Insulation of timber walls from the inside. Details and available about the internal insulation of a log house

The ancient method of building houses from timber has become popular again today. Now such buildings play the role of not only country houses, but also full-fledged dwellings for year-round living. Well, in order for a wooden house to be warm in winter, it must be insulated. We will talk about how to properly insulate a log house in this article.

As a rule, it is customary to insulate wooden buildings from the outside. This allows you not to conceal the interior space of the premises, and also prevents the wood from rotting. Insulation of a log house from the outside is necessary for several reasons:

Thermal insulation of the building protects the walls from heat loss, reduces heating costs.
An insulated house is not afraid of high humidity, severe frost and other unfavorable environmental factors.
While dealing with thermal protection of the walls, you can simultaneously install siding, which will allow you to change the appearance of the house at the request of the owner.
As already mentioned, external insulation does not reduce the interior space of rooms.

When performing such work, it is important to consider several points:

choose the right thermal insulating material, calculate its thickness and the required amount;
exactly follow the installation technology;
do not forget about creating a hydro and vapor barrier layer;
properly process wooden walls to protect them from insects, fungi, combustion and other harmful effects.

Insulation for a log house must meet certain requirements:

be of high quality and durable;
easy to process and install;
safe for health, environmentally friendly;
do not burn.

So that the insulation of a log house is effective, and the building will serve you for many years, listen to the following recommendations:

Never use raw material. The insulation must be dry and pretreated with an antiseptic. If you cover the walls with damp material, the wood will begin to mold, rot, and collapse. Fungi and microorganisms will start in it, and after a while the bars will simply become unusable.
It is possible to insulate the walls of a wooden house only after the building has completely shrunk. This shrinkage usually takes at least 1.5 years. If the building is sheathed earlier, as a result of the subsidence of the logs, the cladding is deformed.
Thermal insulating material can only be mounted on prepared walls. This means that all deep cracks and chips must be covered with putty, and the wood itself must be impregnated with antiseptics and fire retardants.

How to insulate a log house from the outside: creating a curtain facade

Among the methods of thermal insulation of log buildings, the construction of a ventilated facade is considered the most popular method, the reason for this is the advantages of this method:

the hinged facade is easy to install, it takes relatively little time to work;
after warming, the walls can be revetted with various decorative materials: clapboard, porcelain stoneware, siding, boards, slatted profiles, etc.;
this method of insulation does not allow the walls to grow moldy and collapse, the dew point moves behind the outer wall;
resistance to temperature extremes, humidity, precipitation, as well as excellent sound insulation should also be attributed to the indisputable advantages of a hinged ventilated facade;
such a structure is durable, the period of its operation reaches 50 years;
when insulating walls, you reduce energy consumption for heating.

External insulation of a log house in a similar way can be described as follows:

So that moisture does not accumulate in the wood of the walls, a gap is made between the insulation layer and the decorative finishing material, which is why such a facade is called ventilated. To create air space, a crate is installed on the wall. To make it, marks are first put on the surface where the bars will subsequently be attached. The width between them should correspond to the width of the sheets of insulation material, and the thickness of the beams is selected depending on the thickness of the mats.
Having placed the marks, the logs are attached to the walls with self-tapping screws. The evenness of the lathing is checked with a building level and a plumb line. It is especially important to ensure that all the beams are located in the same plane - this will subsequently help to make a beautiful, even and high-quality siding.
When the elements of the crate are fixed, sheets of insulation are laid between them. They are pressed tightly against the walls and fixed with dowels.
To provide the necessary air space, wooden planks are nailed over the crate and the insulation layer. Their thickness should be such that the gap is at least 5 cm.
After laying the insulation, they are finished with decorative siding.

House insulation with sprayed materials

Instead of sheet insulation, you can also use sprayed insulation, for example, ecowool or polyurethane foam. Ecowool is a cellulosic substance made from recycled paper, borax and boric acid. The advantages of such material can be considered:

environmental friendliness and hygiene;
good moisture resistance;
excellent thermal and sound insulation qualities;
fire safety;
non-toxicity;
wasteless use;
excellent vapor permeability;
the ability to fill even the smallest gaps in the walls.

Ecowool has the appearance of a crumbly mass pressed into briquettes. Before use, such briquettes are opened, their contents are poured out and dried.

If you want to use polyurethane foam as insulation, check out the advantages of this material:

like ecowool, polyurethane foam is fireproof;
it has good sound and heat insulation properties;
considered an environmentally friendly type of decoration;
its service life is quite long, and during this entire period the material does not lose its properties;
polyurethane foam is not subject to decay, mold does not form on it, insects and microorganisms do not damage it;
ease of installation is due to the fact that it does not provide for the use of special fasteners.

