North Leeds Plumbing & Heating – Home Improvement and DIY Advice

Archive for the ‘Heating’ Category

Bathroom radiators are a necessity but now individuals are trying to incorporate this necessary element into the design of their bathroom as a whole. Of course, it stands to reason that manufacturers have cottoned on to this trend and are now producing sleek, design-led bathroom radiators which will assist their customers in creating a contemporary space.

One such company is Aeon. They create designer radiators from stainless steel; therefore you can be assured you are buying quality alongside luxury. In fact, all Aeon radiators come with a twenty year guarantee which means that you are also purchasing piece of mind.

Aeon’s Cat Ladder Polished Steel Towel Rail is one of their most popular designs. While towel rails are often considered a practical element within a bathroom, Aeon has managed to combine this factor with effortless style. As with all of their radiators the entire unit, inclusive of fixtures and fittings, is constructed from stainless steel. There are three available sizes which mean that this bathroom radiator should be suitable for any sized room. This radiator is guaranteed to enhance the aesthetic of your bathroom. It will not take up a lot of room, with a depth of just 34mm.

Aeon Radiators are designed with ease of installation in mind, therefore when you purchase one of their products it will come complete with all of the fixtures and fittings required for connection. They also use the strongest welding technology so you know your product will be as strong as it is stylish.

By the time you reach step four of installing your water underfloor heating system you are almost finished. You will now have the manifold fitted to the wall, the floor insulated, the pipe work snaking neatly across the floor and connected back to the manifold. The next step is checking out the system.

Step four is where you need to check your work. Before the floor is sealed away forever, you need to establish that it really is watertight and the pressure in the pipes is correct. To do this, connect a hosepipe to the system and fill it with water. As with the previous stages, in depth instructions are always available on the Internet and you are advised to follow them closely. If you employed a plumber to fit the pipe work these tests are something he should be doing before he leaves.

Once the system is filled with water you need to check for any sign of leakage. Be very thorough with your checks, because once the concrete screed has be laid it can be very costly to correct any problems. Note the pressure displayed on the gauge and if you are sure there are no leaks monitor it for 24hrs. There may be a slight dip, but if the pressure falls dramatically or plummets to zero, then you do have a leak and you must find and correct it before you go any further with the installation.

When installing your own underfloor heating system you need to follow 5 steps. Firstly you need to attach the pre-assembled manifold to the wall, then you must prepare the floor area with insulation; Marmox is an excellent product and lay the fixing rails, in uniform lines, to the base and the wall.

Step three is to lay the actual pipe work and this is where you must consider whether you have the necessary experience to carry out the work yourself. If you have pipe work skills then by all means lay it yourself, but if you have any doubts then you really need to consider employing a plumber, as the pipes need to snake in even rows from one side of the room to the other, with a break in the middle for the thermostat controller. All the bends must have watertight joints, as you certainly do not want to find that the system is leaking once you have laid the floor. You are advised to use one or more insulation clips on all bends. A plumber will weld the joints if he is concerned about leaks and the pipes need to be evenly spaced to ensure that the underfloor heating system runs to its optimum efficiency.

The pipe work should then be connected back to the manifold and finally, using the brackets supplied, fix the pipe work to the fixing rails to add stability.

There are five steps to fitting a wet underfloor heating system. Firstly you need to fit the manifold, which is supplied pre-assembled, to the wall.

Step two is insulating the floor surface and securing fixing rails to the floor. There are various options when it comes to insulation, but make sure that you get a good brand that is waterproof. The supplier that you buy your underfloor heating system from should be able to recommend a suitable product and this can be fixed to the floor with normal tile adhesive.

Once this is dry you need to consider the fixing rails, which need to be laid out in parallel lines along the floor to give the brackets that sit over the pipe work a fixing point. Remember, the pipe work will snake around the floor and rest against these fixing rails, so you must ensure they are suitable for the amount of pipe work you are going to use. There are various online sites that will give you pointers on how to set out your fixing rails, but you do need to make sure they are well fitted and that the ends are secured to the walls. They should also be fixed to the insulation with adhesive.

Make sure that the adhesive fixing all these elements dries out completely before you move onto the next stage or you could have unwanted movement, which could be detrimental to the efficiency of the completed system.

If you have decided to install your own water underfloor heating system you will need to follow the five main steps to achieve a professional result. Some of these steps you will be able to carry out yourself, while for others you may need to employ a local professional to assist you.

Step one is to fit the manifold to the wall. If you buy this from a specialist DIY underfloor heating company it will come pre-assembled, which is going to be a great time saver for you and reduce the level of knowledge you need to install it. This piece of equipment is the controller, which draws the required volume of water for the underfloor heating into the system from your main boiler and links to the thermostat sensor. This determines how much heating the water needs in order to match the system’s settings. The water passes through the heating pipes and the temperature is adjusted as necessary. From here the water enters the pipes under the floor and creates the warmth that passes up from the floor and warms the room. The temperature is set to a maximum of 65°C and cannot be increased beyond this.

The unit is fairly straightforward to fit, you simply need a drill, some rawlplugs suitable for the type of wall you are fitting it too and the correct screws to ensure that the unit is securely mounted.

