Electric underfloor heating under the tile: installation, video

In rooms with high humidity or high operational load, it is most advisable to use a tiled floor covering. But with all its advantages, tile has one significant drawback: without additional heating it is a rather cold coating. To ensure comfort, many owners use a system of "warm floors". The technology of laying an electric heat-insulated floor under a tile is the most affordable, which is why it is most often used in cases where the work is done by yourself.

The advantages of electric underfloor heating over water

Why is it worth choosing a heated floor for a tile using electric heating elements?

• For residents of apartment buildings, a factor is important that such an option for floor heating is not associated with the risk of leaks. That is, if the underfloor heating system fails, then at least you won’t have to pay damages to the flooded neighbors from below.
• You can heat the room year-round. This is true for apartments with central heating. In addition, nothing will happen to the underfloor heating system when a power outage or hot water supply is cut off. Such accidents are not uncommon, and in the cold season, pipes of a warm floor with water heating can simply freeze.
• Laying an electric heated floor is more compact, so the height of the room will not change as much as when laying pipes with water.
• Electrical elements allow more uniform heating of the surface, and temperature control is more simple.

• Installation of a heated floor with electric heating is simpler than with water. Almost any person who owns the most elementary skills of construction work will be able to lay it with his own hands.
• A warm floor laid with electric heating elements requires virtually no maintenance.

Types of electric heating elements for underfloor heating

Before you make a warm floor with electric heating, you should decide on its type. Three types of heating elements can be distinguished:

• Cable. Sold in the form of coils of a certain length. On the base surface, the cable is fixed using special strips with clamps. They may be part of the kit, or will have to be purchased separately. Installation of cable underfloor heating under the tile will require careful calculation of the required material. Under it, you will have to make the thickest screed. But the price per m2 for such a coating will be the lowest in comparison with other options.

• Installation of mats, which are a cable mounted on a fiberglass mesh, do it yourself much easier. They cost a little more, but stacking them is much easier and more convenient. In addition, the thickness of the screed required for the arrangement of warm floors is reduced.

• The infrared film has the minimum thickness of all types of electric heating elements. But the installation of a film underfloor heating is usually carried out under floor coverings that conduct heat better, such as laminate, linoleum, and carpet. Installing infrared heating film under the tile Not recommended.

Preparatory work

To begin installing a warm electric floor under a tile, you need to prepare the base.

• The old flooring is removed. Cement screed is most suitable for making a warm floor. She should be preferred if the work is done with her own hands.
• The base surface should be perfectly flat. Otherwise, installing the heater in a quality manner will not work: with any bending of the cable, the probability of breakdown increases, and repair will be almost impossible. Therefore, you should eliminate all the irregularities of the base: knock down the protrusions, close up hollows and cracks. In advanced cases, you will have to make a leveling screed.

• In the wall is a strob under the wire. As a rule, controls for warm floors are located at a height of 70 to 100 cm from the floor, but not lower than 30 cm. In rooms with high humidity, it is better to bring out the controls. If the temperature sensor according to the laying scheme should be located in the base of the floor, then a groove is made under it.
• A thorough cleaning of the base from dust and dirt is carried out, after which the surface is primed.
• A styling scheme is drawn up. Heating elements are located at least 10 cm from the walls. The distance from other heaters, such as risers with hot water, must be at least 30 cm. Heating is not carried out in those places of the floor that are intended for the installation of plumbing or heavy stationary furniture.

• A heat-insulating layer is installed, which will increase the efficiency of underfloor heating. In apartments, foil penofol is more often used, it has a smaller thickness, so it does not reduce the height of the room so much. They put it with the foil up so that the heat from the heat is reflected inside the room, retreating from the wall by a distance of 5 cm The junction with the wall is glued with a damper tape, it compensates for the expansion of the screed when heating a warm floor. Polyfoam or expanded polystyrene is used if the apartment is located on the ground floor or above an unheated room. The distance from the wall in this case is 10 cm.
• All joints between the elements of the film thermal insulator are glued with foil tape.

Laying the heating cable

Before installing the cable for a warm floor, it is necessary to check its resistance. It must match the parameters indicated on the labels or documentation. Further the sequence of actions is as follows:

• A special mounting tape is fixed on the surface in increments of 50 cm to a meter. Fastening elements are arranged on it with a pitch of 20 mm, which allows you to create the desired styling configuration. Instead of such a tape, you can use a metal mesh, fixing the cable in this case is carried out using plastic clamps.
• The cable is laid by a snake, in compliance with the necessary indents from the walls. Do not allow one cable to touch another cable or cross it.

• At an equal distance from adjacent turns, a temperature sensor is laid. It is wise to place it in a corrugated tube, the end of which should be carefully sealed to prevent solution from entering.
• The controls for underfloor heating are connected. If you are not sure about your qualifications, it is best to call a professional electrician. If you want to do it yourself - follow the connection diagram indicated on the back of the rheostat or in the instructions.
• Using the tester, the resistance of the heating circuit is checked again. It must match the values ​​obtained before installation.
• To test the performance of the underfloor heating systems, heating is switched on for a short time interval. One minute is enough. The indicators on the rheostat should light up, the cable will start to heat up.

Laying heating mats

Their installation is much simpler, since the cable is already mounted on a fiberglass mesh. It remains only to roll them like a film on a heated surface. The mat under the entire floor should be a single whole, therefore, to obtain the desired configuration, fiberglass is cut with scissors without affecting the heating cable.

Otherwise, the whole scheme of work remains the same, as when laying the cable. After connecting and checking the health of the system, you can proceed to pouring the screed.

More clearly, the installation of an electric underfloor heating under a tile is presented in the video.

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Screed and laying tiles on underfloor heating

The thickness of the screed for a warm floor directly depends on the type of heating element selected: in the case of cable, this parameter is from 30 to 50 mm, and for heating mats - no more than 30. When using the latter, you can completely dispense with screed with a sufficient thickness of the layer of tile glue.

The screed should be leveled very carefully so as not to damage the heating elements. At the same time, the appearance of air bubbles that degrade the efficiency of the system should be avoided.

Laying tiles will differ significantly only in one circumstance: it is necessary to purchase adhesive mortar and grout, designed specifically for laying warm floors. Keep in mind some of the nuances:

• The laying scheme must be selected so that the trimmed tiles are at the edges.
• It is better to start laying with the corner of the room opposite the front door.
• After applying the adhesive solution with a notched trowel, the tile is slightly pressed deep into the hand, controlling the position of each element with the help of a level.
• To obtain smooth seams, plastic crosses are used.
• After the glue has dried, grouting of the joints is carried out, immediately removing the protruding parts of the solution with a wet rag.