Do-it-yourself warm floors in the bath from the stove

In a modern bathhouse, the base is made of concrete. This excludes the construction of a pouring floor and requires a different mechanism for water drainage. It becomes possible to organize a warm floor in the bath from the sauna stove. This solution has its pros and cons.

Features of the underfloor heating system in a bath from a bath stove

The features of such a heater are associated with the nature of the operation of the bath. This building is not constantly heated. The warm floor works only during the operation of the sauna or steam room. On the one hand, this means a low intensity of use, on the other, an increase in the starting load.

The heat source in the bath is a brick or metal stove. Its task is to heat the room and heat a certain amount of water. In such a device, the heat exchanger is basically absent. To connect the underfloor heating system to the stove, both structures are modified.

• They equip a heat exchanger - a stainless steel tank or a register made of pipes. The heat exchanger is placed above the firebox. The pipeline is pulled from it down to the floor and to other heated rooms.
• The pipes serving the heat exchange tank need non-standard ones - 24 mm in diameter, not 16 mm.
• The system is equipped with a pump, since otherwise it is impossible to return the cooled liquid to the heat exchanger.
  
• There is no way to adjust the degree of heating. The sauna stove heats up very much and brings practically boiling water into the system. This is unacceptable. The device is equipped with a special block for mixing water from the oven and return flow.
• Since the dimensions of the sauna stove are small, the heat exchanger is mounted here small. To compensate for the insufficient power, a storage tank is installed near the furnace and connected to a heat exchanger.

In the bath, it is recommended to install underfloor heating in all rooms. The concrete base absorbs a lot of heat and in the usual way - air heating, convection, it is not possible to heat the guest rooms and the dressing room well.

Advantages and disadvantages

System advantages:

• walking on a heated floor in a steam room or shower is much more pleasant;
• even a low-power warm floor significantly accelerates the heating of the premises;
• the appearance of mold and mildew is excluded - this applies not only to the concrete floor, but also to wooden walls and cladding;
• there are no drafts;
• water floor heating does not generate electromagnetic radiation.

Disadvantages:

• In winter, the water from the system must be drained, since there is a high risk of pipes freezing in an unheated building. Antifreeze must not be used.
• You need to warm up a large volume of water - an accumulator tank plus a warm floor in all rooms. This takes much longer than just warming up a steam room or sauna.
• It is necessary to re-equip the sauna stove, which takes money and time.
• You cannot install a leaking floor.

It is possible to lay a water-heated floor in a concrete screed and under a wooden flooring. In the second case, reliable waterproofing is needed.

Applicable materials

The following materials are needed for heating:

• pipes - steel and plastic for the system;
• a container made of stainless steel or brass with a capacity of up to 100 liters;
• coil - made of black or stainless steel, which acts as a heat exchanger;
• bypass and valve for regulation;
• circulation pump;
• collector - if several rooms are heated, then a device for distributing liquid along the circuits is required;
• fittings, heaters, fasteners.

You will also need additional materials: reinforcing mesh, waterproofing, primer compounds.

Preparatory work

It is not easy to make a warm water floor in a bath from a stove with your own hands. If the actual installation of the system can be performed by an experienced home craftsman, then a specialist should calculate its work, especially if several heating circuits are provided.

Choice of floor design

The warm floor from the stove can be equipped with different methods.

Traditional - laying in a concrete screed. Pipes are placed on the base, poured with concrete. Ceramic tiles are laid on top, as they conduct heat well. A feature of installation in a steam room and shower is the slope of the surface for water drainage.

Under the wooden flooring - pipes are laid on concrete, covered with protective materials, and a wooden floor is arranged on top. According to the method of laying heating circuits, there are 3 types of installation:

• Rack system - pipes are placed around the racks. The latter both guide them and hold them in one place.
• Polystyrene - polystyrene substrates with recesses for pipes are laid on a concrete base. The heating circuit is laid in them.
• Modular - mats with a special mount play the role of a substrate.

All types of such structures have a common disadvantage - low resistance to moisture. Floors need to be well waterproofed.

