Underfloor Heating For Primary Heating

When planning a primary, electric underfloor heating installation, where the floor heating system is providing the sole source of room heating, it is important to take into consideration some basic principals.
All structures lose and retain heat according to their U-values. The U-value is a measure of how much thermal energy will pass through a square metre of structure when air temperatures on either side differ by 1 degree Celsius. The fabric of any building will typically consist of a number of components, each with their characteristic resistance values; the U-value is a combination of all these values.
In designing a primary under floor heating system, greater consideration of these factors of heat loss and heat gain need to be taken into account. For a typical convection heating system, on cold days, where the temperature on the outside of the structure is low, the room heating can be increased by turning up the boiler and opening up the radiators to improve the heat output.
On the other hand, an underfloor heating system acts as a low-level heat source, radiating thermal energy into the room as radiant heat. Unlike a traditional convection heating system, where a wall radiator or freestanding heater is used as sole source of room heating, the under floor heating cannot be turned up to produce a higher heat output, due to the comfort factor on the feet. Effectively, because we are converting the floor into a low level radiator and walking over it, the human foot factor limits the maximum floor operating temperature to a maximum of 27-28 degrees Celsius.
Electric underfloor heating systems are controlled using a digital thermostat. The controller can be programmed with 4 on/off settings over a 24-hour period. Once the floor heating reaches the programmed floor and room temperature settings, the thermostat will cycle on and off continuously (within 1 degree C) to maintain these settings.
The floor heating will radiate heat energy uniformly, warming the room evenly to your preset ambient thermostat settings, maintaining a comfortable room temperature; providing heat is not being lost to the outside by poor insulation (U Value) and frequent changes of air (drafts).
With a high performance insulation layer between the heating cable and the sub-floor below (concrete or wood), the underfloor heating will operate efficiently and very effectively. For cement sub-floors where no insulation can be fitted, a high-output (200W/m2) heating mat is normally recommended to compensate for the heat loss into the concrete slab below. With no insulation, the floor heating would otherwise be very slow to reach operating temperature; the extra output capacity of a 200Wm2 heating mat is used to good effect to bring the floor up to operating temperature quickly.
For more info on electric underfloor heating and how best to plan your installation, take a look at the underfloor heating Installation Guide. You can also browse the Floor Heating website where you will find informative pages packed with help and guidance. If you want to price your project and would like to get an idea of the costs involved, there is a very user-friendly online webshop to help with building a list of items needed for a complete installation, including flexible adhesives and leveling compounds.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Paul_S_Short

