The question is: "Which insulation is better for the floor?" everyone who appreciates convenience and comfort is asked. Agree that walking barefoot on a warm floor is much more pleasant than soaring your feet in thick socks and slippers. Such moments are especially relevant in early spring or late autumn, when the central heating is not yet turned on, and the heaters seem to be too early to get. Well, even in winter, even with the batteries working with might and main, the floor can still remain cold.
Insulation for the floor and warmth in the house itself are two interrelated components. Properly selected composition will provide your home with comfort and coziness. Today's construction market offers a lot of options. And if professionals competently navigate all this diversity, then for the average layman the question is: “Which floor insulation will be better in this or that case?” as relevant as ever.
Selection criteria
First of all, let's deal with the main points that you need to pay special attention to. First, it is the climate zone. For the northern residents of Russia, the choice will be noticeably different than for the Krasnodar or Stavropol Territory.
Second, these are some-then the features of the room where the floor insulation will lie and its purpose. The difference between, for example, office or home options is also significant. Thirdly, it is necessary to take into account the existing or planned coverage. Insulation for the floor in a wooden house needs one, but in an apartment it is completely different.
Well, the last thing is the cost. This moment is especially important for the domestic consumer. Buying frankly cheap materials is impractical both in terms of return and service life. But buying, for example, the best heaters for a wooden floor, while your gas water heater is more than capable of heating everything and everything, also makes no sense. In general, it is necessary to approach the choice wisely and without fanaticism. Here the rule "the more expensive the better" justifies itself only partially.
When choosing floor insulation, you also need to know that the materials used for these purposes must be resistant to moisture, strong in compression, have low thermal conductivity and a long service life.
Next, consider specific types of insulation.
Mineral wool
Mineral wool has low thermal conductivity, good sound insulation, and high fire resistance. Such insulation for floors in the house is produced, as a rule, in two versions - flexible mats or hard plates.
Most often one of the sides has a special coating in the form of a layer of perforated paper. It just adheres to the surface of the insulated room. If perforations are notit turned out that on the right side (more dense and rigid) there should be a blue stripe.
Judging by the reviews, the most attractive manufacturers in this regard are Izover, Nobasil, Knauf and Ursa.
- Isover OL-E – RUB 1100
- Knauf Nobasil FKL/FKD – RUB 1000
- Ursa GEO – RUB 550
Floor heaters from these brands are distinguished not only by high quality materials, but also by attractive prices.
Styrofoam
In the common people it is called polystyrene. This is one of the best floor insulation, which allows you to save on waterproofing materials. Expanded polystyrene has low thermal conductivity, good fire resistance, long service life, and is not subject to decay. In this regard, we can say that this is an excellent insulation for a wooden floor.
Many companies are engaged in the production of polystyrene foam, but domestic companies and the European Ursa distinguished themselves with high-quality products along with reasonable prices.
- Ruspanel RP 50XPS 2500 x 600 x 50 mm (1 panel) - 2300 rubles
- Ursa XPS-N-V G4 1250 x 600 x 50 mm (8 plates) - 1800 rubles
- "Penoplex Comfort" 1200 x 600 x 20 mm (18 plates) - 1400 rubles
Sawdust
This is a good insulation for the floor in a wooden or frame house. Unlike the above options, it does not have the same high efficiency, but it costs a penny and is environmentally friendly.
Sawdust is poured between the beams in the draftfloor or stacked, if we consider the more expensive option with pressed boards (chipboard). To obtain a visible effect, a layer of at least 20 cm is required. As for the cost, a bag of sawdust can be easily bought at any construction market for 150-200 rubles.
Expanded clay
Expanded clay has a specific clay-based porous structure, and its production is not very troublesome. After firing, small granules are obtained and the quality of the insulation directly depends on the quality of the raw materials.
The cost of expanded clay also varies widely. Here the fraction plays an important role, that is, the indicator of thermal conductivity. The larger the granules, the greater the thermal conductivity. Builders consider expanded clay to be an ideal insulation for floors under a screed. You can buy material on any construction market from 100 to 200 rubles per cube, depending on the fraction.
Let's consider which insulation will be better for a particular floor.
Wooden floor
Almost any of the above materials is suitable for wood flooring. If you care about the environment and want your home to comply with all the "green" norms and rules, then sawdust will be the best option. In all other cases, both expanded clay and foam plastic with mineral wool will do.
