A country cottage usually has a veranda. Such a building is used in the warm season. But if you want to increase the usable area and exploit the space in winter, then you should perform its insulation.
Thermal insulation involves sealing walls, floors and ceilings. But for the reason that external factors can affect the material, not all modern solutions can be used. The best option is plate and roll insulation based on natural minerals. They are vapor- and breathable, which helps to remove moisture and protect the wood from decay. Artificial insulators of the type of polyurethane foam are not so preferable, because they have low vapor permeability and are used mainly for external insulation. The plates are mounted on a pre-installed frame of timber.
What material for walls to choose
Insulation for the walls of the house can be selected in any modern building materials store. The most common option is mineral wool. It is soft and flexible, has low thermal conductivity, is compressive and not combustible. These characteristics are true for dense species.
The material is able to provide good sound insulation and is resistant to thermal deformation. Mineral wool for insulation is resistant to biological and chemical influences. But it has one significant drawback, which is expressed in the fact that the canvas during installation need a frame. Over time, wool can lose density, it coalesces, which leads to a decrease in thermal insulation properties.
Insulation for the walls of the house is sometimes also basalt cotton wool. According to its characteristics, it is identical to mineral wool, but it is environmentally friendly. If the veranda is built of logs or beams, then you can use tow, moss or linen for warming. They are environmentally friendly, but difficult to install. Among other things, they are prey for poultry, which use material for the construction of nests. Warming with these insulators is best done at the construction stage.
Thermal insulation of the veranda from the inside can also be carried out using a flexible foil insulation - penofol. It can be used as an independent heat-insulating material or in combination with other heaters. This material has low vapor permeability, environmental friendliness, ease of installation and fire safety.
Cons are small thickness and softness. The floor on the veranda can be insulated with foam. It has a low weight, does not change properties during operation and is easily installed in a frame or frameless way. Its disadvantages are interest in rodents and combustibility. If you do not want to deal with the installation of hydro- and vapor barrier, then foam can be an excellent solution, because it has zero hygroscopicity and vapor permeability.
Floor insulation
Before you warm the veranda, you need to make a plan. It should provide for floor insulation. It is better to engage in such work at the construction stage. Such designs are made according to the frame technology, which facilitates the laying of insulation in the floor, upper floors and walls.
At the first stage, the design must be prepared. After the foundation is erected on the supports, the lower strapping of the beam is installed. Its cross section should be square with a side of 150 mm. The material is used to install the crate. Before warming the floor, the tree should be treated with a protective compound.
A rough floor of edged or unedged 25 mm boards is installed on the floor. If the design provides for the underground, then the task will be solved easily. In the absence of space under the floor, square bars with a side of 30 mm are attached to the lateral planes of the ceiling. A rough floor is installed on them. Thermal insulation material and a vapor barrier layer are fixed on top, because a large proportion of heat loss occurs through the floor on the veranda.
It is necessary to lay several layers of insulation on the lower floor, the direction of the paintings must be alternated at an angle of 90 ˚. Instead of coiled or slab insulation, solid aggregates of expanded clay type can be used. A layer of vapor barrier is laid on top. Then you can begin to sheathing the floor.
Wall insulation
If you are thinking about how to insulate the veranda, you should consider the need for thermal insulation of the walls. This needs to be addressed in the next step. On the perimeter of the floor, you need to fix the vertical bars and fix them with the help of jibs and horizontal transverse inserts.
Outside, the walls are trimmed, but a layer of vapor barrier should first be laid. Between the vertical racks, two layers of insulation should be installed. Typically, the thickness of the material eliminates the need for additional fixation. Pieces of mineral wool should be 3 cm wider than the opening. Once the surfaces have been insulated, you can begin to install the finish layer of vapor barrier. Then the interior decoration of the walls is carried out.
Ceiling work
When thinking about how to insulate the veranda, you must decide what technology to use in the case of the ceiling. Without this, it is not possible to qualitatively insulate space. The work involves the assembly of the upper frame by analogy with the lower floor. To do this, it is necessary to use square beams.
If you perform the work sequentially, then the ceiling is insulated before the installation of the roof. On the underside of the floor slabs, it is necessary to carry out a final covering with the installation of vapor barrier. Thermal insulation is installed on the finish, which must be laid in several layers. It is covered with a draft ceiling. If the veranda does not provide for a separate roof with an attic, it is necessary to install the crate over the casing and install the roof.
Thermal insulation of the finished veranda
Many home masters wonder how to insulate the veranda, if it is already in operation. Such procedures are much more difficult to implement. It is advisable to minimize dismantling work, which can lead to damage to the finishing material of the floor, walls and ceiling. You need to start work with the latter. It involves the dismantling of the internal surface finish. The amount of waste should be minimized.
