How to insulate the floor of the 1st floor. How to insulate the floor on the first floor? Various ways to insulate the floor in the apartment

Insulation of the floor of the first floor, the choice of thermal insulation material and the technology of laying each type of insulation.

The need for floor insulation on the first floor

Thermal insulation of floors on the ground floor is necessary both in a private house and in an apartment building. In the first case, insulation will help save a decent amount of money on energy, which is important for the cold season, in the second, it will make the apartment cozy and warm.

In multi-storey buildings, especially panel buildings, basements are always cold. As a result, in winter, no matter how hot the radiators are, the floor always remains cool, and the temperature in the apartment often drops below the comfort level.

Thus, there are quite a few reasons to insulate the floors of the first floor in the house:

• Saving money. Up to 30% of heat escapes through the floor. By insulating it, you can save a lot. The question is relevant for owners of private residential buildings.
• Improved tactile sensations. Walking on a cold floor barefoot is unpleasant. You have to wear slippers and socks to boot. The insulated floor is pleasant to the touch, you can walk on it barefoot without fear of getting sick.
• Elimination of dampness. On the ground floor of a private house, moisture penetrates from the ground, in a high-rise building - from the basement. Most heaters require base waterproofing. After laying them, the floor will always be dry.

The choice of material for warming the floor of the first floor

Before insulating the floor, you need to decide on the material to be used. The market for heaters is diverse. On sale you can find thermal insulation made from natural substances and synthetic. To choose the optimal material in terms of technical characteristics / price ratio, you will have to deal with each type separately, and then draw conclusions.

To insulate the floor of the first floor in a private house or high-rise building, the following materials are used:

1. Expanded clay. It is made from pure clay, which is fired in kilns at high temperatures. There are three fractions - crushed stone, gravel, sand. For the best thermal insulation of the floor, a mixture of two fractions is used (gravel, crushed stone, sand is obtained with partial destruction of the material at the time of installation). The insulation is different in density. For thermal insulation of the floor, you need to choose a sufficiently dense material. Expanded clay absorbs moisture well and gives it poorly, so waterproofing is required when laying. It can be mastic or a dense plastic film. Expanded clay thermal conductivity - 0.18 W/m*K.
2. Ecowool. Produced from the remnants of the paper industry - waste paper. Borax and boric acid are used as mandatory additives. Borax is a strong antiseptic, prevents the accumulation of moisture and decay. Boric acid acts as a flame retardant, making ecowool less flammable. Insulation goes on sale in a highly compressed form in plastic bags. Before work, it must be fluffed up using a drill with a mixing nozzle and after dumping the contents of the bag into a large tank. The thermal conductivity of ecowool is 0.032-0.041 W / m * K. The insulation is air and vapor permeable. Bilateral waterproofing is not required, since when wet, ecowool is taken with a thick, fairly strong crust and protects the rest of the insulation, while thermal conductivity remains at the same level. Fire hazard class - G2, non-self-igniting. Ecowool is not interesting for mice.
3. Mineral wool. There are three varieties - glass wool, slag wool, basalt wool. The last one has the best technical characteristics, it also costs 30 percent more. Available in rolls, mats, plates. Thermal conductivity depends on density: the higher it is, the better the material conducts heat. Technical characteristics of mineral wool: low thermal conductivity (0.032-0.045 W/m*K), good air and vapor permeability. The insulation does not burn, melts at a temperature of +1000°С. Mineral wool is not interesting for mice.
4. Expanded polystyrenes. This includes ordinary polystyrene and the brand of extruded polystyrene foam, which has become a household name, penoplex. Despite the same basis, heaters differ not only in appearance, but in technical characteristics. Penoplex is better than foam plastic in many of them: thermal conductivity - 0.032 W / m * K, water absorption - 0.4% (foam plastic has 4%), flammability group - G1-G4. The insulation does not allow moisture to pass through, it is convenient to cut. True, it is expensive. Under the usual cement screed it is cheaper to use a simple foam, and under the "warm floor" system - foam.
5. polyurethane foam. It has low thermal conductivity (0.019-0.028 W / m * K), almost zero water absorption and low vapor permeability, fire hazard class - G2-G3 (GOST 12.1.044), absolutely inert to chemical media and natural solvents, uninteresting to rodents. It is applied using a special installation that sprays the material under pressure. If you purchase it (there are disposable ones), then all the work can be done with your own hands. Polyurethane foam comes in different densities (from 18 to 300 kg / m 3), the lower this indicator, the weaker the thermal insulation layer will be in terms of mechanical strength. The material strongly "grows" when in contact with air, closing all the cracks and pores, has excellent adhesion to any type of substrate.
6. Foil heaters. Presented on the construction market as rolls of thin mineral wool or polyethylene foam. Such thermal insulation has two goals - insulation and repulsion of heat back into the room. In order for the foil thermal insulation to work correctly, a counter-lattice is installed (the thickness of the beam is 3 cm or more), a tongue-and-groove board is laid on top as a floor finish.

