In this article, we will not talk about how to insulate the baseboards: how much cotton wool, felt or foam should be placed under them so that they do not blow from under them, do not see through the cold, etc.
In this article we will talk about how to make a warm skirting board with your own hands. That is, to build a miniature and technically uncomplicated device that will allow you to maintain a constant temperature on your glazed and insulated balcony within the range of 18-20 ° C.
General device diagram
Skirting heater device
Although, of course, the people who have been building moonshine stills from generation to generation hardly need to be explained how to do something similar, but it is much simpler. To begin with, let's just say that heating with a warm plinth is done by two copper pipes through which hot water flows. To heighten the effect, the pipes are equipped with radiator fins made of brass sheets, and the whole structure is covered on three sides with an aluminum box.
Usually, they try to fit a warm plinth into dimensions: 16 cm in height, 6 cm in width, and in length - as much as the perimeter of the room will allow. And they place it in the same place as the most ordinary plinth: along the walls along the floor.
Why not on the ceiling?
The article will tell you not only about what kind of device it is, but also about the laws of physics on which the action of the baseboard heater is based.
Because the installation of a warm plinth exactly at the bottom of the walls requires complex physical laws that describe the convection of air currents along vertical surfaces (that is, walls) so that these walls in the process of the mentioned convection warm up and themselves become sources of infrared (thermal) radiation.
Calculation of homemade warm skirting board
Installing a warm skirting board
The Internet is full of tricky formulas for calculating warm skirting boards: how to calculate the diameter of a tube, how many radiator fins are needed, how fast the water should flow through the tubes so that the room temperature reaches the desired 20 ° ...
Do not bother yourself with these formulas. All the same, you will not find another suitable copper tube, except with a diameter of 16 mm. If you find 20 mm, put yourself a miraculous monument.
Steel, aluminum tubes are easier to find, but their thermal conductivity is lower than that of copper ones, and your warm baseboard will heat up half as bad. And then it will not be warm at all.
Warm skirting board with a mesh-netting radiator
It is just as difficult to find a brass sheet: preferably, by GOST 931-90 thickness 2.5-3.5 mm
The aluminum sheet for the box is easier to find. As a last resort, you can adapt aluminum siding for the assembly of the box or cut out suitable parts from aluminum panels used to decorate billboards or light boxes.
Water will flow through the tube at the same rate as it flows in the heating system of your apartment - and no calculation will change anything.
Warm skirting device
1. Remember that your warm baseboard should warm the air along the wall, but not the wall itself! Therefore, turn over the wall in those areas where the baseboard heater will be located with an insulator: thicker plywood or drywall strips. 2. It is important to correctly cut out the future radiator fins from the brass sheet. In order for them not only to serve as emitters, but also to become bearing brackets, they must be made in the form of the letter "P", to the crossbar of which you will screw the strips of the aluminum box with self-tapping screws.The lower part of the legs of this "P" must also be bent outward at right angles: this way you will make platforms for attaching the brackets to the wall (more precisely, to the strip of plywood that you previously stuffed onto the wall).
Thus, you get the initial data for the pattern: plate height - 16 cm; the width is equal to: 12 cm (two thicknesses of the plinth) + 3 cm (the width of the crossbar between the legs) + 6 cm (the total thickness of the two "folds" for fastening to the wall). Total - 21 cm.
Are there any other options for heating the balcony? will help you to make a warm floor with water heating on the balcony
What is the best underfloor heating for the balcony :? An analytical review on our website will help you solve this issue.
About the device of electric underfloor heating on the balcony
Blank for radiator rib for warm plinth
You have got a plate of 16x21 cm. Draw the horizontal and vertical axes of symmetry on it - it is best to use the needle of a measuring compass for this.
Depart from the horizontal axis of symmetry 4 cm up and down and draw two more parallel lines.
Depart from the vertical axis of symmetry 4.5 cm to the right and left and draw two vertical lines. At the points of intersection of these additional lines, you will get the centers of the holes through which the pipes will pass. They need to be drilled out.