For wall insulation by spraying, you will have to acquire special equipment. You can buy it, or you can rent it and save money. The process itself looks like this:

Even before purchasing the material, you should calculate the required amount. For this, the area of the working base is measured, and the consumption of the sprayed insulation is taken into account.
Then, a crate made of wooden boards or metal profiles is mounted on the wall of a log house from the outside. Subsequently, decorative finishing material can be attached to this crate.
Using a special installation, ecowool or polyurethane foam moistened with water is sprayed between the battens of the crate. Often, when soaking cotton wool, adhesives are added to the water, which will allow the insulation to adhere more firmly to the surface.
Having processed the walls of the house with a pneumatic spray gun, the material is left to solidify completely.
After that, the excess insulation is cut off with a knife, and siding is mounted on top of the crate.

Insulation of a log house outside, video:

Thermal insulation of the house from the inside

Is it worth insulating a wooden house from the inside

Few people decide to mount insulation on the inner surface of the walls of a log structure. Insulation of a log house from the inside is not popular for several reasons:

This method of thermal insulation of a building can lead to the accumulation of moisture in the walls, due to which the wood will rot, mold and collapse. It is highly undesirable to use this method in baths and saunas, where the air is constantly saturated with water vapor. In winter, when the wood freezes, the dew point is located between the walls and the insulation layer, as a result, condensation accumulates there, which destroys the structure. If you create a good ventilation system in the house, then such problems can be leveled.
The second reason why the walls of log houses are rarely insulated from the inside is the loss of usable space. The space of the rooms is reduced by at least 3-4 cm on each side, and this is especially noticeable in small rooms.
A layer of insulation also hides the natural beauty of a log cabin, which is not to the liking of lovers of natural interiors.

However, sometimes the owners of wooden houses resort to a similar method for various reasons. Some, for example, do not want to hide the appearance of the house under a layer of insulation and siding. Someone wants to revet the interior walls with some kind of decorative material. Regardless of the reasons, the technology of internal insulation of premises should be conscientiously observed so as not to spoil the wooden beams and not to shorten the life of the building.

The better to insulate a log house from the inside

For thermal insulation of internal walls, only environmentally friendly materials should be selected that will not release toxic substances into the air. For example, foam is not suitable for this purpose for several reasons. Firstly, it does not have vapor permeability and does not allow the walls to "breathe". The room turns out to be completely isolated, there is no necessary natural air exchange in it. Secondly, during combustion, the foam emits very toxic substances into the air, so in the event of a fire it is considered an extremely dangerous material.

You can insulate the walls with mineral wool. It is environmentally friendly and does not burn, has good vapor permeability, high thermal insulation characteristics. The most significant drawback of such a heater is that small particles are released into the air, which are dangerous to the respiratory tract. If the cotton wool is covered with a layer of film and finishing, then such a minus can be ignored.

Very often, completely environmentally friendly and safe materials in all respects are used for internal wall insulation: flax, jute, wool. Such means of insulation are economical and effective, protect the building from cold and extraneous sounds, and provide good air exchange through wooden walls.

How to insulate a log house from the inside with your own hands

The first step is to carefully inspect the walls for cracks, chips, damage, caulking quality. All shortcomings are eliminated, cracks are covered with putty. Dirt and dust are removed from the logs, after which the bars are impregnated with antiseptic compounds. If electrical wiring runs along the walls, it is also checked and, if necessary, repaired.
After the antiseptic impregnation dries, cracks are caulked in the walls. For this purpose, jute fiber is used, which is pushed into the gaps with a chisel.
Before insulating a log house, it is also important to take care of creating a vapor barrier. So that the thermal insulating material does not get wet, it is customary to cover it with a layer of vapor barrier film on both sides. Because of this, the humidity in the rooms will increase, in order to avoid this, you should arrange good ventilation in the house.
When laying a vapor barrier material, it is placed with the smooth side to the wood so that moisture from the logs does not soak the insulation.
The next stage is the installation of the lathing. Wooden bars or metal profiles are stuffed along the load-bearing walls. The spacing between the boards should be equal to the width of the mats of the insulating cover. In the corners of the room, corner posts are mounted so that the corners turn out to be even and beautiful. The lathing is fixed on the walls with self-tapping screws, using a level to check its evenness. If wood is used for the frame, it, like the walls themselves, is also impregnated with antiseptics.
Sheets of insulation, for example, mineral wool, are placed between the details of the crate. A fragment of the required length is cut from a roll of material and installed between profiles or bars. It is desirable that the width of the sheet be 1-2 cm larger than the distance between the frame parts. Expanding, the cotton wool fills the entire space and does not require additional fastening. If the insulation itself is not very secure, you can fix it with dowels.
On top of the mineral wool, another layer of vapor barrier film is laid. Its fragments are overlapped and connected with adhesive tape at the joints. The steam insulator is nailed to the insulation with a stapler. Remember also that the rough side of the film must be placed towards the interior of the room.
The final stage of work is finishing the walls. The easiest way is to install drywall sheets on top of the crate, after which they can be painted, covered with decorative plaster or pasted over with wallpaper.

