Features and subtleties of laying infrared warm floor under linoleum

One common option for producing comfortable and effective heating in homes is an infrared underfloor heating system. Infrared rays are emitted by them, and instead of heating the air, they directly warm people and things. This can lower energy expenses and create a cozier atmosphere in your room.

To guarantee that infrared heating is installed beneath linoleum, there are a few specific steps that must be followed. Infrared heating works well with linoleum, a flexible and long-lasting flooring option, but for maximum effectiveness and longevity, proper installation is essential.

The essential elements and subtleties of installing an infrared heated floor beneath linoleum will be covered in this guide. We’ll go over how to prepare the subfloor, how to install the heating elements, and the best ways to make sure your heating system operates efficiently and lasts a long time. You can have a cozy, welcoming floor that flawlessly matches your linoleum with the appropriate method.

Is it possible to lay down?

Warm floors are no longer regarded as an expensive luxury; they are now readily available to consumers. As a result, a lot of people are worried about whether to use electric or water for heating. The answer is simple: infrared heating is the ideal heating method if linoleum is selected as the finishing coating.

This is because movies with heating components are available for any room and can be chosen based on power. Therefore, a heated floor with a power of 220 W/m2 is appropriate if there is no heating at the installation site, and a heated room with a power of 150 W/m2. You can set the maximum heating temperature to 23–26 °C with this "power," and the linoleum coating will not be harmed.

It should be noted that while electric cables and water floors may have "hot spots" of greater or lesser heating, which will negatively impact the condition of the linoleum, infrared radiation is not only beneficial but also heats up uniformly, dispersing heat over the entire surface of the finishing coating.

Additionally, IR warm systems can be installed independently by employing the "dry" technique after a plan for installation and network connection has been created beforehand.

When it is not allowed to lay?

Such heating may not always be suitable for this kind of coating. For instance, since the warm backing material will not transmit heat, it is impossible to combine IR film with it. It should be remembered that not all of these coatings are appropriate for heating. For instance, heat can deform or destroy alkyd and nitrocellulose options, and relin cannot be laid at all in residential areas.

It should be noted that linoleum, which should only be installed with glue, is not appropriate because the adhesive solution may bubble when heated, affecting the coating and causing it to "wave." This cannot be fixed without removing the entire layer.

What types of material is it suitable for?

When laying linoleum on an IR floor, there are certain considerations that need to be made. Among them are:

• Thermal conductivity. It depends not only on the thickness of the linoleum, but also on the material from which it is made. Today, manufacturers produce coatings specifically for laying on heated floors. To understand that they are suitable for this, special markings are put. Examples of the latter are presented below:
• Material. Only two types of linoleum are suitable for laying on heated floors – PVC (vinyl) and marmoleum (natural). The first is inexpensive, but if it does not have a special marking, then when heated it may smell bad. The second is made from natural components, for example, cork, is completely safe, durable, and tolerates heating well.
• Permissible heating level. This indicator is indicated in the technical description of the coating. So, for marmoleum – this is +26 ° C, while for a vinyl analogue the maximum heating is +29 ° C. When heating a natural coating to +27 ° C or higher, it begins to soften, so the power of the IR heated floor should not exceed 60 W / m 2 . Below is a marmoleum pie:
• Base. There are linoleums with heat and sound insulation layers. They are not suitable for laying on heated floors, as they do not allow the material to warm up. The best option is thin coverings with a smooth base, provided that they will be laid on a solid base over the IR floor, for example, plywood sheets.

These subtleties should be considered when selecting linoleum; additionally, as there are only two types of IR heated floors that can be installed, you will need to choose the type of material, color, and cost.

Requirements for IR heating

When deciding whether to install a heating system or go with linoleum, you should consider the following factors:

• The specific power of the IR film should not exceed 150 W / m 2 for rooms with a heating system. If the heated floor is the only source of heating, then its power should be 200-250 W / m 2, but it is important to choose linoleum that can withstand high temperatures.
• The coating thickness should not be higher than 1.5 cm, otherwise the heat will not “reach” its surface and be transferred to surrounding objects, which means that the IR floor will work “idle”, and the room will not become warmer.
• to control the efficiency of the heated floor, you need to install two temperature sensors – the main and the spare, and also monitor the air heating temperature.

