To prevent heat from escaping through the floors and walls of the house, you need to properly insulate all surfaces of the home. This reduces heating costs in winter. One of the main areas in the house that requires additional insulation is the floor. For this, different technologies and materials are used. How to insulate the floor will be described in detail in the article.
Why do we need insulation?
Before considering how to insulate the floor in the house, you need to understand why this is necessary. Heat from rooms travels through walls, ceilings, windows and, of course, floors. As a result, the heating equipment will turn on again and again, consuming expensive energy resources (gas, electricity or solid fuel). Homeowners will receive significant energy bills.
If the floors are finished with special materials that do not let heat out, you can save a significant amount of money on heating. Infrared rays pass through the floor, as well as thermal energy. If athe second type of heat loss can be cut off with the help of special materials that do not conduct heated air from the room, then with infrared rays the situation is worse. There are not so many suitable materials that could be used for such purposes.
In the total amount of heat loss in a room that passes through the floor, more than half is infrared radiation. Therefore, when choosing an insulating material, it is necessary to give preference to multilayer structures. Today, new types of heaters have appeared on the building materials market. They do an excellent job of keeping both thermal energy and infrared rays indoors.
When considering options for how to insulate the floor in an apartment or a private house, you need to give preference to those materials that are highly dense and correspond to the heat loss indicators in the room. So, to insulate the floor of the first floor, a thicker layer of insulation will be required than to cover the second floor.
Expanded clay
Today, many different materials for floor insulation are on sale. Expanded clay, expanded polystyrene, mineral wool, as well as foil roll insulation are popular. They are distinguished by high performance and reasonable cost.
To insulate the floor in a private house with their own hands, expanded clay is often used. This material is a granule with a different fraction size (about 1-2 cm in diameter). They are made on the basis of clay, therefore they have small pores inits structure. At the same time, the material is very light. It will not exert significant pressure on the ceiling and foundation of the house. For this reason, expanded clay is often used to create the subfloor of a private house or cottage.
One of the main advantages of this material is its ability to retain heat in the room even when wet (other heaters do not have this quality). Also, this material is not destroyed under the influence of various adverse factors. He is not afraid of moisture, temperature changes, high pressure.
Expanded clay is a fireproof material. Therefore, it can be used even for the insulation of wooden houses. This is a very durable material. It will last over 5 decades. At the same time, the life of the floor covering is also significantly increased. The composition of the material includes only natural natural components. Therefore, substances harmful to human he alth are not released into the environment.
Expanded clay is easy to use. When using it indoors, it will not be necessary to use very dense vapor and waterproofing materials. However, it is worth considering that the thickness of the expanded clay layer is at least 10 cm. Therefore, this option is rarely used for insulation in a standard apartment.
Styrofoam
To insulate the floor on the ground floor, or the floor in an apartment building, you can use a material such as expanded polystyrene. This is the closest "relative" of the foam. They are made from the same material. Only the way it is processed is fundamentally different. As a result, polystyreneis stronger than styrofoam. Its thermal insulation qualities will be an order of magnitude higher. This made it possible to significantly reduce the thickness of the sheets. Where it would be necessary to lay foam with a thickness of 5-6 cm, it is quite possible to get by with a 3 cm thick polystyrene foam plate.
This material has good performance not only in thermal insulation, but also in sound insulation. Expanded polystyrene is not afraid of pressure. It will not deform even if people walk on its surface.
However, when choosing a way to insulate the floor in a wooden house, this material should not be used for decoration. He can not boast of high fire safety. Styrofoam can burn. Moreover, when the temperature rises, it releases chemicals. This is a synthetic material, so it is not used in rooms with wooden trim. It is used only for concrete floors of houses and apartments.
One of the advantages of the material is its reasonable cost. This is one of the most inexpensive heaters on the market.
Mineral wool
When choosing a way to insulate a wooden floor, you should also consider such an option as mineral wool. This type of thermal insulation is made from natural raw materials (different rocks). During the manufacturing process, a fiber is obtained, which is folded into layers. Mineral wool can be sold in rolls or slabs. The first option is softer. It can be used when arranging additional supports (for example, a log). Solid sheets are quite strong. However, they also requireadditional protection against mechanical damage.
How to insulate the floor in a private house? Mineral wool, perhaps, will be one of the best options. This environmentally friendly natural material allows you to create a reliable barrier between the interior and exterior spaces of the room. Mineral wool is not subject to combustion. It can be used to insulate wooden structures.
The material does not rot. This is a durable, practical insulation. It does not emit harmful components into the environment, as it is made, like expanded clay, from natural natural components.
This material has a high vapor permeability. Therefore, when choosing this insulation, you will also need to create a layer of high-quality waterproofing. If this material is saturated with moisture, it will cease to fulfill its duties. Wet mineral wool conducts heat well. Therefore, during installation, you must comply with all the requirements of the standards.
