The decision to install a warm floor under the linoleum allows you to create comfortable conditions for walking around the room and improve its heating. The problem of cold floors is typical for private mansions and apartments located on the ground floors. Often, even a multi-layer cake made of insulation and insulation materials is not able to cope with the dampness coming from the ground. As a result, the concrete floor becomes covered with condensation and mold. The solution to the problem is heating elements and a heat-conducting topcoat, which can also be linoleum.
Is it possible to put linoleum on a warm floor
Decoration of premises with this material is popular in private and commercial construction. This is explained by the numerous positive characteristics of this type of finish. SNiP do not restrict the use of flexible coatings in residential premises. The prohibitions apply only to objects that are dangerous in terms of the possibility of fire.
Not everyone decides to use linoleum for a warm floor, believing that from heating the coating will lose its performance, become soft or crack. Many people fear that when heated, linoleum will release substances harmful to health and create an unpleasant odor. All of this is partly true, but does not apply to all types of coverage. A good material tolerates heat well, without changing its physical and aesthetic characteristics at all. However, when purchasing a product, you should examine its compatibility with high temperatures. Even the highest quality products are designed for a specific range. Before choosing a product, you need to carefully read its certificate.
Advantages and disadvantages of linoleum
The coating has a long history of use. Manufacturers are constantly working to improve its composition and appearance.
Material pluses:
- Affordable cost. This is the first thing that property owners with a limited renovation budget pay attention to. The price per square meter of coverage is several times lower than ceramic tiles, solid wood, laminate and parquet.
- Variety in composition and structure. The customer can purchase cold-type products without backing and warm covers lined with felt or foamed polymer.
- A wide range of colors and patterns. Depending on the purpose of the room, rolls with a plain or colored surface, with a smooth or embossed pattern are purchased for its decoration.
- Flexibility. Thanks to this quality, linoleum can be used for sagging slabs and curved sections.
- Simplicity of styling. The material is easily cut to the desired size with improvised tools. The workpiece can be laid on the floor in a matter of hours.
- Ease of maintenance. The surface can be cleaned with household detergents without much effort.
- Durability. Linoleum is resistant to dampness, mold and fungus do not start on it, insects and rodents avoid it.
Cons of coverage:
- The need for preliminary preparation of the base. The strips can only be laid on flat surfaces without cracks, tangible depressions and protrusions.If they are not repaired, defects will appear on the coating.
- Insufficient strength. The material is easy to cut and pierced with sharp objects. Moving furniture on it is contraindicated. This feature is especially acute in the kitchen, where linoleum quickly deteriorates from contact with dishes and cutlery.
- Destruction by ultraviolet radiation. If you lay the covering in the loggia, after a year it will fade and lose its elasticity.
- Dimensional instability. When the temperature rises, the coating expands, and when the temperature decreases, it shrinks. To prevent deformation, linoleum should be put on glue.
Linoleum continues to be popular, including as a finish for warm substrates. To make the right choice, you should familiarize yourself with the types and features of heating systems and the rules for their installation.
Underfloor heating types
When choosing the type of underfloor heating for finishing with linoleum, it is necessary to take into account a number of factors, each of which has its own meaning. You should start with the architecture of the building and the ability to use a certain type of system in it. Then you should evaluate the peculiarity of each room, their operating conditions separately and the entire building as a whole. Last but not least, you need to pay attention to the price. If your budget is tight or tight on time, flexible finishes can be considered a temporary solution. In some cases, it helps to effectively get out of a difficult situation.
Water
The water heating system is used if you have your own boiler or a heated towel rail operating all year round. Connection of the loop to the central system is prohibited. The reasons for the restrictions are the heavy weight of the pipeline embedded in the cement screed and the risk of severe leaks.
Warm water floor is a combination of such details:
- Tubes. To create contours, products from flexible plastic, polypropylene or metal sections are used.
- Mixer. Designed to reduce the temperature of the water entering the tubes to the optimal value.
- Collector. The product is responsible for the even distribution of fluid pressure when several circuits are installed in a large room.
The pipes are laid in molds, after which they are poured with concrete. You should choose linoleum for a warm water floor without a backing or with a foam polymer base. It is advisable to use models made of natural components or PVC. Materials of this type conduct heat well while maintaining their performance characteristics. Since the pipes have a large diameter, the total floor rise after installation will be up to 10 cm.
