To prevent heat from leaving through the floors and walls of the house, you need to properly insulate all surfaces of the home. This allows you to reduce heating costs in the winter. One of the main areas in the house, which requires additional insulation, is the floor. For this, different technologies and materials are used. How to insulate the floor will be described in detail in the article.
Why is insulation needed?
Before you consider how to insulate the floor in the house, you need to understand why this is necessary. The heat from the premises passes through the walls, ceiling, windows and, of course, the floor. As a result, the heating equipment will turn on again and again, spending expensive energy resources (gas, electricity or solid fuel). Homeowners will receive significant bills to pay for energy consumed.
If the floors are finished with special materials that do not allow heat to pass outside, you can save a significant amount of money for heating. Infrared rays and thermal energy pass through the floor. If the second type of heat loss can be cut off with the help of special materials that do not conduct heated air from the room, the situation with infrared rays is worse. There are not so many suitable materials that could be used for such purposes.
In the total amount of heat loss in the room that passes through the floor, more than half is infrared radiation. Therefore, when choosing insulation material, it is necessary to give preference to multilayer structures. Today, new types of insulation appeared on the building materials market. They perfectly cope with their task, holding both thermal energy and infrared rays in the room.
Considering options for how to insulate the floor in an apartment or a private house, you need to give preference to those materials that are high in density and correspond to the indicators of heat loss in the room. So, to insulate the floor of the first floor, a thicker layer of insulation is required than to overlap the second floor.
Expanded clay
Today, many different materials for floor insulation are on sale. Expanded clay, expanded polystyrene, mineral wool, and also foil rolled heaters are popular . They are distinguished by high operational qualities, as well as reasonable cost.
To insulate the floor in a private house with their own hands, expanded clay is often used. This material is granules with different fraction sizes (about 1-2 cm in diameter). They are made on the basis of clay, therefore they have small pores in their structure. Moreover, the material is very light. He will not exert significant pressure on the overlap and foundation of the house. For this reason, expanded clay is often used when creating the rough floor of a private house or cottage.
One of the main advantages of this material is its ability to retain heat in the room even in a wet state (other heaters do not have this quality). Also, this material does not collapse under the influence of various adverse factors. He is not afraid of moisture, temperature extremes, high pressure.
Expanded clay - fireproof material. Therefore, it can be used even when warming wooden houses. This is a very durable material. It will last more than 5 decades. At the same time, the life of the flooring also increases significantly. The composition of the material includes only natural components. Therefore, substances harmful to human health are not released into the environment.
Expanded clay is easy to use. When using it indoors, you will not need to use very dense vapor and waterproofing materials. However, it is worth considering that the expanded clay layer is at least 10 cm thick. Therefore, this option is rarely used for insulation in a standard apartment.
Expanded polystyrene
To insulate the floor on the ground floor, or the floor in an apartment building, you can use a material such as polystyrene foam. This is the closest "relative" of the foam. They are made from one substance. Only the methods of its processing are radically different. As a result, polystyrene foam is stronger than polystyrene foam. Its heat-insulating qualities will be an order of magnitude higher. This significantly reduced the thickness of the sheets. Where it would be necessary to lay polystyrene with a thickness of 5-6 cm, it is quite possible to do with a plate of polystyrene foam 3 cm thick
This material is characterized by good performance not only thermal insulation, but also sound insulation. Expanded polystyrene is not afraid of pressure. It does not deform, even if people walk on its surface.
However, choosing a method of how to insulate the floor in a wooden house, this material should not be used for decoration. It can not boast of high fire safety. Styrofoam may burn. Moreover, when the temperature rises, it releases chemicals. This is a synthetic material, so it is not used in rooms with wooden finishes. It is used only for concrete floors of houses and apartments.
One of the advantages of the material is its reasonable cost. This is one of the most inexpensive insulation on the market.
Mineral wool
Choosing a way to insulate a wooden floor, you also need to consider such an option as mineral wool. This type of thermal insulation is made from natural raw materials (different rocks). In the manufacturing process, fiber is obtained, which is folded into layers. Mineral wool can be sold in rolls or slabs. The first option is softer. It can be used when arranging additional supports (for example, lag). Hard sheets are strong enough. However, they also require additional protection against mechanical damage.
How to insulate the floor in a private house? Mineral wool, perhaps, will be one of the best options. This environmentally friendly natural material allows you to create a reliable barrier between the internal and external space of the room. Mineral wool is not subject to burning. It can be used for warming wooden structures.
In this case, the material is not subject to decay. This is a durable, practical insulation. It does not emit harmful components into the environment, as it is made, like expanded clay, from natural natural components.
This material has a high vapor permeability. Therefore, when choosing this insulation, you will also need to create a layer of high-quality waterproofing. If this material is saturated with moisture, it will cease to fulfill its responsibilities. Wet mineral wool conducts heat well. Therefore, during installation, all the requirements of the standards must be met.