Roll foil insulation
When studying how to insulate a concrete floor in an apartment, you need to pay attention to roll materials with a foil surface. Such materials may have a different basis. It can be made of polyethylene, polystyrene or foamed rubber. The foil is needed to reflect the infrared rays that come from the room.
Depending on the type of base, the purpose of the material is determined. If the roll insulation is made on the basis of foamedpolyethylene, it is installed to reflect the heat of the radiators. This material is not suitable for the floor (except in combination with other materials, such as mineral wool).
Thermal insulation based on polystyrene has high performance. This material can have a thickness of only 4-6 mm. In this case, it is quite capable of replacing a 3-4 cm thick expanded polystyrene sheet. This becomes possible due to the porous structure of the roll base. Closed cells with air allow you to reliably keep heat in the room.
Foamed rubber is a material that exhibits the highest thermal insulation qualities. It may well replace a layer of mineral wool. However, the cost of such materials is very high. In this case, in the event of a fire, the roll insulation will also burn.
Wooden floor insulation
There is a certain technology, according to which you can insulate the floors in the house with your own hands. It is necessary to be guided in the process of performing work by building rules. If there is an unheated basement below the room, in the middle zone of our country you will need to create a layer of insulation about 12 cm thick. In the northern regions, you need to create a layer of insulation of at least 20 cm.
When creating a layer of insulation in a wooden private house, preference is given to structures on logs. Between the bearing elements, the space is filled with the selected insulation. If the floor is old, it is completely dismantled before overlapping. A layer of waterproofing is laid on top and a system of support beams is equipped. They have tobe at a distance of about 60 cm from each other. Further, a layer of mineral wool is laid in the space between the lags.
You can additionally stiffen the structure by stuffing small strips of wood perpendicular to the support beam on top of mineral wool. A layer of vapor barrier is also laid on top of the material. Next, plywood or boards are mounted. Finishing is done with a suitable material.
The lag system is not mounted in apartments. This significantly reduces the height of the ceiling (at least 15 cm). Therefore, this method of insulation is suitable only for a private house.
Insulation in a private house without a basement
How to insulate the floor with your own hands, if it is built without a basement, right on the ground? In this case, a concrete screed will need to be poured. Creating a floor in such a house, you will need to level the ground. He is well rammed. With this method of installation, groundwater is not allowed to come close to the surface of the earth.
A layer of crushed stone is poured onto the leveled base. Expanded clay can also be used. This material will need to be poured and compacted 10 cm. Expanded clay will protect the ceiling from moisture and cold air. On top of the expanded clay layer, you need to pour 20 cm of sand. It is also well rammed.
A screed is laid on top of the sand. It should have a thickness of about 5 cm. The concrete dries out within a month. During this time, its surface is periodically moistened so that the cement can gain strength. When the screed is completely dry, a layer of waterproofing is laid on it. On herlay out the heater. It could be styrofoam. You can immediately pour a layer of the second (finishing) screed on it. Styrofoam does not absorb moisture at all. Therefore, it is often used as a heater when pouring concrete screed. When the second screed is dry, you can lay the finish.
Insulation of interfloor overlap
How to insulate the floor in a house between floors? This procedure is often carried out between floors, in the rooms of which the temperature is not the same. This may be required in both an apartment building and a private home.
First you need to prepare the base. If it is concrete, a vapor barrier is immediately laid on the surface. The canvases must overlap by at least 15 cm. A layer of expanded polystyrene is mounted on top. Sheets should adjoin each other tightly. It is unacceptable to leave gaps between them. It is also possible to mount two layers of thin sheets (eg 2 cm thick). The second row must be installed with an offset relative to the first. This will increase the strength of the structure.
If rolled materials are to be mounted, they are simply spread over the surface, fastening the sheets to each other with aluminum tape. This material may not even require a layer of bottom waterproofing. You need to know what qualities foil has. If it is able to withstand the action of alkali (present in cement), you can not apply a waterproofing layer. Otherwise, its use is required.
Next, a layer of screed is poured. It must be at least 3 cm. You can strengthen the structure with a reinforced mesh. Herlaid on a layer of waterproofing before pouring concrete.
Insulation from the basement
How to insulate the floor if it is impossible to raise its level? In this case, you can perform insulation from the basement. With the help of small wooden slats, a vapor barrier is attached to the ceiling in the basement.
The bars should be at a distance corresponding to the width of the insulation boards. Mineral wool slabs are installed tightly between them. It is fixed with a metal mesh or wooden slats. Boards are stuffed on top of the structure.
Application of underfloor heating
When deciding how to insulate the floor, you can act drastically. Today, such type of heating as underfloor heating is gaining popularity. It allows you to maintain the required temperature on the surface of the base (usually 25-30ºС). In this case, insulation material (polystyrene foam) is also used. An electric or water heated floor system is mounted on it. Then the screed is poured. This is a good option for creating economical heating in a private house or apartment.
Having considered how to insulate the floor, you can choose the best technique. In this case, heating costs can be significantly reduced.
