Can I put infrared underfloor heating on top of ceramic tiles and lay vinyl laminate on top? What is good quartz vinyl floor tiles Quartz vinyl on a warm water floor.

According to a number of experts, quartz vinyl tiles and underfloor heating are not a very rational combination. Continuous thermal stress on the material can lead to accelerated wear. In addition, it is quite warm on its own. Such arguments should be taken into account, but if you think that the house needs additional heating, feel free to proceed with the choice of heating system. When the installation is made taking into account all the requirements of the manufacturer, this will not significantly affect the service life of the quartz vinyl coating. But the level of comfort will increase significantly.

What is this coverage

The basis of this relatively new PVC material on the domestic market is quartz sand, from which 60 to 80% of the product is formed. Quartz vinyl tile for underfloor heating boasts the highest strength and durability, is not afraid of moisture, fire and is practically not erased. Outwardly, it can look like any modern coating, from laminate to granite or marble. The product is multilayered and consists of the following components:

1. Transparent polyurethane that protects the surface from deformations and scratches.
2. Decorative film that gives the material texture.
3. The main layer of quartz vinyl, providing proper strength and stability.
4. Fiberglass reinforcement.
5. Vinyl layer responsible for balance.

Underfloor heating installation

Underfloor heating under quartz vinyl tiles can be either electric (cable, film) or water. The main thing is that the operating temperature does not exceed the level specified by the coating manufacturer. When it comes to installing heating for a private house, a pipe system is often installed.

Installation of a water structure

The easiest way is to lay pipes on a concrete screed. If the old surface is sufficiently even, you can not fill in a new layer, but limit yourself to eliminating defects with building materials. Insulating material is spread over the entire heated area. The pipes are pulled through the room with a “snail” or “snake”, following the step indicated in the laying diagram, after which they are fixed to the base. The system is tested and filled with a finishing screed. As soon as the concrete grabs completely, you can proceed to the flooring of the material.

If it is not possible to lay a warm floor under a vinyl laminate on a cement base, there is an option to fix the pipes on a wooden surface. The contour is placed in channels specially made on the boards and covered with plywood boards on top. For electric cable, this option is not suitable due to fire safety requirements. When it comes to heating an apartment, water equipment is already contraindicated here.

Installation of electrical systems

Getting permission to install floor pipes in a multi-storey building with central heating is almost impossible. You will have to choose between a cable (“naked” or mounted in mats) and an infrared film. In the first case, the installation is carried out according to the “pipe” scheme: the base is leveled, the insulation is spread, the cable is unfolded, fixed and connected to the thermostat, tested, covered with a screed.

If you have chosen a film underfloor heating under a vinyl floor, you only need to carefully lay the material and connect it to the thermostat correctly. The tile can be mounted without any "intermediaries", directly on the surface. For such an installation, products with a locking connection should be used. In other cases, it is easier and cheaper to fix with glue. More useful information on this topic can be found on our website.

In the range of floor coverings, vinyl laminate has appeared relatively recently, but has already declared itself as a presentable, practical material with interesting decorative solutions.

Characteristic features of vinyl laminate

Vinyl laminate is made in separate panels. Its structure is based on the use of polyvinyl chloride - a material better known as vinyl.

Panels of various thicknesses are produced, consisting of several layers, among which, in addition to pressed vinyl, there may be a layer of quartz sand, a reinforcing mesh, a decorative layer with an image, and a protective polyurethane varnish.

The composition of polyurethane, which acts as a surface protection, often contains additives that improve its properties. It could be aluminum oxide. The main performance qualities are provided by vinyl products, which have a stable structure, resistance to many external influences.

Advantages

The popularity of vinyl laminate is due to its quality characteristics. In some respects, it is significantly ahead of traditional laminated panels.

• High degree of water resistance. Even with a long stay of spilled water on the surface, the flooring will not receive deformations.
• Strength. In terms of wear resistance, vinyl laminate belongs to class 34 or 43. It is able to withstand significant dynamic loads without damage.
• Long service life of ≥ 25 years due to abrasion resistance.
• Good thermal insulation characteristics.

