We make the cold corridor warm. How and what to insulate the walls from the inside How to insulate the floor in your house

Living in the private sector, the owners themselves take care of the insulation of their own homes. It is not difficult, knowing the technology, having at hand step-by-step photos of the work or instructions on the video. The article will tell you how to make a warm floor in a residential building with your own efforts.

When choosing a material, pay attention to the following properties:

1. Flammability. The G1 indicator indicates that the substance will not ignite without direct exposure to fire.
2. Water resistance. The lower the percentage of water absorption, the less moisture the material absorbs, which means it keeps heat better and longer.
3. Thermal conductivity. A low coefficient indicates good insulation.
4. Density. Indicates how much the material makes the entire floor structure heavier.

Materials for floor insulation

Also, an important role when buying a heater is played by its quality, cost, durability (the service life should be at least 10 years) and ease of installation - which is especially important if you are going to make a warm floor with your own hands.

The most common materials for insulation:

Mineral wool... Her advantages:

• inexpensive;
• durable;
• withstands high temperatures, up to 1000 ° C;
• has low thermal conductivity;
• isolates sounds well.

Mineral wool

Disadvantages:

• high vapor permeability. If you do not take care of waterproofing, cotton wool will accumulate moisture over time and become useless;
• attractiveness to rodents. They will need special protection.

Glass wool. It is similar in its properties to mineral wool, but has an additional disadvantage: you need to make sure that it does not get into the eyes and on the skin. Because of this feature, it is difficult to work with it, it is necessary that professionals do it.

Ecowool- non-toxic, environmentally friendly material that has the same advantages and disadvantages as other types of cotton wool.

Sawdust. The cheapest material for floor insulation. They keep heat well, but have many disadvantages: they are highly flammable, attract rodents and insects, absorb moisture well, being a favorable environment for the development of mold and mildew.

Sawdust

The following materials are more often used for insulating concrete floors than wood:

Expanded clay. It has a clay base and is an inexpensive, environmentally friendly material. Low thermal conductivity. Among the disadvantages: it absorbs and retains moisture well, although it does not lose its properties.

Attention! The expanded clay layer must be at least 10 cm, otherwise the floors will be cold.

Perlite. It is similar to expanded clay, but has improved characteristics.

Styrofoam... Advantages:

• good thermal conductivity;
• moisture resistance.

• non-environmental friendliness;
• high flammability;
• fragility.

Styrofoam

Extruded polystyrene foam... This is an "improved version" of foam: it is stronger, lasts longer, and retains heat better.

Cork... Natural material that keeps warm well. It is usually placed under the floor finish.

Polyurethane foam. Good for almost everyone:

• resistance to moisture, temperature fluctuations and loads;
• durability;
• excellent thermal conductivity.

Among the shortcomings, it should be noted that it is not environmentally friendly.

Insulation with polyurethane foam

Foam glass... It has all the advantages of polyurethane foam, plus it is environmentally friendly. However, it is fragile, therefore it is not able to withstand heavy loads.

Advice. When purchasing insulation in slabs or rolls, press on a small piece of material. If it takes its original form, feel free to take it.

Warming methods. Options for wood and concrete floors

There are two main ways of floor insulation:

Advice. These methods are good at the stage of construction, renovation or reconstruction of a house. If you plan to insulate an already inhabited room, you will need to disassemble the floors or put insulation on top of them, and then again "decorate" with a floor covering.

Instructions for insulating a wooden floor

• Before starting work, it is necessary to lay a sub-floor. It is made from untreated boards and is attached to beams. When it comes to renovation, first you need to dismantle the old floors.
• Lay the logs on the subfloor. Secure them with self-tapping screws. The distance between the bars is 0.6-1 m.
• Lay the waterproofing material.

Thermal insulation of a wooden floor

• Position the insulation so that it fits snugly against the joists. Lay waterproofing on both sides. If expanded clay is used, it just needs to be poured into the space between the bars.
• The next layer is vapor barrier. This is a special film or membrane that prolongs the life of the insulating material. It should be laid with a smooth surface to the insulation.
• Installation of a fine floor covering.

Attention! Ventilation is required between the two floor levels. For this, special holes are made in the upper floor covering - vents.

This version of the double floor, consisting of a "draft" and "clean copy", is also suitable for a concrete base. However, it should be borne in mind that this design reduces the ceiling height by about 6 cm.

Concrete floor insulation instructions

For a concrete floor, you can use a different, albeit less effective technology, but reducing the height of the room by only 3 cm. You need:

• Clean and level the concrete floor.
• Lay the substrate, on top of it - wood slabs in 2 layers. They are laid like bricks, the seams of the layers should not coincide, they must be smeared with a sealant.
• Glue, as well as connect wood slabs with self-tapping screws.
• Lay the floor covering.

Insulation of a concrete floor

Underfloor heating

This system allows you to evenly warm up your home. However, it has a significant drawback: high power consumption. Also, this option is not suitable for houses with wooden floors. Otherwise, they must be dismantled. Installation sequence of the heated system:

• Clean and level the subfloor.
• Lay in waterproofing material.
• Place insulation on top, for example, foam.
• Lay the cable over the entire surface (in the form of a "snake").
• Connect the system and fill the floor with a screed. Its thickness is about 5 cm.

You can use the finished structure only after 3-4 weeks, when the concrete dries. The heating temperature should be increased gradually and gradually. Infrared also works from electricity - a special film or rods with wires. Such insulation is mounted faster, but it costs more than a traditional electrical system.

Electric floor heating circuit

Another option for a warm floor is water. Comfort in the house is provided by pipes laid under the screed. This method requires significant financial investments, but it is profitable to operate. It is advisable to install it in a house with autonomous heating. It is better to entrust the installation of a water-heated floor to professionals.

When insulating floors, one must not forget about other, no less components of the process. For example, if your house has a basement, you need to start with it first. Insulation of the foundation walls will not be superfluous so that they do not come into contact with freezing soil and moisture. Only with such an integrated approach can you achieve real warmth and comfort in the house.

