Warm water floors in a wooden house. How to make a warm floor in a wooden house - options and instructions for performing work

Among all types of heating, the installation of a water-heated floor in a wooden house is perhaps the most complex and difficult. When laying, it is required to take into account the features of the building, choose the optimal type of flooring and strictly follow the phased installation plan.

Is water heating a wooden floor possible?

In fact, no matter what skeptics say, arranging a warm water floor in a wooden house made of timber is not only a possible, but also a reasonable solution to the issue of heating. Of course, you will have to take into account certain nuances associated with the peculiarity of the operation of a wooden house.

So, for example, it is forbidden to heat the floors above 30 degrees. The wooden surface under the influence of high temperatures is easily deformed, turns into dust. Therefore, a water-heated floor on a wooden base must not be connected to the central heating circuit, but a separate heat source should be used for this purpose.

A cake of a warm water floor in a wooden country house greatly limits the possibility of using a concrete screed. The heating system will have to be laid dry, which also creates certain inconveniences.

When choosing a floor covering, it should be noted that some popular finishing materials: laminate, parquet board - when heated above 25 ° C, they begin to emit toxic formaldehyde fumes.

Most manufacturers of heating equipment take into account the need for the simultaneous use of two heating circuits with different heating intensities, providing customers with boilers with the ability to connect heating radiators and underfloor heating.

Variants of the device of a wooden floor with water heating

There are several options for arranging underfloor heating in a wooden house. The choice of laying method is selected depending on the technical characteristics of the building.

Common mounting methods are:

• Mats - represent ready-made structures with grooves for laying a water circuit. You can lay the mats on a flat subfloor. To do this, pre-trim the surface with plywood flooring or QSB - plates. The modular type floor does not require the use of cement mixtures. From above, polypropylene pipes close the DSP, lay the floor covering.
• Installation of warm concrete water floors over wooden structures. Before installation, provide maximum insulation of wooden elements from moisture. All work is carried out exclusively with ready-made compositions with a short drying period.
• Milling a wooden floor for pipes of a warm water floor system. With the help of cutters, the machine cuts out recesses for the passage of the pipeline. The wooden base begins to function as mats. As a result, the cost of flooring components is reduced. The disadvantage of milling is the complexity of the process. But with a specialized tool, installation time can be minimized.

Laying water heated floors on a wooden floor can be done by other methods. There is the following way. In a wooden frame, a pipeline is simply laid under the logs. The plank floor is disassembled, the water circuit is laid, after which the flooring is laid back.

To protect the tree from moisture as much as possible, the water circuit is laid in a special corrugation. The corrugation protects against the effects of water even in the event of leakage.

How to make water floors in a wooden house

The device of a warm water floor on a wooden floor with your own hands is practically no different from the structures used in other buildings. The exception is the special safety measures necessary to protect wooden surfaces from moisture.

Practice has shown that the best option would be to use pipes made of polypropylene.

Installation work is carried out as follows:

The maximum length of the water circuit should not exceed 70 m. If this is not enough for the heated area, so-called water floor laying zones are created. To ensure uniform flow to each heating circuit, a water manifold is installed.

Which floor coverings are suitable

The choice of material is limited both by subsequent operation and by the method of manufacturing the heating system.

Traditionally, the following types of flooring are used:

• Ceramic tile– the advantage of ceramics is the rapid heating of the surface and high heat transfer. Use is limited to hallway, bathroom, kitchen and non-residential areas. When choosing ceramic tiles, heated floors must be poured with a screed, or covered with a cement-bonded particle board.
• Laminate and parquet board– there are two types of laying water heating on wooden floors: on mats or prepared strobes. Laminate or parquet can be laid regardless of the installation method. The only drawback of the floor covering is the impossibility of heating the surface above 25°C.
• Ordinary board - you can also lay a water-heated floor on wooden beams with your own hands, laying boards over the water circuit. The solution does not require significant financial investments. This method is chosen if it is not possible to reduce the distance to the ceiling. Subsequently, it is possible to additionally lay linoleum or laminate.

1. Perforator.
2. Rules.
3. Angle grinder for cutting rebar.
4. Building level.

To work with wooden surfaces, a set of cutters and drills, a powerful drill are useful.

What mistakes should be avoided during installation

The design features on a wooden base are that any violations and changes in the phased installation of heating will lead to problems in operation. The appearance of condensate and leakage is critical.

The pipe laying system does not allow the following violations:

Underfloor heating for a wooden house is a smart solution. Subject to the recommendations regarding installation, you can avoid possible difficulties in the process of future operation.

Wooden houses are popular due to their environmental friendliness, unique microclimate, it is easy to breathe in them. Wooden walls hold heat well and promote air exchange. To create complete comfort, it is necessary to equip underfloor heating that will last a long time.

There are various options for insulation: heat-insulating materials, the installation of a water or electrical system "warm floor". Insulation is used for wooden flooring. The second method is more applicable to concrete pavement. Each method has its own technology that you need to know in order to complete the installation yourself.

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Wooden floors - how to properly insulate

There are single-layer and multi-layer wooden floors. The first type can spread with or without a lag. The second type is a system consisting of a rough, finishing floor, hydro- and heat-insulating layers and a floor covering. They are built on logs, if there is a foundation, or on pillars. Heating elements are located in the interior space.

Warming is necessary for any floor. Mineral wool, polystyrene foam, polyurethane are taken as a heat insulator, but options for using sawdust, shavings, and bulk materials are possible. Regardless of the insulation used, the gap between it and the coating should be within 1.5-5 cm for free air circulation.

