North Leeds Plumbing & Heating – Home Improvement and DIY Advice

Archive for the ‘Underfloor Heating’ Category

Underfloor heating is a popular DIY project; what person doesn’t hate walking across a cold floor first thing of a winter’s morning. There is no better way to get up in the morning than to a toasty warm floor.

The simplest system to install is electric heated floor mats. These are rolled out across the floor surface and then the flooring, be it tiles, laminate or boards are fitted as normal on top. Once the mat is plugged in you have an instantly heated floor.

The underfloor hot water heating system is more involved and complicated to fit and should only be undertaken by an experienced DIY expert. They rely on a network of water pipes that connect to the central heating system. Due to the diameter of the pipes you will have to first seal the pipes in a concrete slab, over which you fit your desired flooring.

Where fitting under tile heating yourself becomes complicated is with the connecting of water pumps, heating units and assessing the correct amount of piping required as this varies depending on the property. Anyone contemplating their own underfloor heating system needs to have a good knowledge of plumbing and electrical work before starting, otherwise you could end up costing yourself more than you intended.

For this reason the best place for a first attempt at DIY underfloor heating installation is upstairs. Here you can loop the pipes around and through the ceiling joists and there is no need for concrete flooring or false floors to be constructed.

Basically, underfloor heating is a central heating system which works from the floor upwards, warming the air through conduction and radiation. Heat is generated by electricity passing through conductive cables, film or mesh, or by hot water from a boiler, running through a network of pipes. These are then hidden under the floor covering, whether tiles, wood or laminate.

Under tile heating has seen an enormous increase in popularity in the UK in recent years and is commonly used in chilly north European countries. It has been around since the Romans built their original hypocaust systems which used low level furnaces to heat air which was circulated through the space below the stone floors of their villas and bath houses. Different variations have continued to be used throughout the ages, culminating in the modern underfloor heating systems available today.

Once seen as an expensive luxury by the British, it has evolved to become an affordable alternative to traditional heating. A range of technical developments have also made it more efficient and easier to install. There are two different ways of installation, depending on the system you choose and the type of flooring you have. Floor heating systems can either have a layer of screed poured over them, or can simply be fixed to the sub-floor. To avoid wasting heat, underfloor heating insulation is placed underneath. These systems can be used throughout an entire building or be limited to one or two rooms, and often run in tandem with traditional systems.

Underfloor heating has become very popular in the UK, and is now used in the majority of new homes built.  There are three main types of underfloor heating systems available, and each has benefits and drawbacks. 

The first is a forced-air system, where hot air moves through a series of ducts or pipes laid beneath the floor.  This is a variation on the centuries-old Roman system of blowing heat from a fire or furnace, below the raised floor of a residence.  Forced air systems are still in use, but are not as energy efficient as other methods, and are not found in many modern residences.

More common is the hydronic, or water underfloor heating.  In this method hot water is forced through pipes laid beneath the floor.  Often in a new construction these pipes are embedded within the cement foundation, which not only insulates the pipes very well, but provides a heat sink, collecting and slowly releasing the heat.  However, this is a heavy installation, with or without the cement pad, and is not practical as a remodelling project.

The more commonly-found method today is the electric underfloor heating system. This is a series of thin electrical wires woven into a lightweight mat.  Several mats can fit together to cover any size space. They are simply laid over the sub-floor of the area you wish to heat, anchored with Thinset, and then the desired flooring material is laid over the top.

This type of installation is easy enough for a do-it-yourself homeowner to accomplish, though generally the electrical connections require a licensed electrician to ensure you’re not overloading your circuits.

Many homeowners are familiar with water underfloor heating systems as well as the more common electric underfloor heating systems used in many homes these days. But there are now also options on the market for those who are not necessarily seeking heated floors but simply a more efficient manner of insulating against sudden temperature increases and decreases to more effectively manage the electricity bill. This is where an underfloor heating insulation system comes into play, as it creates an economically safe way of maintaining the temperature of a home without relying on any actual underfloor electric heating systems.

Underfloor heating insulations are sold in a variety of forms to meet the very specific needs of each underfloor heating installation. They are not only capable of supporting tiled floors, but they can also work in conjunction with wood and laminate. They combine a unique system of high strength and low thermal conductivity that is ideal for insulating any floor of the house. They are typically designed for use over solid concrete sub-floors, but they are also manufactured in the form of tile backer boards to allow for ease of use when installing an under tile heating system. Underfloor heating insulation is generally waterproof, resistant to mould and rot, easy to handle, inexpensive to purchase, and extremely easy to install. This makes it perfect for the DIY enthusiast who is looking to install an underfloor heating kit without relying on expensive professionals to do the job for him/her. Underfloor heating insulation material and underfloor heating kits are available at most home improvement stores.

