How best to insulate the bath from the inside. How to insulate a bath from the inside - brick, frame, blocks and logs

A visit to the bath is a pleasant and useful pastime, and high-quality insulation of the bath from the inside will significantly improve all its characteristics. Thanks to the thermal insulation of the walls and ceiling of the steam room from the inside, you can save on fuel material at once and ensure the safety of heat in the room.

Why is insulating a bathhouse from the inside a good idea?

The bath room has a unique microclimate, so thermal insulation is an important aspect in the proper arrangement of any bath. Warming the walls of the bath from the inside with your own hands, as well as the ceiling, in principle, is a time-consuming process, but nothing is impossible. When insulating a steam room, several factors should be taken into account: the material used for internal insulation, your capabilities, skills and desires. The choice of material for insulation should be based on its quality characteristics. The required properties must be:

• vapor barrier;
• waterproofing
• fire resistance;
• environmental friendliness of the material.

There is a division of heaters into natural and artificial. If in the construction of a steam room you strive for authenticity and environmental friendliness, then naturalness is your choice. Insulators of natural origin include moss, cuckoo flax, felt, hemp, tow, sphagnum, etc. Such materials have their drawbacks in operation. Without proper treatment with special means, insects and mold will appear.

It is much easier to insulate a bathhouse from the inside with your own hands using artificial materials. They have the best performance: fire resistant, do not rot, do a good job of vapor barrier. Installation of such heaters will take less time than installation of natural materials.

Materials for warming the bath from the inside: what to add to the shopping list?

Buying a heater for a bath comes down not only to the ability to choose natural or artificial materials, you should also take into account some factors: the purpose of the materials, appearance and price. Depending on the mechanical properties, materials for thermal insulation can be conditionally divided as follows:

• backfills of various densities;
• mats, plates, fibers;
• wall blocks and slabs.

According to the chemical composition, heaters are distinguished:

• organic (ecowool, fibrolite, wood concrete);
• inorganic (glass wool, mineral wool, basalt fiber);
• techno-heaters (technoblock, technovet);
• plastic-based insulation (expanded polystyrene, polystyrene).

All of these materials have both advantages and disadvantages. For example, it is better not to use plastic-based heaters to insulate a steam room from the inside. This is due to their easy flammability. But they are well suited for thermal insulation of other rooms of the bath room: dressing room, rest room.

Organic substances, in turn, are environmentally friendly and relatively cheap, but without special treatment, they are also highly flammable. Inorganic substances are more versatile and practical: fire-resistant, durable, moisture-proof, and do not rot. This explains the popularity of using mineral wool in insulation.

Materials used for vapor barrier of the bath room from the inside:

• ruberoid;
• glassine;
• polyethylene;
• aluminium foil.

Roofing material and glassine cannot be used to vapor barrier a steam room, as under the influence of high temperatures they begin to release harmful chemicals. Glassine is often used in the insulation of baths, having proven itself well in a bunch of lining - aluminum foil - mineral wool - log cabin.

By choosing aluminum foil for the vapor barrier of the steam room, you will significantly reduce energy costs for maintaining the required temperature. The foil, like a mirror, will reflect the heat in the bath room.

Operation 'warming the walls of the bath from the inside with your own hands'

There is a fairly common, one might say, traditional, wall insulation scheme using fibrous insulation and lining.

1. It is necessary to create a frame on the working surface of the load-bearing wall. A horizontal and vertical crate of timber is fixed to the wall. The thickness of the beam should exceed the thickness of the insulation itself by 20–30 mm. Such a margin is necessary so that the insulation layer does not wrinkle, slip and retain its properties.
2. The wall is sheathed with mineral wool (or other material of your choice).
3. A layer of vapor barrier is applied over the insulation (foil vapor barrier, foil). It must be overlapped, the joints are sealed with thin slats. There should be a distance of about 3 cm between the vapor barrier and the mineral wool.
4. A lining is stuffed onto a vertical crate 30–50 mm wide. The remaining distance thus creates a gap for ventilation.

This method is proven, but laborious. Now building materials can greatly simplify the entire process of insulation. Modern heat insulators combine several properties at once: insulation and waterproofing. Foil foam is just such a material. This insulation has a high fire resistance, easy to use and install.

The described scheme is well suited for a bath from a bar. Panel and frame buildings have their own characteristics of wall insulation. For insulation of panel walls, light materials are used: expanded polystyrene, reed plates, mineral wool. An additional requirement in this case is the treatment of the heat insulator with lime milk and its further good drying. This will protect the material from decay and increase fire resistance.

A bath with frame walls in cold climatic conditions is insulated with fiberboard or reed slabs. If the area has a warmer climate, then you can use gypsum, sawdust, cement and shavings. For wall insulation, a mixture is made, for example, from sawdust and gypsum (proportion 1 to 10). The resulting mixture is poured between the wall sheathing with a layer of 200 mm.

Windows, doors, corners and pipes require special attention. To process the joints in these places, you can use vapor barrier tape. So you will be sure that the waterproofing layer will not let moisture through.

