Ten mistakes when installing electric underfloor heating
In this article, we will look at ten big mistakes that are most often made when installing underfloor heating.
Our advice can be useful for people who are going to buy a warm floor for the first time and independently install it at home, as well as for some professional specialists "of all professions".
The tips will be from the simplest (for some reason, not always obvious to some masters), to those that, although they seem superfluous, based on our experience, they are not.
Remember that most malfunctions related to the operation of underfloor heating are caused by incorrect installation or mechanical damage to the cable during or after its laying. If you are not confident in your abilities, it is better to entrust this work to professionals.
Mistake #1
When choosing a heating cable or mat, do not focus on the total area of the room, but on a clean area that is not occupied by furniture.
Remember that under stationary furniture or permanent objects of a large area (bathrooms with screens, washing machines, sofas, etc.) it is not only pointless to put a warm floor, but also not worth it for reasons of preventing overheating and the failure of the heating cable.
Mistake #2
Remember that the choice of cable length will not be possible to reduce. Two-core shielded heating cables, which are used in most warm floors or mats, you can't cut! This will damage the cables! It's amazing how many DIYers still make this mistake and try to cut the cable in place.
Mistake #3
In no case do not turn on the cable to test the functionality until the moment it is laid and the putty and adhesive solution have not dried!
Plugging in the cable even briefly can damage it. Checking the cable is faster and easier - its resistance is measured.
Mistake #4
Do not place the heating cable or mat on a dirty, dust-free surface. To clean the floor, it is better to use an industrial vacuum cleaner, it is highly desirable to treat the surface with a primer.
Mistake #5
Don't walk through the heating strip in sturdy shoes and don't let others do it. If walking on a cable or mat is indispensable, do it with extreme caution!
Mistake #6
Do not brick the floor heating sensor in the solution!
The sensor must be placed in the corrugated pipe. The tube should not contain holes through which the solution can penetrate, and should not bend too much. Remember that sometimes breakage of the temperature sensor happens, and in such a case it should be possible to easily remove it.
You would be surprised to learn how often this simple and obvious requirement is not met, making it difficult to replace the sensor in case of failure.
Mistake #7
Do not neglect the «formalities»... Measure the resistance of the floor heating before and after installation, make sure that it corresponds to the value in the passport of the product. If the value is not indicated in the passport, enter it and indicate the date of installation.
Mistake #8
Do not forget to draw a scheme for laying a warm floor by determining distances to walls or other landmarks.
Most instructions for warm floors have a corresponding page for this. The heating cable can be photographed. This will always come in handy if you later need to drill through the floor to install a door stop or plumbing.
Mistake #9
Do not leave air pockets around the "hot" part of the heating cable. This is especially true when laying a "thin" warm floor in tile adhesive. Failure to follow this rule in order to preserve the solution or simply by supervision can lead to overheating and early failure of the cables after the start of their operation.
Mistake #10
Do not turn on the warm floor immediately after installation, so that "the screed dries faster and hardens faster." This will almost certainly damage the heating cable! It is necessary to wait several weeks depending on the thickness and type of solution.
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