3. To drill holes for pipes, you need to take a drill 0.5 mm larger in diameter than the diameter of the pipe you purchased. But it will be okay if the drill is larger by both 1mm and 2mm. 4. After drilling the holes, the brass plate must be bent in the form of a U-shaped profile with bends of the "legs" for fastening to the wall. It is also worth doing the markup for this.Step 3 cm away from the sides of the plate and draw two vertical lines at this distance. Along them you will bend the folds for attaching the radiator to the wall.
This is how brass should be bent in a vice
Depart from the vertical centerline by 1.5 cm to the right and left and also draw two parallel lines: they will mark the boundaries of the "crossbar" of the letter "P".
5. Bending brass is as easy as shelling pears: clamp it in a vice so that the fold line coincides with the upper edge of the vice jaws, and, consistently drumming with a hammer (preferably copper, not steel) along the fold line, bend the plate until its free edge is lies on the jaws of the vice. You will not provide a more straight angle at home. 6. Now screw the radiator brackets with self-tapping screws or screws to the plywood (gypsum board) with which you edged the wall at the location of the baseboard heater. And insert the copper pipes you supplied into their holes. Your original skirting heater is assembled.Important! Drywall does not hold well screws, screws and any other fasteners that we are trying to incorporate into it. Therefore, immediately, before installing the pipes, place a support under the brackets. For example, a strip of suitable thickness. Fix both tubes every 1.0-1.5 m with clamps using dowels, which should be driven into something more capital than drywall: a house wall, a bookmark in the balcony cladding, etc.
7. How to loop the circuit and connect it to the hot water source?
Loop wrap
It is good to have fittings for this case. It is good to be able to competently make a tie-in into a central heating pipe. But, in principle, all this is the concern of the home plumber, not the heating engineer.
In practice, it was possible to observe how heating systems were fed for years through a conventional corrugated hose, and even through a rubber hose put on the flared end of a copper tube and tightened with a clamp.
Using the same fittings and hoses with which you connected your warm skirting board to the heating system, loop its circuit. That is, connect the "rear ends" of the copper pipes with a corrugated hose or in some other way so that water flows freely from one pipe to another. And from that - back to the central heating system.
Important! Do not be fooled by the thought that you will be able to bend a copper tube efficiently at home. Theoretically, it must first be tightly filled with fine sand, plugged in and bent, wrapped around a steel column of a certain radius. But in practice, it is not realistic to densely fill a tube with a diameter of 16 mm and a length of 2 m with sand. And when you try to twist it around the metal leg of a stool or something else like that, you will either break the tube, or crumple it so much that at the point of bend its throughput will decrease and, sooner or later, cracks will appear in this place and the system will begin to leak. Therefore, both the looping of the contour and the outlining of the corners (if you are laying the system around the entire perimeter of the room) should be done using hoses, and not by bending the pipe.
8. The thermal conductivity of aluminum is much worse than the thermal conductivity of copper. The aluminum casing in which you pack your "warm skirting board" is also a screen that drives warm air up along the wall. Therefore, it is worth leaving a 5-10 mm wide gap on the upper plane of the box, through which the heated air will flow along the wall.Installation of a warm electric skirting board
Installation of an electric skirting board heater
Much more difficult than water. Although in the network instructions, it seems as if it is enough to put a heating element in a copper tube. But in fact, there are not so many people who could neatly enough stretch this very heating element through a long pipe with a diameter of 16 mm.
But the problems with the insulation and waterproofing of the device are much more complicated. A balcony, even a glazed one, is a place of high humidity. Short circuit, sparking, fire is much more likely here than in an ordinary room.
In any case, all threaded connections must be made using rubber gaskets, the radiator and copper pipes must not come into contact with the aluminum cladding, etc.
Therefore, it is better not to risk it and buy a branded electric skirting board heater. They are not that expensive. And in the event of an emergency, at least, there will be someone to file a claim for damages.
Installing a factory-made warm skirting board
Signature electric warm skirting board
It must be carried out strictly according to the attached instructions. Although the general principles of baseboard heaters are the same, the components from different manufacturers differ from each other, and therefore the methods of installation and connection can be very different.
There is nothing wrong with these instructions. Many modern warm skirting boards just need to be attached to the wall and connected to the mains.