Electric underfloor heating is one of the most common types of underfloor heating systems in use today. Mostly they consist of heat mats that are sold as part of an underfloor heating kit. These underfloor heating systems come supplied with a full installation guide that instructs the consumer how to install the underfloor heating kit itself, along with the underfloor heating thermostat. The beauty of modern electric underfloor heating is that the heat mats are thin and extremely easy to install, which means the complexity of the systems used in the 20th century has gone the way of the dinosaur.

Underfloor heating is currently one of the most popular ways to heat the home. Heat rises, so it is only natural that normal heaters have never been able to completely and evenly spread heat throughout the entire home. Most underfloor heating is extremely inexpensive, quite economical, and there is little or no maintenance required. Above and beyond that, there are no radiators or heaters visible to the naked eye, which allows homeowners to customise the interior of their home without having to have an ugly heating unit marring the design space. And considering that underfloor heating kits can be installed underneath any type of flooring material, they are ideal for both home improvement projects such as renovations or for new builds as well. No matter what type of underfloor heating systems you are researching, they are available at any local improvement store for fast and simple installation.

Underfloor heating is known as having been first developed by the Romans centuries ago. It is today a water or electric technology under floor system for heating rooms.

Underfloor heating utilises radiant heat rather than convected heat, this is typically longer lasting heat and is more cost efficient to produce. In the 1960s, electric underfloor heating tended to warm floors using cheap electricity during the night for suitable room temperatures during the day. This tended to be a rather unreliable system of heating however, as heat could not be effectively regulated.

Contemporary underfloor heating controls seek to address this problem. Underfloor heating systems are nowadays designed in such a way as to be self-regulating in the environment of a fully insulated building space. Technically speaking, the heat regulation is driven by the temperature difference between the floor surface and that of the air within a room. As the temperature difference between the floor and the surrounding air can fluctuate continuously, so the underfloor heating system is continuously active to regulate its heat output.

Water or wet underfloor heating control units include a manifold, a pump, a mixing valve and of course an underfloor heating thermostat. A manifold is the centre of a water underfloor heating system. It is this unit which distributes the heated water running throughout the underfloor network of water pipes. A manifold can be a part of an underfloor heating kit, and thus be installed as part of a DIY project. The same is true for the mixing valve that regulates the hot and cold water.

Electric underfloor heating is the simplest system in that it has few components and is easy to install. It can also be the cheapest option for small areas where you want to enhance the existing central heating, by taking the chill off bathroom tiles or to keep a conservatory warm for example. Electric underfloor heating kits can be installed as a DIY project, although an electrician should connect it to the consumer unit for you.

An electric underfloor heating kit will have either a long length of unbroken cable that you must lay out evenly in loops across the floor, or a series of mats with the cables already in place. Heat insulation also needs to be placed beneath the cables, and the type depends on your floor construction, and how much depth you have to play with. Unless there is an inbuilt return, the cable will need to start and finish at the same point. It needs to be connected to the consumer unit via a fused spur. Electricity can then pass through the circuit, heating up the floor above it. Electric underfloor heating kits are also earthed and insulated to comply with safety regulations.

When several circuits are installed, covering different zones, they each have separate underfloor heating thermostats and individual fuses. Room and floor temperature sensors work with thermostats to control the level of heat. Electric underfloor heating cables can be fragile and need to be protected with a layer of screed or other material, according to the manufacturer’s recommendation.

Step five is the final stage in fitting a DIY underfloor heating kit. By the time you reach this point you are virtually there, you just need to get connected. You should have all the pipe work plumbed in, have run your 24hr pressure and leak check. You should have established that the system is running without any leaks and that it is safe to connect the electricity supply to provide the heat to the water and install the controls for the manifold unit.

Once again, this step is dependent on your DIY knowledge and expertise and you may well want to employ a qualified electrician to carry out this work. However if you are familiar with electrics and have some experience you may want to connect it yourself. You should first familiarise yourself with the current regulations regarding the installation of electrical wiring, as it may be that you must have a qualified electrician carry out this work.

As with previous stages, there are diagrams and instructions available on the Internet and you would be well advised to follow them closely. Once you have connected the controls, you have a working underfloor heating system and can arrange for the floor to be finished with either a concrete screed or wooden flooring.

It will not be long before you find that the room has a lovely warm quality and you should be really pleased you chose an underfloor heating system for your home.

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.