Before work on floor insulation, it is required to correctly calculate the thickness of the heat-insulating material. If you lay too thin a layer, the desired effect of protection against the penetration of cold will not be achieved, if you install too thick insulation, extra financial resources will be spent, which is inappropriate.

First floor floor insulation technology

Each of the listed heaters fits in its own way. It also matters which base needs to be insulated - concrete capital, wooden or floor along the logs. Expanded clay and expanded polystyrene are laid both under a concrete screed and under a fine wooden floor. Expanded clay is also poured over logs with mandatory double-sided waterproofing. Penoplex (extruded polystyrene foam) is always placed under the “warm floor” systems, ecowool is poured into the cavity between the subfloor and the finishing floor, mineral wool is laid along the logs and is never used in a concrete screed due to insufficient strength characteristics and increased water absorption. Foil heaters are not used independently, as they have a small thickness.

Floor insulation on the first floor with expanded clay

Several types of floors are insulated with this material: on the ground, in houses on screw piles, on logs. The first two options are similar to each other in terms of installation technology.

For work you will need: expanded clay, cement mixture (concrete screed), a mixing container, a drill with a mixer nozzle, a trowel, a reinforcing mesh, dense polyethylene (thickness 200 micro and above), a rake.

The procedure for warming the concrete floor of the first floor:

• Disassemble the finished floor. Carefully remove the wooden one, inspect each floorboard, clean it from old paint, treat it with antiseptics, set it aside to dry, then lay it horizontally so that it does not curl. Other types of flooring, tiles, plywood, chipboard, are dismantled and thrown away.
• Inspect the rough base, remove debris and dust, check the evenness with a level. This is necessary in order to pour expanded clay as evenly as possible, without differences in height.
• Treat the subfloor with an antiseptic and let it dry.
• Lay polyethylene, be sure to put it on the walls, 5-7 centimeters above the level of the intended finishing floor. Trim after installing skirting boards. Secure the joints of the film with adhesive tape.
• Pour expanded clay, level it with a rake, check the level in places where there were deviations from the horizontal. Add insulation there, if required, and level it again.
• Spill expanded clay with cement milk. This will increase the adhesion between the granules.
• Install reinforcing mesh. The height of the mounting racks is 3 cm.
• Mix the cement mixture with water according to the instructions, let stand for 5 minutes and mix again.
• Fill the floor in parts, first carefully leveling each of them with a trowel and checking the level.
• Let the surface dry and gain working strength. This will take about a month (28 days).
• Install the finish coat. Don't forget to install baseboards and cut off excess plastic wrap.

The procedure for warming the floor of the first floor with expanded clay on the ground and if the house is on piles is approximately the same. Tools and materials are the same as when working with a concrete base. Additionally, you will need sand and gravel to equip the pillow.

We do the work like this:

1. Disassemble the floor.
2. Remove the top layer of the earth and go deep into the ground by about half a meter.
3. Tamp the bottom of the resulting pit. For these purposes, either a small skating rink, or a special machine, or a home-made device consisting of a heavy handle and a dense, durable sole of any size is suitable.
4. Fill the sand with a layer of 10 cm, spill it with water, tamp.
5. Lay rubble on top of the sand with a layer of 15 cm, tamp. Here it is better to use a special machine for tamping.
6. Pour sand again (10 cm), spill it with water, tamp. Check the resulting surface for evenness with a level.
7. Lay a plastic film, put it on the walls to a height of 5-7 cm above the level of the future finishing floor, fix the joints with adhesive tape.
8. Pour expanded clay, layer thickness of at least 15 cm, level with a rake and spill with cement milk.
9. Install reinforcing mesh.
10. Pour the concrete screed and let it dry for a month.
11. Apply the finish coat. Install skirting boards. Trim off excess waterproofing film.