Insulation of the steam room from the inside: the procedure for working on the ceiling

The thermal insulation of the bath room from the inside is completed with the insulation of the ceiling. The ceiling has the highest temperature, which can reach 160 °C. Warming the ceiling of the bath with your own hands is a process that depends on its design. The ceiling can be with an attic or with another superstructure on top and without an attic.

If the building has an attic or attic, the insulation process is as follows: the ceiling boards must be coated with clay with a layer of 20 mm. Clay effectively copes with the task of retaining moisture. In the gap between the boards you need to fill up the wood chips. You can use any other material with thermal insulation properties, such as expanded clay. The layer of such a coating must be at least 200 mm.

In baths without an attic, whether it is a log or panel building, the insulation scheme looks something like this: vapor barrier material, insulation, sheathing layer, beam beam, ceiling boards. The order of the layers of ceiling insulation in the bath with your own hands will be different depending on the design of the room and the materials used.

Particular attention should always be paid to the junction of the pipe and insulation. In order not to violate fire safety standards, it is necessary to make an indent between the pipe and the heat-insulating material of 200 mm. This problem can be solved by constructing a box from the rafter legs, which will separate the pipe and insulation on the roof. The space inside the box is filled with fire-resistant insulation, such as stone wool.

In any case, the roof and ceiling of your bath must be designed so that there are simply no places through which warm air can leave the room, and cold air can enter from outside. The main goal is also to avoid the formation of condensate. Moisture is, first of all, the enemy of building materials.

Ceiling insulation materials are not suitable for everyone. It is not recommended to use thermal insulation made of plywood, chipboard or fiberboard, etc. Such materials can deform and release harmful substances under the influence of high temperatures. Plastic ceilings will also be a bad solution - condensation will accumulate on them. It is better to use natural heaters or mineral heat insulators.

Have you decided to insulate the bath from the inside yourself, but you have no experience in this matter? Help and advice from experts will always come in handy. Check out the available information: photos, videos, master classes on this issue. All of this can be helpful. The following recommendations for warming the bath with your own hands will not be superfluous:

• It must be remembered that the insulation of a bath is different from the process of thermal insulation of other buildings. This is due to high temperature and humidity.
• When insulating the walls of the bath from the inside, a number of rules should be observed:

1. in order to avoid the appearance of cracks and voids, insulation must be laid very tightly against the wall. Thus, the likelihood of cold air entering and the formation of condensation moisture will decrease;
2. do not forget about the ventilation gap, which will ensure the drying of the insulation;
3. it is necessary to treat the floors with an antiseptic for wood in order to save them from destruction.

• When insulating the ceiling, one should not forget that:
  1. at the top is the highest air temperature;
  2. to insulate the ceiling, you can not use materials that can be deformed;
  3. do not use heaters and vapor barriers, which, under the influence of temperature, release harmful chemicals;
  4. plastic materials collect condensation moisture.
• When insulating the bath room from the inside, use safe, high-quality and environmentally friendly materials.
• When working, follow the safety regulations.

How to insulate a bath from the inside? What insulation should be preferred and how to apply it? How to finish the floor and walls of the steam room and dressing room? Let's try to figure it out.

Conditions

To understand how and with what to insulate the walls of the bath from the inside, let's first well imagine the conditions in which the materials will be.

1. High humidity in both the steam room and the washing department (unless, of course, it is a separate room). In the dressing room, the air is also unlikely to be dry. The conclusions are obvious: the insulation must either not be hygroscopic, or must be protected by reliable vapor and waterproofing.
2. The temperature in the steam room can reach 100 degrees or more. Styrofoam and extruded polystyrene, with such strong heating, are guaranteed to release substances into the atmosphere that will definitely not add to your health.

Please note: for the same reason, linoleum or plastic panels are never included in the number of finishing materials for the steam room. Wall panels, in addition to the release of harmful substances, are quite capable of deforming already at 80 - 90 degrees.

1. A significant part of the heat at high temperatures is lost not only due to convection, but also in the form of infrared radiation. What does it say? The fact that our bath insulation scheme from the inside should include a reflective layer - foil or material with a foil surface.

wall types

Of course, the material of these walls affects the insulation of the walls of the bath from the inside. What options are available?

Concrete, stone, brick

Warming in this case is necessary. And not only for reasons of heat conservation: constantly weeping walls with temperature fluctuations in a wide range will collapse quite quickly.

The thickness of the insulation depends on the thickness of the walls and the climatic zone. In general, a ten-centimeter layer is recommended.

Wood

How to insulate a wooden bath from the inside? And is it really necessary?

The situation is debatable. On the one hand, it definitely won’t get worse from warming; on the other hand, a log or timber in itself is not the worst material for the walls of a steam room and a dressing room.

Thicker walls are either not finished from the inside at all, or are protected by waterproofing and clapboard. The crate is needed only when the walls have noticeable blockages.

Typically, horizontal strips of vapor barrier material are sewn with a stapler with a five-centimeter overlap. The bottom sheets are hemmed first: the overlap should prevent water from flowing under the material.

Attention: do not forget about the high temperature and do not use polyethylene as a vapor barrier.

materials

So, how to insulate the bath from the inside?

The optimal insulation is basalt wool. Rigid mats are used; as already mentioned, in the vast majority of cases, a thickness of 10 centimeters can be recommended. For the ceiling, it makes sense to increase the layer thickness to 15-20 centimeters: most of the heat in the steam room is lost through the roof and ceiling.