• Wide scope of use. Due to its strength and moisture resistance, this innovative material is approved for use in rooms for various purposes. It will not warp if laid on a bathroom or pool floor.
• Pleasant tactile sensations. Since laminated vinyl flooring has low thermal conductivity, its surface remains warm and comfortable to move on. For living rooms, you can choose options with a softened surface.
• Easy care. Vinyl laminate, thanks to the protective film, does not absorb dirt, so they can be easily removed with conventional detergents that do not contain abrasive particles.
• Available mounting. The well-thought-out design allows you to quickly assemble a flat surface without visible joints.
• Resistance to temperature fluctuations, which makes it possible to use vinyl laminate as a topcoat when arranging underfloor heating. When heated, there is no release of substances that adversely affect health.
• Providing good sound insulation. When using this material, there is no need to equip an additional noise barrier.
• Fire resistance.

Consumers are attracted by the diverse decor of vinyl laminate, the advantages of which are enhanced by its non-slip surface. From the assortment offered by manufacturers, you can choose options that are suitable for a specific interior style solution. It presents a variety of colors, ornamental motifs, as well as imitation of natural textures - stone, wood.

Possible disadvantages

Before choosing an innovative floor covering - vinyl laminate, it is advisable to carefully study the disadvantages of this material, which experts warn about.

• Since polyvinyl chloride is a rather soft material, careful leveling of the rough base is required at the preparatory stage in order to avoid damage in the future.
• The polyurethane coating can change the original color of the coating when interacting with rubber objects, since an irreversible reaction begins.
• When purchasing budget varieties, minor defects and scratches may appear. It is also noted that after laying such a coating for several days there is an unpleasant smell in the room. Some develop tearing, sore throat, and asthmatic attacks intensify.

• If the room has a window oriented to the south, then from direct sunlight the polyurethane surface gradually turns yellow, losing its original decor.
• Although vinyl does not support direct combustion, it will melt when in contact with a flame, releasing hazardous toxic fumes.
• With good moisture resistance of the surface of vinyl panels, there is a danger of water penetration into the joints, which is possible if products with a locking connection are used.
• When exposed to strong aggressive household chemicals, solvents, the coating can get unaesthetic stains.

Environmentalists are concerned about the lack of an efficient system to safely dispose of many long-lived wastes, including vinyl products.

To neutralize a number of negative impacts of this material will allow the purchase of high-quality products with the obligatory requirement to present a license, certificates, passport in order to study all the technical characteristics and make a competent choice. It is worth noting that the price of such flooring is quite high.

Classification

In the classification, flexible and resilient vinyl laminate, depending on the manufacturing method, is represented by three types.

• Quartz vinyl tile, in the structure of which there is a central layer of quartz chips, which has a positive effect on strengthening the strength characteristics and increasing the durability of the material.
• PVC laminate, which is a panel made of vinyl and special natural resins using pressing technology.
• Vinyl self-adhesive tiles.

New products include mirrored laminate, which creates a sense of depth by producing a transparent floor surface.

By appointment, the material has three classes.

• 23 - 31. Household laminate, recommended for flooring in residential areas with little traffic;
• 32 - 42. Commercial analogue, oriented for use in buildings characterized by medium and high traffic.
• 43. Vinyl special laminate for sports, trading floors, industrial shops with heavy load on the floor surface.

Based on the elasticity index, it is possible to distinguish between rigid and flexible vinyl tiles. The rigid variety requires the most careful leveling of the base, since it can crack during elevation changes during operation.

The laminate also differs in configuration. Depending on the design project, you can choose square tiles. Also, a wide variety is represented by rectangular panels, which can be not only classic sizes, resembling ceramic tiles, but also imitate a long floorboard. There is an assortment of roll material of various widths.

A variety of sizes allows you to choose the type of flooring for specific conditions. If preference is given to analogues of the board, then panels with dimensions of 1251x187 mm, 1213 x 171 mm, 1219 x 184 mm, 1220 x 180 mm, 1212 x 185 mm can be used. Tiles with smaller dimensions are conveniently mounted - 914 x 305 mm, 610 x 305 mm, 813 x 406 mm, 655 x 324 mm. The thickness also has a fairly wide range from 3.2 mm to 12 mm.

Mounting methods

Having decided to use vinyl laminate flooring, it is advisable to study the features of the two connection methods and choose the most suitable for specific conditions.

