How to lay thermal insulation on the floor. How to insulate a wooden floor in a private house. Thermal insulation material, tools

One of the most important tasks of any owner of a private home is floor insulation, and it should not be neglected. Especially if the housing is located in a region with harsh climatic conditions. You need to know that a large amount of heat is blown out through uninsulated floors. That’s why the first thing you need to start insulating your house with is the floors.

Since they can be made from various materials and have a different design, they can also be insulated in several ways.

Today, there are many technologies for insulating floors in a private home, and in addition, some owners themselves create their own methods or complement existing ones with their inventions.

To find out in more detail which insulation method and type of thermal insulator to choose, you need to consider several common methods.

First, you need to figure out what material the floor can be made of, since the method and material of insulation will depend on this. So, floors can be made of wood, concrete or using dry screed.

Wooden floors

This type of flooring includes flooring made from floorboards or plywood.

Also, according to their design, they are divided into two types - single-layer and double-layer, i.e. having a rough floor.

All types of wooden floors are installed on joists raised to a certain height above a concrete screed or above compacted soil. And it should be noted that wood itself is a warm material when compared with others used for flooring.

Insulation of a wooden floor can be done in several ways:

pour a thick layer of expanded clay onto the ground, and arrange a wooden flooring of boards on joists over it;
if a subfloor is installed, then the issue is resolved more simply - some of the insulation is placed in its cells, or they are filled with liquid expanding material;
maybe from above wooden flooring install an infrared floor and then lay a decorative coating;
if there is no subfloor, it can be replaced vapor barrierfilm, which is spread and secured on a sheathing made of bars, and light-weight insulation is placed on it, sold in the form of slabs or rolls. On top of such insulation is first laid vapor barrierfilm, and then the flooring is also made from the floorboard.

Concrete floors

Floors made from this material are very durable, but they have a big drawback - the fact that concrete is very cold and requires mandatory insulation. such a floor is most often used as a basis for insulating material and decorative covering. Concrete floors can also be insulated in different ways:

The screed is placed on an expanded clay backfill.
The solution is mixed with insulating materials - fine expanded clay or crushed polystyrene foam.
The bars are attached to the finished screed, and between them the different types insulation. Next comes a vapor barrier, and then the sheathing is covered with plywood or floorboard.
The device of the “warm floor” system is electric, infrared or water.

Dry screed floors

Today, dry screed is increasingly used for flooring. Although this technology has been around for quite some time, it has not been as popular as it has been recently.

This floor will require a special backfill mixture, which may consist of fine expanded clay, expanded perlite sand, pumice and slag. The dry backfill, after leveling it, is covered with materials that will serve as the basis for the decorative floor covering, and will also take on the main load - these can be chipboard sheets, OSB, moisture-resistant plywood or special composite boards.

Dry screed itself is a good sound and heat insulator, it is easy to install, and allows you to install various communications in it without any problems. But if it is necessary to increase the insulation of such floors, then this can be done using one of the methods of installing a “warm floor” - electric or infrared.

Insulation of floors

Floor insulation in a private house, depending on the coating material, is carried out according to various technologies, and to achieve a positive result, you need to do everything in order.

Insulation of a wooden floor

You can start insulating a wooden floor by insulating the soil. To do this, expanded clay is laid on it in a layer of 20 to 40 centimeters thick. This material will not allow cold air to escape from the ground to go up, but for the floor to be warm, this will not be enough.

The floorboards are laid on a sheathing made of thick bars.

In Russian huts, a subfloor was required, since it served for laying insulation materials, which served as dry leaves, slag, chopped straw. Today, numerous mineral or synthetic insulation materials are used, from which you can choose the one you need.

To start with in the rough the floor is sealed all holes and crevices - this can be done with ordinary clay, soaking it and diluting it to the consistency of thick sour cream. Clay is a natural, breathable material, it adheres well to wooden surface and will serve as a material for sealing seams between boards for a long time.

After the clay has dried, the cells of the subfloor are filled with insulation - this can be expanded clay, polystyrene foam, mineral wool, ecowool or liquid insulation - penoizol, which works on the principle of polyurethane foam.

Next, the insulation is covered vapor barrier film, which needs to be secured to the sheathing joists.
After this it is laid batten, and the baseboards are fixed.