Learn How to Install Ceramic Tile Flooring in Five Easy Steps

Step One: Get to know your tools.Learning how to install ceramic tile flooring begins with getting to know the right tools. You can buy most of the tools you'll need for working on your floor tiling at your local hardware store or home center. For equipment that might be too expensive to purchase like a tile cutter, or hand held micro cutter, try your local home center or tool rental yard. They may have the tools you'll need at affordable rental prices, or even at discount. And if you're a newbie at tiling work, they may even help you with information. Here are most of the basic tools you will need for your tiling job:a) Safety clothing and gear like a pair of safety glasses, heavy leather gloves, and long-sleeved work clothes. These are useful especially if your tiling work involves taking out the existing ceramic tiles. Broken shards and other debris from tearing out the ceramic tiles can cause nasty cuts.b) Carpentry tools like a tape measure, a carpenter's square and a bubble level.c) A tile cutter (which you can rent), some tile spacers, a putty knife, a trowel (preferably, the notched kind), and a rubber grout float.d) Mortar material for bonding your tiles to your subfloor surface, like a thin set mortar, or tile adhesive, tiling grout and sealant.Step Two: Prepare your subfloor before installing your tiles.Most tiling jobs start at this stage. It would be a great experience for you to learn how to install ceramic tile by learning about the type of floors you will be putting your tiles on. Always check for cracks and debris when If you're working on a concrete subfloor. Make it is smooth and clean. Repair as many of the cracks as you can. If you see cracks that are too large to repair, replace the floor section where they are found with new concrete. For plywood subfloors, be sure that the wood is at least 1 and 1/8 inches thick and is supported by an equally strong underlayment. Otherwise, your ceramic tiles will dislodge easily, or worse, break and need replacing.An existing ceramic tile floor may add another stage to your tiling job, and present something of a challenge for you. You'll need to tear out the existing tiles. For starters, all you need to do is use a large flat-bladed chisel and a mallet, and just hammer away. Then, you'll need to clean out the debris. If you to smoothen your subfloor -- you may want to rent a sander to do the job. Be sure to keep yourself protected. Use heavy-duty leather work gloves, safety glasses, and long-sleeved work clothes.Step Three: Measure and lay out your floor. To know where to start and how to install ceramic tile on your subfloor, begin by measuring the length and width of your floor. This will help you estimate the number of ceramic floor tiles you will need to purchase. Then, find the center point of your floor area. You Measure across floor area and mark the center. Do this in opposite direction and mark the center, as well. The intersection of the two lines is the center of the floor area where you can start your tiling work. To help with your tiling, run chalk lines over the intersection lines. These chalk lines will help you with how to install ceramic tile and help you keep your tiling straight and organized.Step Four: Start work on your ceramic tile installationPlace the first tile at the intersection of the two lines you made. Then, bond it to your subfloor by using a thin set mortar, or a tile adhesive of your choice. Using a notched trowel for applying the mortar is best on how to install ceramic tile. But you may actually use the more common trowel variety is you don't have one. To secure the ceramic tile in its place, press down while twisting it back and forth till the tile no longer is set. If some of the mortar or adhesive oozes out, use your trowel (or a damp sponge) to scrape off the excess. Do this process over with the next tile, and so on and so forth, until you've finished your ceramic floor tiling.Step Five: Finish your tiling job by putting in the tiling grout and sealantAfter your ceramic floor tiles have set, it's time to put the tiling grout in. Tiling grout is a material that you should know more about when you want to know how to install ceramic tile flooring. Grout is tiling material made cement, sand and water, and a little color. It is used to fill in gaps and seal in the spaces between tiles. Tiling grout comes in a wide variety of color tints that may be matched to your tile color. Use a rubber grout float and work the tiling grout into the gaps between the tiles. Use your grout float at an angle so that you can fill in the joint gap with as much tiling grout as possible.After laying in the tiling grout in between the gaps of your floor ceramic tiles, use a damp sponge to wipe off the excess grout. Rinse the sponge frequently to get as much of the excess grout off, and keep each tile clean. You have the option of applying a sealant to the grout lines after they dry.Don't forget about the setting (drying) periods that come after you have placed your ceramic tiles, and after putting in your tiling grout (before putting on the sealant). These setting periods last overnight, at the very least, to twenty-four hours, at the most. Your sealant has dried, you are done! Congratulations! Now, you know how to install ceramic tile flooring.