Concrete floor insulation: video

Keeping warm in a living space is one of the main components of comfort and a healthy life for the whole family. In this, not the least role is played by floor insulation in a private house, which has its own subtleties and features. It is worth paying attention to it first of all, without delaying work until the onset of cold weather.

Features and Benefits

In a private house, unlike city apartments, there is almost always no central heating, so you have to solve the problems of providing warmth and dryness inside the premises on your own. Even in the presence of powerful batteries, it is not possible to maintain a comfortable temperature in the rooms in winter if reliable thermal insulation is not installed under the flooring.

Sometimes, when building a country house, after pouring the screed, they hastily make some kind of simple thermal insulation and mount a finishing coating. And then, with the onset of cold weather, they are surprised: why is it cold in the house, you can't walk barefoot and generally blows from under the floor. Therefore, you should carefully insulate, knowing all the subtleties of the process, the properties of materials and other construction tricks.

In a multi-storey building, the floor is partially heated by the lower apartments, and even if the apartment is located on the ground floor, there is a basement below, where it is always warm due to the placement of hot pipes and heating systems there.

In a private house, under its foundation, there is a simple earth, which tends to freeze in winter, so all the tasks of ensuring reliable thermal insulation of the floor lie on the shoulders of the owners.

The decision to reliably insulate the floor in a country house before the onset of the cold season has several advantages:

• reduction of heat loss in the room, expensive heating becomes more efficient and is not wasted;
• many floor heaters also have steam and waterproofing;
• the atmosphere in the house becomes more comfortable, you can walk barefoot, including for children;
• reliable insulation keeps the finished coating in the house fresh for a long time - laminate, parquet and others;
• if quality materials are used and everything is installed correctly, then the thermal insulation will last for many years in a row.

There are different methods of floor insulation, but the coating itself, on which the insulation layer is placed, is of several types. And it also influences the choice of insulating material.

Varieties of coatings

The solid base of the floor has several varieties depending on its material: wood, concrete, screed.

A wooden floor on logs made of thick beams is one of the most ancient types of building the foundation of a house. Crossbeam fastening schemes, tools and technologies are changing, but the general principle has remained unchanged for many centuries. There are two ways to fix the lag: in the foundation of the building or on the support pillars.

The logs are walled up in the foundation of the building if its area is small so that the length of the beams is sufficient for a reliable connection of the structure. Otherwise, or if the horizontal supports can no longer be fixed on the base, use a "floating" floor on the support pillars.

Supports for logs are made of brick or concrete at a distance of 70 - 100 cm from each other. First, holes are made for them in the ground, the depth and width of which depends on the height of the pillars themselves. Crushed stone or sand is poured inside with a layer of 30 cm, it is compacted well, then the supports themselves are made of brick or cement mortar with the construction of formwork and a reinforcing frame. Waterproofing from 3-4 layers of roofing material is laid on top, then horizontal bars are attached to the posts using threaded rods or anchors.

Wooden logs are good in that you can successfully create a rough floor from them, nailing solid boards to the bottom cut of the beams, smear the cracks between them with clay and place any kind of insulation on top. Then the top boards are nailed, and the finishing coating is installed.

Wood itself retains a little heat; it is a natural, environmentally friendly material.

The concrete base of the floor eliminates the need to make a frame from logs, erect supports for them, and use a lot of wood. But here, too, not everything is simple - for reliability, pouring must be carried out in several layers, and the cost of a high-quality solution is high. For a concrete base, it is necessary to select the top layer of soil, fill up a sand cushion 10-15 cm thick, sprinkle with water and tamp it thoroughly. A 10-centimeter layer of crushed stone is poured onto the sandy one and rammed.

The next layer of a reliable concrete floor is a rough screed made of expanded clay or crushed polystyrene, gravel, sand and cement 10 centimeters thick. After laying and leveling, wait until the mixture is dry and cover the waterproofing. For this, roofing material is best suited. It is necessary that it also captures the walls by 10-15 cm. The joints must be additionally glued.

Insulation is placed on the waterproofing, a reinforcing mesh is placed on top and, finally, a final screed is made. Thanks to its multi-layer structure, the concrete floor is durable, warm and reliable. On top of it, you can make any decorative coating: linoleum, parquet, laminate.

An earthen floor is usually made in a garage, bathhouse or outbuildings of a private house. It does not have a monolithic base or a frame made of beams; natural soil is located immediately below it. Nevertheless, there are effective insulation methods for it: gravel, expanded clay, penoplex.

Insulation types

There are several dozen types of heat-insulating material for a private house. It is worth considering the most popular of them, their properties.

Expanded clay is porous fired clay granules. Thanks to the voids inside, they prevent the penetration of cold air and absorb moisture well. A layer of expanded clay 10-15 cm thick has excellent thermal insulation. Of the advantages of this material, one can note its cheapness, environmental friendliness without chemical impurities and ease of installation. The granules are simply scattered with a shovel in an even layer on a horizontal surface.

Penoplex can effectively insulate an earthen floor, but it is perfect for concrete or wood. Made of extruded polystyrene, the material is supplied in boards with a smooth surface with a thickness of 20 to 100 mm. It has high thermal insulation even in severe winters, is very lightweight, relatively cheap, does not emit harmful substances. It is easy to mount the sheets, they are cut with a simple assembly knife. Among the disadvantages of foam, one can note a relatively low refractoriness (it emits corrosive smoke when burning), and vapor permeability, instability to ultraviolet light and poor adhesion to other materials due to a smooth surface.

Any kind of floor is insulated with polyfoam. This material is widely known and time-tested. It has all the same advantages as penoplex, but adheres better to other surfaces. Sheets can be crumbled and added to the screed solution as additional insulation. It is very successful to use polystyrene in the insulation of a wooden floor on logs, it will perfectly protect both from cold and moisture.

Insulation of the floor in the country with penofol or tepofol will also be effective. It is a thin polymer material covered with foil with a thickness of 2 to 10 mm. Closed pores do not allow air or moisture to penetrate, and the micron foil layer is reflective. Insulation is versatile and suitable for any conditions, combined with many materials. Penofol is sold in rolls, which are cut and rolled on a horizontal surface, the joints are sealed with special foil tape.

