Western trends brought ordinary Soviet people not only beautiful and affordable ways to decorate the house, but also other progressive technologies. For example, insulation of houses from the outside. With this, you can significantly save on heating the house and get rid of annoying mold on the walls and dampness in the house. Basic requirements for insulation: availability, efficiency and ease of installation. In addition, the materials should be lightweight so as not to heavily burden the foundation of the house. Unfortunately, not all materials for home insulation can combine the above qualities, so you can find such a variety of heat-insulating materials on the market. We will talk about them below.
Ways to insulate your home
There are various materials that have high thermal insulation properties. But they are all attached to the walls in a similar way.
Warming the house from the outside can occur in three ways:
- The heat-insulating material is fixed with an adhesive solution, and at the end it is finished with plaster.
- Creating a three-layer non-ventilated wall. The insulation is fixed with a special solution. After that, an outer wall one brick thick is built. There should be an air gap between the insulation and the new wall.
- A ventilated facade is another option for insulating a house from the outside. The wall is covered with a waterproofing material, and a heater is fixed on top. After that, a wind protection is installed, and the frame is sheathed on the outside with clapboard. According to this principle, the house is insulated with siding from the outside.
Each of these methods has its advantages and disadvantages. In addition, manufacturers fill the market with combined insulating materials that require a special installation technology.
How to choose the material for insulation?
All thermal insulation materials differ in their properties, installation method, price and durability. They are united only by a common purpose: they are all needed to insulate housing. Most often used for insulation: mineral wool, polystyrene foam, extruded polystyrene foam, polyurethane foam, cellulose materials, bas alt slabs and more. Their main differences are moisture resistance, vapor permeability and thermal conductivity. The first two parameters play the role of dependence on climatic conditions, and thermal conductivity is important when calculating the thickness of the insulating material. So, instead of laying foam concrete in several layers, it is better to use foam, whichmany times thinner, but has the same thermal conductivity.
Preparation of walls for insulation
After the material is selected, you can safely proceed to the next step. Insulation of the walls of the house from the outside cannot take place without their preliminary preparation. The old layer of plaster or insulating material is scraped off to the very foundation. At the finish you will get a bare brick, concrete or wooden wall in front of you.
We clean the surface of dust and dirt and carry out a thorough primer. It is best to use solutions with deep penetration. If there are protrusions or recesses larger than two centimeters, they must be sanded or covered up to the same level with the wall.
After the walls have dried from the primer, we mount plumb lines and lighthouses, along which the insulating material will be laid. To simplify installation, screws and anchors are installed along the edges, a thread or fishing line is pulled tightly between them and the plumb lines. Thus, a strong grid should form on the wall, which will serve as a guide when working.
How to insulate a log house?
For its insulation, it is recommended to use ventilated facade technology. So the walls will breathe, and mold will not start in the house. Insulation of houses from the outside requires the treatment of walls with refractory substances and antiseptics. The gaps between the logs are sealed with jute fiber or tape tow. Mounting foam is also suitable.
Using vertical bars, on the facadethe crate is being installed at home. Then layers of vapor barrier and insulation are laid. It is better to use mineral wool or fiberglass. The heat insulator begins to be laid from the bottom up, and after that it is fixed with dowels. A waterproofing membrane is attached to the insulation on top, for this you can use a stapler.
At the last stage, the facing material is installed. In the role of which you can use lining, siding, facade panels and more.
How to insulate walls from timber?
The stages of thermal insulation of such a house almost do not differ from a wooden one. However, there is still one difference. The walls of the timber have a flat surface, so the insulation of houses from the outside can be carried out using not only rolled insulators, but also tile materials such as mineral wool and glass wool. Installation technology and all stages are identical to those described above.
How to insulate a brick house?
Insulation of a brick house outside can be carried out in several ways:
- Ventilated facade. Thermal insulation of the room is carried out using mineral wool or polystyrene boards. The material is attached to the walls with dowels or adhesive solutions. Then a crate is made of bars or a metal profile. And then we rely on the thermal insulation scheme of a wooden house.
- Easy wet method. This is a technology of multilayer facade insulation. Styrofoam or rigid mineral wool are used. The material is attached to the walls using an adhesive solution or dowels. The crate is not needed here. A mesh is attached to the insulation, andtwo types of plaster are applied on top.
- Well masonry. This method is used not only for brick, but also for block houses. At the time of construction of the house, heat-insulating material is fixed between the walls and vapor barrier and waterproofing material is additionally laid. To insulate an already finished building, it is better to use moisture-resistant materials. These include polystyrene, polyurethane foam and others. If you want to insulate a structure with an air gap between the walls, you can use a liquid heat insulator, which will harden after a while. In addition, the air gap can be filled with polystyrene foam. It, unlike mineral wool, is easy to place in the inter-wall space.
If the insulation of a brick house outside did not bring the desired results, you should think about the insulation of the floor, roof and windows. It is the poor condition of these sources that contributes to significant heat losses.
Styrofoam insulation
One of the most cost-effective ways to keep the heat in the house is to insulate the house outside with foam. To begin with, a so-called shelf is installed at the bottom of the wall, it is necessary to align the first row of foam.
The material is attached with dowels or glue. In order for the work to be even, they use a sheer grid, which was mentioned above, and a level. For the density and stability of the structure, the next row of foam is laid with a shift of half the sheet (like bricks when laying). At the corners and around windows, the material is attachedwith metal corners. After all the walls are covered with foam sheets, a plastic mesh is attached on top and plaster is applied: starting, finishing and decorative.
Insulation with mineral wool
Thermal insulation with mineral wool is very similar to insulation with cellulose materials and bas alt slabs. To fix the mineral wool, a frame structure and a crate are used. It should fit tightly into the formed cells, leaving no gaps. Then, a reinforcing mesh is attached before facing and plastering is carried out. Wall decoration can be of different types: siding, lining, brick wall, etc.
Insulating houses outside with mineral wool is a great way to insulate your home and save on heating.