Roll foil insulation
When studying how to insulate a concrete floor in an apartment, you need to pay attention to roll materials with a foil surface. Such materials may have a different basis. It can be made of polyethylene, polystyrene or foamed rubber. Foil is needed to reflect infrared rays that come from the room.
Depending on the type of base, the purpose of the material is also determined. If the roll insulation is made on the basis of foamed polyethylene, it is installed to reflect the heat of radiators. This material is not suitable for the floor (unless in combination with other materials, such as mineral wool).
Polystyrene-based thermal insulation has high performance. This material may have a thickness of only 4-6 mm. In this case, it is quite capable of replacing a sheet of polystyrene foam with a thickness of 3-4 cm. This becomes possible due to the porous structure of the base of the roll. Closed cells with air can reliably retain heat in the room.
Foamed rubber is a material that exhibits the highest thermal insulation qualities. It may well replace the layer of mineral wool. However, the cost of such materials is very high. In this case, in the event of a fire, roll insulation will also burn.
Thermal insulation of a wooden floor
There is a certain technology according to which you can insulate the floors in the house with your own hands. It is necessary to be guided in the process of performing work by building rules. If there is an unheated basement below the room, in the middle zone of our country it will be necessary to create a layer of insulation about 12 cm thick. In the northern regions, you need to create a layer of insulation at least 20 cm.
When creating a layer of insulation in a wooden private house, preference is given to structures on the logs. Between the load-bearing elements, the space is filled with the selected insulation. If the floor is old, it is completely dismantled before overlapping. A waterproofing layer is laid on top and a system of support beams is arranged. They should be at a distance of about 60 cm from each other. Next, a layer of mineral wool is laid in the space between the lags.
You can additionally add rigidity to the structure by stuffing perpendicular to the supporting beam small strips of wood on top of the mineral wool. A vapor barrier layer is also laid on top of the material. Next, plywood or boards are mounted. Finishing is done with suitable material.
The lag system is not mounted in apartments. This significantly reduces the height of the ceiling (at least 15 cm). Therefore, this method of insulation is suitable only for a private house.
Warming in a private house without a basement
How to insulate the floor with your own hands, if it is built without a basement, immediately on the ground? In this case, you need to fill in the concrete screed. Creating a floor in such a house, you will need to level the ground. It is well rammed. With this installation method, groundwater is not allowed to come close to the surface of the earth.
A layer of crushed stone is poured onto a leveled base. Expanded clay can also be used. This material will need to be poured and tamped 10 cm. Expanded clay will protect the ceiling from humidity and cold air. On top of a layer of expanded clay, pour 20 cm of sand. It is also well-packed.
Screed is laid on top of the sand. It should have a thickness of about 5 cm. Dries concrete in a month. During this time, its surface is periodically moistened, so that the cement can gain strength. When the screed is completely dry, a layer of waterproofing is laid on it. A heater is laid on it. It can be expanded polystyrene. On it, you can immediately fill the layer of the second (finishing) screed. Expanded polystyrene does not absorb moisture at all. Therefore, it is often used as a heater when pouring concrete screed. When the second screed is dry, you can lay the finish.
Interfloor insulation
How to insulate the floor in the house with honey floors? This procedure is often carried out between floors, in the rooms of which the temperature is not the same. This may be required in both an apartment building and a private house.
First you need to prepare the base. If it is concrete, a vapor barrier is immediately laid on the surface. Cloths should be overlapped by at least 15 cm. A layer of expanded polystyrene is mounted on top. The sheets should be adjacent to each other tightly. Between them it is unacceptable to leave gaps. You can also mount two layers of thin sheets (for example, 2 cm thick). The second row must be set with an offset relative to the first. This will increase the strength of the structure.
If rolled materials will be mounted, they are simply spread on the surface, fastening the sheets with honey with aluminum adhesive tape. This material may not even require a layer of bottom waterproofing. You need to know what qualities a foil has. If it is able to withstand alkali (present in cement), you can not apply a layer of waterproofing. Otherwise, its use is necessary.
Next, a layer of screed is poured. It should be at least 3 cm. It is possible to strengthen the structure using reinforced mesh. It is laid on a waterproofing layer before pouring concrete.
Basement insulation
How to insulate the floor, if you can’t raise its level? In this case, you can perform insulation from the basement. Using wooden small battens, a vapor barrier is attached to the ceiling in the basement.
The bars should be at a distance corresponding to the width of the insulation boards. Between them set tight slabs of mineral wool. It is fixed with a metal mesh or wooden battens. Boards are stuffed on top of the structure.
The use of underfloor heating
Deciding how to insulate the floor, you can act dramatically. Today, such a type of heating as a warm floor is gaining popularity. It allows you to maintain the required temperature on the surface of the base (usually 25-30º). In this case, insulation material (polystyrene foam) is also used. A system of electric or water floor heating is mounted on it. Then the screed is poured. This is a good option for creating economical heating in a private house or apartment.
Having considered how to insulate the floor, you can choose the best technique. In this case, heating costs can be significantly reduced.