"Penoplex Foundation" is widely used in the building materials market. What kind of material is it and why is it more attractive compared to other heat-insulating compounds? Let's try to understand this issue.
General characteristics
Extruded polystyrene foam for thermal insulation "Penoplex Foundation" is specially designed for reliable protection of foundations. If you apply the thermal insulation of the Penoplex foundation in the cottage, then the heat dissipation into the atmosphere by the structure of the entire building will be reduced by 20 percent.
This material is successfully used for buildings in areas characterized by severe frosts and high humidity. According to the thickness of the plate "Penoplex" is produced with values from 20 to 100 mm. "Penoplex Foundation" is made "with a quarter" - the selected configuration of the edges of the plates allows you to avoid the formation of cold bridges. This production technology provides durable thermal insulation of surfaces.
Extrudedexpanded polystyrene "Penoplex" successfully resists prolonged contact with water, in direct contact with the ground does not interact with soil alkalis and acids. This material is not subject to bioinfluence, does not change its physical and chemical properties when exposed to groundwater.
"Penoplex Foundation": characteristics
- Density is 29.0-33.0 kg/m3.
- Ultimate strength in case of static bending - not less than 0.4 MPa.
- Water absorption in 24 hours - no 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).
- Coefficient of thermal conductivity (at 25°C) - 0.03 W/(m×°K).
- Standard dimensions, mm: width/length - 600х1200.
- Thickness, mm: 7 gradations from 20 to 100.
- Operating range (temperature) - from -50 to +75 °С.
Comparison with other materials
In terms of thermal insulation properties, a 2 cm thick foam sheet corresponds to a thickness of 3 cm of the foam layer, 3.8 cm of mineral wool, 25 cm of wood, 27 cm of foam concrete, and 37 cm of brickwork. Thus, it is clear why the use of "Penoplex" for thermal insulation of foundations is preferable to the use of other materials.
Applications
"Penoplex Foundation" is used in the following areas:
- as a middle layer in three-layer foundation block structures;
- as a fixed formwork for pouring the base;
- for bottom insulation of slabs of basement-free buildings and the bottom surface of shallow foundations;
- for insulation and moisture protection of the basement of buildings;
- for insulation of vertical surfaces of foundations;
- for blind area insulation in private houses with insufficient degree of foundation insulation;
- for insulation of building basements.
Horizontal surface insulation technology
For this application, and it concerns cases of warming the lower surface of slab and soles of strip (including shallow) foundations, use Penoplex Foundation slabs 50 mm (or 100 mm).
- Remove the top soil layer of the marked area to a depth in accordance with the construction project. To achieve evenness of the bottom, the lower 20-30 cm are selected manually. The entire site is covered with a layer of sand and rammed.
- They make a temporary formwork and pour it without reinforcement with a thin layer of concrete, getting a concrete base.
- The slab foundation is manufactured in the usual way (with reinforcement), after which the formwork is removed and its side walls are insulated with Penoplex plates.
Vertical surface insulation technology
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 to the depth of its occurrence or to the depth of soil freezing.
- The foundation is cleaned of dirt and dust, its surface is leveled with cement mortar. Waterproof with water-based polymer or bituminous mastic (without solvents - they destroy Penoplex).
- Diluted, mixed and left to mature glue for Styrofoam. Using a level, mark the lower boundary of the slab laying on the foundation.
- With the help of glue applied to the "Penoplex" plate with blots in several places, install it on the foundation, pressing it for a few seconds. The following plates are fixed by aligning the mounting grooves. Installation of several layers is carried out with an offset both vertically and horizontally in the same way.
- For the underground part of the foundation, a stronger fastening of the "Penoplex" is not required - after backfilling, it will be tightly pressed against the ground. To insulate the above-ground parts of the "Penoplex" basement, it is necessary to additionally fix it with the help of the so-called dowel-nails with a wide plastic perforated cap, which allows the insulation to be pressed tightly against the wall. To do this, holes are drilled through the slabs 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.
- Decorative finishing of the plinth is performed directly on top of the insulation boards. Afterreinforcing them with a mesh and processing with a primer. In this case, you can use decorative plaster or tile (stone) trim using tile adhesive.
Insulation 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 draining the foundation and its vertical external thermal insulation, it is covered (using sand and gravel) 10-15 cm below the ground level.
- Perform formwork from boards 1 meter from walls about 25 cm high.
- The base of the blind area is leveled, rammed and stacked "Penoplex" slabs.
- The "Penoplex" is closed with a plastic film with a slight elevation on the plinth, after which the formwork is filled with concrete, leveling 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 slabs or stone.
Thus, we found out the main points regarding the properties and application of the building material "Penoplex Foundation". Its price is about 4200 rubles/m3. It is quite expensive, but the material justifies its price with high performance.
