It is a pleasure to stand barefoot on the warm floor in the bathroom after taking a shower, especially if the house is poorly heated in winter. You can make a design and put a warm floor on your own, but this requires a little knowledge and skills. Before work, it is necessary to decide on the type of floors, to conclude which is better, and only then, to purchase the necessary materials and tools.
Choosing the type of floor for the bathroom
Warm floors can be divided into several types, selected by the user according to the criteria: the specifics of installation and operation. Each of the installed types of underfloor heating with their own hands performs its functions, but still there is a difference and here you need to calculate well the cost of maintaining the floor during operation, and also take into account all the nuances when installing it. If there are no great skills in construction and there is no time to repair the bath, it is better to make the floor electric.
A water floor will take a little more time, which will also not require a lot of money. And the youngest type of floor heating for the bathroom is considered infrared, but its use is not so popular in comparison with electric or water.
Experts will help you choose the type, calculate the required amount of the required material, and suggest which flooring is suitable for each type.
Electric
Electric underfloor heating in the bathroom consists of a set of electric mats made of a special film and a cable responsible for heating. Cables are made single-core and two-core. The cost of twin-core is higher due to the high level of security. Together with the mats, the kit includes a thermostat for determining and setting the temperature you need, as well as wires for connecting the system to the mains. It is advisable to separately purchase an insulating film, and if not included, buy adhesive tape and corrugated pipes.
The following steps are being taken step by step:
- Before installing the electric floor with your own hands, you must definitely prepare the surface, demolish the old coating. After that, the base should be perfectly flat and free of dirt and dust, bumps and potholes. The last defect is sealed with concrete mortar and leveled with tools, and the tubercles are removed with special sandpaper.
- After preparing the site for matting, the site for installing the thermostat is determined. And it is already possible to conduct electrical wiring to connect to the floor heating network.
- The first layer is applied to the leveled cleaned floor with an insulating film, with the shiny side towards the ceiling. The joints are sealed with tape. Thermal insulation boards should not reach the walls.
- Electric mats are produced mainly in rolls and sometimes with a ready-made mesh for laying and tape for fastening, if this is not the case, the mesh will have to be bought and the cable laid out with a certain distance.
- The bathroom is very small, so the mat will definitely have to be turned at an angle, for this you simply cut the mesh and the cable is installed in the desired position.
- The sensor, which is usually included in the complex, is located in a well-accessible place so as not to destroy the floor during breakage or maintenance.
- The thermostat on the wall is installed in accordance with the rules of operation and safety with electrical wiring. Almost like a socket with a sensor is hidden in the wall under the box.
- After laying, the operability of the system and the power supply is checked. You can check the current supply with a tester.
- If the system works, a floor screed of a certain thickness is made, where a tile or other floor material is applied.
Water
The water heated floor in the bathroom consists of installed plastic, copper or PVC pipes with a small diameter. They are mounted on the floor surface in the right order and warm it up with supplied hot water, the temperature of which can be controlled by a thermostat. The same pipes or material are used for radiators, so the system resembles a floor battery of a peculiar kind. Pipes are covered with tiles, concrete screed or wooden flooring.
The best option for a bathroom is a tile laid on aluminum material and cardboard flooring for better heat dissipation. The wooden covering over the installed water heating system is laid if the room has good ventilation. Nearby is a place for a collector, necessary to control the temperature in the system.
The cost of a do-it-yourself warm water floor is relatively inexpensive, and the installation of the system is simple and safe. Specialists involved in the professional installation of underfloor heating recommend laying pipes below the floor level in the house, this is done to prevent water from entering the apartment in case of emergency situations in the system. How to make a warm floor in the bathroom if the apartment or house has individual heating? After installing all the necessary materials, the system is connected to a source of hot water supply, that is, to individual heating.
Note! Some construction and repair works require coordination and documentary evidence with the permission of the relevant authorities. It is better to play it safe and before installing water floor heating in your bathroom, ask about permits so as not to overpay later and not pay for fines.
Advantages
Do-it-yourself water or electric floor in the bathroom has many advantages:
- Any of the systems is hidden from view, while heating radiators even take up space in an already small space;
- Every bath or shower will be more pleasant if the bathroom has a comfortable temperature not only for the air, but also for the floor.
- Underfloor heating with connection to individual heating is installed both in apartments and private houses, this significantly saves the family budget, and this system pays off quite quickly, especially if it is installed by oneself .
The warm floor makes walking on it a pleasant experience.
disadvantages
Like any installed system in the house has its drawbacks:
- The cost of the system for the buyer will cost not a small amount. But it will be justified after the first applications, because you simply don’t want to leave a comfortably equipped bath.
- Not all floor coverings that one would like to use in a bathroom can be used as a floor. The most practical will be ceramic tiles and self-leveling floor. It is rational to install a wooden floor only if there is good ventilation in the bathroom, otherwise such flooring will soon have to be changed.
- Electric underfloor heating requires electricity. Therefore, before installing any type of underfloor heating, you need to calculate all the pros and cons to choose which one is better, otherwise the floor will simply not come in handy, because it will be very expensive to use.
Installation of underfloor heating, electric or water, which is better, has to be chosen only by the owner of the house or apartment. The cost of any system will not be cheap, but it will require much less cost when installing the floor with your own hands. If the electric one can be turned on even in the summer, then the water heating of the floor will only work with the start of the individual heating system. The system sensor shows a temperature not higher than 40 degrees, but with the help of a thermostat, heating can be changed.