What else is required?

• Crate. The most durable option for a stone or brick bath is a drywall profile frame. The ceiling profile CD is usually used; along the perimeter of each wall, edging is carried out with a UD guide profile. Direct suspensions are attached every 0.6 - 0.8 meters; the step between the profiles is a centimeter - two less than the width of the insulation plate.

But in a wooden bath you can save: the price of a linear meter of a bar is slightly lower than that of a profile; at the same time, the durability of the solution will still be limited by the material of the walls themselves.

• Foil waterproofing. We need not only impervious to water and steam, but also heat-resistant material. Fortunately, the modern market can offer many solutions of the type we need: for example, foil foamed polypropylene Penoterm NPP LF is designed for temperatures up to +150 degrees.

It will not only protect the walls from moisture and reflect radiant heat, but, like any foam material, it will further reduce heat loss. According to the manufacturer, a 3 mm layer of Penotherm provides the same degree of thermal insulation as a 150 mm beam.

Useful: for a bath made of logs or a bar of small thickness, this material can also serve as the main insulation.

• The insulation inside the bath will be hidden by a layer of fine finish. Traditionally, a wooden lining made of linden or aspen is used for it. These types of wood do not burn even at high temperatures, are resistant to decay and retain their original appearance for a long time.

Floor, doors and windows

When it comes to how to insulate a bath from the inside with your own hands, it usually means an increase in the thermal resistance of the ceiling and walls. However, drafts and a cold floor can also take away a lot of heat (see also the article).

How are these problems solved?

1. Along the perimeter of the door to the steam room, it is enough to make a frame of thick felt. It will securely close the gaps through which it can see through.
2. It is enough to insulate the frames of wooden windows in the steam room, washing department and dressing room with cotton wool. Insulation of plastic windows is reduced to gluing with self-adhesive foam strips: plastic is not placed in the steam room with its high temperatures, and in other rooms there is no need to be afraid of thermal decomposition of polymers.
3. How and with what to insulate the floor? The instruction depends on its type:

• The surface of the wooden flowing floor is covered with expanded clay. Boards are laid on a carefully leveled backfill.
• Installation of a concrete leaking floor begins with digging a half-meter pit.

Then the following layers are arranged from the bottom up: 5 centimeters of sand; 20 centimeters of foam; 5 centimeters of concrete with foam chips in a ratio of 1: 1; waterproofing (for a relatively cool floor, polyethylene or even roofing material can be used); 5 centimeters of concrete with vermiculite (a natural mineral with low thermal conductivity) in a ratio of 1: 1; reinforced 5 cm screed.

A slope for water runoff is made when pouring the screed; boardwalk is laid on top of the logs.

This layered construction is virtually impermeable to the cold.

1. In the case of a solid floor, 10-20 centimeters of insulation - polystyrene foam or mineral wool - are laid on top of the rough screed. It is covered with waterproofing with a mandatory overlap on the walls; then a reinforced screed 5-10 centimeters thick is laid. A tile is usually placed on it.

Useful: The temperature on the floor is lower, and the tiles in the steam room usually do not warm up to an uncomfortable temperature. However, it is still better to provide for original wooden footrests: it will be much more pleasant to bathe.

Walls and ceiling

How to insulate the bath inside - we found out. What is the sequence of operations? Are there any subtleties in the work ahead of us?

In general, no. We insulate the bath from the inside in the same way as any other room (See also the article). We will only have to pay increased attention to the reliability of the vapor barrier.

crate

The distance from its surface to the draft wall or ceiling should be slightly greater than the thickness of the insulation. In the case of using galvanized profiles, this distance is regulated by hangers; the bar is nailed through the lining (for example, segments of the same bar). You can, of course, use galvanized hangers for wooden crates.

In case you have never worked with drywall, we will tell you about the profile installation sequence.

1. Along the perimeter of the wall or ceiling, a UD guide profile is attached in increments of no more than 60 centimeters. It can be attached to logs or timber with self-tapping screws; for a brick or concrete wall, you will have to use screws with plastic dowels.
2. The axes of the CD profiles are marked (the distance between them, we recall, should allow the insulation boards to stand up without trimming). Then, along the axes with a step of 0.6 - 0.8 meters, suspensions are attached to the wall.
3. CD profiles are installed and attached to hangers with metal screws 0.9 cm long. The free edges of the suspensions are bent.

insulation

Basalt wool slabs are inserted in a spacer between profiles or bars. Actually, the insulation of a loggia or a ventilated facade is performed in the same way: you have probably seen the installation procedure from the outside more than once.

A few tips, however, are worth giving.

• To the question of how to insulate the bath from the inside, any labor protection engineer will give an unambiguous answer: wearing glasses and a respirator or a gauze bandage. Insulation fibers are volatile and irritate mucous membranes.

Small fibers will inevitably get into unprotected eyes and respiratory tract

• Plates are cut with an ordinary sharp knife.
• It is impossible to crush basalt wool during installation. The smaller the volume of insulation at a constant mass, the worse the heat-insulating qualities.