Insulation of a log house. Video

A house made of timber is rarely practiced. The main reason is a slight decrease in living space and a possible violation of the microclimate, which can cause an increase in humidity in the interior. Therefore, wall insulation from the inside should be carried out carefully, with maximum responsibility.

Excessive moisture can negatively affect the wood. To prevent the insulation from dampening, it must be protected with a vapor barrier.

Phased installation work

Most often, the internal installation of wall insulation is required when cracks are formed as a result of improper laying of beams or due to material shrinkage.

The technology of thermal insulation from the inside practically does not differ from external work on.

The entire production cycle, which allows rooms to be insulated, can be divided into several stages:

Preparation of the work surface. This stage includes caulking the cracks, making a vapor barrier and creating a special sheathing on the bearing walls.
Insulation of the walls of the house with mineral wool.
Interior decoration.

Before starting work, you need to stock up on all the necessary materials, as well as tools. To make the insulation from the inside as reliable as possible, you will need:

Putty knife.
Insect emulsion.
Liquid from decay and fire.
Chisel.
Jute fiber.
Wooden bar.
Steam waterproofing film.
Self-tapping screws.
Building level.
Mineral wool.
Anchors.
Axial fan.
Stapler, staples.
Wooden lining.

It is possible that additional tools and materials will be needed in order to qualitatively insulate a particular house from the inside.

Stage one: surface preparation

To perform high-quality insulation of the house from the inside of the premises, you should clean the inner surface of the walls of the house from dust as thoroughly as possible. Then the blockhouse is treated with an emulsion that protects against insect dispersal and a liquid designed to protect the wood from decay and fire. If the electrical wiring is located on the surface of the log house, it must be separated from the walls before trying to insulate them.

After cleaning the surfaces, they proceed to caulking the cracks. This is a necessary procedure that must be followed if you want to insulate the room. Immediately after the completion of the construction of the house, it is advisable to re-caulk it a year later, if no one lived in the building. If the house was used as a living space, the caulking should be repeated as the wood dries up, after 2-3 years. Jute fiber is the most common material for gap-bridging. If there are large cracks, you can use a tape tow rolled into a dense roller. It is simply pushed into the space between the timber using a chisel. Fill the gap with jute or tow until the material fits into the space.

When insulating the premises of the house from the inside, it is imperative to take care of reducing the effect of the "thermos". Since the log house was probably insulated from the outside, the thermal insulation will impede the free exchange of air and will lead to an increase in humidity in the interior, as well as dampness of the wood. Therefore, in order to insulate the gaps of the walls, without increasing the dampness, it is necessary to mount a vapor-waterproofing film on their surface. Apply the material with the rough side to the wood. Thus, they provide protection from humid air and allow the house to partially "breathe".

Second stage: installation of the battens and laying of mineral wool

To insulate the interior, you need to make a crate from a wooden bar. To obtain extremely even corners, corner posts are harvested. A wooden beam with a section of 50 x 100 mm is cut to the height of the room. A rail with a section of 50 x 50 mm and the same length as the height of the room is attached to the edge of the timber using self-tapping screws. Externally, the rack should look like the letter "G".

Having prepared the racks, they are fixed with self-tapping screws to the corners, controlling the position of the racks with a building level. The planes between the racks are filled with vertical bars with a cross section of 50 x 50 mm, placing them every 50-60 cm. It is advisable to soak all the bars used when installing the lathing with solutions that protect against insects and fire.

To insulate a room from the inside, it is best to use mineral wool. The roll is untwisted and the strip of the required length is cut, focusing on the height of the room. It should be noted that the width of the strip should be approximately 1-2 cm greater than the distance between the vertical battens of the crate.