Epoxy Floor Paint Projects: Tips and Tricks That Save Time and Money

Here are useful tips learned during more than 40 years of installing epoxy urethane floor seals and coatings on Fortune 500 company concrete floors, as well as in basements, garages, and decks. These tips can help you avoid mistakes that can limit the life of your floor.
There are three broad steps to doing your floor project: planning and preparation, repairing, and applying the coating. This article is the first in a three part series, and deals with planning and preparation.
General guidelines for applying an epoxy coating to your floor:
Do no harm.
Investing in prep produces the best value, (cost divided by years of service).
Let the chemicals and equipment do the work.
What can go wrong, will go wrong, unless you think ahead.
Technique is what separates mortals from Rembrandts.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Now let's get started with tips on how to plan your job and prepare your floor.
Plan the job.
Stick your coating to something that is not going to move
The better the tools, the less work you have to do.
Removing loose concrete is as important as removing dirt
Different types of dirt require different cleaners
"Shocking" the floor can help free dirt and contaminants.
Some things must be abraded off.
Don’t blow bubbles through your finish
There is only one way to remove gum
Asphalt bleeds
If you coat over things that move, your floor may move
Vacuum out those holes
Gravity is unforgiving. Once you prep your floor, anything in the air will eventually end up as dirt on your floor. So don’t wait too long to do your coatings. Bugs, leaves, dust, and lint can eventually compromise the quality of the job you end up with.. Water settles in floor cracks and holes. If you vacuum them out or blot them with a rag, you will not have the problem of unexpected delays due to finding water still in your floor after the surface has dried.. Adhesives are often a problem to remove on floors. But if you leave the adhesive, your coating is like an eggshell. A hard exterior with a soft interior will often let the shell crack and peal away.. If you use a solvent-based floor coating and coat over any asphalt spots, the solvents will make the asphalt bleed into your finish spoiling the color. Use a scraper to remove any asphalt. Then follow with some degreaser or mineral spirits.. Modern gum is actually synthetic rubber and is not affected by cleaners or most solvents. Scraping is the most common method of removing gum but a 190-degree hot water jet works fast if you have one.. Gases often come up through your porous concrete floor. Methane and radon gas are very common under concrete slabs and move their way through the concrete causing some bubbles in the finish. But most often bubbles are caused by the chemical reaction still going on between your cleaners and the floor. One or two good scrub rinses are needed to help avoid generating gas bubbles in your floor.Gum, adhesive, asphalt, some paints, concrete splatters, silicone sprays from Rain X, and Tire Shine are just some of the blemishes that you may need to scrape or grind off by hand when preparing a floor.When you do your laundry you put your shirt in the wash and it is probably at a pH of 6.5 or 7. Then you add your detergent, which may bring the pH up to 8 or 8.5. That pH change is part of what make the dirt particles want to let go of the fabric. When we do floors, we shock the floor by bringing the pH up to 12 and then hitting it with the acidic cleaner dropping the pH to 5.5 or so. That really helps make concrete particles that are about to let to, let go.. If one cleaner worked for everything there would only be one cleaner sold. But some dirt and contaminants, like fats and oils, respond to alkaline-type cleaners and some dirt and contaminants, like minerals, rust and concrete respond, to acidic-type cleaners. If alkaline and acidic are mixed they cancel each other out to neutral, so two separate cleanings are needed for your concrete floor, one alkaline cleaning and one acidic, followed by a good scrub rinse to stop the chemical action.. If you walk over concrete with your socks on, you will usually see that they get all dusty. That’s because the concrete is constantly deteriorating and breaking away. Your preparation should leave only concrete that is well attached, so aggressive scrubbing is a must.Renting power scrubbers, walk-behind vacuums, double-bladed squeegees, and long-handled scrapers are all multipliers that reduce your work and increase your performance. You can try to do without lots of fancy tools, but you might have to ask yourself, will you stop your work earlier than you should because it's just too much work.. Remember that a floor that has 3000 lb. or more going over it every day needs much better adhesion than a wall that may get brushed by an elbow occasionally. Stick your coating to something that is not going to move.Save trips to the store and costly delays by getting everything you need ready before the job starts. One quick step would be to go to a website like www.concrete-floor-coatings.com for a free cost analysis which will list everything you need to do your job, including step by step instructions.
Remember, "Life imitates Star Trek." You may begin to notice in the future that virtually every floor in the galaxy seems to have a flow-coated, two-part coating on it. I am seeing fewer and fewer new wood floors, linoleum, or oriental rugs. How about you?
Follow the rules and your job will turn out with the great look you want.
For more information, contact Harvey Chichester at harvey@concrete-floor-coatings.com or phone 1-800-466-8910 or 952-888-1488 (24/7).

Garage floor puddles from low spots can be fixed.

Water standing in low spots on garage, shop and warehouse floors can often last for days creating safety problems and cleaning issues. During the troweling of floors some uneven ness can create low spots where spilled liquids can form. Low spots or depressions can now be filled in with 100% solid epoxy to bring them to level. Berms can also be adhered within an epoxy floor to contain liquid spills rendering them easy to squeegee out. Often containment of liquids to safe areas is all that is needed to avoid damage to items stored on the same floor.

