Is it necessary to insulate the earthen floor? For any structure - a country house, a bathhouse, a garage - high-quality thermal insulation of all elements is necessary. This will save the cost of heating the facility in the winter.
Various heating systems are supposed in garden houses and country cottages, but if the waterproofing of the earthen floor is not carried out, it will not be possible to quickly heat the dwelling. That is why it is so important to pay close attention to the issue of thermal insulation, especially in residential premises.
Specifications
Clay flooring is the oldest version of flooring. In recent years, they have again become popular with fans of natural buildings. Earthen floor in its technological, physical, operational indicators is significantly inferior to modern floors. The device of such floors will require great physical effort, time, as well as mastery of ancient technologies.
We will analyze those important points that you need to know in order to create a high-quality earthen floor.
- The raw material for its manufacture is clay. It lies at a fairly large depth, you need to use special equipment for its extraction. To make an earthen floor, you will also need gravel, sand, waterproofing materials, and also finishing.
- To obtain a high-quality coating, it is necessary to cover the clay with several layers of wax and natural oil. Each layer is carefully rammed by a mechanical machine to make the coating dense and even.
Creation Features
You can make an earthen floor in the house after the building is brought under the roof, otherwise all work will be destroyed by precipitation. Before proceeding with the construction of the earthen floor, it is necessary to prepare a pit for it, remove the earth, bring gravel and sand, and carefully compact them. The next step will be waterproofing. Only then can we proceed to pouring the clay floor.
Sample calculations
Define the amount of work for the house with an area of 100 m 2 . If the depth of the pit will be 50 cm, then the volume of the floors will be 50 m 3 . Such an amount of land will need to be removed and removed, and the house will already be standing under the roof.
A similar amount of gravel, sand, clay will need to be made, armed with a wheelbarrow and a shovel. Such work involves enormous time and physical costs, it is very difficult to deal with them alone. The duration and complexity of the work explain the lack of desire among many builders to create earthen floors in a residential building.
Features of floor insulation in the garage (bath)
The insulation options in these structures differ from the technologies used in the country house. An earthen floor is considered a basement surface that does not have a monolithic base. If the building is on a strip foundation, expanded clay, gravel, and sand are poured into the basement. After filling the foundation of the house, translations are set up with soil. It is on them that the rough floor is laid.
Warming begins with laying foam boards around the entire perimeter of the foundation. Before filling the basement with soil, it is advisable to put polystyrene foam to the walls. Plates need to be fixed, since the soil will press them to the foundation.
So that there are no gaps between the insulation sheets, cold bridges are not formed, the joints must be treated with polyurethane foam. This method of basement insulation is the simplest and most effective.
If it is necessary to insulate a basement located in a swampy area, certain problems arise. When moving soil, you need to use a warmed monolithic foundation. It eliminates movement of the building structure. As a heat-insulating layer under the tile, extruded polystyrene foam or expanded clay is suitable. Mandatory step is the waterproofing of the soil.
Floor insulation foam
Expanded polystyrene is characterized by high moisture resistance and density, so it is often used for thermal insulation of strip foundations. The material is also suitable for warming the earthen floor in the bath.
It is important to calculate the thickness and the insulation scheme at the stage of creating a project. Plates are laid on the ground as tightly as possible, a concrete screed is made on top (or boards are laid).
Features of expanded clay insulation
This material is fired clay granules, suitable for thermal insulation of horizontal surfaces. The excellent thermal insulation properties of expanded clay are explained by its porous structure.
In the case when, after thermal insulation, the plans include pouring the concrete floor in the room, to fix the expanded clay granules, the surface is poured with concrete. You can use the finished floor in a month, after waiting for the complete setting of the cement mortar.
If warming is carried out on logs, in this case there is no need to fix the dumping from expanded clay. Expanded clay granules are poured onto compacted soil, they are leveled on the surface. Excellent thermal insulation can be obtained with an expanded clay layer of 15-20 cm. Then, the subfloor boards are laid on the logs.
Electric and water underfloor heating
The earthen floor in a residential building can be done with your own hands, armed with electric or water heated floors. If you plan to make a warm water floor on the ground, you first need to lay the insulation boards in the basement of the apartment building. Then the masonry net is laid, making the concrete pouring more durable. Then they lay pipes for the future warm water floor. Top up with a solution of concrete. For high-quality thermal insulation, it is necessary that the thickness of the concrete screed be at least four centimeters.
For an electric floor, it is necessary to lay rolled waterproofing material on the ground. For example, it can be roofing material, the price per roll of which is 250-350 rubles. Next, plates of thermal insulation material are laid, a rough screed is made, leveling the surface. Then, a reinforced mesh is laid for the quality of the concrete screed and the uniform distribution of heat.
After installation is complete, it is necessary to check the operability of the electric floor. Only then can you start pouring the floor with a concrete screed. You can use the finished floor only after 30 days, so that the concrete is completely frozen.
The main advantage of an electric and water heated floor is a uniform temperature distribution over the entire floor surface.
Purpose of waterproofing on the ground
A house without a foundation is not the best option for a comfortable stay, especially in winter. Any building needs waterproofing. Moisture, which enters the room, contributes to the emergence of pathogens and fungi, destroys the wooden elements of the house.
Groundwater is in all Russian regions. Regardless of their level, moisture will rise from the soil to the surface of the earth through the capillaries present in any soil (to a height of up to 12 meters). In addition to wetting the walls, it is possible complete flooding of some rooms.
Proper waterproofing is not limited to covering the earthen floor with a sheet of roofing material, it is a complex multilayer structure:
- compacted and compacted soil;
- crushed stone (10-15 cm);
- sand (10-15 cm);
- waterproofing film for the floor;
- concrete screed (reinforced concrete 3-5 cm thick);
- vapor barrier (rolled bituminous material based on fiberglass);
- polystyrene or polystyrene (thermal insulation layer).
Next, another layer of concrete screed is laid. A decorative coating is laid on it (laminate, linoleum, ceramic tile).
To summarize
The waterproofing film for the floor creates an excellent microclimate in the room, significantly increases the operational life of the flooring, saves thermal energy, and does not allow mold to develop indoors. Film polymer membranes promote proper air circulation and allow the surface to “breathe”. Such materials gradually release condensate, so there is no excess moisture in the house. Currently, with the thermal insulation of the earthen floor, “smart membranes” are used. They can change characteristics according to the ambient temperature.
Before laying the film, you need to equip the screed from sand and cement, and then remove objects from the floor that can damage it. Before laying the film, the screed must be cleaned of dust and soaked with a primer.
The polymer film is laid in layers end-to-end, the joints are glued with construction tape. A damper tape, which is a deformation or temperature seam, is laid out along the perimeter of the room along with waterproofing material.