How to make an electric underfloor heating in a bathroom with your own hands

Recommendation points

• Why infrared floor heating. Selection of infrared heating films
• Step-by-step installation of a warm floor
• Planning
• Training
• Laying the thermal insulation layer
• Heating foil installation and wiring
• Installing and checking the thermostat
• Completing the installation
• A few words about further operation

Underfloor heating, heated with infrared film, is an excellent option for creating cozy warmth in your home. How to properly mount the heating elements, which tools to use for this and how to operate the warm floor – these are the questions this article will answer..

Why infrared floor heating. Selection of infrared heating films

When choosing between floor heating methods, at least four systems can be distinguished:

• film floor
• underfloor heating
• heating mat
• water heated floor

Let us dwell in detail on the installation of underfloor heating from infrared film in the bathroom. In the same way, it will be possible to make the floor in the bedroom, living room, etc., that is, the experience gained will serve well.

Of all the variety of films on the domestic market, Enerpia, Rexva and Q-term trademarks have good recommendations on user reviews. The main technical parameters for choosing a product are the maximum power consumption (W / m²) and strip width (mm). Among the above infrared films, there are no significant differences in technical characteristics, and the difference in price is due to the marketing policy of the manufacturing companies..

For our project, we chose a film warm floor Q-term with a tape width of 500 mm and a maximum power of 220 W / m².

Comparative table of infrared films:

Brand name	Model	Maximum power consumption, W / m2	Width, mm	Price, rub / lin. m
Q-term	Q-term	220	500	275
Rexva	XM-305	245
Enerpia	DW050	400

Step-by-step installation of a warm floor

Planning

Following the time-tested wisdom, it is necessary to measure seven times before proceeding to decisive actions for installing a warm floor. At the planning stage, it should be taken into account that the heating foil should be laid on those areas of the floor that will not be covered by furniture or household appliances. If the configuration of such a space presents a complex shape, it would be nice to display the future installation plan on paper..

Here is an installation plan for our bathroom.

1 – bath; 2 – curbstone; 3 – IR film

From the picture it becomes clear that for the organization of a warm floor, three strips of film are needed, each about 650-700 mm long. Based on this, we purchase 2 meters of infrared film with a width of 500 mm.

Training

Tool:

1. A breadboard knife will be needed to cut the insulating material.
2. Scissors are required to cut the infrared film to the desired length.
3. A screwdriver with a voltage indicator will come in handy at the stage of electrical installation.
4. Pliers will be needed to clamp the cable in the contacts of the film to be mounted.

Materials:

1. Heat-reflecting substrate (preferably, the square of the substrate matches the square of the room). A special film based on foamed rubber can act as thermal insulation, but in most cases, foam insulation is sufficient..
2. Mounting kit (the number of mounting kits must match the number of mounting tapes). The installation kit includes lugs for connecting the power cable and pieces of bitumen insulating tape.
3. Adhesive tape for attaching film strips to each other and to the thermal insulation layer.
4. Installation wire. It is advisable to use a copper stranded conductor in PVC insulation. The cross-section of the conductors in our case should be 1.5 mm².
5. Temperature regulator. This electronic device is designed to automatically maintain the set temperature using the sensor that comes with it. The regulator can be purchased in the same place where you decided to purchase the heating film..
6. You will need a plastic wrap to waterproof the heating elements. Its area corresponds to the square of the room.
7. Reinforcing mesh will be used as a basis for laying tiles.
8. Hammer-in dowels (for attaching a reinforcing mesh).

After preparing the necessary tools and materials, you should clean the floor surface from dust and debris, dry it and then level it if there are significant irregularities..

Laying the thermal insulation layer

Performing this operation, it is necessary to lay the thermal insulation on the surface and connect the strips of the thermal insulator with adhesive tape to each other. A temperature sensor must be placed in the joint between the strips of thermal insulation, which must also be fixed with tape.

The sensor wire must be brought along the strobe or box to the installation site of the regulator.

Heating foil installation and wiring

The film is laid at a distance of at least 20 cm from the wall with an interval between stripes of 3-5 cm.

From the side of installation (usually closer to the place of installation of the thermostat), we attach the terminals for connecting the supply wire to the copper strips of the heating film, insert the wire into them and firmly clamp it in the tip with pliers.

Each connection point is insulated with two pieces of bituminous tape (one is placed under the contact and the other on top). Reliable insulation is a guarantee of trouble-free operation of the warm floor.

The strips should be connected in parallel. The reverse sides of the copper buses, to which the conductors were not connected, should also be insulated with bitumen tape.

Installing and checking the thermostat

After the installation has been completed, the wires coming from the infrared films should be connected to the thermostat, as well as the temperature sensor. After the final check of the correct connection, you can apply voltage and test the operation of the warm floor.

Completing the installation

After making sure that the system is operational and the correct response to a change in the set temperature, you can proceed to the final part of the installation. The entire system is covered with plastic wrap and reinforcing mesh, which are fixed to the floor in the spaces between the infrared foil with hammer-in dowels. The surface is then ready for tiling. Underfloor heating manufacturers recommend gluing tiles on a 10-15 mm glue layer.

A few words about further operation

The advantage of underfloor heating is that almost no maintenance is required after installation. The only element that needs to be serviced or replaced is the thermostat. But we hope that it will serve you for a long time and reliably..