The best infrared heated floors for daily use are "striped" films, where the heating elements are arranged in transverse strips and are supported by buses made of copper and silver.

It’s crucial to comprehend the advantages of infrared warming flooring under linoleum as well as the essential procedures for a flawless installation. This system can improve comfort and save energy because it provides even and efficient heating. To guarantee maximum performance and longevity, however, careful installation and subfloor preparation are essential.

Preparing the base

Due to its extreme thinness, the film containing the infrared radiation and heating elements is highly "sensitive" to any flaws in the base. As a result, it’s essential that:

• remove the old coating;
• clean the subfloor located underneath from dirt;
• degrease its surface;
• if necessary, level the rough coating either dry using expanded clay, or self-leveling, using concrete mortar.

The film will need to be placed on a perfectly flat base. The warm floor, which is only 0.5 mm thick, will experience increased loads in these areas if there are even the slightest variations in height, chips, or "waves," which will quickly disable it.

Thermal insulation is laid over the subfloor after it has been leveled. All of the components, whether they are made of sheets or rolls, need to be fitted end to end and fastened together with construction tape. Once the floor has been marked, you can begin cutting and laying the film in accordance with a diagram that has already been prepared.

Methods and rules for installing a film system

You should be aware of the layers that make up the pie of a floor this warm in order to properly position the IR film. It consists of:

• Heat-reflecting substrate. As it, you can use isolon or infrax or any other material that does not contain aluminum foil.
• Infrared film.
• Waterproofing layer. The easiest way to insulate a ready-made and proven IR floor system is to lay a 2 mm thick polyethylene film on top of it. It will protect the heating elements from moisture getting on them. Lay the film overlapping, fastening the panels with tape.
• Hard layer. It is necessary to protect the heated floor under a soft linoleum covering. For this you can use sheets of plywood or hardboard.
• Finish coating – linoleum.

You must determine the length of each strip in advance, accounting for the room’s floor area and furniture placement, in order to install IR film correctly. Only the lines marked by the manufacturer may be used to cut them. If necessary, cut sheets can be laid overlapping, but it is not advised to lay cut sheets end to end. Additionally, there should be more than one centimeter between the tires of different strips.

Crucial: the length of the entire film strip determines the size of the connection points and, consequently, the wires. The latter ought to be arranged in a way that allows them to be "hidden" in the baseboards.

While the heating film should only be installed in accordance with the plan, that is, in areas without large furniture or equipment, the entire floor area should be covered with waterproofing with a rigid layer on top of it and insulation beneath it. As a result, the base height for the linoleum installation will be consistent.

These are the subtleties of using an IR floor, and this is the order in which the tasks are completed:

1. A scheme for laying the film is drawn up and a calculation of the materials is carried out. To find out how many rolls of underfloor heating will be needed, you need to use the following formulas: After this, the power of the heating system is calculated. Below are the options for what the power of the IR film should be for different coatings and for its different uses, taking into account the average range of 150-220 W / m 2 : Having decided on the amount of material, you should choose a place for the temperature sensor: if the heating area is large, then you need to buy a separate temperature sensor for each roll of film, and if the heated floor is laid in a living space and one set is enough, then there will be one temperature sensor. It should be installed on a wall located perpendicular to the direction of the strips with heating elements. This approach will reduce the length of the wire.
2. A thermal insulation with a reflective layer, but not foil, is laid on a clean base. It will reflect heat towards the finishing coating, which will save electricity. If the heated floor is done in a private house on the second floor, then this stage can be skipped so that the heat from the film heats the floor slab between the floors. In an apartment building, this stage is mandatory, otherwise the heat will go to the neighbors below.
3. The film is cut into strips of the required length. How to do this is shown below:
4. Floor elements are laid according to the markings according to the diagram. It is important to take into account the following rules:
5. the first strip should be laid at a distance of 1 m from the nearest object or wall, but no further than 4 m;
6. the distance between the strips of film should be at least 1 cm;
7. The maximum allowable strip length should be 8 m.
8. A squima is produced – metal clamps are installed at the ends of copper tires. After that, it is necessary to insulate the connection points, as well as copper stripes in the places of cutting the film.
9. The wires are fixed. They need to be connected to clamps, squeezed and isolate, observing the connection rules, that is, the right wire with the right tire, and the left with the left. In order not to confuse and make the connection in parallel, wires of different colors, for example, are red and blue should be used. Clamps with wires protrude above the film. So that they are not damaged by load after laying the finish coating, it is necessary to cut out the recesses under them in thermal insulation.
10. The temperature sensor is installed. So that he is not damaged during the operation of the floor, he also needs to be “drowned” in thermal insulation.
11. IR Paul connects to the thermostat.
12. Connection quality is checked.
13. Lay a layer of waterproofing. To do this, you can use polyethylene film, carefully laying it overlapping the heated floor and securing it with tape. Work should be carried out in soft shoes so as not to destroy the heating elements in the film.
14. A hard covering is laid.
15. Linoleum is laid. Since the latter is sold in rolls, it must first be rolled out so that the material straightens out. You can speed up the process by turning on the heated floor: under the influence of heat, the linoleum will straighten out faster.