Vapor waterproofing

Horizontal strips are attached from the bottom up with an overlap of about five centimeters. The foil side should face the inside of the bath.

The method of fastening is determined by the material of the crate:

• The strips are attached to the bar with a construction stapler.
• Method of fastening to a galvanized profile - double-sided aluminum tape.

In this case, the material should be slightly recessed into the space between the bars and profiles: the clearance is needed so that the back side of the lining dries between visits to the bath.

Important: to ensure reliable vapor barrier, it is not enough just to fix the material. It is necessary to glue all the joints with the same aluminum tape: then moisture is guaranteed not to get to the insulation.

Clapboard lining

How to properly insulate the bath from the inside, we seem to have figured it out. And how to make a warm room beautiful? Let's start with the preparation of tools and additional materials that will be required for wall cladding (see also the article).

We will need:

• Drill - screwdriver.
• Electric jigsaw or circular saw.
• Rasp. They have to adjust and process the edges of the lining.
• Joiner's square. Marking fairly wide boards by eye is not worth it.
• Plumb and level. It is better to check verticals and horizontals on them.
• Metal clamps for wooden lining. Of course, galvanized: rusty stained walls will not decorate.

Kleimers for wooden lining

• Copper or galvanized steel screws for fastening the clamps to the bars. For profiles, you will need self-tapping screws for metal.
• Wooden plinths for external and internal corners.

What should be paid attention to in the process of work?

• With horizontal installation, it is worth starting to sheathe the walls from above and fasten the boards with the spike up. Otherwise, water will flow into the groove; this will accelerate the destruction of the material.
• Don't forget plumb and level.
• Between the lining and the vapor barrier, as we remember, there should be a small gap. However, for air circulation in it, small (1-2 centimeters) gaps are also needed at the top and bottom of the walls. It is desirable to leave the same gaps along the edges of the ceiling.

The first and last board in each row will have to be fixed with screws through and through; their hats will later be covered with a plinth. The rest of the boards will be held on by the clamps.

Conclusion

As you can see, warming the bath from the inside is quite possible and, with minimal experience in construction work, is more than feasible. In the provided video in this article you will find additional information on this topic. Successful construction!

All the advantages of a bath may be unattainable if, at the stage of its finishing, the issue of internal insulation has not been worked out carefully enough. Even with proper construction according to a time-tested project, the walls of the bath without additional thermal insulation will not be able to retain heat acceptably. And this means a decrease in comfort during bath procedures, and an increase in the cost of kindling. Meanwhile, there are many options how to avoid unacceptable heat losses.

The better to insulate the bath from the inside

What materials to use for internal insulation of the bath? The longest in the practice of building baths are used natural materials, which have been available throughout the history of the existence of such structures. Our ancestors often insulated the inner surfaces of the bath walls with improvised materials: hemp hemp, linen tow, moss, etc. All of the above is used today, because. natural materials have a very significant advantage over other thermal insulation: they are absolutely environmentally friendly.

However, natural insulation has some features that significantly reduce their attractiveness. First of all, the process of finishing the bath with natural thermal insulation is a very, very laborious process. Even with all the simplicity of the technology, caulking a bath with moss or tow will take an excessive amount of time.

Secondly, natural materials are attractive not only to the owner of the bath. Birds and small rodents love to take them away for their own needs, and insects can easily start in the moss layer, which also do not contribute to the durability of the material. Therefore, the insulation of a bath from natural materials requires regular updating.

More modern synthetic materials completely devoid of these shortcomings. With no less environmental friendliness, they have a much longer service life, and in terms of thermal insulation parameters they even surpass natural alternatives.

In addition, synthetic materials are not at all afraid of exposure to moisture and high temperatures characteristic of a bath, they are distinguished by their low weight and simple technology for working with them.

Among the synthetic heat-insulating materials suitable for interior decoration of the bath, most widespread expanded polystyrene, basalt fiber, mineral wool and glass wool. When deciding how and what is better to insulate the bath inside, it is necessary to understand that for the same purpose, each of these materials also has some differences.

1. Styrofoam. Its main feature is a successful combination of excellent thermal insulation, low cost and low weight. However, in relation to the bath, this material can only be used to insulate the outer walls of the dressing room. In the washing room, due to the high temperature, polystyrene foam can lose its shape, thereby violating the thermal insulation. It is generally unacceptable to use this material for warming the steam room, since it is a fire hazard.
2. Basalt fiber insulation they cannot boast of a pleasant price tag, however, in relation to a bath, they can be an ideal solution. Since basalt fiber is produced from molten rocks, it has some important features:

• absolute incombustibility;
• resistance to mechanical deformation and moisture;
• excellent level of sound absorption;
• excellent thermal insulation.

Basalt insulation is quite convenient for finishing, as it is perfectly cut into pieces of the required shape. Their service life, which can reach several decades, is also noteworthy.

Mineral wool. The technology of its manufacture is in many ways similar to the production of basalt insulation. However, instead of rock in the production of mineral wool, much cheaper waste from the metallurgical industry is used. And this most positively affects the cost of such thermal insulation.

Other benefits of mineral wool include:

• low thermal conductivity (guarantee of the reliability of thermal insulation);
• hydrophobicity, allowing the use of mineral wool in conditions of high humidity;
• ability to absorb sound.