1. Castle way. You can assemble a laminate equipped with a locking joint system yourself, creating a continuous coating on which the joints are not visually distinguishable. The panels have a smart tape on the indents, which contributes to a reliable connection of the lamellas. The lock can be collapsible click or with latches - lock.

1. Adhesive reception. For laying self-adhesive tiles, an adhesive outer layer is provided under the protective film on the underside. Before installation, it is enough to remove the protection and glue the panel on the prepared floor, which must be even. It is not necessary to remove the old coating of ceramic tiles or linoleum that does not have defects. Manufacturers provide for laying a vinyl laminate on a similar finished base. If a model is purchased without an adhesive layer, then a special mastic will be required for gluing. Rolled laminate is the most difficult to carry out such an operation.

Attention! If the installation is carried out on a screed made above the floor heating system, then the heating is turned off at the time the laminate is delivered to the room. After completion of all work, the heating circuit is turned on after a week. It is advisable to use a quartz vinyl variety.

What can vinyl laminate be installed on?

Innovative vinyl laminate, despite its elasticity and strength, requires serious preliminary preparation of the floor. The priority requirement is almost one hundred percent evenness of the horizontal plane.

For panels with a locking system, it is easiest to level the floor by making a thin screed. In exceptional cases, if there are minor defects without height differences, it is permissible to apply putty in problem areas.

The wooden floor will serve as the basis, securely attached to the logs, without cracks and chips. A thorough inspection is carried out before starting work. All nail heads are hammered flush with the surface, minor cracks are covered with putty intended for wood.

If it is decided to use panels with an adhesive layer, then it is advisable to lay a layer of thin plywood on a wooden base. As already noted, tiles without a relief surface texture with restored seams, as well as linoleum, are suitable as a base.

Advice! The substrate is laid only when using interlocking panels. No additional layers are required for self-adhesive and laid on a layer of special mastic material.

Subtleties of laminate installation

The optimum temperature for laying vinyl laminate flooring is 18°C. After delivery from the store, the material does not need to be immediately unpacked so that dust or dirt does not get on the smart tape, which can compromise the reliability of the connection. Panels should lie down in the room for at least two days.

On an already prepared basis, the algorithm for working with a laminate with a lock connection involves the performance of several sequential operations.

1. Laying should begin from the far corner, if you look at the room from the doorway.
2. For the first row, the adhesive tape on one side of the panels is cut off, and they are laid against the wall, taking into account the thermal gap of 4 - 5 mm.
3. The film is removed from the smart tape and the element of the second row is laid with an offset so that the joints do not match. It is placed at an angle and carefully lowered to the floor so that the lock connection closes. To achieve reliability, glue seams are ironed with a rubber roller.

Under the planks with an adhesive layer, the floor, freed from contamination, is pre-primed and thoroughly dried. For tiled flooring, this operation is not required. The film is simply removed from the slats, and they are glued with the displacement of each subsequent row. In this case, no compensation gap is left.

To make the coating perfect, you should carefully mark the first row, which should represent a strictly even line. It is advisable to control this indicator in the process of execution and the next rows in order to prevent a shift of even a few millimeters.

The tiles are cut on the wrong side with a construction knife. First, a cut is made, and then the panel is broken. If it is necessary to make holes or curved lines, a drawing is first made according to which a template is prepared that allows you to accurately cut the desired lines.

Rolled vinyl laminate, not equipped with an adhesive layer, is laid on a special adhesive. The technique is identical to wallpapering. First, the length of the strip rolled up into a roll is measured, which is unwound as it is glued from one wall to another. Joints are made minimal by adjusting the strips with hand movements, which is easy to do, since the glue does not immediately set.

During the operation of the coating, made by the floating method using the interlock, it is necessary to maintain a uniform temperature in the room. This is due to the fact that with sharp and significant thermal fluctuations, end gaps appear, since under such conditions the strips are compressed in length. Dust gets into the resulting micro-slit, preventing the panel from returning to its original position in the future.

In the hallway, corridor, bathroom, it is advisable to choose the adhesive method of installing vinyl laminate. In areas subject to intense traffic or high humidity, a floor covering with sealed joints will last for a sufficiently long period.

Do-it-yourself vinyl laminate flooring

The times when the choice of types of flooring was limited to natural wood or stone have long since sunk into oblivion. This event happened, unfortunately, or fortunately, users who set out to change the floor covering in their home have to understand from their own experience. The modern market of building and finishing materials offers the widest range of materials. One such modern material is vinyl laminate.