Subfloor insulation

The floors in a wooden house must be strong, with good air ventilation. To do this, a rough base is built under them, which serves as the basis for laying hydro-, heat-insulating layers and a top coat. It provides an air gap that retains heat and protects the surface from warping and putrefactive processes. This helps the floor stay in perfect condition longer.

It is a mistake to consider the rough floor as the basis for flooring. Most often, the substrate is made from sheet materials (plywood or chipboard) or wooden boards that are placed on logs. With its help, the surface is leveled and an even finishing material is laid. In addition, it serves to evenly distribute the weight to the overlapping areas. This approach is used in both monolithic and wooden houses.

The subfloor is the lowest layer of boards. It is laid on beams or floor logs, used as a base for thermal and waterproofing. When installing it, you need to take care of air circulation under the main floor so that the boards under it do not rot. To do this, holes are made in the corners of the house, which are closed with a grate. The foundation needs protection from moisture. For this, a high-quality blind area is performed, coating waterproofing materials are used, roofing material is laid.

Then you need to treat the boards, logs and crowns of the subfloor with a special antiseptic that will protect wooden materials from destruction and fungal attack. You can use insect repellent or used oil.

Carry out laying in several ways:

• On the cranial bars, used as beam shoulders, they are nailed along the edges of the beams.
• In special grooves on the bars, which are cut out in the form of the letter “H” lying on its side.
• On beam shoulders, resembling the shape of the letter "T".

In order for the floor not to be cold, it needs additional insulation. The easiest way to lay it on the cranial bars. Then layers are made of a waterproofing agent, a heat insulator (mineral wool) and a vapor barrier.



Then a finishing one is laid from chipboard or grooved boards. At the end, a floor covering is laid - linoleum, laminate or another.

It is recommended to insulate carefully so that the temperature of the floor surface and the air in the room do not differ by more than 2 degrees. This difference is explained by the rules. Otherwise, cold boards when walking barefoot will create discomfort.

When choosing a heater, you need to pay attention to such criteria as weight, fire safety, environmental friendliness, ease of installation, strength, thermal insulation qualities, durability. The best option is mineral wool, which does not absorb moisture, is fire resistant, etc. Styrofoam is less suitable, it is susceptible to fire.



To organize the waterproofing layer, roofing material, polyethylene and isoplast are taken.

After choosing the material, the installation begins. The rough base is mounted first, hydro-, steam- and thermal insulation are successively placed on top. At the final stage, a finishing floor is laid. For this, a milled wooden board is used, on the back of which there should be 2 cm vents. They are needed for air access to the floor.

In the absence of these boards, tongue-and-groove, folded, with spikes of various shapes, with tongue-and-groove slats are used. In such coatings there are no holes for air circulation, so you need to increase the gaps when installing on logs. The boards are laid along the growth rings so that they have a different direction. Now you can lay the finish coat.

A comparative analysis of underfloor heating systems is presented in the table:

View	Description	A photo
Water	Difficult and expensive to install. They create a high load on wooden floors due to their own weight and a thick layer of concrete screed. Cheap to operate, safe. They have inertial properties - they heat up and cool down smoothly, which is ideal for various floor coverings
Electrical cables	Insignificant weight, small thickness does not lead to loss of room height, as is the case with water systems. The disadvantage is that there is a possibility of a short circuit and fire. Perceptible electricity consumption
Electrical mats from cables	Electric mats from cables. Simple installation scheme. The heating element has a smaller section than traditional cable systems. Great for underfloor heating with ceramic tiles
Infrared film	The cheapest, fastest and easiest option to install. Possibility of installation with your own hands. Lightweight, have a small thickness, low inertia, average power consumption. The thermostat allows you to quickly adjust the temperature. Partial repair of the system is possible. Good for laminate

Water system - installation instructions

The basis for water systems of the “warm floor” type is a pipeline through which a heated coolant moves. Often it is water, so this method is called that.

The system is laid on the floor and connected to autonomous or central heating. A pump is installed in the pipeline to circulate the coolant. Pipes can be made of any material - plastic, metal-plastic, with or without seams.

For a wooden house, copper pipes would be ideal, but their main drawback is the price. If we take the price-quality ratio as a basis, then it is worth giving preference to seamless metal-plastic products. They are safe, resistant to high temperatures and aggressive environments.

Piping Options

Pipe laying can be done in different ways, differing in the fastening of elements to the floor:

• Special guide rails made of plastic. Their adhesive side is fixed on the base, and pipes are laid in the grooves located on top.
• Brackets for fixing. This method is very laborious, not to mention the unaesthetic appearance, which does not play a big role, since the screed will hide all the ugliness.
• Mounting sheets. They are placed on top of the heat-insulating layer, and the pipes are laid in special bosses. This method is not only simple, but also reliable - the elements are well fixed. An alternative to such a material is a heat insulator 45 mm thick, which has recesses for fastening.
• Plastic staples. Usually they are found together with the material for thermal insulation.

Judging by the reviews, the best way to install a warm floor in a wooden house is a screed. The method has the highest energy efficiency due to concrete, which has good thermal conductivity. To ensure a comfortable temperature in housing, it is enough to heat the water in the system to 45 degrees. The air in the room warms up quickly, due to the large area of ​​​​the heat source - the floor surface.



Installation of a warm floor under a concrete screed

Work begins with the laying of heat-insulating material on the floor base. There are no special restrictions on the choice. It is important that it has a metallized layer, then the heat will be reflected upwards from it. Thermal insulation can be dispensed with when the water system is located on the floor of the second floor of the house. This will heat the rooms on the ground floor.

A pipeline is attached to the heat-insulating material by any of the described methods. The frequency of fastening depends on the size of the room and the performance of building materials. Basically, the step is 20-30 cm.