If you follow the manufacturer’s provided diagram, you can connect the heated floor to the power grid even if you don’t have any special education. The following options can be used to link IR film to a thermostat:

If the wiring features make the suggested schemes unsuitable, you should call in experts to create an optimally safe plan for connecting the heated floor to the power grid. Watch the video below for more details on how to install an infrared floor and perform test checks:

Features of laying from above

The finishing coating is the final step. Since the linoleum is installed over a rigid layer (plywood, plywood, or another), there shouldn’t be any issues with its installation. It can be fixed with glue, double-sided tape, or staples under the baseboards. This is how the entire pie of an IR film warm floor should appear:

Difficulties and errors

Should this type of work be completed without the assistance of experts, the following issues could occur:

1. The film power calculations are made incorrectly, and the floor either overheats, due to which the linoleum is deformed, or does not heat up enough and the room is cold because of this.
2. The film is cut incorrectly. Manufacturers include instructions on how to cut the IR film. If their instructions are not followed and the strips are laid without proper insulation, you can cause a fire in the floor or sparks that will damage the finish or even cause a fire.
3. Laying linoleum directly on a warm floor without using a hard protective layer. In this case, failure of any part of the film is only a matter of time, after which you will have to remove the linoleum, look for the location of the damage and replace it.
4. Use linoleum that is not suitable for laying on heated floors.

Pros and cons

The best heating option to use under linoleum is this one because:

• IR film heats up evenly, without cold and warm zones;
• it is safe for human health;
• it is easy to install;
• such a floor together with the backing and the hard layer has a height of only 2 cm;
• it can be used immediately after laying the linoleum, since all work is carried out using a dry method;
• IR floor is affordable.

It has drawbacks as well.

• it cannot be laid in rooms with high humidity. That is, this type of floor heating is not suitable either in the kitchen or in the bathroom;
• it consumes a lot of electricity, but this disadvantage can be eliminated by connecting the floor to a controlled thermostat. The latter can be programmed to reduce heating at night or in the absence of household members;
• IR heated floors have a service life of only 15 years;
• It will not be possible to rearrange furniture in the room so as not to cause burnout of contacts.

Installing this kind of underfloor heating in living rooms is beneficial, as long as it’s an extra source of heat or, if it’s the only way to heat the space, linked to a controlled thermostat to save energy.

Paying close attention to detail guarantees a successful installation and effective performance when installing an infrared heated floor beneath linoleum. For best results, carefully follow the manufacturer’s instructions. It is imperative that the subfloor be prepared correctly and that the infrared panels be positioned carefully.

Additionally, how well the heat is dispersed throughout the space will depend on the quality of the linoleum you select. Invest in a high-quality product that can withstand heat and hold up over time. You can create a comfortable and functional space that is energy-efficient by using the appropriate materials and techniques.

You may optimize the advantages of your infrared warm floor system and create a cozy and welcoming atmosphere in your house by considering these variables. Recall that the best results require careful planning and execution.

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