Western trends brought ordinary Soviet people not only beautiful and affordable ways to decorate their homes, but also other advanced technologies. For example, insulation of houses outside. With this, you can significantly save on heating the house and get rid of annoying mold on the walls and dampness in the house. The main requirements for insulation: availability, efficiency and ease of installation. In addition, the materials should be light so as not to overburden the foundation of the house. Unfortunately, not all materials for home insulation can combine the above qualities, so on the market you can find such a variety of thermal insulation materials. We will talk about them below.
Ways to insulate your home
There are various materials that have high thermal insulation properties. But all of them are mounted on the walls according to a similar principle.
Insulation of the house outside can occur in three ways:
- The heat-insulating material is fixed with a glue solution, and at the end it is finished with plaster.
- Create a three-layer unventilated wall. The insulation is fixed with a special solution. After that, an external wall with a thickness of one brick is built. There must be an air gap between the insulation and the new wall.
- A ventilated facade is another option on how to make the house warm. The wall is covered with waterproofing material, and a heater is mounted on top. After the wind protection is installed, the frame is sheathed on the outside with a clapboard. By this principle, the house is insulated with siding from the outside.
Each of these methods has its advantages and disadvantages. In addition, manufacturers fill the market with combined insulating materials, which require special installation technology.
How to choose a material for insulation?
All thermal insulation materials differ in their properties, installation method, price and durability. They are united only by a common purpose: they are all needed to insulate housing. Most often used for insulation: mineral wool, polystyrene, extruded polystyrene, polyurethane foam, cellulosic materials, basalt slabs and more. Their main differences are moisture resistance, vapor permeability and heat conductivity. The first two parameters play a role depending on climatic conditions, and heat conductivity is important in calculating the thickness of the insulating material. So, instead of laying foam concrete in several layers, it is better to use foam, which is several times thinner, but has the same thermal conductivity.
Preparing walls for insulation
After the material is selected, you can safely proceed to the next step. Insulation of the walls of the house outside cannot take place without their preliminary preparation. An old layer of plaster or insulation material is scraped off to the base. At the finish you will receive a bare brick, concrete or wooden wall in front of you.
We clean the surface of dust and dirt and carry out a thorough primer. Deep penetration solutions are best used. If there are protrusions or indentations larger than two centimeters in size, they must be sanded or glossed to the same level as the wall.
After the walls have dried out from the primer, we mount the plumb lines and lighthouses, on which the insulating material will be laid. To simplify installation, screws and anchors are installed at the edges, a thread or fishing line is tightly stretched between them and plumb lines. Thus, a strong mesh should form on the wall, which will serve as a guide when working.
How to insulate a log house?
To warm it, it is recommended to use the technology of a ventilated facade. So the walls will breathe, and mold will not start in the house. Insulation of houses outside requires the processing of walls with refractory substances and antiseptics. The cracks between the logs are covered with jute fiber or ribbon tow. Foam is also suitable.
Using vertical bars, a crate is mounted on the facade of the house. Then lay the vapor barrier and insulation. It is better to use mineral wool or fiberglass. The heat insulator begins to be laid from the bottom up, and after that it is fixed with dowels. A waterproofing membrane is mounted on top of the insulation , for this you can use a stapler.
At the last stage, the facing material is installed. In the role of which you can use lining, siding, facade panels and more.
How to insulate the walls of the timber?
The stages of thermal insulation of such a house are almost no different from wooden. Nevertheless, there is one difference. The walls of the timber have a flat surface, so the insulation of houses from the outside can be carried out using not only rolled insulators, but also tiled materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool. Installation technology and all steps are identical to those described above.
How to insulate a brick house?
Insulation of a brick house outside can be carried out in several ways:
- Ventilated facade. Thermal insulation of the premises is carried out using mineral wool or polystyrene plates. The material is attached to the walls using dowels or adhesive solutions. Then the crate is made of bars or a metal profile. And then we rely on the thermal insulation scheme of a wooden house.
- Easy wet method. This is the technology of multilayer facade insulation. Foam or rigid mineral wool are used. The material is mounted on the walls using adhesive mortar or dowels. The crate is not needed here. A grid is attached to the insulation, and two types of plaster are applied on top.
- Well masonry. This method is used not only for brick, but also for block houses. At the time of building a house, heat-insulating material is fixed between the walls and a vapor-proof and waterproof material is additionally laid. It is better to use moisture resistant materials to warm an already finished building. These include polystyrene foam, polyurethane foam and others. If you want to insulate a structure with an air gap between the walls, you can use a liquid heat insulator, which will harden after a while. In addition, the air gap can be filled with polystyrene foam. It, unlike mineral wool, is easy to place in the inter-wall space.
If the insulation of a brick house from the outside did not bring the desired results, you should think about the insulation of the floor, roof and windows. It is the poor condition of these sources that contributes to significant heat loss.
Foam insulation
One of the most cost-effective ways to keep warm in the house is to insulate the house with foam. To begin with, a so-called shelf is installed at the bottom of the wall, it is necessary to align the first row of foam.
The material is attached using dowels or glue. In order for the work to be smooth, use the sheer mesh, which was mentioned above, and the level. For density and structural stability, the next row of polystyrene is laid with a shift in half of the sheet (like bricks when laying). At the corners and around the windows, the material is attached using metal corners. After all the walls are covered with foam sheets, a plastic mesh is attached on top and plaster is applied: starting, finishing and decorative.
Mineral wool insulation
Mineral wool insulation is very similar to insulation with cellulosic materials and basalt slabs. To fix the mineral wool using a frame structure and crate. It should fit tightly into the formed cells, leaving no gaps. Then, a reinforcing mesh is fastened in front of the cladding and plastering is carried out. Wall decoration can be of various types: siding, lining, brick wall, etc.
Insulation of houses outside with mineral wool is a great way to insulate your home and save on heating.