How to fill the floor with concrete - the technology of the

Heated floor has long ceased to be something unusual, nowadays it is quite a traditional heating system. Moreover, it is also possible to fill the floor with concrete independently. To do this, you just need to comply with a certain technology, which we will consider below.

General information

People have long thought about how to make a warm concrete floor. The solution to this problem was the laying of heating circuits inside the concrete screed.

I must say that this heating system is of two types:

• Water - heated by hot water or other liquid that flows through the hoses.
• Electric - heating is carried out with the help of special wires that heat up when they are connected to an electric current.

Underfloor heating is an excellent addition to traditional radiators, especially if there are young children in the house who love to play on the floor.

It must be said that the quality of the heated floor depends not only on the installation of the heating system, but also on the quality of the screed. Therefore, this process must be approached with particular responsibility.

Screed performance

Concrete screed floor for underfloor heating is performed in several of the following steps:

• Installation of beacons;
• Preparation of the solution;
• Fill

Each of them has its own characteristics.

Installation of beacons

So, the heating system is mounted, you can proceed to the installation of a concrete floor. It is necessary to begin work with the installation of beacons, as which you can use a special metal profile. The only thing you should first lay a reinforcing mesh.

When installing beacons, please note that the concrete screed for a warm floor must have a thickness of at least 50 mm from the highest point of the floor. If the floor is performed in an industrial area, then its thickness must be at least 10 cm.

Installation of beacons is carried out in the following order:

• Along the room at a distance of about 150 cm from the wall are lumps of cement mortar, a height slightly greater than 50 mm.
• Then on the lumps fit the first rail, which should be placed horizontally. Therefore, its location must be checked at the building level.
• Further, at a distance shorter than the length of the rule, the second beacon is mounted, and both slats must be in the same horizontal plane, which is also checked by level.
• The rest of the lighthouses to the opposite wall are installed in the same way.

Preparation of the solution

Once the beacons are installed, you can proceed to the preparation of the solution. It should immediately be said that ordinary concrete is not suitable for pouring underfloor heating. For its manufacture, you need a concrete grade not lower than M300 and a filler fraction of 3-5 mm.

Tip! Experts recommend using screenings as a filler, rather than sand, since it has better grip and heat transfer.

In addition, the composition must be added special plasticizers for concrete for underfloor heating. They allow you to make the material more durable, as well as improve the properties of a warm floor, in particular, to accelerate its heating.

Another important point in the execution of the screed are expansion joints. They are especially necessary when pouring a large area. Below we take a closer look at how they are performed.

The composition of the concrete mix for water-heated floors is as follows:

I must say that the same composition can be used for electric floor heating, the only thing is, the thickness of the screed must be at least 45 cm from the cable.

Another solution preparation solution is to use ready-made dry mixes specially designed for underfloor screeds. They contain all the necessary components, including plasticizers. Therefore, to prepare the solution, it is enough to dilute the mixture with water and stir with a mixer.

However, from an economic point of view, to use such mixtures is not very profitable, since their price is higher than self-made solutions.

Note! Before filling the screed it is necessary to check the heating system for operability.

Fill

Fill starts from the opposite wall from the entrance to the room.

The instruction is as follows:

• First of all, a damper tape is glued to the wall.
• Next, fill. The solution should be evenly distributed between the rails-guides of the same span.
• When the concrete reaches the level of the rails, the surface is leveled using a rule that stretches along the beacons from the wall towards itself.
• Next, fill the remaining spans in the same way. As a result, the concrete should fill all the space well.. If in some places pits were formed, they should be draped with a concrete mix and leveled the rule.
• When the concrete grasps, you should dismantle the beacons and seal the traces.

• When the concrete screed is heated on the floor, it is grouted. This makes the floor smoother.
• Then, during the first 10 days, the screed must be periodically wetted so that the solution will freeze evenly.. If the work was done at a high ambient temperature, the floor should be covered with a wet burlap.
• Full concrete freezing occurs 28 days after pouring.. After this period of time you can begin to finish the floor. If the area is large, temperature joints are performed, which prevent cracking of the concrete as a result of expansion when heated.

To perform the temperature joints, for every 30 square meters, make a slot 3-4 cm deep. The reinforced concrete is cut with diamond circles.

• At the end of the work, the seams need to be filled with foamed polyethylene (penofol).

Tip! Before pouring it is necessary to provide openings for communications. If this is not done, then diamond drilling of holes in the concrete will be required later; however, during this operation, the heating system may be damaged.

This completes the concrete floor filling.

Conclusion

It is possible to carry out a coupler of a heat-insulated floor independently, even without having any skills. The only thing is that it is necessary to strictly follow the casting technology, since its violation can even lead to the need to replace the heating system.

If the work is done correctly, then the result will be a comfortable indoor temperature and pleasant warm floors in the cold season. From the video in this article, you can get more information on this topic.