The procedure for floor insulation in a wooden house is the most important stage of construction. Moreover, quite often they prefer the simplest and most common material - expanded clay. The installation technology is quite simple, for this reason expanded clay is appreciated. The fact is that all the work can be done without the use of special equipment and specialists. And the cost of work today is quite high.
Despite the fact that the technology of floor insulation with expanded clay in a wooden house is very simple, insulation with this material is effective and lasts a long time. Therefore, one should not be surprised that expanded clay is still popular today. Even despite the fact that a large number of modern and very effective materials are found on sale, expanded clay is still in demand among builders. And there ismany reasons, including ease of installation and cost of material. We will consider the pros and cons of floor insulation with expanded clay in our material. Agree, the prices in the market of building materials bite. Therefore, if you want to save money, pay attention to expanded clay - an excellent insulation, not much inferior to modern artificial materials.
Why carry out floor insulation
And now let's look at the pros and cons of expanded clay insulation, we will analyze some of the nuances. The purpose of the work is to achieve the highest possible quality of the result. Therefore, pay attention to the insulation of all structural components. It is necessary to carefully isolate not only the walls, but also the ceiling and floor. Otherwise, you will not be able to create the perfect indoor climate.
An equally important stage is the laying of a vapor barrier layer. The procedure for carrying out the work is not very complicated. Its essence lies in the fact that warm air does not leave the room. As a rule, no one forgets about vapor barrier. But many consider warming an extra procedure, but in vain. Because it will be quite difficult to walk on the flooring - it is cold. It may even be that the room itself will be warm and comfortable, but walking on the floor barefoot will be difficult due to the cold.
Causes of cold rooms
Very often the cause of a cold floor is an uninsulated basement. The problem is that it is usually damp and cold. Therefore, the rooms of the first floor, located above it, absorb a particlethis chill. And if it’s good in summer, it’s unlikely to be pleasant in winter. And as you yourself understand, the insulation of only walls and ceilings is unlikely to affect the microclimate. The floors will also have to be insulated.
Expanded clay and its properties
Bulk materials have been used in construction for many decades. And they are used much longer than various artificial materials, such as mineral wool or foam. If you have gone into the history of building materials, then you know that earlier insulation was done with sand, sawdust, clay, straw. In other words, exactly what was in abundance. Recall at least the well-known adobe - a product of clay and straw. The walls of the houses were built from it. And the dwellings kept warm in winter, and, on the contrary, were cool in summer.
Expanded clay can also be attributed to bulk materials. It appeared several decades ago, gained popularity among builders quickly enough. And to this day it holds its position in the ranking of the best heat insulators. It is worth noting that mineral wool and polystyrene, for example, are losing ground to their more modern counterparts.
How is expanded clay made?
What is expanded clay? These are small round stones. In the production of the material, shale-bearing rocks treated with a temperature of more than 1000 degrees and clay are used. And the most important thing is the centrifugal force, which allows you to make such pebbles. The raw material must be rotated quickly in a hot furnace. At the same time they startsmall granules of different diameters are formed. They bake and harden. Such material is often used for insulation of ceilings and floors. But sometimes it is used to fill voids between partitions.
Pluses of expanded clay
And now let's look at the pros and cons of expanded clay. Warming the floor is quite simple for them, but this is only one advantage. Let's look at the rest:
- Significantly improved sound insulation in rooms.
- The material has a fairly low thermal conductivity.
- The material is very light. This means that the load on the floors will be minimal. And this is very important when working in a wooden house.
- Expanded clay is environmentally friendly (especially in comparison with modern artificial materials).
- Completely safe for human he alth - no matter what the ambient temperature. Even when burning expanded clay does not emit harmful substances.
- Does not burn, durable.
- Very low cost.
- Biologically neutral - even when saturated with moisture, mold or fungus does not appear.
- And most importantly, no insects or rodents will destroy expanded clay. What can not be said about the foam, which is very fond of mice.
A little about thermal conductivity
It is worth mentioning the thermal conductivity. A small layer of expanded clay (about 10 cm) has the same efficiency as 25 cm of wood or 1 meter of brickwork. But expanded clay is inferior to mineral wool and foam plastic.
Among the shortcomings, only low resistance to moisture can be mentioned. If a large amount of water gets on the stones, they will absorb them instantly. But the material will dry for a very long time. As a result, the mass of the thermal insulation layer increases significantly, and the characteristics deteriorate. Therefore, when insulating with expanded clay, you must carefully follow the technology. We will talk about it further.
Advantages of expanded clay insulation
Having de alt with the features of the material, you can proceed to the advantage of its use when carrying out insulation work:
- There is no need to make a complex multi-layer system, as in the case of laying roll materials.