If the subfloor is not made for some reason, it can be replaced with thin insulation or vapor barrier film. These materials are attached to the joists so that slabs or rolls of mineral wool can be laid on them.

Then the entire structure is covered with a vapor barrier film, which is secured to the joists using a stapler and staples.
The final steps are to lay the floorboard or thick plywood. Linoleum or laminate can be laid on plywood. Then the floor is decorated around the entire perimeter with a plinth.

Another way to insulate a wooden floor can be an option when you don’t want to lift the existing board flooring. In this case, the logs are fixed perpendicular to the floor boards. If there are gaps between the boards, they need to be sealed, for example, with a special sealant

Next, the insulation is laid or filled in, then it is covered with a vapor barrier membrane, and plywood is laid on top. It can be primed and painted, or varnished. You can also lay decorative coverings on a plywood floor. flooring. To enhance insulation, an infrared film system is sometimes laid under linoleum or laminate.

Video - How to insulate a floor on joists

Insulation of concrete floor

A concrete floor installed in a residential area must be insulated, and this process is carried out in several ways.

To make concrete floors less cold, when installing a screed, a waterproofing film is first spread on the ground, then expanded clay is poured, the thickness of which should be from 10 to 15 centimeters. To ensure the evenness of the backfill, beacons are installed, the insulation is leveled along them and covered with a reinforcing metal mesh.
When such a base is prepared, it is watered with liquid cement mortar - this process is necessary to create a kind of film on the expanded clay that will retain the moisture of the mortar and help it dry naturally.
After the initial expanded clay treatment has dried, a screed is laid on top of the reinforcement. Cement mortar for it you can make it from sand and cement, or you can add it to it foam chips- this will also help make the floors warmer.
After the screed has hardened, it is necessary to lay a covering on it.
If the housing is located in a region with a cold climate, then the above-described insulation will not be enough. Therefore, in order to finally make the floors warm, several methods are used, and for each of them it is necessary to waterproof the junction of the walls and the floor.
When the waterproofing is in place, wooden logs made of blocks are laid and secured to the floor at a distance from each other by the width of the slabs or roll of insulation. The height of the logs should correspond to the thickness of the insulation, and the width should be 7-9 centimeters.
If wide insulation is purchased, it is cut to the required size.
It must be remembered that the logs begin to be laid at a distance of about five centimeters from the wall, where pieces of insulation are also laid.
After laying the material, a vapor barrier film is fixed on top of it.
Next, thick plywood or floorboard is laid. If desired, you can put laminate or linoleum on the plywood floor. Finishing includes installation of skirting boards.

Insulation of the floor in a private house, how wooden and concrete, it is also very successfully implemented using the “warm floor” system, which will be given special attention below.

Insulation of floors on dry screed

Dry screed is used both for constructing the floor itself and as insulation for concrete. But if the owner of the house considers this situation insufficient, you can insulate it additionally. This is done using the “warm floor” system.

The dry screed is covered with slabs, which are covered with waterproofing and only the electric heated floor is laid on it. In this case, it is impossible to do without waterproofing, since the heated floor system must be covered on top thin layer solution ( construction mixture), which after hardening is covered with a floor covering.

The decorative coating can be anything - ceramic tile, linoleum or laminate.

The water version of this system is not suitable for a floor made of dry screed, since it has more weight, requires penetration into the coating, and in the thermally insulating expanded clay layer, heating will lose any meaning - heat cannot be achieved.

If you do not want to use self-leveling floors on top of a dry screed, you can use the installation of an infrared floor, which is a thin film and can even be laid under linoleum.

Warm floor system

As mentioned above, “warm floor” can be infrared, electric and water.

Electric floor

The electric floor can be purchased in an assembled version, i.e. laid and secured on a special grid, in the form of heating mats, which simply need to be laid out on a prepared, flat base. The mesh is glued to the floor using ceramic tile adhesive.

This electric floor kit is available in lengths up to 25 meters and widths from 50 to 150 centimeters. Therefore, before purchasing it, you need to carefully measure the room or all the individual rooms where it will be installed.

This electric floor option is well suited for dry screed floors

Another, more complex way to make an electric floor is when you need to select a specific electrical cable and place it in holders designed for it, which are attached to the prepared base. Similar option Suitable as insulation for cement floors.