Heated floors
This is a trendy system that is located under the floor. Water and electric varieties of underfloor heating are available for sale. Electrical systems, in turn, are classified into the following subtypes:cable, film and rod underfloor heating.
When choosing a specific heating system, you need to take into account many significant characteristics and additional conditions. First of all, this is the area of \u200b\u200bthe heated room and the features of its location. In addition, water structures can only be equipped in a private house. By and large, warm floors can hardly be attributed to heaters as such, but it’s still worth mentioning them within the framework of this topic.
Draft floor
For such solutions, it is best to use unpretentious, malleable, and at the same time inexpensive expanded clay. It not only has excellent insulating qualities, but thanks to its granular structure, it will even out the floor itself.
Mineral wool and sawdust are also good for this purpose, but subsequent leveling can be problematic. Rigid polystyrene foam in this case is better not to use.
First floor
For covering on the ground floor, you can choose any insulation from the above. But one critical point must be taken into account here. The thickness of the insulation should be quite large, because in winter, a good half of the cold comes from underground.
For options with expanded clay or sawdust, the layer of poured material should be at least 20 cm, and even more in the northern regions of Russia.
Under concrete
For a concrete-based floor, Styrofoam or mineral wool is best. As one of the options, and also if you want your homemeets all environmental standards, you can fill the floors with a hybrid mixture of sawdust mixed with concrete.
The structure will lose a few points of strength, but the surface will become noticeably warmer. In addition, for ordinary apartments and small rooms in private houses, the margin of safety is not as critical as in the case of office or industrial premises. Using expanded clay granules in tandem with concrete does not make sense and practical benefits.
Under linoleum
Linoleum is better to insulate with mineral wool. Hardware stores sell special rolls for such cases with a smaller sheet thickness. You can also find a hybrid insulation with the addition of foil and polyethylene foam. The main thing here is to seal all the joints on the linoleum with due meticulousness. Otherwise, the cotton wool will start to come out, which obviously will not add any pluses to the ethical side of the room.
There is also an option with sawdust. Only for these purposes you need to choose a compressed version - chipboard. Such a solution will be much cheaper and safer in terms of ecology. Despite good performance indicators, a good half of consumers prefer to see this option exclusively on balconies or loggias.
Under the screed
Screed floors are a very relevant solution for modern apartments and private houses. All of the above heaters are suitable here, except for sawdust, but with an eye to some important nuances.
Polyfoam in slabs can withstand severe physical exertion, has excellent hydro and thermal insulation,but is mainly suitable for industrial or office options, that is, for large rooms. It is unprofitable to invest solid money in a small apartment or a private house. For a screed in these cases, it is better to find another, more practical option.
Mineral wool is just the best solution for apartments, private houses and residential premises in general. The material is distinguished by its relatively low cost and a good level of heat and sound insulation. In addition, mineral wool is more pliable in installation, so even the average consumer can handle the installation.
As a budget option, but no less effective, you can use expanded clay. Only here, a simple layman cannot cope without the help of a professional, because the laying technology requires a certain theoretical background and considerable practice. Otherwise, you risk damaging the insulation.
The insulation technology here is quite complicated. First, the required layer of expanded clay is laid. After the insulation is poured with cement "milk". After some time, which is needed to dry the composition, the screed itself is poured. If the laying technology is violated, then expanded clay granules will absorb water from the screed, after which the floor will significantly lose strength points. Despite such troubles, this is the cheapest and most effective insulation option.
Summing up
As mentioned above, you need to approach the choice of floor insulation wisely. After the material is laid and the floors are laid, it is very difficult to change anything, and any alterations will fly into seriousspending.
If you are not confident in your abilities, knowledge and skill, it is better to turn to specialists for laying insulation and advice. Yes, it costs money, but sometimes it's better to pay once than after paying for some alterations or wondering about the cold floor and guessing about the reasons.
It would also be useful to note that other, more specific types of insulation can be found on the construction market: flooring foil, penoizol, ecowool, corks, polystyrene concrete and other materials. And if things are much simpler with apartments, then private houses differ, as a rule, in individual design features, therefore here, again, it is better to ask a competent builder for advice, and not to purchase material at random.
