How to insulate the floor in a private house: the secrets of thermal insulation

Floor insulation in a private house is a necessary part of construction work. Up to 15% of the heat goes through the floor to the ground. Unheated basement under the building leads to heat loss in the amount of 5-10%.

What measures should be taken to protect the housing from cooling during the cold season? How to warm the floors in a private house to reduce heat loss and save on heating the home? The use of modern insulation materials will help solve this problem.

Types and properties of heat insulators for floors

Materials used for flooring insulation are produced in the form of:

• granules - expanded clay, foam glass, perlite, vermiculite granulated slag ;
• rolls with and without a reflective layer - mineral wool, glass, slag, polyethylene foam, polystyrene foam, cork; arbolit, basalt wool;
• liquids and foams - special insulating paints, polyurethane foam, ecowool;
• mixtures - foam He, polystyrene, expanded clay lightweight concrete, cinder, opilkobeton.

They have common technical characteristics that allow the extensive use of materials for thermal insulation devices :

1. Fire resistance - do not sustain combustion.
2. Low coefficient of thermal conductivity - they retain heat well in the room.
3. Environmental friendliness, safety for use inside the apartment building.
4. Durability - with proper installation materials retain their properties for at least 20 years.
5. Simplicity of the device of a heat-insulation layer - it is not required highly professional knowledge and difficult operations.
6. Resistance to rotting, mildew, fungi.
7. Lightness - do not additionally load supporting structures.
8. Low water absorption - do not absorb and do not retain moisture in the capillaries and pores.
9. Vapor permeability - air exchange is provided in the room, a favorable microclimate is maintained.
10. Durability - this is especially important when constructing concrete pavements, where the load is transferred directly to the insulation.

Modern insulation materials are inexpensive and effectively cope with floor insulation in a private house .

Even more interesting details and different types of materials for thermal insulation can be viewed in this video:

On our site you can find contacts of construction companies, who offer home insulation service. Directly to communicate with representatives, you can visit the exhibition of houses "Low-rise Country".

Features of the use of heaters

Today, the buyer is offered a wide range of heat insulators for floors. To select the most suitable material, it is necessary to take into account the peculiarities of their installation and use.

Bulk insulators

Used for warming wooden, concrete, tiled floors in a private house.

Material is poured between lags or onto a prepared, protected from the bottom from moisture penetration surface. The insulator is compacted and arranged leveling screed under the finish coating. The minimum layer thickness is 5-15 cm.

Rolled insulators

They are laid on a flat, insulated surface, covered with a vapor barrier on top.

They install flooring from boards or plywood, finishing coating. For concrete floors use polystyrene foam, wood is better to insulate with mineral wool. When mounting foiled materials, it is ensured that the metallized layer is on the surface. This will allow to radiate heat into the room without loss.

Plate heat insulators

Lay the mats in between the lags or in a checkerboard pattern on concrete bases. Protection from below and from steam above is required. Before final finishing, reinforcement of the insulation surface is recommended.

Liquid thermal insulation

Used to protect wooden, concrete and plastic floors from heat loss.

It can be interesting! In the article on The following link read about the insulation of the facade of a private house.

Apply by brush, roller or spray with a layer up to 1-1.2 mm. Manufacturers claim that a thin coating keeps the temperature just like mineral wool insulation 5 cm thick. Before thermal insulation works, the surface is carefully cleaned and leveled.

Mixtures based on Portland cement

Porous solutions protect floors well from cold penetration.Coating is no different from the technology of laying conventional concrete. If the finishing layer is made of solid materials - tile, parquet, board - heat insulation is not reinforced on top. Soft floor materials require fiber reinforcement or mesh reinforcement.

An economical way to warm the floor in a house is sawdust or shavings treated with atypyrene and antiseptic. They are filled with a layer of 20-30 cm, compacted, or used in a mixture with clay, cement, lime.

Underfloor heating systems

Underfloor heating systems have proven themselves in creating a comfortable microclimate in the house. They are satisfied:

• on the basis of water heating;
• with connection to the source of electricity.