Meanwhile, mineral wool, due to the characteristics of the raw materials for its manufacture, does not differ in mechanical strength. Therefore, when working with such material, it is desirable to exercise some caution.

Video on how to properly insulate the bath from the inside.

glass wool. At its core, this heat-insulating material is an interweaving of thin fibers of inorganic glass. Therefore, glass wool contains a significant amount of air in its volume, which ensures the ability to perfectly retain heat with good vapor permeability.

One of the significant advantages of glass wool over analogues is the relatively low cost. In this case, it is always possible to choose a heater of the required thickness. Both rolls of glass wool of different widths, as well as industrially cut mats and slabs are on sale.

And in this photo one of the schemes for warming the bath from the inside.

Warming the bath from the inside

A feature of the insulation of internal walls in the bath is a high level of humidity. Therefore, even in the case when thermal insulation insensitive to moisture is chosen, insulation will be required. securely cover with a layer of vapor barrier. If this is not done, then moisture will begin to condense inside the insulation material, which is fraught with a decrease in the ability to retain heat and the likelihood of rotting of the wall material.

As a vapor barrier for baths, aluminum foil can be used, which not only protects the insulation from condensation, but also reflects heat to a large extent. To ensure the integrity of the vapor barrier, all seams between sheets of foil should be glued with metallized tape.

Since the conditions in the bath in different rooms are significantly different, the insulation technology will vary significantly.

1. Wall insulation in the steam room.

Here the sequence of actions will be as follows:

• a crate of dry wooden beams or slats is hung on the surface of the walls;
• the cells formed by the laths of the crate are covered with a fiberglass cloth;
• heat-insulating material is laid (basalt is best);
• a layer of vapor barrier is laid on top of everything.

The final stage of wall insulation in the steam room will be the installation of decorative trim. As such, it is best to use a wooden lining.

Another video about warming the bath from the inside and how to sheathe the steam room inside.

Ceiling insulation.

This operation is in many ways similar to improving the thermal insulation of walls. The differences will be that when insulating the ceiling in the washing room and in the dressing room, you can refuse to use aluminum foil as a vapor barrier. Instead, it is quite possible to use cheaper polyethylene or kraft paper.

In addition, it is worth leaving a gap of 1-2 cm between the vapor barrier layer and the decorative ceiling cladding. This distance will improve the ventilation of the cladding material to speed up its drying. This moment is quite important, because during the bath procedures, the ceiling lining is exposed to the damaging effects of moisture at very high temperatures. The presence of a gap will allow the tree not to rot, but to dry out without compromising its operational and aesthetic qualities.

Floor insulation.

Heat loss in the bath can occur not only through the walls or ceiling, but also through the floor, which is especially important in winter. Therefore, the floors must also be carefully insulated. The sequence of actions for floor insulation will be as follows:

• a concrete screed is poured on a leveled and compacted base of the earthen floor;
• after the screed has hardened, a waterproofing layer of dense polyethylene or roofing felt is lined;
• sheets or sheets of insulation are laid;
• another layer of waterproofing is lined;
• poured another layer of concrete screed.

Since the floors in the bath are constantly in contact with water, when they are insulated, the thoroughness of laying the waterproofing should be given the greatest possible attention.

It is very important that water, even with minor damage to the top layer of the concrete screed, cannot penetrate into the insulation layer and thereby deprive it of its heat-insulating qualities.

Having solved the problem of how to properly insulate the bath from the inside, you can get a guarantee that it will be possible to quickly warm up all the rooms even in severe frosts. The sauna event itself will become much more comfortable, as the temperature will be consistently high.

This is especially important for lovers of a strong steam bath, because with insufficient thermal insulation of the steam room, the procedure will lose its attractiveness. Using the same modern insulating materials, you can permanently get rid of such problems.

When construction work is nearing completion, the question arises of how best to insulate the bath. The choice of a suitable material and the methods of its installation, the technology for performing insulation are very crucial moments.

How to choose a heater

What is the best way to insulate a bath? For this, natural or synthetic materials are used.

Natural heaters:

• cuckoo flax;
• moss red;
• linen tow;
• hemp hemp
• sphagnum.

Kukushkin flax is one of the natural types of insulation

These materials do not require serious material costs, are highly environmentally friendly and will help create a special atmosphere in the bath, filling the interior with natural natural aromas.

The main disadvantages of organic materials, which must be taken into account when choosing which insulation is better to insulate the bath:

• fragility of the material;
• significant labor costs;
• the need for constant renewal of the insulation.

It is necessary to provide protection against small rodents, birds and insects.

Many homeowners believe that it is better to insulate a bath with synthetic materials that do not rot and are not damaged by rodents.

jute felt

What is the best way to insulate a bath from the outside or from the inside? Jute felt can be used as an interventional heater for a bath. This is an organic natural material, for the manufacture of which plant fiber is used.

Flax jute felt is used not only for thermal insulation, but also to remove excess moisture from the interior of the bath

To improve performance, flax fiber is added to jute fibers. The result is flax or flax-jute felt. The material release form is tape bobbins. This allows you to choose a heater for logs of different diameters.