Judging by the description, this is a unique material that has only positive qualities: wear resistance, beauty, ease of installation and maintenance, low price and health benefits. Is it really?

What is vinyl laminate?

To try and make the right choice in favor of vinyl flooring, let's take a closer look at what this material is.

History page: Vinyl chloride was synthesized in the early 19th century, in 1872 Eugene Baumann received a polymer of vinyl chloride (PVC), and by 1912 the industrial production of PVC was also mastered. It began to be actively used by the 30s, and in the post-war period, a real triumphal procession of polyvinyl chloride began. This polymer is widely used in a wide variety of fields. In particular, it has found great application in the construction industry. One of the directions is the production of decorative finishing coatings.

Vinyl laminate flooring is commonly referred to as a floor covering made from polyvinyl chloride. On sale there are various options - in the form of square or rectangular tiles of different sizes, plates, with their dimensions close to the boards of the usual laminate, as well as in large format sheets. The most common tile sizes are 300x150, 300x300, 200x200, 490x490 mm.

Vinyl laminate has dimensions 191x1316, 324x655 mm. A distinctive feature of the material is its small thickness - it does not exceed 5 mm. This quality allows you to use vinyl laminate over old flooring without reducing the height of the room.

Varieties and features

In addition to the size, coating, commercially available vinyl tiles differ in the installation method:

• With lock. Vinyl laminate locks are similar to conventional laminate locks. The locking connection allows for quick and easy laying, significantly increasing the speed of work. The lock device allows the use of the coating in the temperature range from 0 to 40°C;
• Adhesive laying. For laying, special types of adhesives for PVC are used. The tile is glued to the base, covered with adhesive mastic. This installation method is not very popular for self-installation;
• Adhesive panels. On the wrong side of the panels there is an adhesive layer protected by paper. Perfectly fastens tiles to even substrates, allowing you to lay the floor covering on old ceramic tiles or linoleum. The disadvantage of this method of laying the coating is the inability to remove the tile and rearrange it in case of an error in laying;
• Tile with adhesive tape. Another option for adhesive-backed vinyl tiles is a type of adhesive lock panel. Lamellas are arranged in the same way as laminate boards - there is a lock around the perimeter. But the connection is not made mechanically, but with the help of an adhesive smart tape.

Vinyl tiles are flexible and rigid. Rigid laying requires an almost perfectly level base, because if there are significant differences, the panel may crack.

And, of course, the entire wide range of vinyl products offered is distinguished by good design. In addition to the standard multi-colored options, quite successful drawings are offered that imitate natural materials - stone and wood.

Modern technologies allow not only to reproduce in detail the pattern of marble or the texture of a wooden board, but also to supplement visual perception with tactile sensations - vinyl laminate boards have a relief texture of natural wood.

Just like MDF-based laminate, vinyl laminate has a multilayer structure. The basis is a layer of polyvinyl chloride, which gives the product the necessary flexibility or rigidity. The second layer also consists of PVC, only this layer is soft and has reinforcement, for example, with fiberglass. Next comes the base layer, which gives the board or panel strength. It consists of the same polyvinyl chloride, only with mineral additives. Fine quartz sand can be used as an additive. A decorative paper coating with a texture pattern is glued onto the base layer. The very last layer - protective polyurethane, protects the decorative coating from damage.

Advantages and disadvantages of vinyl flooring

Each new type of emerging building materials is touted by manufacturers as the most wear-resistant, beautiful, and, most importantly, safe. In reality, everything is usually not as smooth and rosy as in advertising booklets. First, let's look at the positive aspects of the material.

Vinyl laminate is usually advertised by manufacturers as:

• durable, wear-resistant coating, scratch-resistant and furniture pressure-resistant;
• durable in operation - manufacturers talk about the service life of vinyl flooring up to forty years;
• easy to maintain - easy to clean;
• moisture resistant - can be used in rooms with high humidity;
• finishing material with a variety of designs;
• easy to install with the ability to disassemble the cover with a locking connection and assemble it in another place;
• environmentally friendly coating, which is approved for use in children's and medical institutions;
• fireproof material;
• economical material for finishing the floor;

Even without analyzing the disadvantages of vinyl laminate, you can criticize the listed advantages:

• The use of a cutting tool other than a knife is not intended for cutting vinyl panels. If the material can be easily cut with an ordinary knife, is it as resistant to scratches, chips and gouges as the manufacturers describe?