Warm plinth, photo gallery of hand-made devices
Sample of homemade warm skirting board 
Warm electric skirting board - do it yourself 
Connecting the baseboard heater to the heating system 
Connecting a baseboard heater using a union connection 
Warm electric skirting board 
This profile is suitable for warm skirting radiators. 
Stroke corners with flexible tubing 
Installation diagram of a warm skirting board 
Bending copper tubes with a vice
During the operation of residential premises in apartments or houses, situations arise when spaces of different sizes and depths are formed between the wall and the floor. It becomes necessary to close them up, but not only because they spoil the appearance of the living quarters, but also because they are a direct source of drafts, the penetration of dampness into rooms, which carries hordes of insects, mold and is flexible.
Therefore, it is imperative that after detecting such a problem, immediately proceed with its elimination. Carrying out the work does not take much time and effort, it implies following several stages:
- Determination of the gap size - length and depth;
- Based on the scale of future work, a material is selected with which the hole will be sealed.
For filling very small gaps (about 1 cm), you can take mortars of putty, plaster of paris or cement. Larger gaps (2-5 cm) must be filled with polyurethane foam. If the damage is much larger (from 5 cm or more), then you need to resort to more serious work and the use of other materials. Below is a sequential technology for eliminating gaps between the wall and the floor of any complexity.
Preparation for work
Sealing such gaps falls into the category of cosmetic repairs. Preparation depends on what decorative elements your walls or floor are decorated with. If there is a plinth, remove it, remove the wallpaper, clean and remove the paint layer, wash the whitewash. In the latter case, let the wall dry completely. Remove all dust and dirt that may interfere with the quality fixation of the sealing materials.
If the embedding takes place in a room where you do not plan to carry out a complete renovation, then the wallpaper needs to be removed only partially, or try to carefully tear off the strip from the wall in order to glue it back after the end of the work, returning the wall to its original appearance. All surfaces that can get dirt during the repair process must be protected with foil, paper and securely fixed - this will avoid additional costs when putting things in order. Such measures will keep the floor and walls from polyurethane foam, plaster and paint. Paper or newspapers should not be used if there is a lot of water in the workplace - it is useless as a protective material in this case.
The target is a big gap
To fill the hole, pieces of brick, styrofoam, styrofoam, or plastic that are the right size are ideal. If the parts are large, then they need to be broken or broken - small filling components guarantee that they will fit inside the hole as tightly as possible and thoroughly fill the cavity. Be careful not to deform the existing hole and widen it when filling the gap.
These materials will help you save expensive polyurethane foam, which should be poured into the crevice after the previous materials. Practice shows that using bricks or other fillers, only one cylinder of polyurethane foam is required to repair even very large damage.
You should not fill it up to the eyeballs, because it tends to expand several times. Fill the remaining space by about a third, in very severe cases, by half. If the layer turns out to be very large, then apply it not at one time, but in parts, allowing the previous layer to fully expand and harden. This will reduce the risk of overfilling and subsequent loss of foam rags, and as a result, it will save its volume.
Target - medium to small size slit
The ideal option for filling such holes would be soft, plastic materials with a high density - tow or building felt. To prevent such materials from becoming a refuge for insect pests, before filling them, they must be thoroughly saturated with insecticidal substances, formalin most often acts in their role.
The material is rolled into small rolls, the diameter of which should be slightly larger than the size of the slot, and applied to the slot. Further, with the help of a small rubber or wooden mallet, the roll is carefully but surely hammered into the hollow space of the damage. It is advisable to fill the void with a whole piece of material, without small parts, so that unnecessary cavities do not form between them.
If the gap is so small that you physically cannot hammer in tow, then a soft spatula and plastic plaster mortar will come to the rescue. The technology is simple - apply a strip of plaster on the tip of the spatula and apply it to the damage, then gently press. This will allow the grout to fill the entire cavity and immediately fill the wall surface to minimize preparation for finishing.
To keep the surrounding space free from dirt, you can use a self-adhesive construction fabric (which will not work if you already have wallpaper glued on) or the above methods. After the gap is completely clogged, the formalin dries out - you can decorate the seam.