An easy way to berm flooring to contain potential liquid spills is to hot glue strips of molding onto the floor before the epoxy flooring is applied. The epoxy flooring then seals the edges of the molding to the floor creating a watertight barrier. Often just ¼ inch of berm is all that is needed to contain liquid spills to areas where they can be easily squeegeed dry.

Epoxy flooring is not only seamless but can be Class III Laboratory qualified. These mold and mildew resistant surfaces are easy to clean with hoses and squeegees. Bleach resistant epoxy flooring can take strong cleaners and heavy abrasion.

Epoxy coatings have been used successfully in swimming pools, laundries, warehouses, garages, and various types of shops for decades. Epoxy floors offer the option of smooth or fine skid resistant textured surfaces that are still easy to mop and squeegee clean.

Epoxy floors can be flooded, pressure washed and scrubbed back into service in minutes. Mold, bacteria, and contaminants can be rinsed off. The surfaces are impervious to penetration by liquid-born contaminants. Even diesel, gas, and oil will not penetrate them and can be washed or wiped up. Old technology floorings, including paint, carpeting, vinyl tile, linoleum, and wood, are subject to severe contamination and damage if flood cleansing is used. Beautiful flood-proof epoxy coated flooring can be used from wall to wall, often including coated vertical surfaces to help further contain liquids.

Durall Industrial Flooring supplies kits of materials that are customized to owner specification and delivered directly to the job site. Kits include full directions and 24/7 help lines staffed by seasoned flooring experts, so professionals and amateurs alike can successfully install a quality floor.

Web visitors can obtain free, job-specific quotes on materials or nationwide turnkey installations by completing a simple questionnaire at http://www.concrete-floor-coatings.com.

For a high-resolution photo example, visit: http://www.concrete-floor-coatings.com/photos

For more information, contact Harvey Chichester at: harvey@concrete-floor-coatings.com Phone: 1-800-466-8910 or 952-888-1488 (24/7)

The Advantages of Radiant Floor Heating

Radiant floor heating offers many advantages over other forms of heat for business or home.

Radiant floor heating is a series of pipes coiled in a room under the subflooring. Heated water is forced through the pipes, and heat naturally rises through the room from these pipes. With radiant floor heating, there are no cold tile or hardwood floors. People with poor circulation in their feet, such as the elderly and diabetics, will appreciate always getting out of bed to a warm floor beneath their cold feet. Parents too like a warm floor when babies are learning to crawl or toddling around in their bare feet.

While radiant floor heating works on the same principal as steam or forced water radiators, radiant floor heating offers several advantages over a wall-mounted radiator. Wall-mounted radiators can cause hot and cool spots in a room, depending on your distance from the radiator. However, a radiant floor heating system covers the entire room under the floor, creating even heat distribution. Radiators are hot to the touch, which can cause burns. Because the radiant floor system is under the flooring, though, there are no hot pipes to touch, and the floor underfoot is never more than pleasantly warm.

Radiators also take up precious wall space, as furniture cannot be pushed up against them, and because they create hot spots, furniture has to be arranged so that no one sleeps or sits too close to the radiator. However, as the radiant floor system is buried under the flooring, it takes up no space and does not cause hot spots.

Radiant floor heating systems are usually cheaper to operate than wall-mounted radiators as well. Wall-mounted radiators have to have very hot water and get well-heated in order to cause convection, the movement of cooler air towards the radiator and the movement of warmer air away from it to heat the entire room. Because the radiant floor heating system distributes its heat evenly over the entire room, convection is not necessary. This means that the radiant floor system does not have to have such hot water in order to work effectively, lessening energy costs.

The primary advantage of the radiant floor heating system over a forced air system is air quality. Furnaces and heat pumps cause the air in a building to dry out rapidly. This can cause a lot of problems for people with sinus or lung issues. Also, coming in from cold and damp to hot and dry can be hard on people with poor health. People with allergies suffer under forced air systems as well because such systems stir up allergens and the dryness causes them to linger in the air longer than usual. Duct work can also harbor allergens, such as mold, compounding the problem.

In most cases, radiant floor heating, when properly installed and insulated, is cheaper to operate than any other system on the market today, and is considered by most to be the most comfortable home heating system as well.