It would be foolish to say once again that today there is a huge amount of insulation materials. There are really a lot of them, and according to the manufacturers, they are all good and have excellent insulating properties. But is it really so, or is it another PR move to increase sales? Agree, there is always a risk to buy either toxic or useless material. To prevent this from happening, let us return to the origins. Consider the good old sawdust as a heater.
General information
Naturally, the filings themselves are unlikely to be able to fulfill the assigned function, but in a mixture with other components - why not. As additives, cement, clay, as well as lime and other binders, are suitable. In principle, the result will be at a very decent level, you can be sure of it. However, it is important to know that before use, the resulting mixture must be further processed. Copper sulfate or something like that is great for this procedure. As a result, you will kill two birds with one stone: firstly, the material will not burn, and secondly, termites, ants and other animals will not start in it. In addition, such insulation is very cheap and does not present a special deficit. Sawdust is bought literally for a penny as a waste of sawmill production. Therefore, we can safely say that sawdust as a heater is not only cheap, but also effective.
About the advantages and disadvantages of the material
From the very beginning, it makes sense to note that sawdust is suitable not only for insulation of the floor, but also of the ceiling, as well as walls. In addition, no matter what material your house is made of, whether it is wooden, panel or any other, you can use sawdust. Of course, no one will argue that this is an environmentally friendly and safe material, so you can insulate any room with it. Another interesting point - all the work is quite simple to do manually. However, you can say that this is not a problem with any other insulation, and it is. Nevertheless, working with sawdust is very simple and quick, and this is due to its low weight. As for the price, then our insulation can be considered the cheapest. For example, the difference in cost between basalt wool and sawdust on a house of 150 squares will be about 50-70 thousand rubles. Therefore, sawdust as a heater will help you save money and at the same time not lose in terms of heat and sound insulation.
About making the mixture
As noted above, pure shavings are of no interest, so you have to prepare the mixture. It can be based on several materials. For example, sawdust with cement as a heater is an excellent solution. The same can be said about the mixture with lime.
So, for the work you need about 10 parts of sawdust, 1 part of cement and the same amount of lime. That is, the proportion looks like 10: 1: 1. To all this, you need to add a little water, which is mixed with an antiseptic and anti-burning agent. It must be understood that through this insulation it is impossible to conduct electrical wiring, as well as gas pipelines. Since the freshly prepared material has a viscosity, it can easily lay any inaccessible place without any special problems. Performing similar work using the same foam will be very problematic. Well, now let's move on.
A little about proper installation
It is important to choose the right thickness. Selection must be done depending on the area where the work is performed. If for walls, then a thickness of 15-20 mm is enough, it is not recommended to take less than 25-30 mm for the ceiling. This will be enough to obtain optimal thermal insulation properties. If it is not possible to avoid the installation of electrical wiring and gas pipes, then use heat-resistant materials - this will completely solve the problem. You must understand that the binding of non-combustible materials to places where there will be switches or wires is mandatory. By the way, many professionals do not recommend using cement for one simple reason - it absorbs moisture. A high-quality mixture should not give off water during compression, but should also not crumble.
Sawdust as a ceiling heater
This part in the house should be insulated especially carefully and accurately. This is due to the fact that about 15-25% of the heat leaves through the ceiling, and this is quite a lot. Before starting work, it is necessary to process the beams and cover the surface with glassine. Next is the already prepared mixture, and how to make it, we figured it out, lay it on the ceiling and tamp evenly. The priority of the work must be done in the summer, and this is due to the fact that the mixture in the warm attic will dry much faster than at any other time of the year. But if you decide to insulate your house in spring or autumn, then go ahead. Please note that the dried surface must not bend under the weight of a person. This will say that you did everything right. Crunch in this case is not a warning factor and is considered quite normal. In principle, sawdust as a ceiling insulation is used quite often and shows a good result.
Great flooring solution
Sometimes you can notice how home craftsmen use sawdust in its pure form for floor insulation. But doing this is not recommended for many significant reasons. The best solution would be to use sawdust-based mixtures. A layer thickness of 15-20 cm is enough, but this is for regions where the temperature does not drop below -20 degrees Celsius. For every 5 degrees it is necessary to increase the thickness by 3-4 cm. So, at a temperature of -25 0 C, a layer with a thickness of 19-24 cm is needed and so on. To date , the best solution for floor insulation is chipboard based on sawdust. They are well suited for roughing, which is done without any preparatory work. But it is better to pre-level the soil and lay a film on top of it. It will be your waterproofing. Next, the stove is already laid. Of course, you can also make a heater from sawdust with your own hands, but the result will be slightly worse. However, it doesn’t mean at all that you are wasting your time, because with the right approach you yourself will be surprised at what has been done.
Sawdust as a wall heater
It is known that a sufficient amount of heat can escape through the bearing walls and interior partitions . To at least slightly correct the situation, we use sawdust. For high-quality insulation, the material must be laid in layers, each of which must be well compacted. In addition, it is important enough to start working with a wet mixture. In this case, the cement begins to set almost immediately, after which a block with high insulating properties is formed. In any case, such a heater made of sawdust, stacked with your own hands, will cost you much cheaper, and with proper installation you will be pleasantly impressed by the result.
Clay concrete properties
It is worth noting that a material such as clay concrete has good thermal insulation properties. As you might guess, it consists of clay, cement, sawdust and lime. To all this is added water. For the manufacture of one cubic meter, you will not need so many materials. You need to take about 200 kg of sawdust, 30 kg of cement and 70 kilograms of lime. Also, to get a quality mixture, you need 300 kg of clay and 350 liters of water. The mass of clay in this case will be 500-600 kg / m 3 . After the mixture swells, it is enveloped in clay. When the block dries, the sawdust is firmly bound. As a result, they do not rot. In addition, the unit is quite durable and has good performance properties. We can say with confidence that the quality of this material is not inferior to the funds purchased in a hardware store, but the price in our case is much lower.
Instead of a conclusion
As you can see, lime with sawdust as a heater is perfect for any home. The same applies to another composition, for example, sawdust with concrete, clay, etc. Nevertheless, today quite a few people treat such insulation with caution. Usually there is no soil for such speculation, because we are used to the fact that if it’s cheap, it’s bad and poor quality. Before starting work, weigh the pros and cons, and only then get down to business. Many organizations give away sawdust either for nothing or for a penny, but the transportation costs will have to be borne by you. In addition, you will have to buy clay, cement, etc. However, whatever one may say, it is much cheaper than buying a ready-made insulation. And if you perform the work yourself, then the reward will also be a valuable experience that can be used in the future.