When the floor is laid and fixed, a thermostat is installed on the wall at a height of 50-70 centimeters, which will control the temperature heating elements. The temperature regulator is connected to the floor cable. The coupling that will connect the cable to the thermostat must be positioned so that it is covered with a tie.

When the entire system is laid, you can begin installing the screed - it should have a thickness of at least five cm.

Such a floor can be connected to the power supply only after the concrete has completely hardened - after 3-4 weeks.

« Warm floor" water

If an electric floor consists of a heating cable or mats, then a water floor is a piping system. Metal-plastic or polyethylene pipes, which can be laid on special mats or attached to a metal mesh laid underneath them.

The pipeline is laid in two ways - with a snake or a snail, in increments of 30-35 centimeters. After laying the pipes and bringing their ends to the manifold cabinet, the entire floor system is covered with a concrete screed; its total thickness, including the thickness of the pipeline, should be 10-12 centimeters.

The manifold cabinet is the place where the connection to common system heating. A mixer and pump can also be installed there, if necessary.

Any decorative covering can be laid on top of the screed above the heated floor - linoleum, carpet, tiles or laminate.

It should be noted that electrical and water system“warm floors” are best laid on foil insulation - then the heat will not escape towards the ground, but will be reflected into the room.

Infrared heated floor

If it is to be laid on a concrete surface, it is necessary to provide waterproofing, and then thin foil insulation based on polyethylene foam is laid on it, the strips of which are fastened with special tape.

Then the film heating elements are prepared and laid on the floor with copper elements downwards according to a pre-drawn diagram. The stripes should usually be spaced five centimeters apart. If you plan to lay laminate or linoleum on top of the IR floor, then to achieve maximum heating effect, you can place the film as close as possible.

When the film elements are mounted, contact clamps are installed on them - one side of the contact must be placed in the layers of the film, and the other on the copper side, after which the contacts are crimped.

To control the heating of the film floor, a thermostat is installed on the wall, which is also connected to a cable coming from the floor.

The selected decorative floor covering is laid on top of the film.

Floor insulation in a private house will depend on different criteria, related to its design, as well as the desires and capabilities of the home owner. Before you settle on a specific option, you need to find out the prices for all components and their installation, if you decide to invite a specialist to do this work.

When choosing how to insulate a wooden floor in a private home, they are based, first of all, on financial capabilities. Thus, expanded polystyrene is the most economical option, expanded clay is more expensive but is the most environmentally friendly, and mineral wool is easy to install and unattractive to rodents.

A warm base is the key to a warm floor

Before you start insulating the floor, you need to make sure that the base is thermally and waterproofed. At the same time, we must not forget about ventilation, which will prevent the development of fungi and mold in the underground. Because it destroys wooden base and the floor will last very little.

Insulation of the basement floor

If the house has a basement or ground floor, you need to take care of their insulation and waterproofing. This will prevent the basement from freezing in the winter and keep it cool in the summer. After all, the basement non-residential floor is often used specifically for storing food, and if it is located above the freezing level of the soil, such measures are mandatory. But there is no need to insulate an unheated basement underground.

The basement floor is insulated from the outside extruded polystyrene foam, since it is not hygroscopic, unlike ordinary polystyrene foam. The insulation must be laid on waterproofing, such as bitumen and roofing felt. The base is dug out a meter and the EPS is attached to a special glue.

After this, the soil is backfilled layer by layer.

On the ground part of the basement floor, the insulation is laid with glue, and fixed on top with dowels and reinforcing mesh. The final stage is facing the base. The material can be any - from decorative stone to PVC panels. But it is better to choose a damage-resistant and moisture-repellent material.

If the base is low, about 50 cm, it is better to fill the space under the subfloor. This option will turn out to be much warmer - there is no cold air under the floor of the house, there is no need to install vents that will have to be closed for the winter.

Backfilling is done with ordinary soil, and the last 10 cm to the floor is filled with sand. Both soil and sand must be compacted separately in a wet state.

More high plinth it is not economically profitable to fall asleep. In this case, it will have to be insulated according to the same principle as the ground floor, but organize vents for ventilation that remain open in summer time and close in winter. Special attention should be paid to insulating the basement for a house on a columnar or pile foundation.

