Elina
2014-05-31 13:04:26
- #1
We want to install underfloor heating in our old building. Since a wet screed is out of the question (weight, wooden walls), it should be a dry system. Unfortunately, even after a long search, we have not found a company that would take on the job, because they always require minimum areas (usually 100 sqm). That is not possible for us, as the old building is inhabited and cannot be cleared of furniture over 100 sqm at the same time. It can only be done room by room. So now we have to do it ourselves. The problem is that we can't find a professional to pressure test it and we've also been told that pressure testing with water may only be done if commissioning follows shortly thereafter. That wouldn't be possible for us, because we first have to lay the floor in each room individually, which will probably take forever, but certainly at least half a year to a year. Leaving the underfloor heating pipes exposed for that long is also not possible, because we can only clear the next room once the previous one has a proper floor again. Accordingly, we want to lay the underfloor heating, then the dry screed on top, and then the next room... but that means the screed would already be on before the final pressure test is done, when everything is truly finished. The manufacturer of the underfloor heating says that if we use aluminum composite pipes (the most expensive), that would not be a problem; the pipes themselves are apparently always (?) tight, the weak points would be the connections at the manifold, but those could still be accessed afterwards. Within the heating circuits there are no interruptions in the pipe, meaning the approach we plan is okay and the risk is low that a brand new aluminum composite pipe would have a hole somewhere in between. Before I proceed this way, I would prefer to ask if this is true, or if each room must be pressure tested individually before the screed goes on (although I don't know how we would do that, since we already have trouble finding anyone who will pressure test a DIY-installed underfloor heating system at all—let alone room by room...). So, what do you say, can this be done relatively safely or is the risk too high?