It is not recommended to create a closed water circuit with a length of more than 100 m. If the room has a large area, it is better to design several of them in it. This is due to the fact that the water in the system with a long pipeline will cool down quickly and will not warm up the room. When calculating the length, the distance for connecting to the boiler must be taken into account.

A damper tape is attached to the walls of the room along the perimeter. It does not allow the screed to collapse during thermal expansion, it allows you to make a gap that compensates for the effects of temperature changes. You can save money by taking cut porous material as a damper. The last step is concreting.



Step-by-step instructions for constructing a concrete base

The minimum thickness for the screed is 3 cm, but it is desirable that it be at least 5 cm. You can use both a ready-made solution and a prepared one yourself.

Concrete work is carried out in several steps:

1. 1. Beating the floor level. To do this, marks are applied to the walls, which are connected to each other by a horizontal line. For a more accurate measurement, you can use a thread stretched between two screwed screws.
2. 2. Installation of beacons. In the future, they will be useful for leveling the concrete layer. For their exposure, bars or profiles are used.
3. 3. Filling with mortar. Concrete is placed on the base a little higher than the lighthouses. Then, using the rule, the surface is leveled to the desired level and polished with a trowel.
4. 4. The screed must be allowed to dry for 12 hours. After that, it is moistened with water for 3-4 days.
5. 5. When the layer is completely dry, final grinding is performed using a trowel. Expansion joints are cut along the walls to reduce possible loads.

After that lay the floor covering.

Water floor without screed

A water floor in wooden houses can be made without a concrete base. This is due to the fact that it gives a large load on the wooden structure. The disadvantage of the method is low energy efficiency, since the thermal conductivity of wood is less than that of concrete. The second disadvantage is the inability to provide uniform heating of the wooden floor, there are areas with different heating temperatures.

It is possible to minimize such shortcomings by organizing a smaller step during the installation of the pipeline. But since this parameter depends on the distance between the floors, its implementation is possible if the design of the house allows. The second option is to lay a layer with a metallized coating under the water system, which will reflect heat upward and reduce heat loss.



Pipes can be laid both between the lags and inside the timber, if grooves are made in it. Another effective method is to construct a subfloor from a 20 mm thick board.

Electrical systems - installation features

In the case of electrical systems, when installing a warm floor, a number of requirements must be observed:

• Arrange high-quality waterproofing of the sexual base.
• The main element is the heating cable, it is laid out evenly over the entire surface.
• The system must be equipped with a thermostat with the ability to control the temperature up to 40 degrees.
• The maximum thickness of the wooden flooring should reach 25 cm.
• Experts do not recommend using carpet as a finish.

It is forbidden to lay the cable in places where heavy furniture is placed.

There are several types of underfloor heating with electricity:

• A heating mat is a cable mesh that is convenient to install, as it should simply be spread out.
• Heating cable - consists of special wires, sold in coils.
• Infrared film floors have a minimum thickness, but at the same time they have high power.
• Carbon rods (graphite plates) are installed and work on the principle of film coating.

Installation Features

It is best to lay the electrical system under a thin cement screed. As a floor covering, ceramic tiles are ideal, but any material can be laid.

It is obligatory to organize the underlying surface from a heat insulator with a metallized coating. Then a warm floor is located on it, regardless of its type. Cables are connected to the electrical network, sensors and covered with floorboards.



To ease the load on the structure, you can not use a cement screed. Then you need to mount the subfloor. First, guides are placed on the floors. Between them arrange a layer of thermal insulation. Then the entire surface is covered with a welded mesh.

A power cable is laid on the prepared base. In places where it crosses the bars, cuts are made so that all elements are on the same level. Metal foil is placed in the sawn grooves. The cable is attached to the base with a mounting tape, clamps to the wall. Next lay the finishing floor. As a coating, a tongue-and-groove board or with a tongue-and-groove connection is suitable.

Before fixing the finished floor, you need to connect the electrical system to a power source and check its operation for two days. If there are no problems, the wooden flooring is fixed and covered with a top coat.

Underfloor heating systems, due to their many advantages, have gained wide popularity among homeowners, including owners of wooden private cottages. But in this case, the installation of underfloor heating has its own nuances, since concrete bases are rarely made in such houses, on which they are laid in the traditional way. In this article we will talk about these nuances and how best to arrange a water-heated floor in a wooden house.

Ways to install underfloor heating

In wooden buildings, underfloor heating with a heat carrier can be installed in 2 ways:

• Traditional, under a cement-sand mortar screed.
• "Dry" way, on wooden logs or beams

Since in houses made of wooden beams the floors of the first floor or the ceiling above the basement are often concrete, the traditional method of installing floor water systems cannot be completely swept aside. Moreover, you should not be smart on such grounds with a warm floor on wooden logs, this will lead to unnecessary costs, and the result may not meet your expectations. It is better to arrange a heating system under the screed on draft concrete floors, and only then lay a floor covering made of wood.

A completely different situation is when the house is with wooden floors. You should not run a screed with a heating circuit on them, and here's why:

• The cement-sand screed exerts an additional load, for which the overlap 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 provide compensation for the expansion of the heating circuit, which is quite difficult and costly.

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 structures, leading to material cracks. In such conditions, the screed will certainly suffer.

The use of various electric floor heating systems is not excluded, of which the most acceptable option is the use of infrared floor heating for heating a wooden house. A thin polymer film with heating elements applied on 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, embedding a heating circuit for water in them. In this situation, there is simply no alternative to heating floor circuits with coolant.