Flax jute felt is used not only for thermal insulation, but also to remove excess moisture from the interior of the bath. This is a durable material that no animals will spoil.

Expanded clay as a heater

Expanded clay is a bulk material of natural origin. It is a granule with a porous structure. Expanded clay is often used to insulate baths or other buildings due to the following qualities:

• moisture resistance;
• relatively small specific gravity;
• high strength of granules;
• resistance of granules to mechanical damage;
• durability;
• low price.

Floor insulation with expanded clay

Working with expanded clay is easy. Other bulk materials can be used with it.

Synthetic insulation

Currently, synthetic heaters are produced in large quantities and can be of the following types:

• expanded polystyrene extruded (XPS plates) or ordinary;
• Styrofoam;
• mineral wool;
• glass wool.

Insulation of the floor in the bath with foam

Each material has unique properties:

1. Expanded polystyrene provides reliable thermal insulation. At the same time, the material has a low cost and a small specific gravity. It should be borne in mind that ordinary polystyrene foam is flammable and easily deformed under the influence of high temperatures. Therefore, in the bath it is used for warming the dressing room, utility rooms, rest rooms. Styrofoam cannot be used in the washing and steam room.
2. For a bath, it is better to choose XPS plates or extruded polystyrene foam. This material has a sealed cellular structure and a not very large specific gravity. XPS boards are resistant to moisture, compression and high loads. This gives them durability and reliability in operation.
3. Styrofoam is used for external insulation of a bathhouse built of brick or cinder blocks. It is glued to the outer vertical surfaces of the building. Plaster and finishing material is applied from above. Styrofoam is highly flammable, so it cannot be used for interior decoration in the bath.
4. The main material for the production of mineral wool is molten rocks or waste from metallurgical production. Therefore, the cost of this insulation is low compared to other similar materials.

Bath insulation with mineral wool

The result is a heater that has such positive properties as:

• reliability;
• non-hygroscopicity;
• strength;
• Fire safety;
• durability.

It is easy and convenient to work with such a heater. The service life of the material is quite high. Therefore, when deciding how to insulate a bath, you can opt for sheets or mats of mineral wool.

Insulation with mineral wool allows you to provide in the bath such conditions as:

• low thermal conductivity;
• high sound insulation;
• hydrophobicity.

Glass wool is produced by interlacing fine fibers of inorganic glass.

The main thing to remember is that mineral wool is easily subjected to mechanical damage. Therefore, when using it, you need to act carefully and carefully.

Glass wool is produced by interlacing fine fibers of inorganic glass. High thermal insulation properties are provided due to the large volume of air in the finished material.

The cost of glass wool is low. It is sold in roll and/or tile form. The thickness of glass wool is different, so it is always easy to choose the right option.

Preparatory work

When the insulation is selected, it is necessary to purchase all the additional materials necessary to work with it, prepare the tools. To warm the bath you may need:

• construction knife;
• roulette;
• level;
• a hammer;
• brushes and/or spatulas;
• sledgehammer;
• construction mixer;
• container for mixing solutions;
• work clothes, gloves, rags.

When the insulation is selected, it is necessary to purchase all the additional materials necessary to work with it, prepare tools

It is better to make a list of everything you need after it has been determined what is the best way to insulate the walls of the bath, floor or ceiling, and all the necessary materials will be purchased.

How to insulate a bath from the inside

When thinking about the best way to insulate a bath from the inside, you should remember the high level of moisture content in the interior. Therefore, vapor barrier must be provided. This will preserve the integrity and basic useful properties of the insulating material. The walls of the room will be less destroyed under the influence of moisture and high temperatures.

What is the best way to insulate the walls of the bath? The most convenient vapor barrier for a bath is aluminum foil. This material protects the heat insulator from destruction and helps to conserve heat in the interior of the bath. After applying the foil, the intersheet seams must be sealed with a special metallized adhesive tape.

On a note! In different sections of the bath, there are different levels of moisture and temperature. Therefore, the decision, the better to insulate the bath inside, depends, first of all, on the specific room.

Various heaters are used, the technology of their installation is also different.

Walls in the steam room

The walls in the steam room are exposed to high temperature and humidity. Therefore, how best to insulate the steam room in the bath should be considered in detail.

First, a crate is attached to the walls. It is best done using dry slats and/or thin timber. The resulting cells must be even and uniform in size. Fiberglass will be covered in them.

Aluminum foil insulation

A heat insulator is laid on top of the fiberglass. Basalt fiber is considered the most reliable for the steam room. The last layer is a vapor barrier. For this, aluminum foil is used.

When all work is completed, decorative wall decoration is carried out. To do this, you can use lining made of durable types of wood. It should be remembered that if the interior of the bath is not divided into several rooms, insulation according to the described scheme is carried out everywhere.

Basalt fiber is considered the most reliable for the steam room.

How to insulate the ceiling

The better to insulate the ceiling in the bath, depends on the purpose of a particular room. Hygroscopic material should not be used in the washroom and/or steam room. In the washroom or in the dressing room, you can use polyethylene film or kraft paper for vapor barrier.

On a note! To improve air circulation between the vapor barrier and the finishing material, it is necessary to leave a ventilation gap (gap) of no more than 2 cm.