It is also possible to insulate with expanded clay along the logs. In this case, the rough base is cleaned, a plastic film is laid and fixed with a construction stapler to the logs. The joints of the film are fixed with construction tape. Expanded clay is poured flush between the lags. Another layer of polyethylene is mounted on top and a tongue-and-groove board is laid - a finishing floor.

Important! For houses on a pile foundation, digging a foundation pit is not required. The thickness of the sand and gravel cushion, insulation and concrete screed should reach the level of the finished floor in the house.

Thermal insulation of the floor of the first floor with mineral wool

For such thermal insulation it is convenient to use rolls. They are cut to size before laying. The width of the roll should be half a centimeter greater than the step lag. You can also use mats. Mineral wool is used to insulate the wooden floor on the ground floor along the logs.

Work order:

• Remove the old wood floor. Inspect the boards, remove old paint, sand, treat with an antiseptic. Leave to dry, then lay horizontally.
• Remove debris and dust from the rough base. Carefully inspect the logs, replace the rotten ones.
• Treat all logs with an antiseptic and let dry.
• Lay dense polyethylene, insulate the joints with construction tape, fix the waterproofing with a stapler to the logs.
• Open the mineral wool and lay it between the lag. The insulation must be tight!
• Close the material from above with a vapor barrier membrane, also connect the joints with tape and attach to the logs with a stapler.
• Lay the prepared old boards. Install plinth.
• Trim excess waterproofing.
• Paint the finished coating.

If the private house has a basement, you can insulate the floor with mineral wool from below. In this case, you will need the help of one of your relatives or friends. The ceiling in the basement must be primed with an antiseptic, then install a lag system as thick as insulation, cut the mineral wool, fix the waterproofing film, lay the thermal insulation between the lag, close it on top with a vapor barrier membrane and finish it, for example, with moisture resistant plywood. In this case, the height of the living space will remain the same, and the floor temperature will become much more comfortable.

Floor insulation on the first floor with ecowool

This insulation is laid in several ways: blown, sprayed (water or adhesive is used for wetting), fall asleep. For independent work, only one option is suitable - backfilling.

It is convenient to insulate wooden floors in this way:

1. Disassemble the finished floor.
2. Treat the boards in the same way as in the case of mineral wool.
3. Clean the base of dust and debris.
4. Open the insulation bag and put it in a large tank.
5. Fluff the material with a drill with a mixer attachment.
6. Lay a layer of waterproofing, dense polyethylene is suitable. Fix the joints with tape. Don't forget to climb walls.
7. Pour ecowool into the first compartment between the lags. Start tamping using a wide trowel, or make some kind of tamping plane with a trowel-like handle.
8. Tamp down until you feel a significant amount of effort under your arms.
9. Add insulation and repeat the steps. The final option is a tightly laid insulation flush at the level of the lag.
10. Repeat all the steps with the rest of the cells between the lags.
11. Lay the finish coat, install the skirting boards and cut off the excess waterproofing.

Thermal insulation of the floor on the first floor with polystyrene foam

For thermal insulation of the floor on the ground or in a house on a pile foundation, it is recommended to use foam (under a concrete screed). If you need to insulate a concrete base, the foam is also poured into a concrete screed. Here it is important to consider the height of the room. In standard apartments with a ceiling height of 2.3-2.4 m, such insulation will “eat” at least 10 cm.

Polystyrenes are sensitive to the quality of the base on which they are laid. If there are obvious bulges and large horizontal deviations, this insulation may crack when loaded. Therefore, in addition, it may be necessary to level the subfloor, and this will take another 3-5 cm of the height of the room.