Important! According to some reviews, chips on the coating appear already a month after the start of operation. The coating is not recommended to be laid near stoves and heating appliances. Vinyl floors also leave marks from cigarette butts or hot objects. Floor coverings made of natural materials are not only more resistant to mechanical stress, but also absolutely repairable - ordinary parquet can be cycled and varnished, getting new floors for decades. Worn and cracked vinyl tiles will need to be replaced. And the need for repairs will be required quite quickly;

• The coating is not resistant to solvents and some household chemicals. On contact with the rubber, a chemical reaction may begin, leading to staining and discoloration of the pattern;
• The moisture resistance of the coating is relative: by itself, the surface of the tile, of course, absolutely does not let water through. But it can penetrate into the seams if a lock-joint coating is used;
• Simplicity and speed of installation is achieved only under ideal conditions for preparing the base - the device of a flat subfloor using levelers. Therefore, advertisers are cunning, assuring that laying a vinyl laminate with a lock connection is as simple as a children's designer - in order to simply and quickly lay thin vinyl panels, systematic work may be required for a month to create a perfectly even screed. Any unevenness will cause cracks in the rigid tile, or the flexible vinyl laminate will wrap around bumps. Although the reviews of professionals about vinyl laminate are quite positive: it is much less capricious and demanding in laying, compared to a conventional MDF coating. The ability to assemble, disassemble and reassemble the flooring is also doubtful - this quality of the material plays a positive role only in the minds of marketers. In practice, I did not have to face such a need as using the old coating in another place;
• The variety of design of artificial flooring is really very large, and the possibilities for creating a high-quality imitation of the pattern of natural wood or stone in modern industry are quite significant. But is it worth it to qualitatively imitate natural materials for a price higher than the cost of natural wooden parquet?
• Manufacturers are actively introducing the idea of ​​cheapness of artificial finishing materials into the minds of buyers. But if you really try to conduct market research on the finishing materials market, it turns out that the price of vinyl laminate can be even higher than for piece natural oak parquet;
• Vinyl coating really refers to materials that do not support combustion, and, therefore, are not hazardous from the point of view of fire. But when heated, the material releases toxic chlorine-containing substances and compounds;

Environmentally friendly vinyl laminate

The environmental friendliness of this material raises the greatest doubts. Even a quartz-vinyl laminate can hardly be called environmentally friendly, just because the material contains natural quartz sand.

In the production of polyvinyl chloride, phthalates are very widely used - salts of phthalic acid. They are used to give softness and flexibility to plastic products. Phthalates are popular in any plastics industry because of their low cost. When added to the polymer mass, phthalates do not bind to polymer molecules, and eventually diffuse into the surrounding air.

This process takes place constantly, so manufacturers' assurances that the harmful effect of vinyl disappears two weeks after laying the floor covering, and it is enough just to intensively ventilate the room after the repair is completed, are unfounded. It is because of the evaporation of phthalates that plastic products become brittle over time - phthalic acid salts evaporate from the plastic structure, and the bond of the polymers is broken. The intense smell of the new coating does fade over time, but the process of phthalates release from PVC does not stop. Just the intensity of the smell of a new product indicates that a lot of substance evaporates from the surface of the coating.

Important! Phthalates in the human body are not excreted, but accumulated. Which leads to disorders in the endocrine, reproductive system, especially in boys, pathologies in the liver and kidneys. Constant exposure to phthalates on the human body can lead to cancer, asthma, infertility in men and women, suppression of male sexual characteristics in boys (not lowering the testicles into the scrotum, underdevelopment of the penis, the formation of behavior typical of girls).

In the future, children of both sexes will have distracted attention syndrome, problems with self-control. Scientists believe that one of the causes of obesity in children is the action of just these substances.