This will speed up the drying of the skin after using the bath, otherwise abundant moisture will cause the material to rot, and it will have to be replaced.

How to insulate the floor

Significant heat losses in the bath occur not only through the ceiling and walls, but also through the floor, especially when the bath is used in the cold season - in winter, autumn, early spring.

To figure out how and what is better to insulate the floor in the bath, you should remember that the procedure for laying the floor cake must be strictly observed. The earthen floor must be leveled, cleaned of debris and foreign objects and leveled. A concrete screed must be poured onto the prepared surface.

On the set concrete, you need to lay a layer of rolled waterproofing. It can be roofing material or plastic film.

Further, the entire surface is laid out with a layer of heat insulator. You can use both sheet and linen material. Then roofing material or polyethylene is re-layed. The final layer is a concrete screed.

The laying of all layers of the floor cake must be carried out carefully. It is especially necessary to pay attention to the tightness of each layer - this will preserve the integrity of all materials. Properly carried out internal insulation will create comfortable conditions for the proper use of the bath and keeping warm.

External insulation of the bath

The better to insulate the bath from the outside, depends on the main building material from which the building was erected.

External floor insulation in the bath

For external insulation of a brick bath, mineral wool is most often used. It is best to apply this material in 2 layers, overlapping the seams between the sheets laid earlier. This will prevent cold bridges and help keep you warm.

A block bath is insulated in a similar way. For expanded clay concrete blocks, the outer insulation layer may be slightly thinner.

Wood retains heat well. In this case, the question of the better to insulate the walls of the bath from the outside is solved a little easier. The basic scheme for applying a layer of heat insulator depends on the wood building materials used.

Important! If the bath is built from a bar, it is necessary to seal the seams of the main box. To do this, you need to make neat layers of flax jute fiber.

Solving the question of how best to insulate a frame bath requires special attention. The free space between the components of the frame must be filled with a heat insulator. For this, mineral wool is used, protected on both sides with a waterproofing film.

If a log cabin was erected for the bath, only the interventional joints need to be insulated. For this, it is optimal to use flax-jute felt or other natural material.

When building a traditional Russian or Finnish bath, you need to take care of high-quality insulation of the building in order to prevent large heat losses through walls, ceilings and floors in winter. Otherwise, it will be difficult to heat the steam room properly, and fuel consumption will turn out to be unreasonably high. Not to mention the comfortable conditions for people washing there. It is not difficult to insulate a bath, but you need to have an idea of ​​\u200b\u200bhow to do it correctly and what materials you can use. You can learn about all the nuances of the process from this article.

What heater to choose?

If you study the issue more deeply, it turns out that the main difficulty lies in choosing the right insulation for proper thermal insulation of the bath building in general and the steam room in particular. The reason is simple - none of the many modern materials on the market are suitable for insulating a steam room inside. Moreover, it is simply unacceptable to use foam plastic, foam plastic and other polymers for this purpose, as well as mineral wool.

The bath is designed to improve the health of a person - this is an axiom. Inside the steam room, and other adjacent rooms, high temperature and humidity are provided - this is one of the conditions for the healing procedure. Accordingly, the internal insulation for a bath should not emit any harmful substances when heated, which cannot be said about the vast majority of modern materials.

When heated above 60 ° C (and in the steam room it can also be 110 ° C), all foamed polymers begin to release harmful substances and even emit a specific smell. Therefore, with their help, it is possible to insulate the bath building only from the outside, but by no means inside. The same applies to various types of basalt and mineral wool, which include a phenol-based binder. There is nothing to say about roll insulation based on glass wool.

For reference. Polymeric heaters that are not suitable for interior decoration include polystyrene foam, extruded polystyrene foam, foam plastic, foamed polyethylene insulators (Izolon, Penofol) and other similar materials.

What is the best way to sheathe the walls from the inside in order to insulate the bath correctly and without harm to health? The answer lies on the surface - natural environmentally friendly materials that were used by our ancestors. These include:

• sawdust with clay;
• wood;
• felt;
• linen, jute;
• reeds tied into mats;

Advice. There is an old folk method used by people in villages for a long time. When the owners kept several cows, they prepared a lot of hay and straw for the winter. And they kept them, leaning against the walls of a wooden house or a bathhouse, thereby at the same time warming it for the winter.

Good modern heaters for baths and saunas are expanded clay and vermiculite, all others are suitable only for external insulation, done by hand or with the help of specialists. Now that we have figured out the best way to finish the interior of the steam room, we can proceed to the very process of thermal insulation of the walls.

The scheme of warming the bath from the inside

The method of carrying out the work depends on what the building is built from. For example, a well-built log house does not need insulation at all, the thickness of the logs is quite enough. In an old chopped bathhouse, it may be necessary to seal and caulk the cracks between the logs. This is done using felt or other interventional heaters listed above. The same warming procedure is done by hand in structures made of profiled or glued timber, if cracks appear.