Freely “walking” cold wind significantly increases heat loss from the floor.

General features of wooden floor insulation

When the base is in order, you can proceed directly to the floor. Regardless of the stage of work (during the construction process or in an already inhabited house), do-it-yourself insulation includes:

Laying or checking and replacing joists.
Laying waterproofing on the joists (or under them if the joists are lying on sand).
Laying insulation between joists.
A layer of vapor barrier on top of the insulation.
Installation of a counter-lattice for the gap between the finished floor and the vapor barrier.
Finished flooring.

For waterproofing you can use any roll material- from thick polyethylene to innovative, but expensive, materials.

For vapor barrier, it is best to use foamed polyethylene with aluminum coating On the one side.

This will provide both additional insulation floor, and will prevent condensation from entering the insulation. If the winters are not very cold, sometimes only a layer of polyethylene foam is enough without additional insulation. But it is better to insulate the floor as well as possible, because then you will have to remove the covering again if the insulation is not enough.

The vapor barrier is laid with the “shiny” side facing finished floor. Both hydro- and vapor barriers are laid overlapping with an allowance of at least 10 cm, and the joints are sealed with metallized tape.

Insulation with roll and tile materials

Even at the stage of installing the log, you need to decide what material will be used for insulation. Depending on its width and length, the lag pitch will be selected, between which the insulation is laid very tightly and without gaps.

Ideally, the height of the logs should correspond to the thickness of the mineral wool layer, but given the need for an air gap between the vapor barrier and the finished wooden floor, you can simply not make a counter-lattice. In this case, the vapor barrier is attached with a construction stapler to the sides of the logs so that it lies on the mineral wool without an air gap between them.

It is important to remember that the sides of the slabs have different hardness. This type of insulation is installed with the hard side up. For convenience, the desired side is already marked with a blue stripe, so it’s difficult to make a mistake.

It is best to use slabs with corrugated edges - this will provide the best adhesion. Lay the slabs as tightly as possible, starting from the corner. The next row begins with an offset of half the slab. The last slabs must enter with force. Possible cracks are sealed with construction foam.

Insulation with bulk and sprayed materials

There are also more “exotic” ways to insulate floors in a house. For example, sawdust is increasingly used as a natural and environmentally friendly material.

The technology is not very different:

on the slabs fixed under the joists, a vapor-permeable material is laid, not polyethylene;
sawdust is poured out between the joists and watered with a weak lime mortar from a watering can;
As soon as the material dries and settles, the finished floor is laid - no vapor barrier is needed.

But here you need to pay attention Special attention hydro- and vapor barriers, as well as dryness of the expanded clay itself. Because of its pores, it is very hygroscopic, but practically does not release moisture. Therefore, when improper installation Expanded clay that has accumulated moisture will only worsen the situation.

Insulating the floor of a house with sprayed materials - polyurethane foam, ecowool or penoizol - is practically impossible to do on your own, and in some cases it is dangerous. This will require special equipment, and its purchase for insulation small house extremely unprofitable.

The process of installing a wooden subfloor, its insulation, hydro- and vapor barrier is revealed in detail in the video:

A comfortable atmosphere in a private home depends on many factors. However, the comfortable temperature in the house and apartment is affected by high-quality insulation all designs. The most important indicator can be considered the floor temperature in the room. It is worth saying that if you produce proper insulation floors in your home, you can make your stay in your home enjoyable. Besides, good thermal insulation Flooring will allow you to reduce heating costs for your home many times over. Therefore today construction portal will talk about how to insulate the floor in a private house.

It is worth saying that insulating the floor in a private house is a simple process that absolutely anyone can handle. Indeed, such work cannot bring any difficulties. In this case, it is necessary to find a suitable thermal insulation material. In addition, you will need to select for this case modern technology floor insulation.

If you don’t know how to choose thermal insulation material for floor insulation in a private home, then before you go to the store, remember the following recommendations.

So, floor insulation must have good thermal conductivity and excellent strength.
Thermal insulation material should be light in weight so as not to create additional load on the load-bearing elements of the house.
The insulation must withstand loads well and be fireproof.
Thermal insulation material for the floor must be durable and moisture resistant.

