How It Works: Retrofitting a Radiant Ceiling Heating with Drywall Panels
Installation instructions
Our radiant ceiling heating kit is a drywall construction system, optimized for the retrofitting of an climate ceiling in selected rooms. The installation is carried out with suspended drywall construction elements into which the polyethylene pipes have already been integrated at the factory. The ceiling heating surfaces are then integrated into the existing heating system.
The retrofitting of water-based ceiling heating is simplified by the use of plug-in connections and Kompa boxes for controlling the individual room temperature control, so that FLEXIRO is equally suitable for professional installers and do-it-yourself enthusiasts. The following panels illustrate the steps for installing the drywall system with a test setup approximately 3m² in size.
SCOPE OF DELIVERY FLEXIRO-10 KIT Ceiling heating with drywall construction
The detailed scope of the kit is described in the PDF installation guide.
You will also find further accessories and suitable tools in the FLEXIRO Shop.
Prefabricated ceiling heating element
View of the ceiling heating element with pre-drilled holes in the elements (the element is supplied from the factory with cardboard backing)
Dimensions of the ceiling heating element 1200 mm x 600 mm x 12.5 mm
View of the rear side of the ceiling heating element
Rear side of the drywall element with integrated heating pipes
IMPORTANT NOTES BEFORE STARTING THE INSTALLATION
A schematic diagram showing the arrangement of the ceiling heating elements can be seen.
Groups of 4 FLEXIRO ceiling elements are connected together to form partial heating surfaces. The arrangement of the individual ceiling heating elements must be determined when beginning the work. Since the ceiling elements cannot be cut to size, cut-to-size panels must be provided at the edges of the planned heating surface. You can obtain suitable gypsum plasterboards from DIY stores or specialist dealers. All installations in the ceiling surface, such as luminaire fixings, cable bushings, etc, cannot be installed in the ceiling elements. You should also insert commercially available gypsum plasterboards as strips at these points. The edge junctions around the ceiling surface should later be filled with permanently elastic sealant in accordance with drywall construction guidelines.
INSTALLATION OF THE KOMPA-BOX TEMPERATURE CONTROLLER
To ensure efficient temperature control, the Kompa Box should be positioned in such a way that the thermostatic head can measure the temperature of the indoor air and the air can flow around it unhindered.
The separately enclosed installation and operating instructions for the Kompa-Box must be observed.
PREPARING THE INSTALLATION
The existing ceiling to which the structure is to be fixed must be capable of bearing an additional load of 17 kg/m².
The substructure should preferably be made of drywall CD profiles and fixed to the existing ceiling in compliance with the drywall guidelines. The standard spacing of the CD support profiles must be 400 mm.
INSTALLATION OF THE CEILING SUBSTRUCTION
A flat metal substructure with basic and supporting profiles made of standard drywall construction CD profiles, cross connectors, vernier hangers and DU edge profiles is installed under the existing ceiling.
INSTALLATION OF THE CEILING SUBSTRUCTION
The centre spacing for the CD support profiles must be exactly 400 mm.
PREPARING AND INSTALLING THE CEILING ELEMENTS
Prepare an installation plan showing the exact arrangement of the individual ceiling elements. Make sure you comply with the regulations for drywall construction. The formation of cross joints is not permitted!
PREPARING AND INSTALLING THE FLEXIRO CEILING ELEMENTS
The FLEXIRO ceiling elements are preferably placed in the middle of the overall ceiling surface. The edge areas are later closed with commercially available plasterboard (12.5 mm thick) as custom-cut panels.
PREPARING AND INSTALLING THE FLEXIRO CEILING ELEMENTS
On the connection side (a short side of the element), remove the ends of the connection pipes from the transport position and also remove the dust caps.
PREPARING AND INSTALLING THE FLEXIRO CEILING ELEMENTS
The ceiling heating elements are mounted on CD profiles by means of drywall quick-fit screws. The arrangement of the screws is determined by the holes pre-drilled at the factory. Only in this position can damage to the FLEXIRO heating pipes be reliably avoided!