Insulation with expanded polystyrene gives excellent indicators of thermal insulation, vapor permeability and moisture resistance. This polymer material, which is 98% air, is stronger than polystyrene, and the static bending strength reaches 1 kg per square meter. cm. This means that it can withstand almost any weight of the upper layers of the flooring. Sheets of expanded polystyrene with a thickness of 10 to 45 cm are easy to install, do not enter into chemical interaction with other substances, and are resistant to deformation.

Izolon floors are often insulated in combination with other effective insulators: foam, expanded polystyrene, mineral wool. It is produced in rolls, the layer thickness can be from 2 to 100 mm, there is polyethylene foam inside the foil layer. Izolon has high sound absorption, waterproofing, can be operated in a wide temperature range - from -80 to +80 degrees.

Polyurethane foam is produced in the form of rigid plates, it is a fairly durable material. However, it does not have high waterproofing properties, so it must be used in combination with other polymer insulators.

Thermal insulation boards consist of a solid polymer material, the properties are similar to expanded polystyrene. But in contrast to it, their surface is covered with a layer of foil, due to which these materials effectively reflect heat, have fire resistance and resistance to mechanical stress.

Heat-insulating plates from the manufacturer TechnoNIKOL are popular.

Thermal insulation of walls and floors with mineral wool has been used for a long time. This material, produced in rolls and slabs, has a thickness of up to 10 cm, a high degree of heat and sound insulation, is cheap and easy to install. The great advantage of mineral wool is its incombustibility. Of the shortcomings, it can be noted that over time it shrinks a little.

This inorganic insulation is of three types: stone wool, glass wool and slag wool. The only difference is in the raw materials, there are practically no differences in physical properties. Mineral wool should be handled carefully, with gloves and preferably a respirator, since its small particles floating in the air have a harmful effect on the skin and respiratory tract.

Fiberboard (Fibreboard), thanks to its porous structure, saves heat well, but it is better to mount it in combination with other effective heat insulators: penofol, isolon, mineral wool. The most popular types of fiberboard used for floor insulation are M-20 and PT-100. This material is also used for the finishing of the floor covering, its surface is even and has pleasant natural textures.

The sub-floor between the logs can be insulated with sawdust. This method is the cheapest, especially if you have a lot of this waste from wood processing at hand. Sawdust retains heat well and does not emit harmful substances, but over time they dry out and shrink, forming voids, and can rot. The appearance of harmful insects in them is not excluded.

Which material is better?

The choice of material depends on many factors: the type of floor, climatic conditions, the type of soil on which the house stands, financial capabilities. If you want to save on thermal insulation, then you should choose expanded clay or polystyrene as cheaper. If you don’t mind the money to ensure long-term comfort in your home, then you need to make multi-layer protection from penofol, penoplex or expanded polystyrene.

For a concrete floor, in order to avoid a too thick layer of screed, it is worth choosing thin foil polymers in rolls, the thickness of which does not exceed 1 cm, and insulate the roomy sub-floor on the logs with massive slabs of mineral wool or expanded polystyrene.

Sawdust is not suitable for a too humid environment, mineral wool also has the ability to absorb water.

Heaters based on polymer and foil are the best and most versatile, they provide any protection - from cold, moisture, decay, insects, wind and fire. In addition, they are easy to cut into even pieces and assembled. Thermal insulation boards from various manufacturers can be considered the leader among materials for floor insulation in a private house.

The ways

Almost any of the above insulating materials can be covered or spread over the logs. This method is suitable for any of them - loose or layered. The first rough cover is attached from below, then an insulator is mounted on top of the boards and closed from above.

The second method - on a concrete base, requires laying each layer in stages, after each leveling and checking the level is necessary. If the layer is liquid, then you need to wait a certain time for it to dry. In addition, it is necessary to maintain the appropriate temperature inside the room, since the cement mortar in the frost adheres poorly and loses its useful properties.

How to do it yourself?

Anyone familiar with construction work can independently insulate the floor in a country house, in a cottage, in a rural house, the type of building and dimensions do not matter, the principle of laying is the same everywhere. Installation requires a small set of hand tools. In case dry mixes are used, an electric mixer is required for mixing. The work area should be well lit, and it may be necessary to maintain a suitable temperature for the solutions to cure.

If the base in a country house is located on the logs, then it will not be difficult to make internal insulation. To do this, you need to build a rough floor. You will need the following tools: a hacksaw, tape measure, level, hammer and nails. Boards can be chosen from different types of wood, the main thing is that they are dry and even.

Most often, the following sizes are suitable for them:

• length - from 2 to 6 m;
• thickness - from 2 to 4 cm;
• width - from 15 to 20 cm.

Boards are nailed to the logs from below along the entire width of the floor, the gaps between them must be closed, for this you can use clay, acrylic sealant or wood putty. After drying, the selected insulating material is placed inside. For the rigidity of the entire structure at a distance of 0.7 - 1 m, it is necessary to install transverse fasteners from boards or metal profiles. The finishing coat is placed on top. If everything is done correctly, then the owners of the house will receive a warm and dry floor for many years to come.

It will not be difficult to independently put a cement screed with insulation in a country house. Before laying, it is necessary to install beacons; in hardware stores you can find special types just for this. Metal profile pipes can also be used as them. For alignment with lighthouses, a metal building rule with a length of 1-2.5 m is used. After laying, each layer is checked with a horizontal level and left to dry.

To insulate the floor on the veranda, it is best to use foam sheets with additional waterproofing, for example, plastic wrap or penofol. Since this room does not so much need to preserve heat, it is possible to do with an earthen floor with expanded clay filling, laying a rough board.

It is very unpleasant when the cold from the street enters the cozy warm house together with you. A wave of unpleasant coolness immediately rolls along the floor, and if children are keen on playing on it, then something needs to be decided with such an uninvited guest.

How to insulate a cold corridor.

The corridor itself is small and therefore often does not have a heating battery, and even if there is one, it is not able to overcome the cold that penetrates inside through not thick walls.