The device of water heated floors in a "dry" way

Logs and wooden floor beams are used as load-bearing structural elements of the floor in houses. Logs are installed on a solid base or on many point supports, while beams have 2 points of support at the edges and, in some cases, are additionally supported by partitions. Since the beam is the supporting structure of the floor, it is not allowed to make any grooves or cuts in it, this is the main difficulty when installing a warm floor in a wooden house. The only way out is to lay a rough floor from boards or chipboard sheets, and from it already start the installation of a “pie” for underfloor heating.

The situation with lags is somewhat different. When the beam is laid on a solid solid base, then it has the possibility of cutting grooves for the pipes of the water circuit and it is not necessary 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 arranging a draft floor on top of the beams or log, a layer of heat-insulating material is laid between them. For laying a warm floor on wooden logs of the first floor, the thickness of the insulation must be at least 80 mm, and 20-30 mm is sufficient for overlapping. At the same time, a waterproofing layer of polyethylene film should be laid under the heat-insulating material on the ground floor.

Under the pretext that all floors of a private house make up a single space, many installation manuals for underfloor heating indicate that it is not necessary to insulate the floors. Like, there is nothing wrong with part of the heat of 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 floor heating system is located, it may not be enough. In order for heat to spread 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 heat-insulating material has been laid and the rough base made of boards or chipboard has been mounted, it is necessary to ensure that all the heat of the heating circuit is reflected upwards. This is done in 2 ways:

• It is necessary to start the device of warm wooden floors with laying a foil reflective layer over the entire surface. In the case when the pipes of the circuit are planned to be laid directly on the insulation and through the cuts in the logs, the foil is laid only between them.
• A more expensive way is with the help of board wood materials and profiled sheets of galvanized metal. Having drawn a diagram of the layout of the contours of underfloor heating on a wooden base, in the intervals between the pipe routes, parts from 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, pipes made of metal-plastic with a diameter of 16 mm (DU10) are most often used. The laying step here must be observed less than in warm floors under the screed, since heat transfer in our case will not be as effective. The pipe with the coolant transfers heat to the coating not directly, but through the air gap, hence the decrease in heat transfer. Accordingly, the pipe laying step should be on average 150 mm, maximum - 200 mm. After that, the circuit is connected to the manifold, checked for leaks, and you can lay the finish coat for the wooden floor.

Floor heating "under the screed"

The underfloor heating installation technology, which provides for embedding the contours in a cement-sand mortar screed, is widespread and well known, the floor pie is shown in the figure:

First you need to provide waterproofing for the future slab by laying a plastic film over the concrete preparation. Then, in order to compensate for the thermal expansion of the screed, a damper tape is attached along the entire perimeter of the room along the walls, after which a heater is laid over the entire surface of the base.

In order for water-heated floors to have good heat dissipation, a foil film with markings is placed on top of the thermal insulation, along which the pipes are laid out. 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. Pipe fastening is carried out using special strips or plastic "harpoons". At the end, the circuit is connected to the distributor and checked for leaks.

The last step is pouring the screed. The optimal thickness of the solution layer is 3-5 cm above the top of the pipe, the time for complete solidification is 3 weeks. After that, you can finally make a warm floor in a wooden house by laying a top coat over the screed.

Conclusion

Mounting a warm water floor on a wooden floor is somewhat more difficult than under a screed, and its heat transfer is less. But don't let that worry you, it won't affect energy consumption in any way. Just keep in mind that floor circuits will not be enough for full heating and you will need to provide a radiator heating system.

Low-temperature heating, made in the floor screed, now you will not surprise anyone. Due to many positive qualities, such systems have become often used in modern buildings. Until recently, one question remained unresolved: how to make a water-heated floor in a wooden house, because the floor beams are not designed for a screed weight of at least 200 kg per 1 m².

It is noteworthy that the best way to install underfloor heating for dwellings made of wood has appeared quite recently. Let's look into this technology and find out how to properly arrange light warm floors without a screed, including with your own hands.

Why "dry" floor heating?

What is the beauty of the traditional scheme, where underfloor heating pipes are walled up in a screed? Let's briefly list:

• low temperature of the coolant (maximum - 55 ° C), which allows saving energy;
• uniform heating of the concrete floor surface from embedded pipes;
• comfort from the heat coming from the lower zone over the entire area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe room.

The catch is that water-heated floors in a wooden house retain all of the above advantages, but without a heavy cement-sand screed. Judge for yourself how many functions wooden floor beams perform:

1. Perceive static loads from furniture and interior partitions.
2. Compensate without deflection for the mass of the finish coating, subfloors and insulation.
3. Withstand constant dynamic effects from the movement of residents.
4. They carry their own weight and serve as elements of the transverse stability of the building.

Imagine if we add to these loads a heavy concrete monolith weighing 1-3 tons in each room. In order for the wooden system of beams to withstand the mass of such a structure, their cross section will have to be increased by 1.5-2 times, which will increase the cost of construction. The solution to the problem is to make the so-called floor heating water floor system, which is dry-installed without a screed and has a low weight (about 20 kg per 1 m² of room area).

On the left is a thermal imaging of the heating circuit in the screed, on the right - the flooring system. Pipe laying method - snail.

Heating water circuits of wooden buildings can be embedded in concrete under the following conditions:

• when the covering of the first floor of a private dwelling rests on the ground or a strip (slab) foundation;
• in dwellings made of SIP-panels 200 mm thick, based on a strip or pile-screw foundation;
• if powerful beams designed for the mass of the screed are laid at the base of the ceiling of a chopped or frame house.

