How To Keep Warm In A Room By Using Insulation

2023 Author: Philip Bishop | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-08-25 07:54

• Material selection
• Penoplex properties
• Methods
• On a concrete base
• Warming a country house
• Application of various materials
• Sprayed materials

Heat in an apartment can be wasted. And the main reason here is that there is no insulation in the base of the floor or it is installed of inadequate quality. About 20% of all heat losses can go through the floor. Here you will not only have to change the flooring, but also choose a high-quality material for installation. In some cases, the best option is to completely replace the floor screed. It all depends on the specific circumstances. It is important to know how to insulate a concrete floor in an apartment.

Material selection

There is a huge amount of materials on the construction market that can be used as insulation. At first glance, it is very difficult to make a specific choice in favor of one of them. Insulation should be selected not only for cost, but also for quality. Each of them is capable of performing various functions and tasks during operation, which should be paid special attention to. There are several main criteria to look out for when visiting a store:

• Ecological cleanliness. The construction of floors and floor insulation should not have a negative impact on the environment and on humans in particular.
• With a high degree of vapor permeability and resistance to fire and high temperatures.
• Resistance to sunlight, high humidity and temperature changes in the room.
• Ease of laying insulation on the floor, as well as convenient use.

For this reason, it is worth thinking about what materials are best to choose in order to properly arrange warm concrete floors with your own hands. They will differ for a particular room. It can be a bathhouse, balcony, apartment, houses, etc. Pay attention to possible loads on the subfloor during operation, as well as the properties of the environment. At the same time, insulating materials show their qualities in different ways. Among the popular ones you can choose:

• Mineral wool, as well as fibers, glass wool.
• Lightweight mixtures based on cement and additives. Expanded clay is mainly chosen here.
• Cork wood, particle board, dry sawdust, ecowool, plywood sheets.
• Thermal insulation of a concrete floor with penoplex.
• Insulation in liquid form - paint that can create a layer in a porous form on a surface with a thickness of 5-7 mm.
• Foil-sided materials, polystyrene, polymeric materials.

Glass wool is not intended for wet rooms, as it can absorb it very well. For this reason, it is best to look at other materials.

Penoplex properties

When laying polystyrene foam on the floor, you can be sure that moisture will be absorbed into it only minimally. In addition, during the service life and the constant ingress of water on the surface, they will only partially be absorbed by the penoplex, after which there will be no absorption. Moisture only gets into the outer cells of the material, which can be damaged during cutting or mechanical stress. For this reason, special attention should be paid when laying insulation on the floor.

Very few chemicals can react with penoplex during construction or flooring in a room. But as always, there are exceptions in this case. When leveling the floor with penoplex, you do not need to worry about such negative manifestations as rotting and decomposition. The material remains intact. But you should pay special attention to the ambient temperature in the room when laying the foam on the floor, as well as during operation. In this case, the condition and integrity of the plates will be unchanged.

Methods

When insulating, you can use various options for laying the material. Among them, the laying of insulation on a concrete base along the logs is distinguished. After that, only the slabs are laid on the joists and fixed. Insulation is laid in the resulting voids, as well as all possible communications in the apartment. In this case, there will be no loads on the material. Therefore, you can purchase and use bulk materials in the form of expanded clay or mineral wool.

But initially, a waterproofing layer is laid. The insulation must be fully protected from the incoming moisture. Plywood sheets are nailed on top of the laid logs, leaving a gap of 16-20 mm from the walls. In the end, all that remains is to perform the flooring of the selected floor covering. This will complete the finishing of the floor in the room, which will become warm and will not let the heat out of the room.

When the insulation is placed directly on a concrete surface, the material is selected so that it can withstand loads and external influences. It can be mineral boards or expanded polystyrene. Expanded polystyrene on a concrete floor also plays the role of a screen when installing a warm floor. The screen reflector will help to reduce heat loss, the effect of heating the room will be the best. The device of floors with expanded polystyrene will be the most optimal and demanded due to the shown positive qualities.

We must not forget about the technology of "floating" floor. In this case, polystyrene foam is mounted under the concrete floor. The floor is laid in layers. Initially, the insulation material is laid. If a floor heating system is used, then heating elements are installed and only at the end - a concrete screed. But it is worth noting that the fill is performed on the background. No connection is made to the base and walls. The screed cake should get a "floating" state.

On a concrete base

To determine the thickness of the insulation layer, it is best to pay attention to the recommendations of the manufacturers. The insulation layer is usually 50-100 mm. The increase in the indicator is oriented towards regions with cold climates.