How to be? Insulate, of course. Moreover, it is possible to insulate well enough from the inside without disturbing the outer finish of the facade walls.

Choosing a heater.

The best options would be foam insulation and mineral wool. They are relatively cheap and have high heat saving rates.

The lightest representative of the type of insulation. A polymer material filled with gas, which is enclosed in a rigid cellular structure. It is easy to handle and easy to install. Presented in the form of slabs / blocks of different thicknesses. The thickness in this case is proportional to the area of ​​the foam sheet itself. The higher the density index, the lower its vapor permeability.
But, do not overlook the thickness of the foam sheet. After all, this parameter is directly related to the size of the usable area of ​​our corridor, which will have to be sacrificed for the benefit of keeping warm.

It has a minimum weight, its density is 15 kg / m3 and is mainly used for exterior decoration of facades, roof insulation, floor insulation.

The most common, with a density of 25 kg / m3. It is more in demand for external and internal insulation of residential buildings. The density of this brand of foam is quite enough to prevent the leakage of precious heat during the heating season through the walls of the building.

High density foam plastic 35 kg / m3, has found wide application in the manufacture of sandwich panels and reinforced concrete structures. If the corridor is built of one brick, then foam of this brand is able to make it warm enough.

Super dense, has a density of 50 kg / m3. It is used in construction for insulation of floors and walls of refrigerated warehouses, hangars and roads.

So, the best option would be the PSB-S 25 or PSB-S 35 brand.

Sheet sizes are standard.
500mm by 500mm, 1000mm by 1000mm, 1000mm by 500mm, 1200mm by 600mm
It is more practical to handle sheets with a size of 1000mm by 1000mm. They can be easily cut with a sharp knife.

How to fix the foam sheets to the wall?

To quickly perform work on the installation of foam sheets in the corridor, we will use the two most optimal methods:
1. Glue the foam sheets.
2. Let's fix them with fungi.

We glue the foam.

First of all, you should imagine the location of the insulation sheets on the wall. It must be staggered.
Before gluing the foam, the wall must be prepared, plastered and primed. In this case, the glue will easily adhere to it and glue its surface to the surface of the insulation.

Ideally suited as an adhesive:
1. Silicone sealant.
2. Adhesive for gluing tiles.
3. Facade adhesives.
4. Liquid nails.

The adhesive composition is applied to the insulation plate pointwise. Islets of glue with a diameter of 2-10 cm are staggered. Another option is to apply glue in a continuous layer in the form of a 5 cm wide track along the entire perimeter of the insulation sheet. And in the middle of such a frame, point or alternate application of the glue mass is allowed.

Fixation with fungi.

A simple and quick way to mount the foam sheet to the wall.
The mounting fungus fixes the foam sheet in 5 places (in the corners and in the center). You can fix adjacent sheets with one fungus, but central fixation is required for each sheet individually.

At the place of fixation of the fungus, a hole with a diameter of at least 8 mm is prepared, the depth depends on the thickness of the foam sheet. Then the fungus is driven into the wall and drowned in polystyrene at least 1 mm.

It should be borne in mind that a plaster mesh must also be fixed on top of the insulation sheet, if, according to the design idea, the foam will subsequently not be sewn up with a finishing material, but revetted with plaster or tiles.

The outer walls are the most important element of the building, which, in addition to performing the load-bearing function, also protects the interior of the house from adverse weather conditions. Modern multilayer structures allow rational use of energy resources, significantly save on heating and maintenance of buildings, which cannot be said about the "traditional" brick or panel buildings of the Soviet period. But the time has come to count the money - all that remains is to insulate what we have. In this article, we will consider topical issues of wall insulation from the inside.

Is it possible to insulate a room from the inside at all? In professional circles, the debate on this matter is serious. Manufacturers of thermal insulation materials and practicing builders have not come to a consensus on whether it is possible to insulate from the inside, this is a painfully risky undertaking. At the same time, everyone agrees that the best option in all respects is the thermal insulation of the facade.

What should a common man do, who is faced with the problem of a serious loss of heat through the outer walls, because the information is extremely contradictory, and there was no choice and there was no choice - it does not come out to be insulated outside. There can be many reasons for this situation: the apartment borders on unheated rooms (elevator shaft, corridors, staircases), behind the outer wall there is an expansion joint between two adjacent houses, the facade has an expensive finish, the building is an architectural monument or is located in the historical part of the city, the authorities regulate urban planning activities in their own way - they simply prohibit the insulation of facades.

Certainly, GOSTs and SNiPs in force in the post-Soviet countries, which strongly recommend placing "cold" layers with high thermal conductivity and minimal vapor permeability - concrete, brick, stone - inside the room, bring some clarity to this issue. The place for the insulation is unambiguously defined - this is the outer side of the enclosing structures. Moreover, even regulatory documents have exceptions. For example, in P3-2000 to SNiP 3.03.01-87 "Design and installation of thermal insulation of enclosing structures of residential buildings" in section No. 7, dedicated to structural solutions, it is said that it is allowed to insulate the walls of individual apartments in multi-storey buildings if the installation of a heat insulator from the side facade is impossible for certain reasons.

What are the disadvantages of insulation from the inside

Let's see why the internal insulation has so many opponents, what pitfalls await us. There are several negative points, some of them are not critical, you can put up with them, while others can have very serious consequences and force you to approach the issue of insulation from the inside with extreme caution:

1. The heat insulator placed on the inner surface of the wall “eats up” the usable area of ​​the dwelling. For example, if in a room measuring 4x5 meters we apply 50 mm of insulation on two outer walls, we lose 0.5 m 2 of the total twenty squares.
2. Wall insulation works from the inside can only be carried out in a completely vacated room, which has been decommissioned for some time.
3. Mounting insulation on the walls will not end there. In addition, it is necessary to take a number of serious measures to protect the enclosing structures from condensation and the organization of additional ventilation.
4. If everything is done correctly, then this method of insulation cannot be cheap, as it might seem at first glance.
5. This is not to say that the technology is simple and affordable. We repeat, if everything is done correctly.
6. But the most important thing is the special thermophysical processes that take place in the walls, insulated from the inside. All the well-known "horror stories" related to the internal insulation of living quarters are indeed quite common. The appearance of water drips, the spread of fungus and mold, the destruction of finishes and supporting elements - all these are the consequences of an illiterate change in the thermal envelope of the room, which entailed a violation of the moisture state of the walls.