In addition to all the characteristics described above, the thermal insulation material for the floor must be different environmental safety. Also, the insulation should be easy to install. Today, every owner of a private house will be able to choose unique technology And modern insulation. Below we will tell you in detail how to insulate the floor in a private house inexpensively.

We insulate the floor in the house using mineral wool

Mineral wool is an excellent insulation material that has high sound and heat insulation. This material is fire resistant. In addition, mineral wool can withstand even the most severe mechanical stress. Mineral wool is an excellent insulation material that retains its basic properties for a long time. Mineral wool is sold in stores in the form of flexible slabs and mats.

Flexible mats are distinguished by their high strength and elasticity. In this case, one side of one mineral wool mat is covered with perforated paper, which is located at the bottom of the structure.

Mineral wool is used for insulation in wooden structures floor, namely in the joists. Mineral wool is also used under black under the base of the surface.

Floor insulation with polystyrene foam

If you want to know how to insulate the floor in a private house above a cold basement, then we recommend that you use polystyrene foam for this purpose. It is worth saying that this insulation has not only a long service life, but also good thermal insulation properties.

This kind of material is widely used today. Basically, they are used to insulate the floor in a private house above the basement. Expanded polystyrene can be laid on absolutely any surface. It is quite convenient to use this material to insulate a concrete floor in a house. For this purpose, this insulation is first fixed to the floor, and then a reinforcing mesh is laid on it. And after that, on the surface of the concrete floor they arrange concrete screed.

We insulate the floor in our own house with penoplex

Penoplex is a well-known thermal insulation material that is used to insulate a wide variety of structures. Why is this material so popular? It turns out that this material has the most best characteristics, which make such insulation a good alternative to polystyrene foam.

Penoplex insulation is suitable for insulating absolutely any structure. And if you plan to insulate the floor with this insulation, then it should be used when laying the base floor with subsequent screed.

We insulate the floor in your home using the method of applying polyurethane foam

Despite the fact that in every hardware store exists huge selection a variety of thermal insulation materials, floor insulation in a private house with polyurethane foam is very popular. It must be said that such heat-insulating material is applied quickly and in an economical way by high-quality spraying method. After applying such thermal insulation, a smooth coating is created on the floor surface, which will not have joints or joints. The method of floor insulation with polyurethane foam has several advantages:

This method is different high speed performance of work.
Insulation with such material implies minimal costs.
After insulation, a small but reliable thermal insulation layer of 50 or 100 mm is formed on the floor surface.
Sprayed polyurethane foam does not require additional vapor barrier. In addition, this material has good moisture resistance.
Such thermal insulation material can be used to insulate the floor not only outside, but also inside the building.
Polyurethane foam is not afraid of mold and rodents. Also, this material is resistant to serious temperature changes and other climatic phenomena.
If you decide to insulate the floor with this particular material, then you can install absolutely any floor on top of this insulation.

We insulate the floor using double flooring

The most in a known way floor insulation is considered to be a method of floor insulation by means of double flooring. In this case, the first layer is created from smooth boards, which are usually attached to the beams with tongues. At this stage of work, it is imperative to prevent air from entering such a structure. As for the final layer, laminate is laid on a backing, linoleum or carpet.

We insulate the floor using fiberboard

Fiberboard sheets can become a decent thermal insulation material. This material can be freely used if it is impossible to raise the floor surface. For such a case, it is recommended to use fiberboard grades M-20 and PT-100. You can easily lay any floor covering on fiberboard sheets, which will become finishing layer in floor finishing.

We insulate the floor in a country house by using expanded clay

Floor insulation with expanded clay is an affordable and most famous insulation technology. Insulation with expanded clay is carried out already during the installation of the screed. To insulate the floor, expanded clay is used in the form of bedding. And to increase the effect, this insulation is added to the concrete screed. And to increase the strength of the floor, a mesh is laid between the screed and expanded clay. And modern additives are added to the solution itself, which will further avoid cracking of the finished floor.

We install heated floors

To make a heated floor in your home, it is possible to resort to the option of installing a heated floor, which can be water or electric. A warm floor in a house, in addition to high-quality thermal insulation, provides the entire house with high-quality heating. Electric heated floors are expensive. Therefore, such floors are mainly used for heating small rooms in the house. An electric floor does not affect the height of the room. It can easily be installed on the preparatory layer just before laying any finishing floor covering.