If this is the only possible option, proceed with the following plan:

• Remove the fine finish - remove the wooden floorboards, knock down the tiles.
• Inspect the base and check it for evenness with a level.
• If the height difference is more than 1.5 cm per linear meter, there are humps, you need to level the base. Knock down irregularities, dust the floor, pour a self-leveling cement screed of the desired thickness (3-5 cm). Let it dry and gain working strength.
• Next, proceed directly to the warming.
• Cut the foam with a small hacksaw.
• Lay dense polyethylene on the subfloor, connect the edges of the panels with construction tape, put the film on the walls and fix it.
• Lay the foam in two layers. So you avoid cold bridges. Lay the first layer with dressing of vertical seams. The second is similar, but a whole slab from the second should be located above each seam of the first layer. Also observe the dressing.
• Install reinforcing mesh. The height of the racks should be 3 centimeters.
• Prepare the screed mixture: mix with water according to the instructions, stir with a drill with a mixing attachment.
• Concrete the base. Fill the floor in parts. Smooth each compartment with a trowel and check for evenness with a level.
• Wait for complete drying and curing (approximately 28 days, depending on conditions).
• Do a clean up. The best option is tiles, laminate, linoleum, carpet. The wooden floor on the logs will “take away” additional centimeters of height, so this option is unacceptable for standard rooms.

Insulation of the floor of the first floor with expanded polystyrene on the ground or in a house on logs is carried out similarly to thermal insulation with expanded clay.

Brief technology:

1. Disassemble the floor, remove the top layer of soil, go deeper into it by half a meter.
2. Make a sand and gravel pillow.
3. Lay polyethylene on top of the insulation plate, observing the dressing.
4. Install reinforcing mesh and pour concrete screed.

Just as in the case of expanded clay insulation, in houses on a pile foundation, digging a foundation pit is not required for thermal insulation of the first floor. Level the surface of the soil, compact it. Next, accurately calculate the thickness of the heat-insulating cake: sand and gravel cushion + insulation + concrete screed.

Its height should completely cover the distance between the ground and the finished floor in the house. Deepening below the soil level may be required only if there is not enough space from the ground to the floor to equip a full-fledged insulated concrete screed.

Combined thermal insulation of the floor of the first floor

Insulation of the floor with penoplex on the ground floor is best done in combination with foil insulation (it is better to take foil isolon, it is thinner than foil mineral wool in rolls). In the case of such thermal insulation, only a tongue-and-groove board laid along the logs can be the finish coating, otherwise the foil will not work.

Installation technology of the combined heat-insulating cake:

• Remove the old finish coat.
• Clear the rough base of debris, inspect the logs.
• If necessary, replace rotten logs, lay new ones, and treat all wooden parts with an antiseptic.
• Lay foam boards. The thickness of the insulation is flush with the lags. You need to lay the material in niches as tightly as possible. Plates should not hang out!
• From above, close the insulation with foil isolon, overlap and secure the joints with metallized tape, fasten to the logs.
• Install the counter grille. Use a beam at least 3 cm thick.
• Lay the grooved board (finishing floor).

Floor insulation with polyurethane foam on the first floor

This material gives a lot of scope for action. They can easily be insulated both from the inside (from the side of the living quarters) and from the outside (from the side of the basement, or to fill the space between the ground and the floor with material if the house is on stilts).

Usually professionals are hired for such work. This is due to the fact that spraying polyurethane foam requires a special installation. However, progress does not stand still. Disposable installations have appeared on sale, they are not cheap, however, if you make a full calculation, there will still be a certain benefit.

Having decided to insulate the floor on the ground floor with polyurethane foam yourself, choose the Foam Kit system. Detailed instructions for the sequence of actions are attached to the equipment, so special skills are not required. Such installations do not need to be connected to the mains, which is very convenient when insulating the floor in a country house if there is no electricity.

The second task that will have to be solved is the polyurethane foam (PUF) itself. It must be of high quality, only in this case the insulation layer will turn out to be durable and will have excellent technical characteristics.

PPU spraying technology:

1. Prepare the base in the standard way - remove debris, prime with an antiseptic.
2. If the base is concrete, without a log, install a system of wooden beacons (they are similar to logs, their height is equal to the thickness of the thermal insulation layer). If there are lags, insulation is carried out directly on them.
3. Spray polyurethane foam in one cell. Apply the composition evenly. On contact with air, it expands in size, so do not rush. If in some place the layer thickness is insufficient, add a little material.
4. Do the same for the rest of the cells.
5. After the polyurethane foam has hardened, cut off the excess flush with the joists and lay the top coat from the tongue and groove board.