A mystery covered in cotton wool. What happens in a wall insulated from the inside

All the processes of interest to us take place not only in subzero temperatures, but also in the autumn-spring period with a slight plus outside the window. There is nothing surprising in the fact that the main problems with the walls insulated from the inside appear in winter, when serious differences between the temperature outside and inside the premises are possible. It is the outer walls, or, as they are also called, "enclosing structures", are the buffer that takes the blows of the elements.

It is necessary to consider the effect of temperature on multilayer structures only in conjunction with changes in their humidity. In fact, water is our main enemy. It is she who, freezing, expands and destroys building blocks, as well as the places of their connections; it is she, penetrating into the layer of insulation, nullifies its thermal insulation characteristics; it is she is a prerequisite for the existence of harmful fungi and microorganisms.

What is the relationship between temperature and wall humidity, you ask? Here we come close to examining the phenomenon when, under certain conditions, water vapor from the air reaches a critical saturation, and water appears on cold surfaces in the form of condensation. The temperature at which condensation forms on structures is called the building dew point. It directly depends on the indicators of the relative humidity of the indoor air. The higher the humidity, the higher the dew point, the more it approaches the actual temperature (at 100% they are equal). A rather complex formula is used to calculate the exact dew point readings. The set of rules SP 23-101-2004 "Designing thermal protection of buildings" contains a table of dew point temperatures for various values ​​of humidity and indoor temperature.

If we take into account the sanitary rules for the operation of residential premises (GOST 30494 and SanPiN 2.1.2.1002), the normalized temperature in the home should be about 20-22 ° C, and the relative humidity should not be more than 55%. According to the table, the dew point will be +10.7 ° С. This means that where there is such a temperature in a multi-layer wall, moisture from the air can turn into water and fall out in the form of condensation.

Obviously, with significant changes in the outside temperature, the dew point moves inside the wall, closer or further from the inner space of the room, since on one side we warm up the wall, including heating in winter, and from the street it is cooled. This is a kind of tug-of-war.

The specific place in the enclosing structure, where condensation can fall out, largely depends on the thermal characteristics of the wall, the thickness and materials of each layer, and their relative position.

1 - wall without insulation; 2 - wall with insulation from the inside

If the structure is not insulated, the dew point is inside the wall, thermal chambers show that it emits heat, it is cold in the room even when the heating is operating at full capacity - we lose heat.

When the heat insulator is located outside, the mass of the load-bearing wall is completely warmed up, accumulates heat, and the dew point shifts to the zone of the insulation, which must be freed from the moisture formed in it - hence the technology of ventilated facades.

The wall, insulated from the inside, completely freezes, since it is “fenced off” by a heat insulator from internal heat. This significantly reduces the service life of the load-bearing walls. The dew point in most cases is located on the inner surface of the enclosing structure, but when the ambient temperature rises, it can shift into the wall mass. As a result, moisture forms between the wall and the insulation, which worsens its thermal insulation characteristics. Freezing, it can destroy the adhesive bond of the heat insulator layer with the base. There is a threat of the wall getting wet, the appearance of fungus and mold.

How to minimize the negative effects of wall insulation from the inside

SP 23-101-2004 "Designing thermal protection of buildings" says: "It is not recommended to use thermal insulation from the inside because of the possible accumulation of moisture in the thermal insulation layer, however, if such an application is necessary, the surface from the side of the room must have a continuous and durable vapor barrier layer. ".

So, our task is to make the wall warm and dry, for this you need to maximally protect the place where the dew point is from the penetration of water vapor. For this, a whole range of measures is being taken:

1. The insulation layer is closed with high-quality vapor barrier films with sealing of joints and abutments.
2. A heat insulator with the lowest vapor permeability is used. Ideally, if it is less than that of the building envelope. Then the steam can be gradually discharged to the outside.
3. A layer of insulation is glued with a minimum gap from the wall, preferably not in a "beacon" way, but on a comb.
4. The insulated walls are lined with moisture-resistant plasterboard.
5. Additional air exchange is organized to reduce the humidity in the room. Mechanical ventilation systems are used, windows are supplied with control valves.

It is important to completely eliminate possible cold bridges. The fact is that by installing a heat insulator from the inside, we are not able to insulate the joints of the floors and internal walls with the enclosing structures. That is why the insulation must be done with an approach to the adjoining walls and ceilings, then they should also be carefully isolated from vapors and, possibly, constructively decorated with boxes, false columns.

Which heat insulator to use

Mineral wool

Practice shows that in the overwhelming majority of cases, people insulate walls from the inside with the help of mineral wool. It is placed, without any vapor barrier, between the frame racks of plasterboard systems. In addition, rolled wool is often used, which is not intended for vertical structures, with a clearly insufficient coefficient of thermal resistance. Such insulation is done easily and very quickly, it is incredibly cheap, but not at all effective, and even harmful.

Note that cotton wool, to put it mildly, is not very suitable for insulation from the inside. Admirers of this material enthusiastically call it "breathing", but in our case this is just its main drawback. Not only is there free access to the dew point through the fibers, but the ability of mineral wool to absorb moisture also causes many problems. Of course, you can count on the fact that the cotton wool will never get wet, use special mineral plates, which are identical in terms of thermal characteristics to expanded polystyrene foam. You can carefully glue them and try to organize an absolutely airtight vapor barrier from the inside of the room. But the risk of dampening the insulation and the inner surface of the walls remains, then all efforts will be reduced to zero, moisture will find its way into the room, streaks or fungus. This is because the vapor permeability of any enclosing structure is several times worse than that of cotton wool.

Some craftsmen are making attempts to completely seal the mineral wool slabs - they also use an inner layer of vapor barrier, make "pillows" by sealing the cotton wool in a polyethylene sleeve. But other problems arise: the insulation is not fixed to the wall - gaps appear at the locations of the dew point, it is difficult to fit the plates without damaging the shells, the technological chain becomes more complicated.

