Everyone wants to have a warm and comfortable home. Using a heating system alone is quite difficult to do. It is necessary to make so that the legs are heated. To do this, you can build a special floor heating. However, it must be properly designed and installed. Mats for a warm floor of water will help you with this.
What is a product?
Naturally, during the manufacture of such a design, care must be taken to ensure that the temperature is uniform over the entire area of the room. And I also want the energy losses to be as low as possible. For this, assembly mats for a water floor heating are used. These are products that not only hold pipes well, redistribute temperature, but are also an excellent insulator.
Naturally, such materials are required to meet established international standards. Without this, they will be ineffective. For example, mats for underfloor heating must be resistant to mechanical stress, withstand high temperatures. At the same time, a quality thing must be easy to use, provide low thermal conductivity. For example, Energoflex mats for warm water floors are considered a good option. They not only function perfectly, but also have a relatively low cost (250-690 rubles).
Benefits
Almost all modern mats for underfloor heating have the following advantages:
- Good sound and thermal insulation. This is especially true for products with protrusions.
- Easy to use and install. Try to buy mats with special locks. They themselves center the canvases and ensure their reliable adhesion to each other.
- Resistance to moisture.
- Little weight.
- Resistance to decay, corrosion and damage by rodents.
- Fire safety. This is a very important property, because it contains not only the security of your home, but also your financial security (no fire - no damage).
- Low cost.
These advantages make floor heating mats in demand.
Variety of products
There are only two types of products presented:
1. Polystyrene foam. A feature of such material is good sound insulation, the ability to withstand a huge temperature range (from -180 to +180 degrees). However, in this case you will have to buy additional pipe fittings. The presented products have a smooth structure, without fixing elements. Such mats for warm water floors can be foil. This makes them very effective in terms of heat transfer.
2. Polystyrene. Such products are quite thin and have a textured structure. That is, on their surface there are special protrusions that fix the pipes. Due to the high density of the material presented, it can withstand a fairly large weight of the structure. Mounting will be high-quality and reliable.
They can also be folding or roll. There are also laminated and non-laminated options. In the first case, additional steam insulation is not required. Mats for underfloor heating are a necessary element of the heating system.
Product Selection Features
In order for it to be effective, at the time of purchase you need to be guided by such criteria:
- Quality. It depends on the manufacturer. During selection, carefully inspect the mats for scratches or other damage.
- Type of. It all depends on the personal preferences of the buyer. However, for apartments it is best to buy a polystyrene foam option, as it provides good sound insulation.
- The size of the pipe. If you paid attention to a special profile mat, then this parameter should be taken into account.
- The cost of the product. Despite the fact that prices are almost always affordable, do not buy the cheapest option.
- Life time. It must be indicated in the guarantee. Try to buy exactly the material that will not need to be changed after several years of operation.
- The size of the room. In principle, this factor is fundamental. Wrong matting is money down the drain. You can use them, but you will either have to buy material or you will get a lot of waste.
Features of the preparation of the floor
Before fixing the mounting mats for the water floor on the base, it must be prepared. It should be clean, dry and even. In this case, a small error (slope) of not more than 3 cm is allowed.
Before laying the mats, you will also need to mark the surface. Also, for work, you will need to prepare all the necessary tools: scissors (for rolled material), special glue (it is needed to fix the products), silicone means for sealing joints.
Mounting Features
Now let's get down to the most important issue: laying the canvases. Profile mounting mats for a warm water floor are mounted in stages:
1. Preparation of the base.
2. The layout of the floor.
3. Laying canvases. There is nothing complicated. However, if your mats are additionally insulated, then pay great attention to the ends of the products. They should be well docked. If you do not want to bother with such canvases, then it is better to choose sheets that are equipped with special connecting locks. Thanks to them, you can forget about the seams and their repair.
4. Installation of pipes. Please note that they will need to be placed at the same distance from each other. This will ensure uniform heating of the entire area. Thanks to products with special protrusions, it is much easier to do. The profile mat for a warm water floor should provide heat up, so at this stage it can be additionally equipped with a reflector (foil).
Useful Tips
Thanks to them, you can make your heating system as efficient as possible:
1. For installation, it is better to use those models that have high strength.
2. In order for the heat to be well reflected, as well as to protect the pipes from moisture, you can fix a special polymer film on the mats. Keep in mind that it should be tight enough.
3. If there is a basement under your floor, then it must be insulated. In this case, almost any material is used: mineral wool, polystyrene foam or another. Naturally, before laying it, the base should be leveled. For this, a screed is made.
4. Note that if the contours of the pipes are different, then they must be formed in separate sections. A damper tape is used to separate them.
After all the work has been completed, you can start checking the heating system. If there are any shortcomings, then they are eliminated immediately. If they are not, then the floor can be finished .
The right choice and styling of the materials presented will provide you with comfort, warmth and cost savings. Good luck