Laying laminate on a warm water floor

Living in the zone of temperate continental climate leaves a definite imprint on all aspects of life without exception. The same applies to the choice of materials and technologies for housing construction. For example, the so-called floor heating technology has become very popular. Thanks to its use, the floors in the dwelling have their own heating, which is especially important for a bathroom or toilet. The choice of a suitable flooring is also of great importance. It was experimentally established that one of the suitable materials for this purpose is laminate. How laminate is laid on a warm water floor and will be discussed below.

Description of technology and material

First you need to give a general description of the technology of a warm water floor, as well as to disassemble the operational characteristics of the laminate as a material. From the understanding of these issues will largely depend on the success of installation work.

Warm water floors is a system that is a structure of tubes laid in a screed or under the finish floor covering that circulates coolant. The technology has a number of positive characteristics, among which are:

• relative simplicity of the device;
• availability;
• leveling of humidity in the room;
• the uniform level of heating of the floor surface in the room;
• underfloor heating can act as an additional source of space heating.

As for the laminate, it is a composite material consisting of several layers and having good performance characteristics. Laminate is a material that is available, easy to install and durable. It is no coincidence that the combination of warm floor and laminate is considered one of the most optimal.

Phased instruction

First, a few words should be said about the installation of the warmest floor. Work, as in most other cases, should be done in stages.

• First, dismantle the old flooring. Dismantle the floors you need up to a concrete base.
• Next, the base must be leveled. For these purposes, it is possible to use self-leveling mixtures or, in the case of significant surface defects, perform a concrete screed along the beacons. The main thing that needs to be achieved is the maximum flatness of the coating, since the laminate is an extremely demanding material to the base.
• After the surface is ready, a special substrate is laid on it. It is better to use foiled materials, since the heat will be reflected upwards, which will have a positive effect on the thermal effect. It is important to remember that it is necessary to stack the material with an overlap of at least 10 cm, and the joints are taped to ensure tightness.
• Further pipes of a heat-insulated floor keep within. Laying can be done in spirals, rings or something else, but the main condition for this is the uniformity of placement of the tubes over the entire floor surface.
• After laying the tubes, lags are installed that will serve as supports. As these, you can use a wooden bar 50? 50 mm. In order for the timber not to press on the tubes at the points of their intersection, it is necessary to make special notches of the appropriate depth. Lags are placed at a distance of about 1 meter from each other for maximum floor stability.
• The next stage of work is laying of plywood base. This is necessary because the laminate, although it has its own rigidity, is not able to withstand considerable mechanical loads. Sheet plywood with a thickness of about 1 cm can act as an additional base.
• On top of the plywood base is laid directly laminate. Separate elements of the laminate are interconnected by the ends, so that the board is similar. Laying cover is made across the length of the room. Between themselves, the elements of the coating are connected through a special locking connection provided for by the design. Each next element is inserted with a lock into the grooves of the previous one and with the help of light strokes of a palm or a rubber hammer snaps into place, forming a uniform connection. Thus, the installation of the coating on the entire surface of the floor.

You can add that underfloor heating can be mounted under the screed. This option is also quite common, so it should be considered separately.

• First of all, you need to consider that the base for laying laminate should be as level as possible. Surface distortions of more than 1 mm per square meter of base are not allowed. This circumstance should be taken into account at the stage of the screed. If irregularities are present, they must be eliminated.
• Before installing the laminate it is necessary to lay the substrate. It will perform waterproofing, shock-absorbing and noise-insulating functions. The material is laid butt and taped.
• Then you can lay the laminate itself. It is worth remembering that to ensure the possibility of deformation, which will inevitably occur when the humidity in the room changes, a gap of about 1 cm must be left around the perimeter.

It is worth adding that in addition to the main stages of installation, there are additional points that should be taken into account when working:

• Certain difficulties may arise when laying the extreme elements of the coating. In order to fit the boards in size, they can be cut along a laminate using an electric jigsaw.
• In addition, it should be added that in order to adapt the laminate to the conditions of humidity inside the room, the finishing material should be left there for at least a day before the work.
• Among other things, it is important to know that due to the possible change in the laminate of its physical dimensions, due to heating or changes in humidity inside the room, the installation should be done in a floating way. This means that the coating is not fixed along the walls of the room.
• Another nuance to which attention should be paid is that the laminate should be stacked in a checkerboard pattern. That is, the end joints of the lamellae of one row should be located in the middle of the lamella of the previous row. Thus, the strength of the coating will be maximum.
• To achieve even greater density of joints or for waterproofing purposes, all joints can be treated with silicone sealants.

As can be seen from the above material, installation of laminate flooring on top of underfloor heating is also possible with your own hands. At the same time, it is important to ensure all the necessary technological aspects and observe the rules for performing the work.

Video

The following video demonstrates another method of laying underfloor heating and installing laminate on it:

See also:

• How to choose laminate flooring.
• How to put a film underfloor heating under the laminate.
• Electric floor heating under the laminate.
• Laminate on laminate: is it possible.
• Manufacturers of Russian laminate.