Expanded polystyrene and EPS

At the moment, expanded polystyrene is one of the best materials for insulating walls from the inside, so from year to year it is increasingly used both in Russia and in many European countries. The popularity of expanded polystyrene is explained by its excellent operational and heat engineering characteristics. Its undeniable advantages are:

1. Low thermal conductivity.
2. Minimal water absorption and vapor permeability.
3. Ability to withstand high loads, both compressive and tensile.
4. Ease of cutting and installation;
5. Low weight of the slabs.

So, using foamed or extruded polystyrene foam, we can increase the thermal insulation of the structure to the norm with the minimum possible thickness of the insulation layer. Not only do the foam and EPS do not absorb moisture and do not lose their insulating properties, but they also do not let water vapor into the dew point zone, additional film vapor barrier will be simply superfluous. Of course, for this it is necessary to reliably isolate the joints of the slabs and their abutment to the enclosing structures. It is quite easy to do this using polyurethane foam. Moreover, some manufacturers produce slabs with stepped edges, due to which the insulation joins without gaps at all. Expanded polystyrene can be successfully mounted on the wall along the facade system, using simultaneously adhesives and fixing with disc dowels.

As we have already noted, the adhesive layer also performs an insulating function; polyurethane foam adhesive has proven itself especially well. The high strength of the material allows options for finishing insulated walls with a wet method directly on the heat insulator, without the use of frame technologies, while it is simply impossible to overload the wall due to the low specific gravity of the material. So, a square meter of an insulating layer of expanded polystyrene is 2-2.5 times lighter than a similar thickness made of mineral wool.

There is also one small drawback - polystyrene foam has poor sound insulation properties. The problems of the possible destruction of the heat insulator at temperatures above 80 degrees and the insufficient resistance of expanded polystyrene to the effects of many organic solvents, in our case, are perhaps not critical.

Polyurethane foam

This durable and lightweight material is also good for insulating walls from the inside. It has excellent insulating properties due to its cellular structure. The thermal conductivity coefficient of polyurethane foam is from 0.025 W / (m · K), which is one of the best indicators. The pores of the polyurethane foam are filled with air or inert gas, each such cell is hermetically sealed. That is why moisture is not absorbed into the material and does not pass through it - this is an excellent waterproofing of the enclosing structure.

Low thermal conductivity, minimum moisture absorption, maximum vapor barrier - that's what we need. But this is not all, the polyurethane foam coating receives special properties due to its unusual method of application. The fact is that it is applied by spraying a liquid two-component substance, which foams on the surface to be treated and hardens within a few seconds.

• Polyurethane foam perfectly "sticks" to any substrates, including ceilings, there is no need to use fasteners that are cold bridges.
• The coating forms a single whole with the wall, preventing moisture from the room from getting the slightest chance to penetrate the dew point area.
• The heat-insulating layer turns out to be monolithic, without seams and cracks. By spraying the substance, you can easily insulate curved, semicircular walls.
• The polyurethane foam is very quick to apply. Foaming of the insulation is carried out at the place of work, therefore, due to the small volume of the liquid initial substance, the costs of delivery and storage of materials are minimized.
• A layer of polyurethane foam can be plastered using facade technology using a nylon mesh.

Other materials

There are other, often "innovative" wall insulating materials on the market, whose manufacturers claim their outstanding properties. However, they are all a little cunning, hiding obvious shortcomings or hushing up about serious problems in the implementation of the corresponding technological chains. For example, warm plaster in terms of its thermal characteristics is several times inferior to foam materials, moreover, it is hygroscopic and vapor-permeable. Foamed polyethylene foam has a very low thermal conductivity, but only under one condition - it must be mounted in such a way that an air gap remains between the insulation and the wall, as well as the sheet cladding. To make two sealed gaps, to fix the material well, while it is almost impossible to qualitatively isolate the joints and abutments. Therefore, in most cases, polyethylene strips are simply nailed with dowels to the outer wall with the inevitable loss of the declared characteristics. Liquid thermal insulation based on ceramics with a layer thickness of 1 mm replaces 50 mm of mineral wool - as its manufacturers say. A thermal conductivity coefficient of 0.0016 looks fantastic, to say the least, especially when you consider that the ultra-thin coating consists of air-filled ceramic bubbles. But ceramics has a thermal conductivity of 0.8-0.15, and air - 0.025. "Termokraska" - the material is new and has not been properly studied yet, but there are already examples of non-working insulation of apartment buildings. Perhaps, under certain conditions, such an insulator has the right to exist.

How thick should the insulation be?

The correct choice of thermal insulation materials is one of the key aspects of competent wall insulation from the inside, now it is necessary to determine its thickness:

1. First, using the formula R = D / L (where D is the thickness of the structure, and L is the value of the thermal conductivity of the material), we calculate the real resistance to heat transfer of the wall without a heat insulator. For example, if we have a building envelope made of 500 mm thick bricks, then the thermal conductivity resistance will be: R = 0.5 / 0.47 = 1.06 m 2 ° C / W.
2. Now we can compare this figure with the standardized one. For example, the resistance to heat transfer for building envelopes in Moscow and the region must be at least 3.15 - the difference is 2.09. It needs to be filled with insulation, since the thermal conductivity of a structure consists of the sum of the coefficients of its layers.
3. We calculate the required thickness of the insulation according to the formula D = L · R. For example, if we want to use expanded polystyrene (L = 0.042), then we need D = 0.042 · 2.09 = 0.087 - a foam layer of 87 mm. Naturally, it is better to overestimate the minimum indicators and apply 100 mm of expanded polystyrene, then there is a chance to transfer the dew point inside the layer of completely moisture-proof insulation.

Summing up

Insulation of walls from the inside is an extreme measure in a situation where there is no way to fix the heat insulator from the side of the facade. It is technologically difficult to competently perform such work. Internal insulation is not as cheap as it seems at first glance, therefore, it is most likely that it will not be possible to save significantly.