Lightweight deck system design

The key element of warm water floors laid in wooden houses in a “dry” way is a metal plate with a groove in the form of an inverted Greek letter Ω (when viewed from the end). The walls of the recess tightly cover the body of the pipe with the coolant, and the side "wings" of the plate increase the heat dissipation area instead of the screed.

Reference. Plates for uniform distribution of heat flow are made of galvanized steel and aluminum. Their width is different and is selected depending on the pipe laying step (standard - for a distance of 150 and 200 mm). The product can be broken with your own hands into equal parts due to transverse notches (perforation).

Left - galvanized plate, right - aluminum

Using metal diffusers, a water-heated floor can be installed in several ways:

• according to the technology of the famous Uponor brand, laying the pipes of the heating circuits in the gaps between the floorboards;
• using special polystyrene plates for underfloor heating, equipped with protruding bosses or ready-made grooves;
• with burning out recesses in ordinary foam plastic with a special apparatus;
• using sets of wooden products, where grooves are made for heating water circuits.

Each technique has its pros and cons, but they are united by 3 important properties: low weight, efficiency and the absence of "wet" processes, which greatly speeds up installation. Whichever method you choose, the "pie" of the floor remains unchanged and consists of the following layers (in the direction from bottom to top):

1. Base for insulation.
2. Thermal insulation material.
3. Heat distribution plates.
4. Pipelines with circulating heated water;
5. Clean flooring.

Lightweight Floor System Diagram

Note. When installing water-heated floors on a wooden base, a vapor barrier film and a diffusion membrane (waterproofing) can be used in the heating "pie".

Now let's take a closer look at the best way to insulate the floor and how to properly make a warm floor in a wooden house using any of these methods. But first, a few words about the selection of components.

Material selection

Before laying heating water circuits in a wooden house, it is necessary to insulate the floors. Therefore, you will have to choose 3 groups of components:

• type of insulation;
• pipe material;
• plate material.

Among the common and affordable heaters for thermal insulation of wooden structures, mineral (basalt) wool is best suited. It is permeable to water vapor, thanks to which it blends well with wood, allows it to "breathe" and does not cause decay. Another thing is that when laying mineral wool, it is necessary to ensure the release and removal of these vapors, otherwise it will get wet through and cease to serve as a heat insulator.

Mineral wool and figured polystyrene foam plates

Advice. To insulate the coating of the first floor, it is better to use basalt fiber with a density of 40-80 kg / m³ and a thickness of at least 150 mm, and in the northern regions - 200 mm or more. Mineral wool 50-100 mm thick will go to the interfloor overlap. Its task is not to let the heat intended for the upper rooms into the premises of the first floor and to serve as sound insulation.

Polymer insulation - polystyrene, and extruded polystyrene foam practically do not let moisture through. Therefore, they must be used wisely, otherwise the wood at the points of contact with the polymer will turn black and rot. The minimum thickness of materials for thermal insulation of the floors of the first floor is 100 mm, it is enough to lay 20-30 mm into the ceiling.

On warm floors without screed, arranged on wooden logs, the following types of pipes with a diameter of 16 and 20 mm go:

• made of cross-linked polyethylene with an anti-diffusion layer that does not allow oxygen to pass through;
• metal-plastic;
• copper.

The most running pipes for underfloor heating are polymer

High-quality polyethylene pipes (for example, from the Rehau brand) are not cheaper than metal-plastic and are not inferior to it in terms of performance. Hence the conclusion: there is no fundamental difference between these types of polymer pipelines, they are equally good for underfloor heating.

Copper pipes are much more expensive than plastic pipes, and it is more difficult and longer to mount them. But, from the point of view of heat transfer, copper has no equal, and therefore it is successfully used for underfloor heating of any buildings. An important point: do not use copper heating circuits in conjunction with aluminum heat-distributing plates, these metals are absolutely “not friends” with each other.

Since the thermal conductivity of aluminum is higher than that of steel, plates made of this material are also more preferable (excluding copper piping). But keep in mind that high-quality aluminum distributors are 1.5-4 times more expensive than galvanized ones.

Note. The prices of aluminum and galvanized plates from different manufacturers fluctuate in a wide range and cannot be compared, because they are made from metals of various thicknesses. Hence the advice: try to purchase thick-walled products, they are able to accumulate and transfer more heat energy.

Corrugated stainless steel is also a great option

Of recent materials of interest are flexible corrugated stainless steel pipes. They are durable, mounted without welding and soldering, while they transfer heat well and can be used in lightweight decking systems.

in each circuit, paving spacing and surface temperature is presented in a separate publication. Familiarize yourself with the methodology in order to accurately determine the amount of materials.

Installation according to Uponor technology

The technique has become widespread as the simplest and most affordable in terms of monetary costs. Mineral wool acts as a heat-insulating material here, you can take pipes and plates at your discretion and financial capabilities. The essence of the method is in laying wooden boards 20 mm thick on logs at intervals of 2 cm for further installation of a water-heated floor, as shown in the diagram:

A ventilation gap is made between the thermal insulation and the base boards (not visible in the diagram)

Note. A similar scheme can be used in any residential buildings where wooden floors are laid on logs, including over concrete foundations.