If we are talking about a wooden house, then a lining is usually used to finish the veranda . Once all the panels from the horizontal top floor have been removed, you can begin to remove the insulation. It is important to exclude the loss of mineral plates. For this, nails are driven into the lower surface of the timber. When installing the insulation, the assistant must hold the material between the beams, while the master will stretch a nylon cord between them. Then the nails are hammered on the hat. It is first necessary to prepare long strips of fiberboard. Their width should be 5 cm.
What else to consider
You will also need 30 mm construction nails. The next step is to proceed according to the scheme described above. The assistant should hold the insulation laid in the opening, while the master will fasten the rails. When finishing, auxiliary strips must be removed.
Work on the walls
Do-it-yourself insulation of the veranda in the wall area is usually done outside. This will save the interior decoration. After dismantling the outer casing, a vapor barrier must be installed. It can be a film that is mounted between the racks. It is necessary to use a construction stapler.
Instead of mineral wool, you can use foam, which is characterized by resistance to atmospheric precipitation and is not afraid of the influence of microorganisms. Warming is carried out in a pre-installed crate, which will provide air circulation. Particular attention should be paid to windows. It is best to install two or three-chamber double-glazed windows. If the windows have single glass, the joints should be treated with adhesive-based insulation, while the frame seats are treated with sealant.
Floor insulation procedure
When the veranda is insulated in a wooden house, you will need to pay special attention to the floor, because a large amount of cold air penetrates through it. Without high-quality thermal insulation, the operation of the veranda in the cold season will be impossible, and heating costs will increase several times.
It is necessary to start the installation of insulation with the dismantling of the floor covering. Boards can be attached in several ways. It can be self-tapping screws or nails. Fasteners are installed in the groove of the board, the direction of the fastener is at an angle of 45 ˚. Use a screwdriver or nail gun for dismantling.
The use of self-tapping screws is preferable, since you can save the floor covering material. Boards can be fastened from the front to the pot. In the place where the self-tapping screw is installed, it is necessary to drill 18 mm holes, deepening by 10 mm. Screws hide after screwing. For decoration, you can use a wooden cork. To dismantle the boards that were installed using this technology, it is necessary to drill out the plugs and turn out the screws.
Specialist advice
If there is a rough sheathing, install a vapor barrier membrane and lay mineral wool, which is sometimes replaced with expanded clay. With a standard roll or mat thickness, 3 layers are laid between the timber. The thickness of the thermal insulation in this case is 50 mm, and the timber used has a square section with a side of 150 mm.
On the upper planes of the beams, vapor barrier and floor boards are fixed to their former places. If there is no rough floor, you can make a false lattice of pine timber. Its cross section should be square, and the side is 30 mm. Fixation is carried out to the lateral planes of the beams with screws.
Warming the floor of the veranda involves the use of 20 mm boards that go to the rough floor. They will serve as the basis for the installation of insulating materials. Further vapor barrier and insulation are covered.
Work on roof insulation
Insulation of the roof of the veranda is usually carried out at the construction stage. If we are talking about a simple pitched roof without an attic, moving around it will be problematic. In order to perform insulation from the outside, you will have to dismantle the roofing material. If you still decide to do this, then the material is stacked in layers. First comes the waterproofing film, which is covered with rafters. The next layers will be insulation and vapor barrier. At the final stage, it will be necessary to lay a decorative coating.
Glazing
Windows on the veranda can be made by you yourself from wood. This will save heat in the room and achieve comfort. Along the perimeter of the glazed area, it is necessary to install a structure of timber, to which the frames will be fixed. The beam is treated with an antiseptic and a flame retardant.
After the frames have been installed in place, it is necessary to fill all the cracks with mounting foam. Silicone sealant is poured into the internal grooves. After this, wait 3 minutes and you can insert the glass. They are pressed, and the sealant is applied around the perimeter from two sides. When installing windows on the veranda, you will need to mount a glazing bead to fix the glass in the frame and mask the traces of the sealant.
Summing up the choice of insulation
As practice shows, mineral wool for warming the veranda is the best solution. Polyfoam is also not inferior in this race. But you must be prepared for the fact that it will emit dangerous carcinogens when exposed to fire, so this fact should not be ignored. But foam sheets are still used more often, as they are more affordable.
Conclusion
Penofol can become an additional warming. The metallized layer will reflect the cool air from the street and will allow you to keep warm inside the veranda. This material is a high-tech heat-insulating agent, which consists of a layer of foamed polyethylene and aluminum foil. Effective options are also considered basalt wool, rezol foam and polyurethane foam. They are non-combustible, so experts advise paying attention to them.