Heat creates an atmosphere of comfort and security in any home. But often, as soon as the outside temperature drops below zero, the walls of our houses disfigure fungus, mold or wet spots. The reason for this is poor-quality building materials, technical errors made during the construction of the house, poor ventilation, insufficient heating, cracks that appeared. Owners of private houses are easier, they can independently make the heating more powerful and patch the cracks. They can also insulate the walls of the house outside, which is considered the optimal solution to the problem of low temperatures in the room. For residents of high-rise buildings, the only way out is to insulate the walls from the inside.
Some experts are categorically against such work. But what if people simply have no choice. Here you can be advised to choose the optimal type of insulation and install it correctly. I would like to note that just warming the walls from the inside will not solve the problem of heat loss in the room. You also need to insulate the floor, ceiling, for example, the attic, to eliminate the gaps in the windows and in the doors of the doors. Only in this way can a tangible result be achieved.
The market offers a wide selection of heaters, each of which has positive and negative sides. The most common basalt fibers, polystyrene (polystyrene foam), warm plaster, mineral wool, ceramic paint.
Basalt heaters are non-combustible, the most environmentally friendly, but they are afraid of moisture and are quite expensive.
Warm plaster is applied without prior alignment of the walls, it has a long service life, “breathes”, that is, it prevents mold from forming, but it is hygroscopic and has lower thermal insulation characteristics compared to other materials.
Mineral wool is a light, non-combustible material with good thermal insulation properties. Its disadvantages are hygroscopicity, that is, moisture absorption and insufficient environmental friendliness. In many countries, it is already forbidden to insulate walls from the inside with mineral wool.
Warming (ceramic) paints are very easy to apply, quickly set, are not hygroscopic, do not reduce the area of the insulated room. Disadvantages in their price and high consumption. Usually, 1 liter of such paint should be consumed per 1 square meter of wall. You can also call it a disadvantage of lower thermal insulation than other materials.
Insulating walls with foam from the inside is one of the most economical and easiest to install. Polyfoam has excellent thermal insulation properties, does not absorb water, a good sound insulator. Deficiencies in its flammability, fragility (breaks at the slightest mechanical impact), and insufficient environmental friendliness. Although in all developed countries, foam is readily used not only in construction, but also in other areas (as packaging material).
The technology for performing work using it is simple. First you need to level the surface of the wall and treat it with an antifungal agent. Next, a special building glue is applied to the foam sheet. With its help (laying more or less) you can align the wall no worse than drywall. Attach the foam start from the bottom from the corner. If gaps remain between the sheets, they are sealed with glue or the foam strips that are necessary in thickness are inserted there. You can use mounting foam. For greater attachment strength, you can use special nails (fungi), driving them in the corners of each sheet and in the center. When performing wall insulation from the inside with polystyrene foam, the master must ensure that there are gaps between the wall and the insulation, otherwise condensation will collect there. After installation, the structure is fixed with a reinforcing mesh, on which a layer of construction adhesive is applied. From above it is covered with a primer, and then it is finished according to the tastes of the owner.
If the walls are insulated correctly from the inside, the heating system works well and adequate ventilation is provided, problems in the form of fungus and condensate, as a rule, do not arise.