 100 cm, if the board is 35 mm, the logs are set after 60 cm. The first and last logs are installed at a distance of 20 cm from the wall, the rest are placed between them. If the distance between the lags is somewhat greater than required, then the number of lags is increased, and the extreme ones are not shifted. If the room is rectangular, the logs are laid along a long wall. For a square room, there is not much difference.

Installing a lag on the ground (cold floor without underground)

Work is performed in the following order:

  1. They calculate to what depth to take out the soil, based on the thickness of the log, layers of sand, crushed stone, clay or expanded clay.
  2. They remove the completely fertile layer of the earth and dig deeper, based on the estimated depth. The remaining soil is well leveled and compacted over the entire area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe future floor. Compaction should be done with a rammer. On large areas, you can use a vibrator to compact the soil.
  3. Pour any sand with a layer of 15 cm or more and the same layer of rubble (or construction waste) and tamp. If the house stands on clay soil, a layer of clay is poured and rammed, and then sand and gravel are successively applied to it. If the soil is sandy, then you can fill up a layer of calcined sand or slag ventilated for at least a year. You can pour a layer of expanded clay. The thickness of all layers of the fill should be approximately three times the height of the lag. All layers are carefully leveled and rammed.
  4. Logs treated with an antiseptic are installed on the leveled top layer (sand, slag or expanded clay), they are sunk into the bedding and well rammed around. The upper level of the lag should be positioned so that the floor boards are in the desired position. Logs are attached to the foundation or lower crown.
  5. Floor boards are mounted along the lags.

Logs on brick columns (warm floor with underground)

Usually logs are installed on posts stacked in 2 bricks (25x25 cm).

  • The fertile soil is removed, the remaining soil is leveled and rammed.
  • Carry out the marking of the locations of the columns under the logs (in the event that the logs are not installed when tying the foundation). The height of the columns depends on which part of the wall the logs will rest on. This can be a beam of the first row or a grillage (a roofing-covered beam of the foundation binding).
  • The cords are pulled so that they are located above the center of all the planned posts, and from the cords at an equal distance, pegs are driven into the ground to the width of the brick posts (25 cm in each direction).

Bases for posts

In marked places, pits are dug 40x40 cm in size and 15–25 cm deep on rocky or sandy soil and up to 45 cm on clay and loose soils. A layer of sand 10 cm and a layer of crushed stone of a large fraction of 10 cm are successively poured into deep pits and rammed.

Advice: If the groundwater level is close, the pits can be filled with a layer of clay 20–25 cm and compacted (this is a clay castle).

  • The bottom of the pits is covered with plastic wrap or roofing material.
  • The concrete base under the brick columns is poured so that it protrudes 5 cm above the level of the compacted soil. To do this, install the formwork from the boards (about 5 cm high above the ground) and the reinforcement in the pits. As reinforcement, you can use a wire or a mesh with cells of 10x10 cm.
  • Concrete is poured (cement: sand: crushed stone (fr. 5–10 mm) = 1: 3: 2–3 and water to a thick consistency) and left for several days to mature.

Making columns

  • A roofing material is laid on a concrete base in 1–2 layers so that it protrudes 1–2 cm beyond the edges.
  • Brick columns of 2 bricks are laid out strictly vertically (on a plumb line) on the roofing material so that the last layer of bricks is perpendicular to the direction of the log. To obtain a solution, cement M100 and sand are mixed in a volume ratio of 1: 3 and water is added by eye.
  • A roofing material is placed on the post and a lining made of antiseptic-treated plywood or square-shaped OSB boards is placed on it so that it protrudes 2 cm beyond their edges.

Installation and alignment of the lag

Logs are installed on these linings. Leveling the lag is a long and painstaking job. For this, linings are used or part of the support is cut off. As a result, all lags should be at the same level.

Having aligned, they are attached to the posts with corners, and to the elements of the walls or foundation - with special fastening systems used for the construction of frame houses. Holes are pre-drilled in concrete and dowels are inserted.