PREPARING AND INSTALLING THE FLEXIRO CEILING ELEMENTS
Screw connection of the drywall ceiling heating elements with the CD profiles
PREPARING AND INSTALLING THE FLEXIRO CEILING ELEMENTS
Positioning the connecting hoses
PREPARING AND INSTALLING THE FLEXIRO CEILING ELEMENTS
Arrangement of the dry construction elements on the CD profiles
FITTING THE CONNECTION HOSES
In the ceiling cavity, connect the connection hoses of four ceiling elements to each other with plug connectors in series to form a partial heating surface. Make sure that support sleeves are fitted in all pipe ends before plugging them together.
FITTING THE CONNECTION HOSES
The support sleeves included in the scope of delivery are inserted into the pipe ends.
FITTING THE CONNECTION HOSES
Installing the connectors
FITTING THE CONNECTION HOSES
The connection hoses must be laid free of twists and with a bending radius of not less than 200 mm. Avoid kinking the pipes when bending the pipe ends. If necessary, you can shorten the pipe ends. Use the FLEXIRO hose cutter or the FLEXIRO pipe cutter Classic for shortening the pipes. The pipe end must be burr-free and cut straight.
Connection diagram
Example of connection diagram for four ceiling heating elements
FITTING THE CONNECTION HOSES
Kinked or damaged parts of the connecting hoses should be cut out. The pipe must be reconnected with a permanently tight coupling ( plug-in connector). This procedure can also be used to extend the pipes if necessary.
FITTING THE CONNECTION HOSES
Now connect the supply and return for the respectively first and fourth ceiling heating element with the 7000 mm-long connection hoses to the KOMPA Box.
CONNECTING TO THE KOMPA BOX
The distributor arms are connected to the KOMPA Box using the Eurocone connector. The Eurocone has a self-sealing effect while the metal screw connection has a purely safety-related function. Over-tightening should be avoided as this would compromise the safety of the heating system.
CONNECTING TO THE KOMPA BOX
Here the arrangement is shown of the heating pipes on the KOMPA-Box. The heating pipes are connected to the distributor arms using the simple plug-in assembly. The heating pipes that have just been cut and possibly shortened are inserted directly into the plug-in connections of the distributor arms up to the stop.
CONNECTING TO THE HEATING SYSTEM
Make sure that the supply and return lines are correctly connected in the KOMPA Box. Mixing up the supply and return lines in the KOMPA Box will disable the thermostatic valve and even prevent the flow through the FLEXIRO ceiling heating system.
PRESSURE TEST OF THE HEATING SYSTEM
Make sure that the system and all associated components are correctly installed before putting the ceiling heating system into operation.
Please observe the detailed instructions in our PDF Installation Instructions for pressure test.
CLOSING THE CEILING SURFACE
The gypsum plasterboard panels for closing the ceiling edge areas to the adjoining walls must have a panel thickness of 12.5 mm. The joints to the adjacent components must be flexible so that the heating surface does not crack due to expansion movements. Please follow the manufacturer's instructions.
CLOSING THE CEILING SURFACE
The inactive gypsum plasterboard should be cut to size in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.
When the complete ceiling surface is closed, the joints between the panels should be filled. Use suitable joint cover strips and smoothing compounds in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. The junctions with the adjacent building components should be sealed with elastic joint sealants.
Retrofitting ceiling heating
Finally, the dry wall elements are plastered. After finishing and complete drying of the surfaces, the ceiling heating can be put into use.
Despite the simplified installation, we must point out here that we as the manufacturer can only guarantee perfect factory delivery, but not the installation and connection by third parties. Please also observe the currently valid standards and regulations for heating systems.
Installation Guide - DIY Drywall Ceiling Heating KitComprehensive installation guidelines with all required infomation for retroffiting a FLEXIRO water-based ceiling heating with prefabricated drywall panels.926 KB