For several years now, quartz vinyl flooring, commonly called "quartz-vinyl", has taken a strong place in the flooring fashion. This is no coincidence, not only because in the line of these coatings there is an alternative to the classic wooden pattern of the laminate - imitation of natural stone, but also because it has high wear resistance, moisture resistance and health safety. The only disadvantage of this coating is its high thermal conductivity (almost like ceramic tiles), that is, you don’t really walk on it barefoot, it’s too cold. In this regard, of course, cork coatings win. But this minus can always be turned into a big plus for yourself, for this you just need to lay a warm floor under it, it will heat up almost instantly, compared to the same laminate and especially cork (about 5-10 minutes, depending on the thickness , type, floor power and thermal insulation technology), respectively, it will consume less electricity than the same warm floor under a laminate or cork.

Now the question arises: what kind of underfloor heating is suitable for quartz-vinyl tiles? In order to choose a warm floor, we first need to decide on the type of quartz-vinyl coating, there are currently two of them:

1. Quartz-vinyl tile, which is glued directly to the rough screed or self-leveling floor;

2. Castle quartz-vinyl (assembled as a laminate).

In the first option, where the tiles are glued to the floor, we use, or, you can use, that is, everything that is poured with a screed or self-leveling floor after installation, the heating film will not work here, because the quartz-vinyl will not stick to it, and the connections will be stick out. The technology in a nutshell looks like this:

1. We lay the warm floor,

2. We fill it with a screed or self-leveling floor (it is better glued to the self-leveling floor - fewer pores),

3. After the screed / self-leveling floor has completely dried, we glue the quartz-vinyl tile,

4. We enjoy the result visually and warming the heels.

In the second option with castle quartz vinyl coating, everything is much simpler - we use the following technology:

2. We lay it on it and fix it with adhesive tape,

3. We collect quartz-vinyl (like a laminate),

Thanks to modern materials, wooden floors, popular for a long time, are being successfully replaced by laminated coatings. They have the appearance of wood, but are much cheaper. However, no matter how high-quality they are, they will not heat without a heating system. Underfloor heating is one of the options for creating a comfortable indoor temperature. Moreover, this method of heating is much more efficient than radiator heating. A person feels cozier when the floor temperature is slightly warmer than the air temperature at head level. It remains to choose which warm floor under the laminate is better to put. There are three types of underfloor heating: water, electric cable and electric infrared. All of them have common advantages: uniform distribution of heat, efficiency of the system, aesthetics, since the heating elements are hidden from view and do not spoil the interior of the rooms, there is no dust circulation as with radiator heating. Water heated floor Such a floor heating device consists of several layers. The first of them - a waterproofing coating, is laid on the base. At this stage, a damper tape is laid around the perimeter of the room. The second layer is thermal insulation. A heating pipe of small cross section is laid out on it. Then comes the carrier layer, which is most often used as a concrete screed, less often - materials based on gypsum fiber. On top of these layers lay the floor covering. Heating occurs due to warm water circulating through pipes. Depending on the type of flooring, the thickness of water heated floors is 5-15 cm. Advantages: safety, reliability, independence from power supply (subject to natural circulation of the coolant). Disadvantages: installation complexity, the need to fill the pipes with a concrete screed, reduces the height of the room, the complexity of the repair (in the event of a coolant leak). Electrical cable The main element of an electric floor heating is a cable. Heating of the room occurs due to the fact that it converts electrical energy into heat. For electric underfloor heating, two-core and single-core cables are used. In the first variant, there are two cores: supply and heating. For residential premises, it is better to use a two-core cable, as it has less electromagnetic radiation. Plus, it's easier to install. However, due to the possibility of breaking the contact of the cable, there is a possibility of its overheating. Advantages: reliability, durability, service life of more than 20 years, ease of installation and maintenance, the ability to control the optimal temperature in the room. Disadvantages: weak electromagnetic radiation, high cost of energy carrier. Infrared film The latest development in the field of underfloor heating is infrared film. It is laid on a heat-reflecting material, and covered with polyethylene on top. After that, you can immediately lay the finish coat. Advantages: reliability and durability, ease of installation, no need to fill the screed, after installing underfloor heating, you can immediately start laying the laminate, due to the small thickness of the film and the absence of screed, reducing the height of the ceilings is insignificant, more economical use of electricity compared to heating cable. Disadvantages: high cost, inability to use in wet rooms, in order not to damage the film during installation, a flat base is required. After considering three options for underfloor heating, you can choose the most suitable one. Please note that the surface of the laminate should not be heated above 25°C. But even this is enough to make the room cozy and warm.