Underfloor heating is an excellent way to keep your home warm and when installed correctly is one of the lowest maintenance and safest systems around. However, a word of warning, this system is electrical, which means that DIY enthusiasts need to exercise caution, as electricity really isn’t something to be messed with. Sadly, horror stories can be heard of lives lost through mistakes when working on electrical installations and one slip really can leave the house ‘live’ and lethal.

Unless you are a qualified electrician you need to seriously consider spending the money getting a professional in to fit your underfloor heating, as he will know exactly what he is doing. Take recommendations from friends and family and choose an electrician who can prove he has all the legal qualifications, so that you can be assured you are working with someone who really knows what they are doing. In addition, by having a professional in to do the work you will also get a guarantee for the work. Should there be any minor issues later on, the installer will come back and resolve them for you.

There are sections of the installation process that can be done by a DIY enthusiast, which will save some time and money, but certainly not when it comes to dealing with electricity, as this really is a massive issue. The product you choose, whether it is a water underfloor heating system or an all-electric system, will need proper electrical installation to be completely safe.

Finding the best deal on underfloor heating system is no different than with any other product, it is all about research and shopping around. Start by deciding what you want, whether you are looking at having an electric underfloor heating system or a water underfloor heating system. Make sure you know the quantities you need and decide whether you are going to have the system installed from start to finish by professionals or whether you are going to do the donkey work yourself and just bring in a tradesman when necessary.

Next, you should use a search engine to find as many companies as possible that offer the service you are looking for and contact each one for a quote. Some will have a quotation system on their websites, while others will need you to call them. When the quotes start coming in, make sure you really are comparing like for like. Don’t overlook costs for items like delivery and fitting and make sure that you understand the quote.

Ask as many questions as you need, with each company, consider things like what happens if the floor takes longer to fit than their quote allows for and what will they charge; also be sure to check what guarantees do they give for the work. Sometimes it may not be the cheapest underfloor heating company that offers the best guarantee and workmanship, so it could be worth paying a little more to use that company, because in the long run, you may actually save money.

Marmox is a great example of insulation for your underfloor heating system and is specifically required in the case of electric systems. When installing an electric underfloor heating system you need to lay a layer of insulation onto the concrete floor, then lay the heating mat or wire on top, which prevents the heat being lost into the ground below and instead forces it in an upwards direction, which in turn heats the floor, giving the room a lovely warm feel.

Marmox insulation is made of waterproof polystyrene and is perfect for the job, as it is lightweight and easy to work with. Fix it to the concrete floor with the same adhesive as you use to lay the tiled floor. You will find that your cost savings will be enhanced by using the correct insulating material. Heat mats or wire systems are the simplest to install and fixing a layer of insulation board first doesn’t really add to the complexity of the project, but does make an overall improvement in the effectiveness of your underfloor heating system. 

The boards produced by Marmox are very strong and are specifically designed to be safe under the floor, so they will not cause the floor to sink or give. They are also waterproof, so can be used on walls and ceilings too, which will make heating the room very efficient. In the long run this will considerably reduce your electricity bills.

Floors of slate, marble and ceramic tiles are among the most sought after and luxurious additions to any bathroom. However opulent the room might already be, they look fantastic, instantly denote the homeowner as a person of taste and wealth and ensure that the bathroom is one of the centrepieces of the home.

However, there is a drawback to all these luxurious bathroom fittings. Unless you live in an extremely warm climate, at some time or other you are going to feel cold, either getting into or out of, the bath or shower.

To get around this problem and to rid the owner of the temptation to haphazardly distribute bath mats all over his or her palatial bathroom, more and more people are beginning to appreciate the benefits of bathroom underfloor heating. What’s more, today you do not have to be a millionaire to be able to afford one.

The actual installation is comparatively straightforward. Located just underneath your bathroom floor, a system of cables is embedded in mortar. These run off the normal domestic mains supply and heat the floor tiles, ensuring a constant source of heating.

While many will immediately telephone a certified engineer, installing the system is really no more difficult than laying a new floor. Indeed, the perfect time to incorporate the system in your bathroom is at the same time as you lay your new floor.

Just before your designer bathroom tiles are to be glued and grouted, the cables are laid out in a grid in a way that ensures the surface area is systematically covered. The entire system is then wired to an external outlet, the tiles are laid, the circuit switched on and there you have it, a perfect temperature-controlled bathroom.

There are two main choices when it comes to electric underfloor heating and heating cables and mats is one of them. Heating cables are an older style technology and can be quite difficult, especially if you are looking for a DIY underfloor heating system. You have to be accurate with the spacing of the heating cables and they have to be secured to the floor. You need a degree of experience to ensure that you get the cables spaced properly or you will create problems for the future.

Heating cables are excellent in small rooms, such as bathrooms, but not so clever when working with large areas. However, heating mats have been introduced and these have taken away some of the issues and made electric underfloor heating systems somewhat easier to install. Small heating mats have been used to keep pet reptiles warm for a long time and now the technology has been scaled up to be used in the home. As simple as it sounds, the heating mat is simply unrolled and laid across the floor. This is much easier for you to deal with if you are looking at a DIY underfloor heating system. In effect, the old style heating cables have been pre-laid into a mat and now you just have to lay the mat, which can be cut to work around obstacles like kitchen islands and doorframes. The speed and simplicity of laying this system is a definite selling point.