Important! Do not work with PPU at low and negative temperatures. This will adversely affect the quality of the thermal insulation layer. The optimum temperature for working with polyurethane foam is + 10 + 40 ° С.

How to make a warm floor on the first floor

The ideal and most expensive option is to install a "warm floor" system on the ground floor. This work is not laborious, but it is necessary to have knowledge in electrics. If there is no desire to understand this, but at the same time you want to save money, carry out a preliminary combined floor insulation with foam plastic (insulation plus foil thermal insulation), and invite professionals to lay the warm floor.

In this case, the laying of foam plastic will be carried out not according to the logs, but as under a concrete screed:

• Carry out preparatory work to clean the base and level it.
• Lay the penoplex in two layers, seal the joints with adhesive tape or a special sealant.
• From above, cover the insulation with thin foil thermal insulation, close the joints with metallized tape.

How to insulate the floor on the first floor - look at the video:

In order to properly insulate the floor on the ground floor, you need to have an idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthermal insulation materials, be able to choose them correctly and calculate the required thickness. All types of work are available for do-it-yourself work, you just need the desire to do everything efficiently and save the family budget.

It is necessary to deal with the insulation of the apartment even at the stage of repair, although some people realize it a few years after its completion. And if it is still possible to correct the situation with the help of wall insulation, then doing the same with the floor is much more difficult. Therefore, insulating floors in an apartment should be a top priority, especially when the property is located on the ground floor.

In this article we will talk about how to insulate the floor in the apartment.

Types of floor for an apartment

In modern apartments, two types of flooring are usually installed:

• Concrete;
• Wooden.

We will talk about their features below.

Wooden floor

Wooden board remains one of the most common types of coatings. The advantage of such flooring is environmental friendliness, presentable appearance, practicality and affordable price. The wood coating makes the flooring warmer, but even in this case it is necessary to insulate the floor in the apartment on the 1st floor.

Concrete floor

In multi-storey buildings in apartments, concrete flooring is most often found. They are based on concrete slabs. If on the middle floors they warm up a little, since there are living quarters above and below, then the insulation of the floor of the first floor in the apartment is simply necessary in order to walk on it without fear of catching a cold.

Wooden floor insulation

For insulation, a warming material is placed under the rough coating of wooden flooring. The instructions for warming in this case are as follows:

1. First, logs are installed on the interfloor ceiling in one plane along the horizontal level - wooden beams, the size of which is 70 * 50 cm. The logs should be placed at intervals of 35-40 cm.
2. Insulation is laid between the lags.
3. A rough coating is installed on top of the insulation.

Advice! As a rough coating, you can use moisture-resistant plywood, floorboards, chipboard.

1. At the end, a finishing coating (parquet, laminate, etc.) is laid on the rough coating.

Underfloor heating options

In order for the insulated floors in the apartment not only to retain heat, but also to warm the air, different types of warm floors can be used.

Such coatings are divided into:

• Electrical. They can be mounted directly into the screed (if a heating cable is used) or laid over a rough coating (if heating mats are used).
• infrared. They are a special film installed under the finish coating.
• Water. In this case, the coolant (water) circulates through pipes built into the screed. Water in this case is constantly heated and pumped into the heating system.

Warm floors in an apartment on the ground floor will not be superfluous, because the better it is to insulate the floor in the apartment, the more comfortable it will be.

Insulation of concrete floors

In order to insulate the concrete flooring in the apartment, the insulating material should be placed between the ceiling and the leveling screed.

The technology in this case involves the creation of a multilayer structure.

1. First, a thick film is laid on the concrete floor in such a way that at the joints it overlaps by at least 10 cm. The film is used to create waterproofing.

Advice! To prevent the film from wrapping, you can fix it with tape.

1. The selected insulation is placed directly on the film. Insulation sheets should be placed as close as possible to each other, as well as to the walls.
2. Another layer of a thick film is laid on top of the insulation, which ensures the moisture resistance of the entire insulation structure.
3. The floor surface is reinforced with a metal mesh.
4. At the final stage, a cement screed is poured.