Floor insulation using gypsum fiber

More than ten years ago, one company managed to develop a unique product - gypsum fiber sheets, which have a number of advantages. It is worth saying that gypsum fiber sheet has.

From the author: Hello, dear readers. This article is dedicated to those who realized their dream and began building a private house or simply renovating it. A private house- it’s not at all like an apartment, it has its own soul and history. We all want to make every effort to ensure that coziness and comfort always reign in it. This is why we spend our energy, money and time. If you are already thinking about how to insulate the floor in a private house, then you are at the final stage.

This article will help you understand everything related to doing insulation work with your own hands. You will learn what materials there are, which ones are the best and cheapest, and how to make this very insulation. We strongly recommend that you read the article to the end, because if you miss any important point, all the work may go down the drain, and insulation may turn out to be ineffective.

Why is it necessary to insulate floors?

In order for living in a house to be comfortable, it must maintain a certain temperature regime and create a favorable microclimate. For humans, these are indicators of temperature and humidity. Comfortable temperature ranges from 23 to 27 o C, and humidity should vary in the range from 40 to 60%.

Various climate control equipment helps us maintain such parameters: heating boilers, air conditioners and humidifiers. And, it’s no secret that the maintenance of such equipment requires considerable investment, especially in private homes, where often large areas. Therefore, if you want to live comfortably without spending a lot of money on heating or cooling, you should think about how to properly perform insulation work.

In most cases, private houses are located on the ground, less often - on stilts or foundation pillars. And, of course, direct contact with the earthen surface helps to cool the home as a whole. According to the laws of physics, warm air always tends upward and rests on the ceiling, which, in turn, is an interfloor or attic floor. As you can see, physics is not on our side at all, because heat tries to leave the home by any means. It will not be possible to completely get rid of heat losses, but we can reduce them as much as possible.

Main types and characteristics of insulation

Let's talk about what types of insulation there are and what characteristics they have. By shedding light on this question, we can decide which material is best for us.

Let us immediately note that the most important indicator of insulation is thermal conductivity. The less heat it can conduct, the better, which means this is a bad “bridge” for our heat leaving the house. Thermal conductivity is measured in watts per square meter per degree, that is, the amount of thermal energy loss in degrees per square meter. Let's look at the most common and frequently used materials:

polystyrene foam (foam plastic)- is a compressed sheet of polystyrene foam balls. Absolutely does not absorb moisture, has excellent performance, thermal conductivity varies within 0.038. Supplied in sheets one meter per meter and packs of one cubic meter, it is relatively inexpensive. It comes in different thicknesses, but the most popular sheets are 5 cm thick. There is also so-called extruded polystyrene foam, which has the same properties and coefficients, but they are achieved in a smaller layer. For example, 2 cm of extruded foam replaces about 7 cm of regular foam;

fiberboard- wood fibers, a kind of wood “hair”, impregnated cement composition. It has excellent noise and heat insulating properties, coefficient 0.09. In practice, it is not often used due to its weight and price; it is much more profitable to purchase polystyrene foam for insulation. In certain situations it is irreplaceable, since it does not support or spread combustion;
ecowool- it is used extremely rarely among private owners, as it is difficult to install and requires a special installation for application, but at the same time it creates a solid coating of insulation. Made from paper. It’s good as insulation, coefficient 0.038, but it decreases over time, and it’s afraid of moisture like fire, oh yes, it’s afraid of fire too;
mineral wool- the most common insulation on the market in all countries. Very cheap, sold in rolls of 10–50 m2 and has an excellent coefficient of 0.038. Unlike the previous material, mineral wool is not afraid of fire, but does not like moisture. It absorbs very well and practically does not dry out, and when wet, the properties are lost by 80%! Therefore, if you decide to insulate your home with this material, take care of good waterproofing;
basalt wool- the best material in terms of its characteristics, but at the same time the most expensive. There are external similarities with mineral wool, but the characteristics here are simply incredible. The coefficient is only 0.03, can withstand temperatures up to 1200 degrees, and is absolutely not afraid of water. There is only one minus here - the price;
expanded clay- excellent insulation, which is made using a thermal clay extruder. The output is foamed porous clay in the form of balls, which has been fired. The coefficient is 0.16, not much, but also good. Mainly used to create a thermal barrier and cut off the cold that blows from the ground.