Use insulators with a metallized coating over which small diameter pipelines, electrical mats, cables or infrared emitters are laid. The reflective layer directs the thermal radiation inside the room, preventing heat loss. From above the construction is covered with a coupler, floor material.

Advantages of the systems:

1. Ease of installation.
2. Cost effective in operation.
3. Small thickness of structures.
4. Uniform distribution of heat.
5. Environmental friendliness.
6. Reliability.
7. Security.

Underfloor heating can be the main or additional element of the heating system of a private house.

Three main ways of floor insulation in a private house

The bases are a reinforced concrete slab, a wooden draft floor on lags or soil. Warming is carried out in a certain order. It is desirable to entrust the process to professionals, but to understand what is happening, you can familiarize yourself with the algorithms.

The device of heat insulation for a floor on a reinforced concrete plate

1. The surface is cleaned, leveled, the seams are sealed with mortar.
2. The vapor barrier film is laid with sizing of the joints, if mineral insulation materials are used. Polystyrenes do not need protection from moisture.
3. Placed insulation - slab, roll, bulk.
4. Reinforced surface mesh.
5. Fill the cement-sand screed.
6. In wet areas, waterproofing is applied to protect the insulation from moisture.
7. Mount the coating - laminate; tile; parquet; the board.

Thermal insulation of floors by lags

1. Lags, a bar with a special section, are placed on the supporting posts.
2. A galvanized grid or plank is attached to the bottom of the beams.
3. Spread the wind and water protective membrane, glue the joints, fix with a stapler to the timber.
4. The heater is laid - plates, rolled materials with a thickness of at least the calculated one for this climatic zone.
5. The top is insulated with moisture vapor-waterproofing, securing it to the logs and gluing the joints.
6. A plywood or plank is placed on top of the structure and fixed to the crate. This is the basis for a clean floor.

Sometimes the insulation is laid in two layers. In this case, the bars of the second level set perpendicular to the first.

Thermal insulation of the floor, arranged on the ground

1. Prepare the base - cut off the soil, fall asleep sand and crushed stone cushion, tamped.
2. Pour concrete in, level the surface.
3. The hydro and vapor barrier made of film or roofing material is laid on top.
4. Mounted insulation - extruded polystyrene foam, it is not afraid of moisture.
5. Reinforced with mesh, fiberglass.
6. Arrange a finishing tie in which you can place a floor heating system.
7. Finishing surface finish.

Specific features of floating floor insulation

Floating is the construction of the floor covering that is not fixed to the base. It consists of layers of sound and heat insulation, laid on the surface of the plate. The lack of a rigid connection to the base and walls significantly reduces the noise level in the rooms.

The insulation of the floating floor is carried out taking into account the specific features:

1. On the screed or the slab is placed insulation - bulk or slab (polystyrene, mineral wool), carefully aligned.
2. Along the perimeter they pave the edge band for the gap between the wall and the floor structure.
3. The steam and vapor barrier is laid on top.
4. A screed is poured over it and the flooring is installed.

The tie can be replaced with two-layer moisture-resistant gypsum-fiber sheets glued together. It is important to retreat from the wall at least 10 mm.

How to insulate floors in an old house

The first step is to revise the remaining parts of the floor construction. Disassemble the coating, inspect the wooden elements for the presence of rot, fungi. All destroyed boards and bars are removed.

If the supporting beams are well preserved, carry out the weatherization through the logs. Otherwise, they need to be replaced with healthy wood.All details of the design are treated with antiseptics. Heat-insulating material is protected from above and below with vapor-moisture insulation. Finishing work laying flooring.

It may be interesting! In the article on the following link read about the insulation of a house from a gas concrete outside.

Conclusion

How and how to warm the floor in a private house is decided by the owner, but the thermal insulation device gives undoubted advantages - it retains heat, creates comfortable conditions in the dwelling, reduces heating costs.

It is easy to make it from modern materials. Their price is low, and the efficiency of use is significant. At the same time for proper installation it is better to use the services of professionals who will insulate the floor with a guarantee.

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