To make warm floors using this technology with your own hands, you will need the usual set of plumbing and carpentry tools, as well as special scissors for cutting polymer pipes. When installing underfloor heating on the floor of the first floor (above ground or unheated basement), perform the work in this order:

1. Flush with the lower edge of the beams, nail the cranial bars with a section of 25 x 25 mm. On top of them, lay the draft floors from boards 20 mm thick, as shown in the drawing below.
2. Lay the subfloor together with the beams with a waterproofing film (technical name - diffusion membrane) with the waterproof side down. Keep an overlap between the canvases of at least 10 cm and carefully glue the joints with double-sided tape.
3. Lay the mineral wool slabs over the waterproofing in such a way that they do not crumple, otherwise the basalt fiber will partially lose its thermal insulation properties. The thickness of the insulation should be at least 5 cm less than the height of the log, in order to provide a ventilation gap between the surface of the wool and the future wooden flooring to remove moisture.
4. Lay the vapor barrier film over the lags. Polyethylene must be pulled up and fastened to the tree with a stapler so that it does not sag in the gaps between the beams.
5. Nail boards 2 cm thick across the lag, stepping back from the wall 30 mm. Depending on the pipe laying step (15 or 20 cm), leave 20 mm gaps between the boards for the heat-distributing plates.
6. Insert metal plates into the slots and arrange the heating circuit pipes along them, inserting them into the Ω-shaped grooves. To turn the pipe, shorten the ends of the boards by 10-15 cm in this place.
7. Run the ends of the pipes along the walls to the underfloor heating comb, connect them and check the tightness of the system. Lay the floor finish.

Please note: when installing an insulated floor, the membrane and vapor barrier are reversed - the plastic film is laid from below

The method of laying a water-heated floor on wooden logs is shown in detail in the video:

Work on the interfloor ceiling is carried out in the same order, only the subfloor boards can be nailed directly to the logs from below. By the way, instead of wood, you can use OSB boards here, while hemming the ceiling of the first floor.

Important! Do not confuse the diffusion membrane with a vapor barrier film, otherwise the mineral wool will be saturated with water and will cease to be a heater. Waterproofing at the bottom of the "pie" protects the cotton wool from getting wet from the outside, and the top film does not allow water vapor to penetrate. In ceilings, the opposite is true - the vapor barrier is laid from below, the membrane - from above. To remove moisture from the insulation, a 5 cm ventilation opening and air vents made in the walls of a wooden house are used.

Along with simplicity and cheapness, this method of arranging water-heated floors has one drawback - pipes can only be laid in a “snake”, which is why the premises of a wooden house have to be divided into several heating circuits in order to achieve uniform heating.

Polystyrene System Installation Guide

This method of laying underfloor heating circuits allows you to perform work much faster and easier, since it involves the use of two-layer expanded polystyrene plates with guides in the form of protruding bosses. For the manufacture of plates, polystyrene of different densities is used - the top layer is more durable, the bottom one is soft.

It is quite simple to make pipe wiring for underfloor heating according to this scheme.

The technique is suitable for any floors with a flat surface, for example, OSB plywood (as in SIP-panel houses). Warm water floors on a flat wooden floor are made using the following technology:

1. Cover the logs with OSB sheets and fasten them with galvanized self-tapping screws. If work is carried out on the wooden floor of the first floor, then mineral wool insulation should be laid between the beams, as described in the previous section. The thickness of the polystyrene system is not enough to fully insulate the building from below.
2. Fasten damper tape to the walls around the perimeter of the room.
3. Lay polystyrene foam plates on the finished surface, fastening them together with locks.
4. Install the diffuser plates in accordance with the scheme and the piping spacing, fixing them between the bosses. Unwinding the pipe from the coil, insert it into the recesses of the plates.
5. Cover the heating circuits with polyethylene film, overlapping and gluing the sheets.
6. Mount the base of the floor from gypsum fiber sheets (GVL), where you subsequently lay the finish coat (a popular option is laminate).

Details of the work are shown in the video from the Russian manufacturer of polystyrene foam systems - the company "Rusteplopol":

Advice. Before laying the finish coat, connect the line connections from the circuits to the manifold and carry out a leak test (pressure test) with a pressure of 4 bar.

The advantages of figured insulation for warm water floors are obvious - the simplicity and speed of installation work, the ability to lay out pipes not only with a “snake”, but also with a snail. There are also disadvantages:

• high price;
• the material can bend from large mechanical loads;
• due to the gaps between the bosses, a small part of the heat is spent on useless heating of the air under the floor covering.

Other pipe laying methods

Other products can serve as the basis for heating loops where metal plates can be inserted:

• expanded polystyrene plates with pre-grooved grooves;
• factory sets of wooden products with cutouts for laying pipelines;
• sheets of polystyrene with a density of 35 kg / m³, where the recesses are cut out with their own hands using a special thermal knife.

In addition to expanded polystyrene with bosses, polymer plates with ready-made recesses are found in the distribution network. This option is suitable both for mounting on a flat surface, and inside the ceiling flush with the joists, as shown in the diagram:

Thermal insulation boards can be placed between the joists

Note. The disadvantages of the option are the need to cut grooves in the logs for the passage of pipes and the fastening of the polymer on the corners so that it does not adhere to the wood. Therefore, it is better to lay slabs with recesses on a base made of OSB plywood or leveled boards.

A set of wooden elements (left) and styrofoam with grooves for pipes (right)

A big plus of wooden sets for underfloor heating is the ability of the coating to carry a large load from bulky furniture without deformation. Products with cutouts for plates are mounted on beams together with insulation, as described above (Uponor brand technology). Type-setting wooden underfloor heating has only one drawback - the high price of materials.

Homeowners with the time can save on a polystyrene system by purchasing a hot groove burner and regular high density foam. The technology is simple: the insulation boards are laid out on a leveled surface, after which they need to burn the pipeline route in accordance with the scheme. It remains to install heat distributors and insert pipes into them.