Concrete absorbs heat strongly. In order for the heating circuit to heat the room, and not the foundation, the base is waterproofed and insulated. A rigid, moisture-resistant heat insulator is used: EPS, penoplex. Layer thickness not less than 5 cm. Laying is done as tightly as possible, avoiding cracks.

Nuances

Arrangement of heating in a steam room, sauna, shower has the following features:

• The floor is laid at an angle. At the lowest point, a pipe is laid through which water is discharged into the sewer.
• The base must be leveled as the heating circuit is sensitive to unevenness.
• The waterproofing is double: the surface is poured with bitumen and sheets of roofing material are overlapped on top. After the bitumen has solidified, the operation is repeated.
• A rigid material is used for thermal insulation, but it is recommended to duplicate it with a reinforcing mesh.

You can lay the warm floor on the ground. To do this, you will need to make a sand-crushed stone pillow, and use expanded clay as a heat insulator.

Installation work

Laying the contours in the bath does not differ from similar works in any other room.

1. After thermal insulation of the floor, the walls around the perimeter of the steam room are pasted over with a damper tape. It compensates for the thermal expansion of the concrete screed and prevents cracking.
2. The tubes are placed on the floor according to the chosen pattern - snake, snail. Fastened to the mesh with clamps.
3. The tubes are connected to a manifold. Perform a test run of the system to ensure all connections are tight. Place drain and drain funnels if needed.
4. If everything is in order, the contour is poured with concrete or cement screed. Level the surface along the lighthouses, not forgetting to maintain a slope to drain the water.
5. After the material has completely hardened - at least 28 days - ceramic tiles are laid. Laminate, linoleum, even wooden boards can be used as a topcoat in the dressing room or guest room.
6. The second part of the system is mounted: a heat exchanger is installed above the combustion compartment. If this operation is not feasible, you can tie the firebox with metal pipes. This requires experience and the ability to work with metal.
7. Low-power sauna stove.It is difficult to warm up a large volume of water here. To create its reserve, a battery tank is included in the system. It can be installed next to the stove or through the wall. It is advisable to choose option 2, since the tank is voluminous, and you need to save space in the steam room.
8. A mixing unit is mounted - it prevents overheating of the water in the heating circuit.
9. Connect the systems to the manifold. A three-way mixing valve is cut into the supply pipe, and here a thermal head with a remote sensor is placed on the return manifold. Connect the pump.

During testing, monitor the temperature of the water. It cannot be adjusted during the operation of the furnace, therefore, before the first use, it is necessary to establish how much water needs to be taken from the return.

Operating rules

Recommendations for using a warm floor from a brick oven differ little from the standard ones:

• For the winter, the water from the pipes must be drained. If the bath is also used in the cold season, you need to install a different heating system.
• During operation, you need to monitor the pressure in the system. The oven is not equipped with an appropriate sensor and does not monitor these indicators.
• Before starting, check the operation of the pump and shut-off valves. Leaks must not be allowed.

Underfloor heating repair is difficult. To fix a leak or other damage, it is necessary to remove the flooring, destroy the screed, repair the circuit and repeat all finishing work again. This is a costly and time consuming process.

Alternatives

Instead of a water heated floor, you can equip a cable or infrared. They are independent of the sauna stove, but consume a lot of electricity. It's easier to start up: no need to wait until enough water is heated, you can use the sauna in winter, no need to drain the water.

Electric underfloor heating

An easier to install and cheaper option is from a heating cable. A single, or better, a two-core cable is placed on the base, fixed, poured with a coupler. The system must be grounded and connected to the mains. The average power of the cable floor for a bath is 250 W per 1 sq. m.

Thermomats are more convenient in installation - this is the same heating cable, but already fixed on a flexible substrate. Laying it takes experience. But it can be put not in a screed, but in a thick layer of tile glue. The height of the steam room decreases by no more than 3 cm.

In the bath, it is better to lay cable models under the screed.

Infrared underfloor heating

IR film generates infrared radiation. It warms up not the air in the room, but the surface of the floor, objects and people. At a lower temperature, a person feels just as comfortable. Such models use less electricity and are more efficient.

Plus IR films - independence from damage. If in some area the carbon strips are damaged, on others the floor will function with the same efficiency.