Floor installation

The last stage of the process - installation of the floor

  • For a floor with insulation, bars of 30x50 or 50x50 mm are attached to the bottom of the log, on which a draft floor is laid from a thin unedged board 20 mm thick.
  • A vapor barrier (vapor barrier membrane) is laid on the subfloor.
  • A soft insulation (mineral wool) is placed on the membrane, so that its sheets fit snugly between the lags and tightly adjoin one another, not reaching about 2 cm to the top of the lag.
  • Floor boards are laid along the logs.

Do-it-yourself floors on the ground

There are different methods of laying panel heating. One of them is a warm floor on the ground. The peculiarity is that such heating is done during the construction of the building, and not later on its operation, due to the desire to modernize housing.

Having planned to make a warm floor on the ground in a private house, you should break all the work into two stages: a rough screed is poured onto the lower layers, then all the other layers of the cake are laid out. This is an iron rule for laying, dictated by the possible shrinkage of the soil.

The design of the warm floor, which is laid in the premises, resembles a kind of "pie", since it consists of several layers.

Pouring a warm floor on the ground directly depends on the characteristics of the soil. It must meet certain requirements and standards.

So, groundwater should be no higher than 5–6 meters from the level of the upper layer. It is important that the soil of the site does not have a high value of friability and airiness. Therefore, construction work on sandstones and black soil is not allowed. It is also important to take into account the load that will fall on the structure during operation. The floor arrangement must provide the following:

  • reliable thermal insulation of the room;
  • prevent groundwater from flooding the premises;
  • eliminate external noise;
  • prevent the penetration of water vapor;
  • ensure the comfort of residents.

Water heated floor on the ground

Surface heating design is an excellent solution for living rooms and work areas with a large area (more than 20 m2). Here you can use electric heating or water. In small rooms (bathroom, balcony or loggia), it is quite difficult to place pipes. Therefore, the use of electric underfloor heating is allowed (and even recommended). As a rule, everyone strives to provide comfort in the first place in large rooms. It is worth considering the water floor on the ground, its features.

It's important to know! In high-rise buildings, it is prohibited to lay a water panel heating system together with a centralized heat source. This is due to the depressurization of the system, the introduction of additional resistances in the project calculated in advance, which will interfere with correct operation.

Based on this, it should be understood that to connect heating, it is worth considering the presence of an autonomous heat source. And for this you need to apply to the relevant government agencies for permission.

There are several methods for installing water systems. But for each of them you need to provide the following:

  1. When laying on the ground, it is worth taking care of organizing a kind of “cushion”. The first layer of sand is laid (thickness 5–7 cm), then comes the fine stone (layer thickness 8–10 cm).
  2. The second stage is waterproofing. You can use almost all available materials. Suitable bitumen-rubber or bitumen-polymer mastic. Alternatively, a pasting type can be used. This option has reinforcement in the form of fiberglass.
  3. You can not do without thermal insulation. You can use polystyrene foam. The thickness of this layer is variable and depends on the calculations being carried out.
  4. An additional layer of foil-coated roll-type insulation can be used (this is an auxiliary structure, so this step can be skipped).
  5. Laying underfloor heating pipes on the ground.
  6. A screed is made over the pipeline. Reinforcing it with a mesh will also be required. The height of such a structure, together with the heating elements, should be 50–70 mm. This is done to quickly warm up the coating. Reinforcement is carried out over the design of the warm floor. This is done in order to evenly distribute the load on the system.
  7. Finish coating. Here it is allowed to use materials that are not amenable to the thermal effects of the underfloor heating system.

The main mistakes when installing a warm floor on the ground

How to make a floor screed on the ground for a warm floor

The current methods of installing a concrete screed on the ground are divided, as a rule, into 4 main stages:

  • preparatory work;
  • pouring concrete screed;
  • plane processing;
  • cake sealing.

Of particular importance is the layered structure of the cake. It includes the following:

  • base (it must be compacted before performing subsequent work);
  • fine sand;
  • crushed stone;
  • waterproofing layer;
  • primary concrete coating;
  • steam protection;
  • panel or roll insulation;
  • finished concrete screed with reinforcement.