In addition to these materials, about ten other types of insulation are used in practice, but they are used very rarely, and their characteristics are not impressive. Of all the above, only two materials are mainly used: polystyrene foam and mineral wool, and then wool 3 times more often. Therefore, if the price aspect is important to you, then mineral wool is the best option.

Heat loss, especially in winter time, negatively affects the health of apartment residents. 30% of the heat escapes through cracks in windows and doorways, and 20% is lost through the floors, mainly on the ground floor, where the heated room is in contact with the ground, if there is no thermal insulation layer. Floor insulation makes your life more comfortable: you can walk on the floor barefoot at any time without fear of catching a cold. The heat in the apartment is maintained thanks to the thermal insulation of the floor. The question arises: “Which floor insulation should you choose?”

Today we will tell you about what types of floor insulation exist, what are their advantages and disadvantages. We will introduce you to the criteria for choosing a thermal insulation layer, tell you which insulation is best for retaining heat in the house, and how to install it correctly in a particular room.

Criteria for choosing floor insulation

To choose the right material for floor insulation, you should pay attention to the following criteria.

The insulation must be:

Types of floor insulation

To choose the right thermal insulation material, you need to know what types the industry offers and what their advantages and disadvantages are.

There are several types of insulation:

mineral;
polymer;
wood-chip.

Expanded clay

Expanded clay is baked clay in granules.

Despite its advantages, there are also minor disadvantages.

Expanded clay takes a long time to dry and slowly releases absorbed moisture. Expanded clay produces dust, so you need to wear a respirator when working with it.

Otherwise, expanded clay is a convenient and high-quality insulation material. Expanded clay is used to insulate walls, floors, and roofs of houses.

Polymer house insulation

These include:

expanded polystyrene foam;
polyurethane foam;
foamed polyethylene on a foil base;
penoizol-liquid foam.

Expanded polystyrene

One of polymer insulation The floor is polystyrene foam. This is a foamed plastic mass. Consists of individual granular cells.

This is a durable material that, despite its a light weight, can withstand high loads.
Due to its low weight, foam itself creates minimal load on the walls and foundation.
It is moisture resistant, so it can be used in places with high humidity on the balcony.
Polystyrene foam retains heat for a long time, almost without absorbing it. It surpasses many insulation materials in terms of thermal insulation.
When insulating floors, you can get by with a small thickness of polystyrene foam.
The price of polystyrene foam is low, which is an important advantage of this material and attracts the attention of buyers.

An important disadvantage of polystyrene foam is that when burned it releases harmful substances that are poisonous and dangerous.

Extruded polystyrene foam

Extruded polystyrene foam differs from polystyrene foam in its manufacturing method and characteristics. Polystyrene foam is produced by exposing the granules to steam. At high temperature the cells increase in size and fill the entire form. A foam element is added to extruded polystyrene foam at elevated pressure and temperature, which is extruded through an extruder.

The thermal insulation properties of extruded polystyrene are much better than conventional polystyrene foam. But extruded polystyrene foam has lower vapor permeability. Another disadvantage is high flammability.

Foamed polyethylene on a foil base

Foamed polyethylene on a foil base is one of the best floor insulation materials. It is obtained by melting polyethylene in a special container with the addition of liquefied gas, which acts as a foamed reagent. A foil film is applied to one side of the polyethylene foam, which reflects heat. Foil-coated polyethylene is supplied in rolls, sheets, and slabs.

The closedness of the cells contributes to high hygroscopicity. The water resistance of the material allows you to insulate floors and walls in baths and saunas.
The material is resilient and elastic, durable: it can withstand significant loads and does not deform.
Caustic acids, alkalis, gasoline and other petroleum products do not affect polyethylene.
Laying foil polyethylene is easy and simple by hand, because it weighs little and is quite thin. Foil insulation is designed in such a way that it reflects heat back into the room. In external environment does not transfer heat. Therefore, it should be laid with the reflective side up.

Penoizol

Penoizol-liquid foam.