The laying of the insulated floor can only be carried out if the technology is followed and all measures are performed sequentially:

1. Preparation of the base. Existing cracks must be repaired. Grease stains, paint stains and other negative points that can affect the quality of insulation are also removed.

   

   No debris and dirt, not even dust, should remain.

2. Waterproofing layer. In addition to the standard polyethylene film, it is best to use more modern materials. It can be isospan. We must not forget about the overlap on the walls of such an insulator by about 10-15 cm. All joints and overlaps of materials should be glued with adhesive tape on a metallized base.
3. Installing lag. Their height will depend on the layer of insulation. As for the pitch of the lag, it should also be guided by the parameters of the materials. Fixing the lag is usually done with self-tapping screws, dowels.
4. Insulation is located between the lags, after which it is again covered with a waterproofing membrane, which must have a sufficient level of vapor permeability. The rough side should be located towards the insulation, and the smooth side from it.

5. Fixing plywood sheets perpendicular to the joists. A tongue-and-groove board can be used instead of plywood.

   

After completing these steps, you can start finishing. If you fully follow the technology, then there will be no questions about how to make the concrete floor warm.

Warming a country house

There are some features of the use of insulation on the subfloor in a country house. Most often used in the work of foam on a concrete base. This is due to the manifestation of excellent parameters, which are excellent thermal conductivity, a layer of insulation (at least 10 cm), resistance to moisture, the ability to withstand external mechanical stress. In this case, polyfoam is best chosen in a slab version. Floor insulation is laid as follows:

1. The base is prepared for work, dried, the moisture level is checked.
2. A layer of waterproofing is arranged, represented by ordinary plastic wrap.
3. Directly installing the foam on the base of the concrete floor.
4. Another waterproofing layer.

5. Pouring the insulated floor. The mortar must be poured to a thickness of at least 50 mm.

   

Flooring can only be carried out after the mortar is completely dry and set.

High-quality insulation on a concrete base can almost never be chosen at a low cost. After all, it is laid for many years, and it should not have a negative impact on health during operation. Better to do it once and for a long time than to constantly redo it.

Application of various materials

A slightly different technology of floor insulation in an apartment, if you choose a different material for work. For example, foams have a similar base preparation sequence. But then everything is somewhat different.

Heat insulator slabs are placed directly on the base of the concrete floor.

In addition, special grooves should be located on the material, facilitating the performance of work without the formation of gaps. Each sheet is joined with the next one without spaces. A damper tape is laid along the perimeter of the walls. It will help compensate for the deformation of the screed. Fastening can be carried out with the existing adhesive tape or dowel-nails.

After that, the layer of insulation is covered with a polyethylene film so that the screed does not fall inside between the plates. This will eliminate the appearance of cracks and voids in the base of the floor. It will not be superfluous to arrange a reinforcing layer before pouring the solution. The frame is taken from steel or PVC. When the filling is completed, allow time until it is completely dry. It is very important to monitor the condition and take care of the screed.

The considered system is perfect if a water heated floor is arranged. In this case, the heating circuit should be located over the mesh to strengthen the base.

Sprayed materials

Certain skills must be available when using sprayed materials for floor insulation in an apartment. In addition, you will need special equipment that can be rented.

The sequence of work will have its own characteristics, which you should familiarize yourself with in advance.

The initial activities remain almost unchanged. You don't even need to remove existing bulges and depressions, even significant ones. But it is worth installing the logs for the subsequent finishing. The concrete base is slightly wetted in order to increase the adhesion level of the foam later. Polyurethane foam is sprayed on the floor surface. The main thing is that everything is even. All the space between the lags is filled. At the same time, it is worth paying attention to the fact that in the process of solidification of the material, the foam will begin to increase in size. Usually everything dries up within a day after the end of the work. It is best to pay attention to the manufacturer's instructions and recommendations to get the best result.

After the foam dries, you can lay drywall or plywood in sheets. In the end, it remains only to complete the finishing, taking a certain floor covering.

The material used is polyurethane foam, which is not very compatible with the sun's rays. For this reason, after drying, immediately cover with the finishing material. The same applies to the drying process, when you should cover the foam and protect from the sun's rays.

All used and demanded methods have their own characteristics, which should be paid special attention to. In addition, here it is necessary to choose the best insulation option for the concrete floor so that it can show all its properties and qualities. With a clear interaction of all components, heat loss in the room will be reduced to a minimum threshold. The process of floor insulation does not take much time, but it recommends the study of technology.

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