The strip is placed in the space between the bars and fixed with anchors with sufficiently large caps. After completion of the installation of cotton wool, another layer of vapor-waterproofing film is laid on top of it. The rough side of the film should face the insulation. In this case, the film will not only act as a moisture barrier, but will also protect the internal space from microscopic particles of mineral wool, with the help of which insulation was carried out from the inside. Fastening the film to the performed insulation is carried out with staples using a stapler.

Stage three: implementation of the ventilation system and interior surface finishing

Having completed the insulation of surfaces from the inside, you can expect an increase in humidity in the rooms and a deterioration in the microclimate. To avoid this, you should create forced ventilation in all rooms of the house where insulation was used. It is enough to tie all available air ducts into one chain using the attic of the house. An axial fan with medium or low power can act as an air blower. In winter, ventilating the premises for 20-30 minutes will help maintain optimal air freshness, while wall insulation will provide the desired temperature. Having prepared forced ventilation, you can proceed to the end of the work by finishing the premises in the house from the inside.

Having fixed the second layer of the film on the wall insulation, small bars with a section of 30 x 40 mm are mounted on top of the brackets. For interior wall decoration, it is recommended to use wooden lining. This will not only help to additionally insulate the room, but will also allow you to emphasize the design features of a log house.

To begin with, I will say that the fact that living not in any luxurious mansion, but in an ordinary old one-story two-family house, is sometimes very difficult to agree on the external insulation of the whole house with neighbors, makes it necessary to resort to internal insulation of a log house.

Why is it rare to insulate a wooden house from the inside

There are at least two reasons for a negative attitude to the process of “warming a log house from the inside”.

Firstly, after the walls are insulated, the area of the apartment is significantly reduced.
The second reason is that many are still plagued by doubts about whether the formation of the natural internal microclimate at home is not disturbed.

Since housing can turn into a kind of thermos, although normal ventilation is a guarantee that there is no excessive humidity in the premises, even a couple of years after the walls from the timber have been insulated from the inside.

Internal insulation technology

Let's start by preparing the surface of the walls by cleaning it from dust and grease. Further, with the help of a special antiseptic emulsion, wood is processed to resist the appearance of mold and insects. In addition, fireproofing of the walls is carried out.

Caulking bar

Further, the insulation of a house from a bar from the inside consists in digging all the cracks. Use jute fiber for bleeding. This fiber, due to its structure and long-term use, perfectly closes the cracks.

Somewhat larger gaps are sealed with tape tow, which is rolled into rollers. It must be said that the insulation of a log house from the inside will only become effective when the cracks are caulked under the throat.

Installation of vapor barrier

It is also worth noting that the correct insulation of walls from a bar from the inside cannot do without installing a vapor barrier film. The rough side of the film is laid in the direction of the timber wall, which ensures the removal of moisture from it towards the room. So that the apartment itself does not turn into a thermos, forced ventilation of the premises is organized.

Lathing

After that, the insulation of the house from a bar inside consisted in the organization of the lathing on which the mineral wool would be held. The lathing is organized using wooden blocks. A metal profile can also be used if you plan to further cover the apartment / house with moisture-resistant plasterboard sheets.

We will talk about wood, since the whole structure of a log house looks better with a wooden clapboard. To obtain even correct angles, which is required by the correct insulation of a log house from the inside, several corner posts are made in advance, the height of the walls is measured and wooden beams are cut to this size (section 5x10 centimeters).

After that, wooden beams of 5x5 centimeters are cut (the same length). Some bars are attached to others, after which a corner stand is obtained in the form of the letter "G". These racks are placed in each of the corners of the house, after which beams are vertically mounted between them (section 5x5 cm).

The distance between them is chosen according to the width of mineral wool, which is used as insulation for the walls of a log house.

It is worth noting that all wood, like walls, is treated with special antifungal solutions so that the insulation of a house from a bar from the inside lasts as long as possible.

Insulation installation

Insulation for the walls of a log house (selected mineral wool in a roll) is unwound and cut to the height of the wall, given that its width should exceed the distance between the posts by 10-20 millimeters.

After that, the mineral wool is placed between the beams and fixed on the wall itself with anchors. To do this work, you need to invite a friend, since it is rather difficult to do it yourself.

Second layer of insulation

After the mineral wool is laid and fixed, the insulation of the walls from the timber from the inside requires the organization of a second layer of vapor barrier. The membrane film, as in the first layer, is placed with a rough surface towards the wall.

In addition to the fact that with the help of the film, excess moisture will be removed from the walls, which prevents the formation of condensation, it will become an obstacle that will not let the dust from the mineral wool into the living quarters.