- No need to fit the material to the size of the processing area.
- Installation is easy and fast.
- No special tools or equipment will be required for the job.
- Can be used even on uneven surfaces.
But one feature can be singled out - you will have to apply a large layer of backfill. Let's say the efficiency of a 5-10 cm thick foam layer is the same as that of expanded clay 20-30 cm.
But this problem is not very significant, since the heat-insulating layer, even when using foam, is large. But this drawback will be felt when insulation is made in rooms of standard height (about 2.3 m). If the height decreases by 10-20 cm, it will be very noticeable. As a result, the room will become uncomfortable and uncomfortable.
Varieties of material
Material can be any, differences in the size of the balls. Three types can be distinguished:
- Crushed stone - made by crushing large pieces of material. Usually used when backfilling the main layer.
- Gravel - the technology is the same as described above. Obtained by rotating and firing granules with a diameter of 5-40 mm.
- Sand - very small (up to 5 mm) particles. They are good because they can be used to fill everything, even small cracks and crevices.
It is also possible to classify the material by density. You can divide as many as 10 categories according to this parameter! As you can understand, the higher the density, the more effective the insulation. But its cost is also higher.
Features of insulation technology
Ease of work is the main "trump card" of the material. The floor is insulated with expanded clay in a wooden house from below in the same way as the ceiling from above. It is worth noting that laying mineral wool or polystyrene is much more difficult to do. But still, the technology of work must be observed, otherwise the insulation may absorb moisture. And this is the main problem that careless installation can lead to.
Insulating the floor with expanded clay in a wooden house with your own hands, you can follow any technology. Simply pour the material into the cavity under the floor. Or add granules to the solution that creates the floor screed. Both of these options will be considered asmore. First you need to prepare the base, and for this you do the following manipulations:
- Completely dismantle the old coating, if any.
- Get rid of dust, dirt, debris. If there is mold or fungus, then they need to be treated with chemicals.
And after that you can proceed directly to filling materials under the floors of a wooden house.
Easy backfill method
It is this technology of floor insulation with expanded clay in a wooden house that is the most common and simple. The material is poured directly onto the ground between the floor joists. The technology can be used both in the construction of country country houses and cottages.
The work procedure is as follows:
- If necessary, compact the soil layer.
- Lay the joists.
- Cover with a layer of waterproofing material (roofing material is ideal). It is recommended to lay several layers of insulator for reliability. Make an overlap of at least 10 cm, it is also necessary that it go into the walls.
- Fall asleep expanded clay. Feedback on floor insulation in a wooden house (the technology for carrying out these works is the simplest) is only positive, but on condition that material of a different fraction was used - gravel, sand, crushed stone.
- Lay a layer of vapor barrier material. You can use ordinary plastic wrap. As in the case of roofing material, you need to make overlaps of at least 10 cm.
- Laying boardsfloor and fine finish.
The same method can be used to insulate the ceiling from the side of the attic.
Performing a screed over a concrete slab
Insulation of the floor with expanded clay in a wooden house on screw piles is carried out using a similar technology, only you have to make a kind of "underground". It is in it that the heater will be located. The option that we will now consider can be used with equal success both for the insulation of private wooden houses and apartments in high-rise buildings. The work algorithm is as follows:
- Lay several layers of waterproofing material. Be sure to overlap from 10 cm and enter the walls.
- Fill up the entire surface as tightly as possible with expanded clay of various fractions.
- Align the layer of insulation material.
- Install the reinforcing mesh on top of the expanded clay.
- Performing a small rough floor screed.
Approximately the same technology is used to insulate the floor with expanded clay in a wooden house on screw piles. Installation of insulation and other insulating materials is quite simple, there are no subtleties when performing work.
How to dry screed?
Today, this technology is the most popular. The usual "wet" screed involves preparing the solution, leveling it, etc. A "dry" screed does not need to be poured, prepared, leveled, wait several days (or even weeks) until it hardens. The simplicity of the technology is off scale, it can be usedwhen insulating the floor with expanded clay in a wooden house. In this case, the thickness of the insulation layer should be approximately 20-30 cm. Only in this case it will be possible to achieve maximum efficiency.
The technology is about the same as laying boards on the logs. But not boards are mounted, but special gypsum-based slabs. The advantage of this kind of technology is that it is simple. But you will also get a perfectly flat floor, smooth, ready for a fine finish. And if necessary, this coating is very easy to dismantle. And if you make a “wet” screed, then it will have to be broken in order to dismantle it. This technology can be used both for floor insulation with expanded clay in a wooden house and in an apartment.
