The bathroom, perhaps more than any other room in the house, needs underfloor heating. It would be very nice and pleasant to stand on the warm floor after bathing. And children can not be afraid to catch a cold. For these reasons, many people, making repairs in the bathroom, are already thinking about how to make a warm floor. Properly executed installation of such a floor with your own hands will solve several problems at once.
Why you need underfloor heating
Firstly, the floor will always be not only warm, but also dry. Moisture will not accumulate. The bathroom itself will also be dry, even if you started doing laundry or just washed yourself.
Secondly, it is not very convenient to install heating radiators in the bathroom, the room is small, and the underfloor heating system does not take up space and is not visible.
Thirdly, not only the floor will be warm, but the entire air space of the bathroom. The heated air will rise up and heat the entire room.
And fourth, all your towels in the bathroom will also be dry.
This idea of heating was borrowed from the Roman baths, where hot air passed through special underground channels and also heated the floor in the bath.
In this video you can see how to make a warm floor. You may want to do it yourself:
There is not one, but several ways to arrange such a floor.
Electric floor heating
This system is a combination of heating mats. These mats are made of fabric in which heating cables are embedded. All of this is well insulated. Each mat has a wire for connecting to the electrical network. The system is equipped with a thermostat that controls the temperature. These mats can be cut to fit your bathroom. But in this case, in no case should you cut the electrical cable. Also, the installation of these electric mats requires accuracy. Do not bend or break the cable.
electric matThen, with the help of glue, these mats are glued to the concrete screed. After complete drying, ceramic tiles are laid on top. The wires from the mats are collected in a tube. This system is ideal for small baths.
System Security
You may have some suspicions about the use of such a floor. And suddenly it is unsafe and can shock in a humid room. On this, we can say the following. The systems have reliable protection and for complete confidence you need to buy these systems from reputable manufacturers.
Still there are questions, how much electricity should be spent to heat the bathroom? Be prepared that your budget will decrease by 200-300 rubles per month. This is the price of a warm electric floor. But as already mentioned, these systems are equipped with a thermostat, as well as a timer, which will save energy.
Cable use
Instead of mats, it is possible to use an electric cable. A scheme is being made that it is better not to lose, so that in case of damage it is possible to eliminate the shortcomings. It is best to lay the cable with your own hands on a metal mesh. In this case, the cable will be less prone to breakage. The heat cable and the electric cable are connected using a special coupling. Immerse this cable in a concrete screed.
Here is another example on the video of how the heated floor is made in the bathroom:
infrared floor
This is the easiest and most affordable way to warm the floors in the bathroom. The system consists of an infrared film. This system is laid on a concrete screed, attached to it with glue. Ceramic tiles are immediately glued on top. In this case, it will not be the air that will be heated, but the coating, in this case ceramic tiles. The tile will heat up partly from electrical elements and partly from infrared radiation. The temperature on the surface will be about 26 degrees. When laying the room itself heats up a little. Only the floor remains warm. You can make a warm floor in the bathroom within one day. You can not invite specialists, but after reading the instructions, spread the film with your own hands. If we compare the energy consumption, then the infrared system is more economical than the electric one. The savings are due to the fact that there is no concrete screed above this system. These systems are also equipped with thermostats.
warm walls
With the help of infrared film or electric mats, you can also make warm walls in the bathroom. In the same way, the electric mat is fixed to the wall and the tile is laid on top with your own hands. After that, the tile will be warm to the touch. Warm walls have a number of advantages:
- The circulation of dust in the room is reduced to nothing.
- The laying step can be any, since pressure does not act on it.
- They are serviced by circulation pumps of lower power (if it is in a country house).
Before installation, junction boxes are attached to the walls in which the wires will be hidden.
Plaster on warm walls is applied in two stages. The first layer is applied to the frame mesh, to which the pipes are then attached. This layer should dry well. The pipes are laid and a mesh layer is attached again and the second layer of plaster is already on it. This layer should dry again, then another layer of mesh or elastic paper so that the walls do not crack.
After complete drying of all layers of the wall plaster, it is necessary to carry out pressure testing of the equipment. To prevent damage to the equipment, installation must be carried out with the axes of the pipes tied to the walls.
As you already understood from the name, the carrier of heat is water. In order to prevent water from spilling around the apartment in an emergency, the finished floor should be slightly lower than in the rooms. Also, for such cases, a higher threshold is provided.
Warm, laid in the bathroom, in another version, look at the video:
If you are equipping a bathroom in a multi-storey city building, then you will need to obtain the appropriate permit to connect this additional element to a central water heating system. In a private house, permission is not needed, but when calculating your power, you will have to take into account an additional heating device. Depending on the material from which your warm water floor is made, there are several schemes for laying it.
First option
An underfloor heating system is laid on the concrete flooring, which is covered with aluminum plates.
The entire structure is lined with polyethylene foam, a waterproof insulating material with a closed cell structure. Ceramic tiles are laid on top.
Second option
The system assembled from pipes is poured with a concrete screed. Top decorative finish.
If in a private house, then mounted pipes are laid on the logs. Top insulation, preferably extruded polystyrene foam (EPS). It has a final coat.
Third option
If your cottage has a concrete floor insulated with XPS, then you can lay such a system between the insulation plates.
Water floor in the bathroom Consists of pipes, fittings, thermostat (temperature controller). Pipes are used various. The most durable and most expensive are copper. But you can perfectly lay metal-plastic pipes, which will also serve you for a long time. Plastic and steel pipes are also used. I must say that the water floor system is cost-effective, but it is difficult to install.
- First you need to determine the scheme by which the pipes will be located.
- Install risers where hot water will be located.
- The first layer is waterproofing. According to the rules, waterproofing is always overlapped and hermetic soldering of the seams is made.
- The first screed is made on the basis of cement with expanded clay chips. So that the screed does not crack, it is moistened several times during the drying process. Dries for three days.
- Foil insulation is being installed. Joints are fastened with metallic tape.
- An underfloor heating system is assembled and laid on the insulation, which is connected to a riser with a return pipe.
- Before final grouting, the system should be checked for leakage. Then drain the water and cool the system.
- Cement mortar is poured along the building level.
As you probably understood, such an installation yourself, if you do not have the skills and abilities to connect heating radiators, is difficult to perform. So if you can try to do the infrared and electric floor heating yourself, then it is better to call a specialist to lay the water floor.
The best decorative covering for a bathroom a ceramic tile. It has the ability to heat up and give off heat.
