Is it necessary to insulate the earthen floor? For any building - 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 winter.
In garden houses and country cottages, various heating systems are supposed, 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.
Features
Clay flooring is the oldest type of flooring. In recent years, they have become popular again with fans of natural buildings. The earthen floor in terms of its technological, physical, operational indicators is significantly inferior to modern floors. The installation of such floors will require great physical effort, time, as well as possession of ancient technologies.
Let's analyze the important points you need to know in order to create a quality earthen floor.
- The raw material for its manufacture is clay. She lies downat 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 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 compacted by a mechanical machine to ensure a tight and even finish.
Features of creation
You can make an earthen floor in the house after the building is roofed, otherwise all work will be destroyed by precipitation. Before proceeding with the device of the earthen floor, it is necessary to prepare a foundation pit for it, remove the earth, bring gravel and sand, and carefully compact them. The next step is waterproofing. Only after that you can proceed to pouring the clay floor.
Approximate calculations
Determine the amount of work for a house of 100 m22. If the depth of the pit is 50 cm, then the volume of the floors will be 50 m3. Such an amount of land will need to be removed and removed, moreover, the house will already be under the roof.
A similar volume of gravel, sand, clay will need to be brought in, armed with a wheelbarrow and a shovel. Such work involves enormous time and physical costs, it is very difficult for one to cope with them. The duration and complexity of the work explains the lack of desire among many builders to create earthen floors in a residential building.
Features of insulationfloors in the garage (bath)
Insulation options in these buildings are different from the technologies used in a country house. An earthen floor is considered a surface in the basement that does not have a monolithic base. If the building is on a strip foundation, expanded clay, gravel, sand are poured into the basement. After filling the foundation of the house, ground transfers are installed. It is on them that the subfloor is laid.
Insulation begins with the laying of foam boards around the entire perimeter of the foundation. Before filling the basement with soil, it is advisable to put polystyrene foam against the walls. The slabs need to be secured as the ground will press them against the foundation.
So that there are no gaps between the sheets of insulation, cold bridges do not form, the joints must be treated with mounting foam. This method of basement insulation is the simplest and most effective.
If it is necessary to conduct thermal insulation of a basement located in a wetland, certain problems arise. With moving soil, an insulated monolithic foundation should be used. It eliminates the movement of the building structure. Extruded polystyrene foam or expanded clay is suitable as a heat-insulating layer under the tile. An obligatory stage is the waterproofing of the soil.
Insulation of the floor with foam plastic
Expanded polystyrene is highly moisture resistant and dense, 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 scheme of insulation at the stage of creating a project. Platesput on the ground as tightly as possible, make a concrete screed (or lay boards) on top.
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, the surface is poured with concrete to fix the expanded clay granules. You can use the finished floor after a month, waiting for the cement mortar to fully set.
If the insulation is carried out along the logs, in this case there is no need to fix the expanded clay backfill. Expanded clay granules are poured onto the compacted soil, leveled over the surface. Excellent thermal insulation can be obtained with an expanded clay layer of 15-20 cm. Then the subfloor boards are laid along the logs.
Electric and water heated floors
An 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 must first lay heat-insulating boards in the basement of a residential building. Then the masonry mesh is laid, making the concrete pouring more durable. Then pipes are laid for the future warm water floor. A concrete solution is poured on top. For high-quality thermal insulation, it is necessary that the thickness of the concrete screed be at least four centimeters.
For an electric floor on the ground, you need to lay a rollwaterproofing material. For example, it can be roofing material, the price per roll of which is 250-350 rubles. Next, slabs of heat-insulating 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 uniformity of heat distribution.
After the installation is completed, it is necessary to check the performance of the electric floor. Only after that you can 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 electric and water underfloor heating is the even distribution of temperature over the entire surface of the floor.
Purpose of waterproofing on the ground
A house without a foundation is not the best option for a comfortable stay, especially in winter. Every building needs waterproofing. Moisture that gets inside the room contributes to the appearance of pathogens and fungi, destroys the wooden elements of the house.
Ground water is available 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 moistening the walls, some rooms may be completely flooded.
Proper waterproofing is not limited to covering the earthen floor with a sheet of roofing material, it is a complex multilayer structure:
- packed andcompacted soil;
- rubble (10-15 cm);
- sand (10-15cm);
- floor waterproofing film;
- concrete screed (reinforced concrete 3-5 cm thick);
- vapor barrier (rolled bituminous material based on fiberglass);
- foam or polystyrene (thermal insulation layer).
Next, another layer of concrete screed is laid. A decorative coating is laid on it (laminate, linoleum, ceramic tiles).
Summarize
Waterproofing film for the floor creates an excellent microclimate in the room, significantly increases the service life of the floor covering, retains thermal energy, and prevents mold from developing indoors. Film polymeric membranes promote proper air circulation, allow the surface to "breathe". Such materials gradually release condensate, so there is no excess moisture in the house. At present, "intelligent membranes" are used for thermal insulation of the earthen floor. They can change performance based on ambient temperature.
Before laying the film, you need to equip the screed of sand and cement, and then remove objects from the floor that could damage it. Before laying the film, the screed must be cleaned of dust and impregnated with a primer.
The polymer film is laid end-to-end in layers, the joints are glued with construction tape. Along the perimeter of the room, along with the waterproofing material, a damper tape is laid out, which is a deformation or temperatureseam.
