Concrete flooring is extremely compatible with underfloor heating to create efficient heating results for buildings, homes, and other structures. With correct insulation, underfloor heating can be added to concrete flooring in order to emit heating at sustainable heating prices. In this article, you will find a handy installation guide for installing underfloor heating on concrete floors using the correct tools to prevent the concrete flooring from becoming damaged by the heat and installation process.
Here is what you will learn in this article about installing underfloor heating on concrete floors:
Contents
Pre-Planning your Flooring
Before you begin laying down your underfloor heating on concrete floors, you need to pre-plan your flooring, meaning that you need to take the time to measure out the area you wish to install the heating materials into. The last thing you want to do during this process is to miss out certain measurements and mess up the rest of the installation.
Secondly, you may want to see whether your concrete flooring will provide efficient heating results after the underfloor heating kit has been added to it. Most experts recommend semi-dry screed since it has a balanced mix of cement and sand to emit and control the right amount of heating.
Preparing the flooring
To prepare underfloor heating for concrete floors, simply expose the layer of concrete flooring that you wish to lay down the underfloor heating on. Once you have done this, clear the flooring of any debris, dirt, or dust to make the area as clean as possible. Most floorboards can be added to concrete flooring once they are dry, flat, and leveled out.
Other details you need to check over when preparing your flooring are signs of damp, grease, or oil that could cause problems later down the line if you do not adjust these first. Problems like damp and grease can prevent the adhesive from working properly and delay the process. Furthermore, you should choose whether electric or water underfloor heating will be the better choice for adding under your concrete flooring.
Adding the Perimeter Strip
When installing underfloor heating on concrete floors, ensure that you remove any skirting boards and doors from the area to give you maximum access to the flooring. You will also need to trim them when preparing your final floor finish. Lay down a perimeter strip around the edges of the designated area, and can use sticky tape or a staple gun to keep the adhesive secure. The perimeter strip will allow you to monitor the entire area where you are going to be laying down the underfloor heating as well to help with expansion and reduce heat loss.
To help aid this process of installing underfloor heating on concrete floors, you can add polystyrene boards to help with insulation and monitor how thick they will be when measuring the room’s height if they are too thick.
Installing the piping
After you have laid down the perimeter strip and polystyrene, you next need to drill some holes in the wall before you place and fix the boards. Once you have checked that there are no kinks in the pipes, seal the ends of the piping with tape. You cannot prepare your underfloor heating on concrete floors efficiently unless you do this.
Piping Layout
Now you can review the piping layout drawing and check that the underfloor heating manifold is in the right position. The drawing will also help to demonstrate how the pipework should be set when the boards have been placed on top. Measure the routes of the normal pipe runs and boards before you install the underfloor heating on concrete floors.
After this, you can cut the insulation boards to make sure that they fit correctly, and using small instruments like a craft knife will help to effectively cut the boards to the size that you want.
What are the pros and cons of concrete flooring? Find out now.
Installing underfloor heating on concrete floors
Now that you have made the necessary checks, you can now begin laying down the heating pipe to the manifold and lay down the appropriate floorboards as instructed. Adding adhesive to the boards will help them be more secure and effective towards sustaining the heat made from the heating kit. Install all the boards, and then lay down the floor heating pipes. You may find that this process works just as well for laying underfloor heating on timber flooring too.
When installing the final floor covering, it is important to ensure that the surface is level and smooth. Any imperfections in the surface can affect the efficiency of the heating system and cause problems with the final floor covering.
Effective heat to be made from concrete flooring
By this point, your underfloor heating on concrete floors should be ready to go. Turn on the equipment, and within a matter of minutes, you should begin to notice a difference already from your underfloor heating, after following the instructions laid out before you.
If you have used the right adhesive and followed the pipe layout accordingly, your energy bills should also begin to drop over time too. By following these steps, you can install a reliable and efficient underfloor heating on concrete floors system that will provide warmth and comfort during the cold winter months. With underfloor heating, you can enjoy a warm and cozy home without the need for bulky radiators or noisy fans.
FAQs
Can underfloor heating be installed on existing concrete floors?
You can install underfloor heating on an already existing concrete flooring. Electric underfloor heating is better for this process, and so long as the flooring is polished, you should be able to fit in an insulation system, too, without too much of a problem.
Can underfloor heating be added on top of the screed?
Most screeds are usually found to be added as floating screed for most varieties of underfloor heating or insulation methods. This can be done by placing the screed on a separate membrane which will be added on top of the underfloor heating.
When installing underfloor heating on concrete floors, how much concrete should be added over underfloor heating?
Applying concrete at a thickness rate of 50-75mm will make a big difference for allowing the concrete to handle heating parameters better.
Sources
The Spruce. (2021, June 30). An In-Depth Look at Concrete Flooring. Retrieved [17/03/23], from: https://www.thespruce.com/in-depth-look-at-concrete-flooring-1314684#:~:text=Keeping%20a%20concrete%20floor%20looking,mop%20the%20floor%20clean%20periodically.