Preparatory work begins with leveling. This will determine the level of the soil and the floor of the future building. The soil must be compacted through the use of special units.

The waterproofing layer can be made of membrane materials. The only requirement for it is integrity. Otherwise, damage may be fraught with flooding. The maximum tightness of the layer will be achieved by overlapping it with fastening the parts with mounting tape.

The rough screed is made of lean concrete with an admixture of fine crushed stone. There are no special requirements for such a surface. By the way, it can have differences in height up to 4 mm.

Insulation of floors on the ground involves the use of high-quality materials. Ideally, this layer should perform the function of not only thermal insulation, but also protect the room from water penetration. This will help protect your home from flooding.

Installation of the finishing screed is carried out in several steps.

Important! Reinforcement directly depends on the design loads on the warm floor.

With a small value, you can use the road grid. If the expected loads are large enough, then it is recommended to use a frame made of iron rods with a diameter of 8 mm.

At the end of the work, the installation of guide beacons and the final pouring of the cement-concrete mixture are carried out. The final step is leveling the floor.

Heat loss through the floor on the ground. How to make a calculation?

Heat losses through the floor structure are calculated a little differently than through other enclosing structures. Before laying heating, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with the method of their determination.

The entire plane is divided into zones of a certain size. There are 4 in total:

  1. The horizontal component of zone I is 2 m from the wall. The vertical component is the thickness of the bearing wall that needs to be insulated. It is 1.5 m.
  2. Zone II is another 2 meters of floor. The area starts directly from zone I to the center of the room for which the calculation is carried out.
  3. Zone III - the next 2 meters. This area originates from zone II.
  4. And zone IV is the remaining floor area of ​​the room.

After a sketch is drawn. If the room is small, then the conditional division may not be 4, but 2-3 zones. Next, the thermal resistance is determined for each area.

The regulatory literature says that it should be equal to 2.1 m2 ° C / W. To ensure this indicator, you need to know the thermal conductivity of each layer of the cake. The second area has a standard resistance of 4.3 m2°C/W. The third is 8.6, and the fourth is 14.2.

After determining the thermal resistances for each zone, you must immediately calculate the area. In addition, you should know the difference in temperature between outdoor and indoor air. For the calculated value, it is worth taking the temperature of the coldest five-day period.

After that, heat losses are calculated, guided by the formula:

  • Q = S*T/R, where:
  • Q - heat loss, W
  • S is the estimated area of ​​each zone, m2
  • R – thermal resistance of the enclosing structure, m2°С/W
  • T is the temperature difference.

When the calculation of heat loss for each floor zone is completed, you need to calculate the total value for the entire room. To do this, you need to add the results obtained for each section.

Underfloor heating cake on the ground: laying features

The earthen base on which the heating will be mounted must be prepared. To do this, the soil is leveled, the top layer is compacted. If necessary, a layer of backfill is laid on the ground. It consists of crushed stone or gravel. Most often, the material of the middle fraction is used. This prevents capillary penetration of groundwater into the room. The need to lay such a "cushion" arises only in the case of a high level of groundwater.

The rough screed layer, which was mentioned above, also has certain nuances. The thickness should be between 50 and 100 mm. Used brand of concrete - M100 or M200. It is advisable to reinforce the sole in the case when the soil was poorly compacted. Also, its use is justified in the case when there are discrepancies in the density of the base.

Advice. In the presence of pits or trenches, reinforcement is a necessary element of the pie.

A rough screed for underfloor heating on the ground in a private house can be laid on the floor of the basement. This is done in order to level the plane. The thickness of such a layer should not be less than 3 cm.

There is also such a phenomenon as a dry screed. Its use has gained popularity due to the fact that there are no wet concrete works. It is advisable to use technology only for arranging a rough screed.

When laying a warm floor on the ground, you should also take care of the deformation layer. A damper tape will help here. The material will negate the likelihood of a thermal bridge. It also compensates for the load generated by the heating of the concrete pavement. This prevents the screed from expanding and cracking. The damper tape is laid on all sides of the external enclosing structures. But this is done only after applying the plaster and preparatory work for the final finishing of the building.

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