In the market of building materials, Penoplex Foundation was widely used. What is this material and how is it more attractive in comparison with other heat-insulating compounds? Let's try to figure this out.
general characteristics
Extruded polystyrene foam for insulation "Penoplex Foundation" is specially designed for reliable protection of foundations. If you apply the Penoplex foundation thermal insulation in the cottage, then the heat dissipation into the atmosphere by the design of the entire building will be reduced by 20 percent.
This material is successfully used for buildings in areas characterized by severe frost and high humidity. According to the thickness of the plate, "Penoplex" is available with values from 20 to 100 mm. Penoplex Foundation is made “with a quarter” - the selected configuration of the edges of the plates avoids the formation of cold bridges. This production technology provides durable thermal insulation of surfaces.
Extruded polystyrene "Penoplex" successfully resists long-term contact with water, does not interact with soil alkalis and acids in direct contact with the ground. This material is not subject to bio-exposure, does not change its physical and chemical properties when exposed to groundwater.
"Penoplex Foundation": characteristics
- The density is 29.0-33.0 kg / m 3 .
- The tensile strength in the case of static bending is not less than 0.4 MPa.
- Water absorption in 24 hours - not more than 0.4 percent (by volume).
- Water absorption in 28 days - 0.5% by volume.
- Resistance to fire - group G4 (according to F3-123).
- The coefficient of thermal conductivity (at a temperature of 25 ° C) is 0.03 W / (m × ° K).
- Standard sizes, mm: width / length - 600x1200.
- Thickness, mm: 7 gradations from 20 to 100.
- Operational range (temperature) - from -50 to +75 ° .
Comparison with other materials
According to the thermal insulation properties, a foam sheet 2 cm thick corresponds to a thickness of 3 cm of a foam layer, 3.8 cm to mineral wool, 25 cm to wood, 27 cm to foam concrete, and 37 cm to brickwork. Thus, it is clear why the use of "Penoplex" for thermal insulation of foundations is preferable to the use of other materials.
Areas of use
Penoplex Foundation is used in the following areas:
- as a middle layer in three-layer structures of foundation blocks ;
- as a fixed formwork for pouring the base;
- for warming bottom plates of basement buildings and the lower surface of shallow foundations ;
- for warming and moisture protection of the basement of buildings;
- for insulation of vertical surfaces of foundations;
- for thermal insulation of blind areas in private houses with insufficient degree of thermal insulation of the foundation;
- for warming basements of buildings.
Technology of insulation of horizontal surfaces
For this application, and it concerns cases of thermal insulation of the bottom surface of slab and sole of tape (including slightly deep) foundations, the Penoplex Foundation slabs of 50 mm (or 100 mm) are used.
- Remove the upper soil layer of the marked site to a depth in accordance with the construction project. To achieve bottom evenness, the lower 20-30 cm are manually selected. The entire area is covered with a layer of sand and rammed.
- Make a temporary formwork and fill it without reinforcing with a thin layer of concrete, getting a concrete base.
- After solidification of the latter, the Penoplex Foundation slabs are laid on it without gaps, then a waterproofing layer is made from a thick plastic film, gluing the strip joints with tape.
- The slab foundation is manufactured in the usual way (with reinforcement) , after hardening of which the formwork is removed and its side walls are insulated with Penoplex slabs.
Technology of insulation of vertical surfaces
It is used on foundations under construction. And also for additional warming of the constructed buildings. In the latter case, the foundation is first dug up to the depth of its occurrence or to the depth of freezing of the soil.
- The foundation is cleaned of contaminants and dust, level its surface with cement mortar. They are waterproofed with polymer or water-based mastic (without solvents - they destroy Penoplex).
- Dilute, mix and leave for ripening glue for expanded polystyrene. Using the level, the lower boundary of the laying of the plates is marked on the foundation.
- Using glue applied on the Penoplex plate with blots in several places, install it on the foundation, pressing for a few seconds. The following plates are fixed by aligning the mounting grooves. Installation of several layers is carried out with displacement both vertically and horizontally in the same way.
- For the underground part of the foundation, a more solid Penoplex mount is not required - after backfilling, it will be pressed firmly against the ground. To insulate the aerial parts of the Penoplex base, it is necessary to additionally fix it with the help of so-called dowel nails with a wide plastic perforated cap, which allows the insulation to be pressed firmly against the wall. To do this, holes are drilled through the plates in the foundation material to a depth of 30-40 mm. The length of the drill is chosen based on the thickness of the insulation.
- The basement is trimmed directly on top of the insulation boards. After reinforcing them with a mesh and priming. In this case, you can use decorative plaster or tiling (stone) with tile glue.
Warming of the blind area of the foundation
Thermal insulation of the soil is used to reduce the estimated depth of the foundation and reduce the cost of its construction.
- To do this, after performing the drainage of the foundation and its vertical external thermal insulation, it is filled up (using sand and gravel) 10-15 cm below the ground level.
- Formwork is carried out from boards 1 meter from the walls with a height of about 25 cm.
- The base of the blind area is leveled, compacted and laid on the Penoplex slabs.
- The Penoplex is closed with a plastic film with a slight elevation to the base, after which the formwork is filled with concrete, aligning it with a slight slope from the walls of the building.
- After the concrete has hardened, the formwork is removed and the blind area is decorated with paving tiles or stone.
Thus, we have found out the main points regarding the properties and application of the Penoplex Foundation building material. Its price is about 4200 rubles / m 3 . It is quite expensive, but the material justifies its price with high performance.