The gap between the skirting board and the wall or floor
It usually forms when old walls are bent or wooden skirting boards dry out. It is very simple to close such an error - with the help of acrylic sealant, modern stores provide a choice of any colors and shades. The cylinder is installed in a special device for the supply of sealant and applied over the distance between the elements.
Rules for working with polyurethane foam
Two-thirds of cases still require the active use of polyurethane foam, even in a small amount. Therefore, it is important to figure out how to use it correctly. The recommendations are as follows:
- Before filling the cavity, its surface must be slightly moistened with ordinary water. For this, it is advisable to use a mechanical spray bottle or a bottle with holes in the lid. This is done to better fix the foam inside the damage.
- When filling, keep in mind the expanding capacity of the foam. In addition, moisturizing the surface will only enhance this effect. The foam should be applied gently, carefully, little by little.
- The ideal working conditions with it are from five to twenty-five degrees Celsius. The cylinder must be warmed up in water at the appropriate temperature.
- Shake the container with foam thoroughly before use.
- Carry out work only in goggles and gloves - the foam is very caustic, firmly adheres to all things and objects. In case of accidental contact with the finished surfaces, it is recommended to remove the foam only after complete drying, while it is not yet hardened, it is wiped off with a special solvent.
- The hardened foam is removed with a sharp knife.
Finishing the wall after repairing the damage
Excess foam should be removed so that a small depression remains at the seam site. It will be filled with a small layer of putty or plaster with a putty knife and brought out flush with the wall. After the layer of mortar has dried, not a trace will remain from the gap. From above, the wall can be finished in all sorts of ways - attach a plinth, paint, glue the wallpaper, finish with tiles, plastic, wood, and so on.
Output
It is advisable to detect and repair such damage between the floor and walls before finishing work, so as not to damage the existing finishing surfaces during work. Thus, the work will be done faster and at a lower cost. If the embedding takes place in a clean room, then precautions cannot be neglected, especially when working with polyurethane foam.
Video
From the video you will learn in more detail how and how to repair cracks.
Checkmark, I wasn’t at all funny either ... when it was carrying tobacco smoke into the room, it’s not clear from where it was ... from somewhere below it seemed ... and periodically it was blowing ... Moreover, this room is corner. It was already the coldest in our apartment, until double-glazed windows were installed there - internal and external - and the heating radiators were replaced with new, modern ones. Sasha closed the cracks and the blowing stopped. Now this room is as warm as the other rooms. Even the radiators were turned on at full capacity throughout the winter only in January, when there were severe frosts. At home all winter they are dressed in summer style, they have forgotten what warm slippers and warm indoor clothes are. They stopped catching cold.
Galya, to check if it is blowing, you have to bring your wet hand to the problem areas. It is likely that it is somewhere under your parquet floor. There is also a hole where the heating pipe goes.
Yes, we do everything on the sly, according to our free time. There is nowhere to rush!))
And when you hire builders, it is not only expensive, but not always of high quality. Of course, there are jobs when you need to contact construction firms. Installation of double-glazed windows, for example, or installation of an armored door. Sasha, practically, has mastered some construction and installation specialties. Yes, he was able to do a lot before. I put tiles everywhere myself. I changed the toilet, installed a sink, making a complex with a countertop sink + touch plate with oven + kitchen furniture. We bought the hob and oven separately. Sasha first installed a hob in the countertop, and then built a touch-sensitive oven under it, making a cabinet for it with drawers for various little things.
For many years, hot water was often cut off to houses in our neighborhood for several days. This was especially unpleasant in the winter. Residents went to swear at the housing office, and the chief told them that he personally did not heat water. And payments to the communal apartment came with ever larger amounts. At night, even if there was hot water during the day, it disappeared after 12 due to the lack of circulation of water in the pipes. It was necessary to drain the water for a long time so that at least the warm one would finally go. I wrote a number of statements to various authorities in the country with copies, Sasha walked around the house and collected the signatures of the residents. We mailed everything with notifications. Within a month, they began to receive explanations from the authorities about what was going on. It turns out that over the hot water pipes in our area, over some hot water distribution unit, someone built cooperative garages. Moreover, without permission from Kyivenergo. So, in any case, they explained to me in the answer. And when, somewhere, in the area of garages, pipes rotted and began to leak, then there was no way to get to them. I wrote again - to the Prime Minister and the Department of Energy, and again we collected all the signatures, attaching copies of the replies received. I received a reply. But we continued to regularly call Kyivenergo, all the operators already knew us, they called the hotline of the City Council and the Ministry of Energy. And when our district was allocated funds for the repair of pipes (this was on the eve of the elections), they started, first of all, with us. They installed a new circulation system, installed new modern pipes, instead of old metal ones that were constantly rusted. Everything was dug up around the houses ... dug up by excavators ... muddy earth ... mud ... But then at the same time they put new asphalt for us, made new footpaths, and in our yard they installed a playground with swings and benches for parents ...