In order to protect the walls of a wooden bath from exposure to high humidity, you can protect them with a foil vapor barrier layer. This is not a foil insulation made of polyethylene foam, but a pure foil that is laid between the inner surface of the wall and the wooden trim of the steam room. A simple technology is used here: the foil is nailed to a wooden surface with the help of battens, as shown in the diagram:

The joints of the material are made with an overlap of at least 10 cm and are glued with aluminum tape for tightness. Later, interior trim elements are attached to the lathing slats. According to the same scheme, it is proposed to insulate baths built of brick, gas silicate and foam blocks, since these building materials are best protected from moisture. That is, from the inside, lay a foil vapor barrier, and perform the main "pie" of insulation from the outside.

The most correct decision would be to abandon the idea of ​​​​insulating the bath from the inside, it is enough to lay a vapor barrier layer between the walls and the interior. At the same time, when installing external thermal insulation, it is possible to use any kind of heaters for baths or saunas without risking the health of your loved ones. In this case, it is worth starting with the insulation of the foundation of the building.

Foundation thermal insulation

This procedure is more convenient to perform during construction, otherwise you will have to destroy the blind area and dig a hole around the structure at least 1 m wide and 30 cm deep. First, a layer of waterproofing is applied to the foundation surface, and then insulation boards are glued. This is where foamed polymers will come in handy - polystyrene, or better, polystyrene foam and foam plastic. The thickness of the heat-insulating layer in this case will be 50 mm.

Advice. To insulate the base and base of the bath, you should not use various foil heaters, they are too thin and will not give the desired effect. Mineral wool is also not suitable, since it is hygroscopic and, after absorbing moisture, is not able to retain heat.

Insulation plates are also laid under the blind area, thus protecting the soil near the building from freezing. Then the concrete blind area is poured and the basement is finished, as shown in the example of sauna insulation from foam blocks:

How to properly insulate the floor and ceiling

As mentioned above, it is possible to produce thermal insulation inside the bath, including floors, only with the help of natural heaters. However, there is a technology in accordance with which it is possible to insulate the floor with foam plastic and similar materials. To do this, you just need to isolate them from the inner space of the steam room and this is done by means of a concrete screed. With this option, the “pie” of the design looks like this:

First, an inclined surface with a footing is arranged, on which a waterproofing film is placed, and on top - a layer of foam. The insulation is covered with another layer of vapor barrier film, after which it is poured with a concrete screed. In the middle of the structure, a ladder with a drainage pipe for draining and discharging water is provided.

It is possible to simplify the process if you simply use concrete mixed with foam balls or vermiculite for screeding. Then it will simultaneously serve as an insulating layer, and there is no need to put whole plates under the screed. Another option is to take expanded clay for floor insulation, and it will not need to be isolated from the interior of the bath. The method will fit when the wooden floors on the logs are supported by brick posts and you do not plan to arrange a ladder and drainage.

Expanded clay is poured between the lags into the cavity between the finishing and subfloor, or around the brick columns. Remember that to ensure the required degree of insulation, a layer of expanded clay is needed 3-4 times thicker than foam. Otherwise, there will be no sense from it. This material is loose and porous, so after getting wet it can dry out quickly enough, the main thing is that ventilation works.

Also, with the help of expanded clay, the ceiling is insulated in a bath with a cold roof. The only condition is that the ceiling lining must be strong enough to withstand the weight of the insulation. From above, from the side of the attic space, the material does not need to be covered with anything. If you want to insulate the attic over the steam room with sawdust, then they should first be mixed with clay and the resulting solution should be laid between the logs.

The fact is that water vapor will gradually penetrate from the steam room through the wooden floor and impregnate the layer of sawdust. As a result, their thermal insulation properties will decrease, in addition, a fungus can start from moisture. Clay, on the other hand, does not allow moisture to pass through and after drying, a good thermal insulation of the ceiling will be obtained. Sometimes a mixture of sawdust and cement is also used, but this option is not suitable for baths and saunas, cement can absorb a lot of moisture and the ceiling will lose heat.

For reference. If any basalt insulation is considered for internal insulation of a bath, then it is not suitable not only because of the release of phenol. Mineral wool also absorbs moisture well, no matter how hard you try to wrap it up, except to hermetically seal the plate material in polyethylene.

We should not forget about reed mats. In the bath, they can be used everywhere and insulate any structures, but it is important to ensure good ventilation and airing of the steam room to dry this natural material after washing procedures.

About door insulation

Due to the large temperature difference between the street and the room inside the sauna, a large amount of heat can escape through the front door if it has loose porches or is poorly insulated. The first problem is solved in the old-fashioned way - by stuffing felt strips onto the elements of the door frame. As for insulation, there are several ways.

The simplest is the installation of a thermal curtain just outside the door. A string is attached to the wall above the entrance, on which a piece of dense fabric is suspended to the floor. In order to be able to move it away, the suspension must be provided on clips or make rings of wire with your own hands. Another way is to insulate a wooden door from the inside by upholstering it with foam rubber or the same felt. From above, the material is covered with dermantine on carnations, and a sealing roller is nailed along the perimeter of the box, as shown in the diagram:

Conclusion

As it turned out, the process of warming the enclosing structures of the bath is not as simple as it might seem. There are a lot of recommendations on the Internet on how to carry out thermal insulation with various heaters, but their environmental friendliness and harmlessness to health are not mentioned. Meanwhile, this is the main factor influencing the choice of material, because from this point of view, the bath must be built flawlessly.