Burning grooves in polystyrene with a hot knife

Is it possible to save on materials

Since underfloor heating components without screed cost decent money, many craftsmen have found ways to do without them:

1. Lay the heating branches inside the ceiling, directly on the insulation. Then Ω-shaped products are not used.
2. Make cutouts in the boards yourself, and instead of plates along the length of the grooves, roll out aluminum foil used for baking.
3. To make steel heat spreaders independently on metalworking equipment.
4. You can also make a wooden system for laying pipes in grooves yourself, for example, from chipboard sheets.

Of these options, only the last 2 will save money and at the same time organize efficient heating. Indeed, on a bending machine, plates can be made from any metal, only the groove profile will turn out to be rectangular, and not “omega-shaped”.

Pipe wiring inside the ceilings is practiced to this day

When laying pipes inside a wooden structure, they have poor contact with the finish coating and heat the air around them more than the room. In order for such heating to have an effect, the pipes must be laid at a distance of 10 cm from each other, and the temperature of the coolant must be raised to the maximum. Then the idea loses its meaning, it is easier to install radiators.

Thin aluminum foil serves as a poor heat flow distributor due to its thickness of hundredths of a millimeter. In addition, it crumbles over time from gradual oxidation, so using foil is pointless.

Craftsmen make their own grooves for pipelines and roll rolls of aluminum foil into them

There is another way to save money - to organize the heating of a wooden house with electric underfloor heating using infrared film heaters. But such a system will lose its versatility, that is, you can only use electricity for heating, you will have to forget about gas or wood.

About the pros and cons of "dry" floor systems

In conclusion, I would like to note the advantages of a warm floor without a screed that can attract owners of private wooden houses:

1. The design is light, reliable and efficient at the same time.
2. Unlike heating circuits immured in a screed, in such a system it is easy to detect a leak and eliminate it.
3. The thickness of the "pie" protruding above the upper cut of the log is from 20 to 50 mm.
4. Water floors with dissipative plates made of steel or aluminum are not able to accumulate heat and are practically devoid of inertia. Accordingly, they quickly warm up the rooms and quickly respond to automation commands and changes in the flow rate of the coolant in the loops.
5. The speed of installation associated with the absence of "wet" processes and the solidification of the solution. How light warm floors are arranged in a short time is shown in the next video:

For reference. On various Internet resources there is conflicting information about the reduced heat transfer of the flooring system compared to a monolithic one. Theoretically, this is true, but in practice the difference is small, and it is quite difficult to make a comparison.

The only drawback that makes home inventors wiser with aluminum foil is the price of steel products, especially complete with figured polystyrene foam. You can get around this nuance like this: make a warm floor in all rooms in turn, upon the appearance of financial opportunities. First you need to insulate the ceiling and put the comb, and then gradually install the pipe wiring, starting from the premises where the residents stay permanently.

Underfloor heating in a wooden house can be mounted in various ways. A simple and modern approach - dry installation on a wooden base. There is another way: someone will call it classic, and someone - outdated. It requires a concrete base under the cable and, in some cases, an additional pour or leveling layer on top. Both options require certain knowledge, which we will share in this review. Which heating element can be laid on a wooden base? What is included in the design of the "pie" when installing the cable in the cement? What is cheaper? We will answer these questions and consider several installation schemes for different types of underfloor heating with examples of specific products.

What is important to know?

You can install underfloor heating in one of the following ways:

• on an existing wooden floor;
• on a wooden floor with an air layer (on logs);
• on a concrete base;

It will depend on the choice of heating system whether it will be necessary to fill with cement, leveling compound, tile adhesive or mastic - that is, “wet” installation. The following types of heating elements are suitable for heating a wooden floor: infrared film, cable on a mounting plate, cut cable, heating mats.

Looking ahead, we note that the installation of heating mats requires a concrete base or a cement-sand screed. It is possible to foresee this not in every wooden house, and perhaps on the first floor. Infrared film and cables on plates can be installed on a wooden deck. The cutting-off heating cable can be laid both in a screed and in a dry way (on logs). In the latter case, it is extremely important to correctly calculate the power. And here you can look at specific underfloor heating for a wooden house, which are suitable for the situations considered in the review.

On a wooden base

According to the requirements of European standards, cable heating systems with a specific power of 100 W / m2 or more are prohibited for installation on a wooden floor. Infrared films are not subject to such restrictions.

Infrared film

IR films are universal: they can be mounted on the floor, ceiling, walls. Are issued with a power of 150 and 220 W/m2.

The listed IR films are produced in South Korea, as, indeed, the vast majority of those presented for sale in Russia. In Europe, the use of infrared film is not practiced. Perhaps the whole point is in the existing European standards. In Russia and Asia, there are no bans on the use of an infrared film heating system. The manufacturers themselves vying with each other declare the safety of the IR film and the long service life. The supporters of this easy-to-install and inexpensive (cost of 1 mp film - from 325 rubles) system have many arguments in favor of security. For example, this: the heating of an infrared floor heating is controlled by a thermostat, which will not allow the film to overheat.

It's important to know: The film should not be installed where the furniture will be. The exception is KS-PTC film. It costs more, but, thanks to the self-regulating effect, it can be installed around the entire perimeter of the room. Installing an infrared film under a tile is difficult: after all, tile adhesive cannot be applied on top of it. You will need to create a complex multilayer "pie", we do not recommend making the wooden floor heavier!

Cable on mounting plate

Unfortunately, in Russia the method of mounting on a plate is not very popular, so the range is small.

Dry mounting cable on a mounting plate on a wooden floor	U-RD-B (Raychem), Deviflex 10T (Devi).
Dry cable installation on a mounting plate on a wooden floor on logs	Deviflex 10T (Devi)

Clarifications for the Devi system: 6-10 W/m resistive cable and DEVIcell™ Dry mounting plates with cable routing grooves are used. The manufacturer recommends installing an additional waterproofing layer when installing under parquet or laminate on a wooden floor. If heating is installed on logs under decorative coatings, such as: linoleum, vinyl, carpet, laminate, then it is necessary to add noise-absorbing material and a shield that distributes shock load to the structure.

