Everyone dreams of having their own home. Everyone imagines a facade, interior decoration, number of rooms and furniture. But they do not always think about warming, and it is it that provides comfortable living conditions. In suburban and urban construction, insulating the floor of a private house with your own hands will significantly save the budget during operation.
Why do I need floor insulation
It doesn’t matter if a wooden or stone house is being built - warming the floor with your own hands is equally important. It will allow you not to worry about the safety of load-bearing structures and the high costs of heating in the winter. Warming of the attic floor is especially important, since it is through him that strong heat losses occur.
If there are cold bridges in the room, the temperature decreases and condensation appears, which leads to the appearance of bacteria, mold and fungus that are dangerous for the human body. Constant exposure to moisture can significantly reduce the bearing capacity of structures. Thermal insulation provides not only comfortable, but also safe living in a country house.
Material selection
To insulate the floor in a private house, you need to decide on the choice of insulation for floors.As thermal insulation materials you can use:
- mineral wool (for more details, see the article “Insulation of mineral wool overlap”);
- polystyrene or extruded polystyrene foam (for more information, see the article “Insulating the floor with polystyrene foam”);
- polyurethane foam (article "Foam for floor insulation");
- sawdust (“Warming floor with sawdust”);
- expanded clay ("Warming floor expanded clay").
Each of these materials has its own advantages and disadvantages, which you can familiarize yourself with with the help of these materials. How to insulate the floor - depends on the material of the floor structure and its location.
Warming Methods
There are three types of location of the insulation: top, bottom and inside. These options for floor insulation can be applied to any floor, but it is worth considering that:
- insulation of the floor of the first floor from below will become more literate;
- in the case of an attic floor, it is better to use the option from above;
- for floors between floors there is no fundamental difference.
- wooden floors are most correctly and conveniently insulated from the inside. Read more in the article "How to insulate the floor in a wooden house."
In addition, floor insulation in a private house can be done under the screed. More details on this issue can be found in the article "How to insulate a concrete floor under a screed."
Insulation of the floor in the house is quite an important task, which will require a serious approach and additional investments, both labor and financial. But all efforts will pay off with a long service life of the building and comfortable living conditions.
Types of insulated floors
Before you insulate the floor in a private house, you need to find out what structures need these measures. During construction, you may need:
- floor insulation on the ground when arranging a heated basement or basement;
- insulation of the floor of the first floor in the presence of a cold basement;
- floor insulation in a private house as part of an attic floor with unheated under-roof space;
- floor insulation of the first floor (with a heated basement) and floors between floors for additional sound insulation.
Next, you need to figure out how to properly insulate the floor in a country house.
Technology of work
Regardless of where the floor insulation is located in the country or in the house, you must remember the following rules:
- mineral wool, sawdust and expanded clay always require careful waterproofing;
- it is possible to insulate the floor in the house with polystyrene foam or polyurethane foam without additional measures of protection against water, but when using polystyrene it is better to do this with caution;
- vapor barrier is always located on the side of warm air, and waterproofing is on the side of the cold;
- Before properly insulating the floor with expanded polystyrene, it is necessary to provide for small gaps between the plates, which compensate for the expansion of the material; the gaps are filled with mounting foam;
- Before insulating the floor in the country or in the house, it is necessary to thoroughly clean the base, if possible level it;
- work with mineral wool and foam require the prevention of material on the skin of the person and in the lungs.
Work is carried out in the following order:
- foundation preparation, cleaning from dirt and dust;
- if necessary, installation of a lag;
- installation of moisture protection (vapor barrier or waterproofing, depending on the location of the insulation);
- Before starting work with polyurethane foam, it is better to moisten the surface with spray water to ensure reliable adhesion;
- laying of insulating material;
- moisture protection layer;
- if necessary, pouring cement screed and waiting for it to gain strength (it is better to wait two weeks, the screed will gain full strength only after 28 days);
- after completing all the steps, you can start laying the flooring (when considering how to insulate the floor on the first floor or the attic floor from above) or the ceiling (installation of material from below).
It should be remembered that measures to provide additional thermal protection can be carried out not only in the new building. Over time, the old material, if any, loses its characteristics and requires updating. It is better to replace it in time than to carry out expensive repairs later. Also relevant is the question for houses of old construction.
It is better to carry out work to protect an existing building in the warm summer period. This will avoid inconvenience to residents and performers. In addition, some materials, such as polyurethane foam, require compliance with certain temperature conditions during the manufacturing process.
In the past, our country did not pay much attention to saving heat resources, which led to insufficient thermal insulation of most buildings. In this case, it is possible to carry out insulation without damaging the interior decoration, choosing a convenient method.
The warming of the house can be characterized by a well-known stable expression: better to prevent than to cure. The costs of thermal insulation material, vapor barrier and waterproofing easily pay off during operation. But if you neglect them, you can spend a large amount on repairs already in the first winter. In this case, you still need to protect the structure, otherwise the repair process will have to be repeated many times.
In the beginning, it will turn out to be done only with cosmetic measures, but after a few years, damage to the main structures will begin, which will lead to the need for costly overhaul.