The problem of the cold floor today is found in many apartments, especially those located on the ground floors. In order to protect the premises from cold air and moisture that come from the ground or the basement, many people think about how to insulate the floors in the apartment. It is not difficult to do this, in addition, modern manufacturers offer a wide range of building materials that make the warming process quick, convenient, simple and economical.
Step One - Choose Material
Modern materials provide ample opportunities for competent arrangement of your home. As a heater, experts advise using polystyrene foam, foam, expanded clay, mineral wool or fiberglass, cork or cellulosic material. All of them can be divided into natural, that is, natural, and artificial. These materials differ in the method of application. For example, expanded clay, granular slag and foam glass are poured onto the surface, liquid foam or ecowool is sprayed, and the floor is poured with polymer mixtures. However, most often in the search for a solution to how to insulate the floors in the apartment, resort to the use of roll materials that are easy to install. This is mineral wool, linoleum, flax, isolon, cork or penofol. Tile materials are no less popular for insulation.
Step Two - Decide on Technology
An important issue is the choice of floor insulation technology . For example, if expanded clay, mineral wool or penoplex are selected as insulation, laying lags or installing a screed will be required. If roll materials are used, then they simply roll out on the floor, after which they are covered with hard finishing material, for example, wooden parquet, laminate or linoleum.
The minimum amount of space conceal polymer floors, which are heat-insulating mixtures. On the other hand, many are looking for ways to insulate the floors in an apartment cheaper, and therefore polymer coatings are not suitable for everyone because of their high cost.
Step three - make competent calculations
Before choosing building materials for insulation, it is worth measuring the coverage area, finding out the height of the ceilings in the room. In a spacious room, you can use almost any insulation, otherwise you will have to work hard and choose a material that will not conceal extra centimeters of usable area. An important role is played by the level of humidity in a particular room, which is being finished. For example, cellulose, flax, GVL sheets cannot be used for decoration of rooms with high humidity, and such material as glass wool needs additional waterproofing.
How to insulate the floor on the ground?
How to insulate the floors in the apartment? This can be done in many ways, but many opt for this option. Its peculiarity lies in the contact of the floor and the thermal insulation layer with the ground, and therefore it is necessary to choose a heater that will be resistant to moisture. If the house has a basement, then you can limit yourself to a thin layer of thermal insulation. To insulate the floor, level it and then mount the flooring, you will first need to form a bulk layer, for example, of gravel or slag, which is subsequently compacted. From above, the flooring is fixed with lags, the gaps between them are covered with expanded clay or granular slag. Depending on the type of climate, you can choose a variety of materials for soil insulation - from polyurethane foam and foam glass to expanded polystyrene and mineral wool.
Process features
In most apartments, the floor is a concrete screed that is unlikely to retain heat. Since it is possible to insulate a concrete floor with the help of various building materials, it is worth starting with a wide variety of options. Most often, polystyrene, extruded polystyrene foam, mineral wool or ecowool are used for this, as well as various types of liquid insulation. Top coating is finished with plywood, boards, laminate, parquet or linoleum. Sometimes a combination of expanded polystyrene and a cement-sand screed is used as an alternative.
It is good to insulate the concrete floor with a dry screed based on expanded clay or gypsum plasterboard. In this case, the thickness of the "pie" should be at least 7 cm. If the surface is even, then you can limit yourself to a thickness of 2 cm - this will save usable space. You can insulate the floor with polystyrene foam: this material is inexpensive, but provides effective thermal insulation properties of future flooring. Such a method of insulation is also popular when fiberboard sheets are used: with their help, you can create a flat surface.
Arrangement of wooden floors
In the presence of wooden floors, it is advisable to engage in their insulation on the basis of lags. This is the easiest and most effective way to significantly reduce heat loss. This method is especially relevant for the insulation of floors that are located close to the ground, for example, on the ground or ground floors. To make a warm floor, you must follow a certain technology:
1. Wooden logs are mounted in the foundation with a step of 0.6-1 m.
2. The boards are hemmed from below.
3. The insulation material is laid on the floor.
4. The next step is the laying of hydro- and vapor barrier layers.
5. At the final stage, the floorboards are mounted, after which the flooring is finished.
The most popular insulation for a wooden floor is mineral wool or fiberglass, which are protected from above by a layer of vapor barrier material. In some cases, builders recommend using wood sawdust, polystyrene or expanded clay - the choice depends on the preferences of each buyer.
Sawdust: Pros and Cons
Choosing how to insulate a concrete floor, many are guided by rolled materials, which are more convenient and simple to use. In the case of wooden houses, everything is not so simple, since most are looking for the most profitable solutions. For example, the most commonplace method of warming is sawdust, which is notable for its low cost, ease of filling even in hard-to-reach places, as well as environmental cleanliness. An alternative is wood blocks, based on not only sawdust, but also cement, and copper sulfate. Arbolite, which is obtained by mixing cement, organic aggregates and chemical additives, is popular for warming. Plates are non-combustible, easy to process and high bending strength, while they are not very resistant to moisture.
Cheaper or more expensive?
For many, when choosing building materials, affordable cost is crucial. In the same way, the insulation for the floor is selected . The price of many building materials is low. For example, the universal way of heat and sound insulation of a room is the use of fiberboard sheets, which cost an average of 150-280 rubles per square meter. Foamed polyethylene "Tepofol" will cost about 500-600 rubles. URSA rolled heat and sound insulator can be attributed to products with an average cost level - it can be purchased for 1200-1500 rubles. And such materials as extruded polystyrene foam and liquid thermal insulation are rightfully considered to be the most expensive - the cost of these materials starts from 3000 rubles per square meter.