You can formulate the basic requirements for high-quality wall insulation from the inside:

1. It is necessary to organize an airtight vapor barrier of the wall.
2. The thickness of the insulation must be no less than the calculated one to ensure the normalized thermal conductivity of the enclosing structure for a certain climatic zone.
3. It is imperative to take measures to improve the ventilation of the room.
4. The heat insulator should be glued using a comb or solid strips.
5. It is also necessary to insulate the sections of the ceilings and partitions adjacent to the outer walls.
6. It is better to sheathe the outer walls with moisture-resistant plasterboard on a metal frame.
7. To ensure the tightness of the cladding, you should not place sockets, switches, lamps, sconces on it.
8. The abutment of sheet materials to the enclosing structures must be sealed with acrylic or silicone.
9. U-shaped brackets are mounted to the base only through insulating gaskets.
10. All work on wall insulation should be carried out after they have been treated with antifungal compounds. The substrate must be completely dry. In advance, it is necessary to exclude the wetting of the structure from the outside - all roofing, facade and window works must be completed, all systems must function properly.

It should be noted that not always the reason that the room is cold is the poor thermal insulation of the outer walls. It is worth paying close attention to the thermal characteristics of the floor, ceiling, window blocks. Maybe this is where the cause of all the troubles lies, and perhaps the problem is the incorrect operation of the heating or errors in its design. If this is the case, then even ideally executed wall insulation will not bring the desired effect, and the temperature in the room will rise only by 1-2 degrees.

One of the most important tasks of any owner of a private house is floor insulation, and it should not be neglected. Especially if the housing is located in a region with harsh climatic conditions. You need to know that a lot of heat is blown out through non-insulated floors. It is the poet that the first thing to start with the insulation of the house is the floors.

Since they can be made of different materials and have a different design, they can also be insulated in several ways.

Today there are many technologies for floor insulation in a private house, and in addition to this, some owners create their own methods or supplement existing ones with their inventions.

To find out in more detail which of the insulation methods and the type of thermal insulator to choose, you need to consider several common methods.

First you need to figure out what material the floor can be made of, since the method and material of insulation will depend on this. So, floors can be made of wood, concrete or dry screed.

Wood floors

This type of flooring includes floorboards or plywood floors.

Also, by their design, they are divided into two types - these are single-layer and two-layer, i.e. having a rough floor.

All types of wooden floors are arranged on logs raised to a certain height above a concrete screed or over compacted soil. And it should be noted that wood itself is a warm material when compared to others used for flooring.

Wood floor insulation can be done in several ways:

• pour a thick layer of expanded clay onto the ground, and over it arrange a wooden flooring of boards on the logs;
• if a subfloor is arranged, then the issue is solved easier - some of the heaters fit into its cells, or they are filled with liquid expanding material;
• it is possible to arrange an infrared floor on top of the wooden flooring, and then lay a decorative coating;
• if there is no subfloor, then it can be replaced vapor barrierfilm, which is spread and fixed on a crate made of bars, and a low-weight insulation is laid on it, sold in the form of plates or rolls. On top of such insulation, first it is laid vapor barrierfilm, and then the flooring is also made from the floorboard.

Concrete floors

Floors made of such material are very durable, but they have a big drawback - this is that the concrete is very cold and requires mandatory insulation. such a floor is most often used as a basis for insulation material and decorative coating. Concrete floors can also be insulated in different ways:

1. The screed is arranged on expanded clay backfill.
2. The solution is mixed with insulating materials - fine expanded clay or crushed foam.
3. Bars are fixed to the finished screed, and different types of insulation are placed or filled in between them. This is followed by a vapor barrier, and then the crate is closed with plywood or a floorboard.
4. The device of the "warm floor" system - electric, infrared or water.

Dry screed floors

Today, more and more often dry screed is used for flooring. Although this technology has been around for quite some time, it hasn't been as popular as it has been recently.

This floor will require a special backfill mixture, which may consist of fine expanded clay, expanded perlite sand, pumice and slag. The dry backfill, after leveling it, is covered with materials that will serve as the basis for the decorative flooring, and also take on the main load - these can be chipboard, OSB, moisture-resistant plywood or special composite boards.

A dry screed in itself is a good sound and heat insulator, it is easy to install, it allows you to arrange various communications in it without any problems. But if it is required to strengthen the insulation of such floors, then this can be done using one of the methods of installing a "warm floor" - electric or infrared.

Insulation of floors

Floor insulation in a private house, depending on the coating material, is carried out using various technologies, and in order to achieve a positive result, you need to do everything in order.

Thermal insulation of a wooden floor

You can start insulating a wooden floor with insulating the ground. To do this, expanded clay is laid on it with a layer of 20 to 40 centimeters thick. This material will prevent cold air from the ground to go up but it won't be enough to keep the floor warm.

The floorboards are laid on thick timber battens.

In Russian huts, a rough floor was required, since it served for laying insulation materials on it, which served as dry leaves, slag, chopped straw. Today, numerous mineral or synthetic insulation materials are used, from which you can choose the one you want.

• First in the rough semi close up all holes and crevices - this can be done with ordinary clay by soaking it and diluting it to the consistency of thick sour cream. Clay is a natural, breathable material, it adheres well to a wooden surface and will serve as a material for sealing joints between boards for a long time.

• After the clay has dried, the sub-floor cells are filled with insulation - this can be expanded clay, foam plastic, mineral wool, ecowool or liquid insulation - penoizol, which works on the principle of polyurethane foam.

  insulation for the floor

• Next, the insulation is covered with a vapor barrier film, which must be fixed on the lathing logs.
• After that, the floorboard is laid, and the skirting boards are fixed.

If the subfloor is not made for some reason, it can be replaced with a thin insulation or vapor barrier film. These materials are attached to the joists so that slabs or rock wool rolls can be laid on them.

• Then the entire structure is closed with a vapor barrier film, which is fixed to the logs using a stapler and staples.
• The final steps are the laying of the floorboard or thick plywood. Linoleum or laminate can be laid on plywood. Then the floor is formed around the entire perimeter with a plinth.