Electric
Products of this type are heating wires in heat-resistant insulation. Depending on the variety, they consume 100-250 W / m².
By technical performance, they are divided into the following categories:
- Cables. They have a diameter of 8-15 mm, are sold in coils up to 100 m long. It is laid on a rigid base in the form of a snake, observing the permissible bending radius. When choosing an electric underfloor heating for linoleum, you need to remember that after pouring the screed, the level will rise by at least 50 mm.
- Mats. The products are thin heating wires fused into a strong polymer mesh. The products are strong and flexible and can be laid on uneven and curved surfaces. It is preferable to lay the mats under the ceramic tiles, since with an insignificant thickness, 2-3 mm of mortar is sufficient, which is used in this process. Another option is to cover the elements with linoleum with a soft, heat-resistant backing and a hard top layer.
After laying the heating elements, the thermostat must be installed. This device is necessary to adjust the temperature and prevent it from rising to critical values.
Infrared
The infrared strip element consists of copper strips coated in parallel with graphite. Heat waves travel through all materials, including insulating linings. Thanks to this, you can use linoleum with a warm substrate, which creates an additional barrier from the cold. The undoubted advantage of the IR film is the absence of the need to arrange a cement screed. The cover can be laid directly on the heating elements fixed to the base. To prevent emergencies, an automatic thermostat is installed.
Surface preparation
Regardless of which type of underfloor heating is chosen, for its installation it is necessary to prepare a reliable base that meets safety requirements.
The concrete base is processed in the following sequence:
- Removal of old finishes and remaining debris. Dismantling of communications.
- Checking the condition of the surface. If there are gaps and holes, they need to be repaired. The protruding fragments are grinded or cut off. If the slab is too loose, it should be leveled with a light plaster mortar.
Heat insulation for underfloor heating - Base treatment with a deep penetration primer. To achieve the best effect, you need to do this twice.
- Application of a waterproofing layer. At the choice of the master, film or coating materials are used.
- Insulation laying. Depending on the characteristics of the room, polystyrene, penofol or penoplex are used.
- Covering the material with insulating material (roofing material, polyethylene).
In conclusion, the production of a rigid base is carried out. Fiber cement slabs with locks are used or a screed is poured.
The wooden floor is prepared according to the following method:
- Removal of finishing. If you plan to reuse it, you need to do it carefully and carefully.
- Inspection of wood for rot, fungus and mechanical damage. Carrying out repairs in the required volume.
- Floor treatment with antiseptic and fire retardant. Application of liquid impregnation.
- Arrangement of waterproofing using strips of waterproof material.
- Laying and fixing the membrane with staples to remove moisture.
- Insulation placement. For wood, it is better to use perforated foam on aluminum foil.
Work should be carried out on well-dried wood. Otherwise, when it dries, it will lead, which will cause deformation and destruction of the laid materials.
Installation procedure
For each type of underfloor heating, its own installation technology is applied. It is carried out on the basis of a compiled project and calculations.
The water pipes are laid in such a way that there are no joints along one circuit that cause leaks. The best option for fastening are foam blocks with grooves for the line. The products are glued to the floor in accordance with the project. After that, the tubes are placed in the grooves, and their ends are connected to the manifold.
It is advisable to screw the heating cables to a metal mesh fixed to the base plate. The advantage of this solution is that the mesh will serve as a frame for the future screed, adding strength to it.
Mats are fixed with glue or construction tape. So that the plane does not budge, it is advisable to impregnate it with a liquid mortar. After that, you can make a screed or lay linoleum.
The IR film is glued to the base with tape. Metal fasteners are not used as there is a risk of breaking the electrical circuit.
The system is checked for operability, after which the linoleum is laid.
Possible problems
Troubles associated with arranging a warm floor with linoleum may arise immediately after repair or during operation.The most common problem is material softening when heated. Often the surface goes in waves, it is not uncommon for the coating to shrink so that it crawls out from under the skirting boards. When choosing an inexpensive material, an unpleasant odor appears due to the release of phenol. The reasons for such phenomena lie in the wrong choice of linoleum and the absence of a thermostat, which leads to overheating of the finish and the loss of its working qualities.