But anyway, we decided to play it safe, and Sasha installed a 50 liter electric water heater in our house. When every year they carry out professional work in the water supply system in our area, turning off the hot water for about two weeks, then we can calmly wash in the shower, and not run with kettles into the bathroom, as it was before. Sasha connected the water heater to the hot water pipe system using copper pipes with a diameter of 8 mm. When you open the hot water tap, the heated water flows out of the tap faster.
Checkmark, thank you for your comment! Good luck in everything! Have a nice weekend!
Living in a multi-apartment panel house for at least five to ten years, the owners of the apartment are faced with the fact that for some reason the temperature in the room, even if not significantly, but decreases, drafts are felt, blows from the sockets in the panel house, the cold goes along the floor or is felt from the corners. Let's just say that unpleasant discomfort is just the beginning of the problems that can follow if you do not take active measures. What awaits you if you lightly dismiss the solution of the problem? What to do in order to eliminate the inconvenience for the maximum time?
What to do if blowing from a corner in a panel house?
The presence of drafts, the occurrence of a situation when cold comes from the wall or blows from under the plinth in a panel house - this is the first signal to start active actions! Do not wait for condensation to appear on the walls and in winter it begins to freeze, why wait for the appearance of a fungus on the ceiling or in the corners, on the floor, why live in high humidity conditions, feeling the constant smell of dampness?
There is a very effective means of dealing with all of the above problems - sealing interpanel seams. Competently and conscientiously performed work on sealing the seams between panels on the outer walls of the house will allow you to forget for a long time about cold and dampness, drafts and fungus, and of course, colds, which are the result of a violation of the normal microclimate in the home.
Each apartment in a panel house has two horizontal, one or two vertical interpanel seams, which, if their integrity is violated, can become the beginning of your problems. The bottom seam has collapsed - blowing across the floor in a panel house. The upper one is damaged or spilled out - a wet spot has formed under the ceiling, which over time begins to darken and becomes the place of appearance of the fungus. If the vertical seams have lost their qualities, it means that there will be a draft and a feeling of cold air movement from the corners.
If the process of destruction of interpanel seams has begun (and it is, unfortunately, inevitable, because nothing is eternal in the world), then, in order not to call specialists several times, you will have to repair all interpanel seams located next to your apartment.
Blowing from the walls of a panel house, how to insulate?
If you feel that it is blowing from the seams in a panel house, then you personally better do nothing, but immediately call specialists who can inspect the external walls of your apartment and interpanel seams in the most conscientious and safe way. Looking out of the windows will not help much, and without insurance you will definitely not be able to inspect and see defects, cracks, destroyed places in the seams! Utility workers are also in no hurry to come to your aid, and not because they do not want to. It's just that houses built at the same time begin to require repairs at the same time.
There are several ways to seal seams. The person who will perform the work will certainly tell you about them. Depending on the neglect of the situation, your wishes and possibilities, the optimal, in each specific case, option will be chosen, which will allow you to get the result, and guarantee its preservation for a significant period.
Sealing the seams will save you not only from drafts and dampness, but also help to save money on heating the apartment due to energy savings.
To a specific question: "blowing from the wall, what should I do?" we will give you the same specific answer - to seal the interpanel seams. In 90% of cases, this will solve all problems and improve the quality of your life. Who should you entrust the work to? Only for professionals with extensive experience and the necessary permits for hazardous work at heights!
We know how to work conscientiously at any height and are always responsible for the result obtained. Call us for a competent and non-binding consultation.