But the U-RD-B cable on R-RF Raychem plates can be installed directly on the base of the wooden floor. Parquet, parquet board or laminate is recommended as a finishing coating. You can also lay it under the tile, you just have to change the installation scheme: add a primer over the cable and an adhesive layer for the tile. Raychem U-RD-B differs from other analogues by its high price, excellent quality of components and self-regulating cable, which saves up to 20% of energy when underfloor heating. The calculation of the power (35-100 W / m2) of a self-regulating cable is based on how well the base is insulated from heat loss.

From similar systems, the Danish cable DVC-10 (Heandy Haet) sometimes appears on sale, which, like Devi, can be attributed to the middle price category (a heating kit with a mounting plate will cost about 7,000 rubles).

Installation of cutting cable on logs

Cable installation on logs for wooden houses is the most common option. It is not too laborious, and the price “does not bite” (about 3000 rubles for a set of European cable for heating 1 m2 of floor). In wooden floors and other structures made of combustible material, the specific power of the heating system should not exceed 60-80 W / m2 with a linear cable power of not more than 10 W / m, the laying step is chosen within 90 - 130 mm.

The height of the air lock between the thermal insulation and the flooring (plywood) should be 30 mm, the distance between the cable and the flooring should be 10 mm. The cable should be laid evenly over the entire area of ​​the heated surface.

On a concrete base

If a concrete floor is mounted on the ground on the ground floor of a wooden house or a wood screed is installed (subject to existing rules and restrictions), then the choice of a heating element for a warm floor becomes wider.

Laying the heating cable in the screed

Before buying a cutting cable for installation in a screed, it is important to correctly calculate the power and laying pitch. A heating cable with a specific power of 10-20 W / m is used for tiles and porcelain stoneware.

SVK-20 (Thermo), Deviflex 10T (Devi), TXLP/2/17 (Nexans), TXLP/1/17 (Nexans).

The scheme can also be used when installing under a laminate, linoleum, carpet, but instead of an adhesive tile layer, a noise-absorbing substrate is installed under the laminate. Under a wooden floor covering, it is recommended to use a cable with a specific power of 6-10 W / m.

The recommended output for a comfort concrete floor heating system is 60-100 W/m2. The maximum thickness of the base is 50 mm, the layer of self-leveling compound (screed) is 30-80 mm. In cold rooms, thermal insulation of the base should be provided.

Installation of heating mats in tile adhesive

The heating mats listed above as examples for under-tile installation have a power of 130-170 W/m2. The scheme can also be used when installing under a laminate, linoleum, carpet, but instead of an adhesive tile layer, a noise-absorbing substrate is installed under the laminate. Under wooden flooring, it is recommended to use mats with a power of 80 W/m2. The cost of mats starts from 2000 rubles. per sq. m.

This scheme is similar to the previous one, except that the mounting grid is not required, since the mat is supplied as a cable already attached to the grid with the required laying pitch. Thanks to this, cable nets (heating mats) have become widespread and are sold as a turnkey solution for underfloor heating. The installation scheme may exclude the use of a self-levelling layer. In this case, the tile adhesive (mastic) is applied immediately to the fixed mat, and the tile is immediately laid on top. You should check the instructions, as all manufacturers set their own rules. So, for Thermomat mats, the recommended thickness of the adhesive solution is 3-4 cm, for National Comfort mats - from 8 mm, for Devi products - 3-5 cm.

Installation of mats on a wooden base with a screed

Some manufacturers allow the use of mats with a specific power of 150 W / m2 on a wooden floor with a screed. Here is an example and installation scheme:

The scheme can be used when installing under a laminate, linoleum, carpet. Instead of an adhesive tile layer, a noise-absorbing underlay is installed under the laminate, and the mat is poured with a 3 cm cement-sand screed. The rough wooden floor must be securely fixed.

Foil mats for mounting without screed

If the floor base is concrete or a cement-sand screed is mounted, it is convenient to use Devidry, Thermo LP heating systems that are easy to install (power from 100 W/m2). An important rule works here, which is noted in the installation and operating instructions by European manufacturers of these cable systems: it is forbidden to use products with a power of more than 80 W / m2 in rooms with a wooden floor.

Take note of these marks and use them for dry installation when the floor in the house is concrete and the finish is wood. The scheme of their installation is very simple (similar to installing a cable on a mounting plate), the price is from 3500 rubles. per sq. m.

The installation diagrams do not show the installation location of the sensor, thermostat, supply cables. These are important steps that should be carried out by referring to the installation manual for the product. To prevent cracking of the wooden flooring, a thermostat with air and floor sensors should limit the maximum floor temperature to 35 degrees. C.

When choosing the type of heating element, you should carefully study the instructions for its installation. The type of floor base and the type of finish are important criteria when deciding whether to purchase a warm floor. Carpet, linoleum, parquet board and other coatings must withstand the temperatures specified in the product documentation. Therefore, the compatibility of the cable system with one or another type of decorative coating should be specified in the instructions of a particular manufacturer. Some manufacturers of heating systems strictly regulate the type of substrate, heat and waterproofing layers.

Making a decision on the choice of materials for a heated floor in a wooden house is complex. If the house is still being designed or under construction, the field for activity is much wider: a concrete base can be provided, the thickness of the structures and additional loads can be laid. More expensive options for dry installation can be used at any stage of home insulation.