It is good because it is poured into all the cracks and hard to reach places.

Insulation is especially necessary when building a house, because it fills all the air voids and thereby retains heat.

Polyurethane foam

Polyurethane foam is one of the best floor insulation materials of our time.

Wood-based insulation materials include:

plywood;
cellulose wadding;
sawdust.

Ecowool

Ecowool is a loose material made from cellulose. It is filled automatically or manually, covering the most inaccessible places. The cotton wool is poured into special pumps, and it passes into the room through thick pipes. Ecowool is not liquid.

The disadvantage of ecowool is its fear of moisture, so it is not recommended to use this material in rooms with excessive humidity.

Sawdust materials

Sawdust itself is not used for insulation because it does not meet fire safety requirements. Mainly used for insulation:

sawdust pellets;
wood concrete;
wood blocks.

Wood blocks are sawdust with the addition of copper sulfate and cement.

Sawdust granules are obtained by adding antiseptics to them, making them resistant to the appearance of microorganisms. Sawdust granules have low thermal conductivity and high sound insulation properties.

Arbolit-wood concrete. It is fire resistant. It has increased strength and can quickly restore its shape after excessive loads. Absorbs sound waves perfectly and retains heat.

Its disadvantage is low moisture resistance. If you want to make insulation from wood concrete, then the humidity in the apartment should not exceed 75%. A finishing protective layer should be laid on top of the wood concrete.

One of the popular insulation materials is cork. This best insulation under linoleum, but also the most expensive. Cork fiber is obtained by processing oak wood. The wood is crushed, the particles are glued together with suberin, which is part of oak. They are steamed and pressed to form cork fiber. The material is completely natural and does not contain any polymer additives. The material is durable, moisture-resistant, lightweight. Due to its structure (consists of cells, each of which is filled gaseous substance) is considered the best heat insulator.

Cork fiber can be used as a substrate and as an independent floor covering.

How to lay insulation on the floor

Different insulation materials need to be installed differently.

Mineral wool is laid between the joists. But the glass wool should be properly insulated so that when it wears out, dust does not get into the apartment. It is very important to leave a ventilation gap.

Laying ecowool

Ecowool is laid mechanically or manually. Small particles of ecowool pass through the hose, and the operator uses air to direct the material with glue added to it onto the wall or floor. Sticking. ecowool particles create a thermal insulation layer. Cotton wool is applied to the floors manually, both liquid and dry. It just falls asleep between the lags. A vapor barrier membrane is placed on top, and then wooden floors. The price of ecowool insulation along with work is 2200 per cubic meter using the dry method and 2800 per cubic meter using the wet method.

Laying expanded clay

There are 3 options for laying insulation such as expanded clay:

First you need to sweep the floor and remove construction debris. Need to make a bed PVC film or a special vapor barrier layer. Mark the level of the screed. Then apply 10cm wide edge tape to leave a gap from the walls. Fill the floor with expanded clay, level it, and fill it with screed on top. You can separate the screed with a waterproofing layer;

Laying foam

Expanded polystyrene is laid and then filled with cement or concrete. This is a floating screed.

Logs are placed under wooden floors, and foam plastic is laid between them.

The third way to lay polystyrene foam is to lay it on a concrete floor, and on top of them are sheets of plywood.

Polyurethane foam application technology

First you need to prepare the base: remove debris. Unevenness of the base does not matter when laying polyurethane foam. The main thing is that there are no oil stains on the surface, otherwise there will be no reliable adhesion of the insulation to the base in this place. You should pay attention to the humidity of the floor; it should not exceed 5%. The air temperature must be maintained at least +10 degrees. Polyurethane foam is applied through a special nozzle. Components A and B are mixed and sprayed. The material must be evenly distributed using special equipment over the surface of the base. The specialist himself regulates the thickness of the polyurethane foam layer. The insulation dries within 24-48 hours. If the insulation is placed between wooden joists, then after the material has dried, installation can be done finishing coating. If polyurethane foam is placed on concrete base, then you need to fill it on top cement-sand screed, which will protect the thermal insulation layer.

Today we told you about floor insulation. We revealed the advantages of each of them and reported on the features of their installation. And which one is better is up to you to choose. We hope you make the right choice.