Ventilation

Another important part of the process of “warming a log house from the inside” is the organization of normal ventilation so that moisture does not accumulate in the dwelling, and a normal flow of fresh air is carried out. Let's immediately abandon direct external hoods, deciding in the attic to tie all the air ducts into one circuit.

As a blower, you can choose an axial fan with a low power, which, as experience has shown, allows you to ventilate the whole house in just half an hour in winter.

Finishing

It must be said that the insulation of a house from a bar from the inside should end with an "aesthetic component" - the finishing of the entire structure. As described earlier, a wooden lining is best suited as a finish, which is mounted on beams (section 30x40 millimeters) attached to the wall on top of a waterproofing film.

After the installation of these bars, the insulation of the house from a bar inside consisted of cladding with a wooden lining. It was also chosen because the insulation did not violate the original plan to create an interior with an abundance of wood.

This is where the whole process is over. If you have any questions, write in the comments at the bottom of the article.

Wall treatment

Before starting the main work, the walls inside must be treated with an antifungal and septic compound. Be sure to check for gaps. It is necessary to process everything - even the most insignificant of them.

Jute fiber is used to seal the cracks. With a special thin wide chisel, all the necessary cavities inside are filled with a special fiber. For larger crevices, a tape tow is used, which is twisted into a small roller.

Creation of a vapor barrier

It is important not to allow the accumulation of wood moisture from the inside, subsequently, this will lead to rotting of the walls of the log house. Therefore, before starting the installation, it is necessary to install a waterproofing film over the entire insulated wall surface.

Load-bearing wall lathing

Video tutorial

Insulation laying and sealing

When the lathing is created, the installation of the insulation begins. If it is mineral wool, then the width of the strip should be 1-2 cm greater than the distance between the vertical bars.
Mineral wool blocks are placed between the bars and anchors with large round caps and fixed to the base of the wall.
When the entire space between the battens is filled with insulation, thermal insulation can be improved. To do this, a second layer of film is installed on the bars on top of the cotton wool.

Interior decoration

After completing the second layer of steam insulation foil, you can start finishing the walls.
The film must first be fixed to the bars with staples using a stapler, which will make it possible to mount 3 × 4 cm bars on the film over the staples.

After installing the film, it is covered with wooden clapboard. This step will allow you to additionally insulate the room from the inside, and the desire to preserve the cozy pristine interior of the house from a bar will remain.

In addition to wooden lining, planken will look quite dignified. It looks like a small timber, and it is recommended to mount it horizontally.

Creation of a ventilation system

When the insulation from the inside is ready, the air humidity in the rooms of the log house will increase slightly. To provide a comfortable microclimate, it is desirable to create, so to speak, a forced ventilation system throughout the home.

At the expense of the attic space, ideally, you can connect, hidden to the eye, a ventilation system chain. A fan of low power can serve as a blower. By switching on ventilation for 25-30 minutes every day during the winter period, it will be possible to simply maintain the air humidity level in the house - comfortable for the residents.

Insulation of floors

Warming of floors in houses is very important. If the owners of old houses are still pondering what is before the insulation of the walls from the inside, then no one ignores the insulation of the floors. This is especially true of those owners who have wintered at least once in a house with an uninsulated floor. In addition to the obvious convenience, such insulation significantly reduces heat loss - at least by 20%.

The simplest option for floor insulation in a house from a bar is mineral wool.

Penoplex floor insulation is also permissible. If there was already a floor covering from the inside, then it must be dismantled. After that, a rough coating is created from the base of the structure. An insulating layer (made of polyethylene) is installed directly on it. Further, the entire space between the lags is filled with insulation.

There are homeowners who decide to insulate the floors of their homes with Styrofoam. The technique of this insulation, in fact, does not differ in any way from penoplex.

If expanded polystyrene is chosen as the insulation for the floor, and this is a type of polystyrene, then the insulation work should begin with filling and leveling the "cushion" of gravel, up to a 40 cm layer and carefully compacted, like the next 10 cm of the sand layer.
The next step is a subfloor made of reinforced concrete, which takes 1-2 weeks to dry completely.
A polyethylene film waterproofing is laid on the dried concrete layer, after which polystyrene is applied.

Insulation of ceilings

It should be noted that work from the inside to insulate ceilings in wooden houses is no less important than insulating walls and floors. The materials used are:

From all that has been said, the conclusion is logical and suggests itself - the choice of material and the possibilities for insulating a house from the inside are many. Of course, when choosing a material, financial capabilities will have a certain value, but armed with desire and following the recommendations of specialists according to the video steps, any work will be within the power.