Another way to insulate a wooden floor can be an option when you do not want to raise an existing flooring from a board. In this case, the joists are fixed perpendicular to the floorboards. If there are gaps between the boards, they must be sealed, for example, with a special sealant.

Next, the insulation is laid or filled up, then it is covered with a vapor barrier membrane, and plywood is laid on top. It can be primed and painted or varnished. The plywood floor can also be used with decorative flooring. To enhance the insulation, an infrared film system is sometimes laid under linoleum or laminate.

Video - How to insulate the floor on the logs

Insulation of a concrete floor

The concrete floor in a residential building must be insulated, and this process is carried out in several ways.

• To make concrete floors less cold, when installing a screed, a waterproofing film is first spread on the ground, then expanded clay is poured, the thickness of which should be from 10 to 15 centimeters. To remove the evenness of the backfill, beacons are installed, along them the insulation is leveled and covered with a reinforcing metal mesh.
• When such a base is prepared, it is watered with a liquid cement mortar - this process is necessary to create a kind of film on expanded clay that will retain the moisture of the solution and help it dry naturally.
• After the initial processing of expanded clay has dried, a screed is laid on top of the reinforcement. The cement mortar for it can be made from sand and cement, or you can add foam crumbs to it - this will also help to make the floors warmer.
• After the screed has hardened, it is imperative to lay a covering on it.
• If the housing is located in a region with a cold climate, then the above insulation will not be enough. Therefore, in order to finally make the floors warm, several methods are used, and for each of them, waterproofing of the junction of the walls and the floor is necessarily arranged.
• When the waterproofing is arranged, wooden logs of bars are laid and fixed to the floor at a distance from each other by the width of the slabs or a roll of insulation. The height of the lag should correspond to the thickness of the insulation, and the width should be 7-9 centimeters.
• If a wide insulation is purchased, it is cut to the required size.
• It must be remembered that the logs begin to be laid, stepping back from the wall about five centimeters, where pieces of insulation are also laid.
• After laying the material, a vapor barrier film is fixed on top of it.
• Next, thick plywood or floorboard is laid. On the plywood floor, if desired, you can put laminate or linoleum. The finishing includes the installation of skirting boards.

Floor insulation in a private house, as wooden and concrete, is very successfully implemented according to the "warm floor" system, which will be given special attention below.

roll waterproofing

Floor insulation on a dry screed

A dry screed is used both for the construction of the floor itself, and as insulation for concrete. But if the owner of the house considers this situation insufficient, you can additionally insulate it. This is done using a "warm floor" system.

The dry screed is covered with slabs, which are closed with waterproofing, and only an electric heated floor is laid on it. In this case, one cannot do without waterproofing, since the underfloor heating system must be covered from above with a thin layer of mortar (building mixture), which, after hardening, is covered with a floor covering.

The decorative coating can be anything - ceramic tiles, linoleum or laminate.

The water version of this system is not suitable for a dry screed floor, since it has a greater weight, requires deepening into the coating, and in a thermal insulating expanded clay thickness, heating will lose any sense - heat cannot be achieved.

If you do not want to use self-leveling floors on top of a dry screed, you can use the installation of an infrared floor, which is a thin film and can be laid even under linoleum.

Underfloor heating system

As mentioned above, "warm floor" can be infrared, electric and water.

Electric floor

• The electric floor can be purchased pre-assembled, i.e. laid and fixed on a special grid, in the form of heating mats, which just need to be laid out on a prepared flat base. The mesh is glued to the floor with ceramic tile adhesive.

Such an electric floor kit is available up to 25 meters long and 50 to 150 centimeters wide. Therefore, before purchasing it, you need to carefully measure the room or all the rooms separately, where it will be located.

This electric flooring option works well for dry screed floors.

• Another, more complicated way in the device to make an electric field is when you need to select a specific electrical cable and lay it in the holders intended for it, which are fixed to the prepared base. This option is suitable as insulation of a cement floor.

When the floor is laid and secured, a thermostat is installed on the wall at a height of 50-70 centimeters, which will control the temperature of the heating elements. The temperature controller is connected to the floor cable. The sleeve that will connect the cable to the thermostat must be positioned so that it is closed with a tie.

When the entire system is laid, you can proceed with the screed device - it should have a thickness of at least five cm.

It is possible to connect such a floor to the power supply only after the final hardening of the concrete - after 3-4 weeks.

warm floor

« Warm floor "water

If the electric floor consists of heating cables or mats, then the water floor is a piping system. For it, metal-plastic or polyethylene pipes are well suited, which can be laid on special mats or attached to a metal mesh laid under them.

The pipeline is laid in two ways - with a snake or a snail, with a step of 30-35 centimeters. After laying the pipes and bringing their ends to the manifold cabinet, the entire floor system is closed with a concrete screed, its total thickness, including the thickness of the pipeline, should be 10-12 centimeters.

The manifold cabinet is where the connection to the general heating system takes place. A mixer and a pump can also be installed there, if necessary.

On top of the screed over the warm floor, you can lay any decorative coating - this is linoleum, carpet, tiles or laminate.

It should be noted that the electric and water system "warm floor" is best laid on foil insulation - then the heat will not go towards the ground, but will be reflected into the room.

Infrared floor heating

If it will be laid on a concrete surface, it is necessary to arrange waterproofing, and then a thin foil insulation based on foamed polyethylene is laid on it, the strips of which are fastened with special tape.

Then, film heating elements are prepared and laid down on the floor with copper elements according to a previously drawn up drawing. The stripes should usually be five centimeters apart. If you plan to put laminate or linoleum on top of the infrared floor, then to achieve the maximum heating effect, you can put the film as close as possible.

When the film elements are mounted, contact clamps are installed on them - one side of the contact must be placed in the layers of the film, and the other on the copper side, after which the contacts are crimped.

To control the heating of the film floor, a thermostat is installed on the wall, which is also connected to the cable coming from the floor.

The selected decorative floor covering is placed on top of the film.

Insulation of the floor in a private house will depend on various criteria related to its construction, as well as the desire and capabilities of the home owner. Before settling on a specific option, you need to find out the prices for all the components and for their installation, in the event that it is decided to invite a wizard to perform this work.