Floor insulation materials

In order to effectively insulate the floor, you need to choose the right insulation for the floor in the apartment. Today, the choice of such materials is quite large.

Vermiculite

Vermiculite is considered the most environmentally friendly insulation today. It is obtained by processing mineral products. Sold in the form of plates, the thickness of which varies from 20 to 60 cm.

Tiled vermiculite is a rather expensive material, but you can use its analogue - granular vermiculite, the price of which is much lower. Vermiculite does not accumulate moisture, which is very important for an insulating layer.

In the photo - tiled vermiculite

Mineral wool

This is a cheap insulation that provides low heat transfer. If you are thinking about how to insulate the floors in an apartment so that it is cheap and effective, mineral wool will be an excellent solution.

However, it also has disadvantages: over time, wool becomes denser, which means that its thermal insulation properties decrease. In addition, it is not entirely safe for health.

Styrofoam

Polyfoam provides low thermal conductivity, prevents the formation of condensate, eliminates air convection inside the insulation layer. In addition, it is cheap and environmentally friendly. The disadvantages of polystyrene include its fragility and susceptibility to aggressive environmental influences.

Expanded clay

The advantages of expanded clay include strength, low thermal conductivity, durability. However, it absorbs moisture to a large extent, so you need to consider a competent floor waterproofing system.

gypsum fiber

Most often used as . This material is ineffective as a heater.

Polyurethane foam (PPU)

This is an innovative material that can be used to insulate any surface. Unlike other materials, PPU is simply sprayed onto the surface. This type of thermal insulation is considered the most effective today.

Bulk insulation

For floor insulation, special mixtures are also used, called self-leveling floors. They provide high heat and noise insulation, as well as waterproofing and fire safety. These coatings are environmentally friendly materials, and they can be mounted by hand.

We talked about how to insulate the floor in the apartment. We also examined the types of insulation materials used today. We hope our tips are helpful to you.

You can get more information on the topic from the video in this article.

From the author: hello dear reader! The heat in the room directly depends on the quality of the flooring. Therefore, starting to make repairs, first of all, think about how to insulate the floor in the apartment with your own hands. We can bet in repairs on the installation of additional heat sources and new windows, but this may not be enough.

With a defective floor covering, all the heat will go into the interpanel joints, corner slots and the basement or floor below. If you love your neighbors, then this is justified, but if you are the owner of an apartment on the ground floor, then this is quite unreasonable, you will agree.

Important: high-quality flooring will save up to 30% of heat in your apartment!

Basement insulation

One of the options for solving the problem of insulation in a dwelling on the 1st floor - thermal insulation of the floor slab in the basement.

Important: before carrying out work in the basement, coordinate all work with the Housing Office.

There are several ways to insulate the floor covering from the basement:

• insulation or. On a concrete base, with the help of liquid nails, sheets are attached, the gaps between which are filled with mounting foam. For better waterproofing, we glue the mounting polyethylene film on the insulation, making a slight overlap on each other (up to 15 cm);
• spraying polyurethane foam. Despite the high cost, this option is durable, has high thermal insulation properties, does not absorb moisture, heat-resistant.

Important: insulation of the concrete floor from the basement side will not solve the problem of keeping heat in your apartment, but will only help to strengthen the thermal insulation from the outside of the room, avoid dampness and mold.

Warming methods

Consider several budget methods using materials with high thermal insulation properties:

1. Wood chip heaters.
2. mineral materials.
3. Polymeric: polystyrene foam, polystyrene foam, polystyrene foam.

Each of the methods has its advantages and disadvantages, but initially you must decide on the functionality and size of the room to be insulated and your financial capabilities.

Wooden base insulation

The most traditional way of warming - this is the laying of heat-insulating material in the space between the lags. Before insulating a wooden floor, decide on the further course of work and designate the installation scheme for logs and beacons.

A source: http://pol-master.com

Important: after preparing the flooring and installing the log, lay a layer of vapor barrier, leading it 5 cm to the wall.

A source: http://pol-master.com

Now you can lay out the selected insulation between the lag and cover it with another layer of vapor barrier. You can start laying wooden boards, dense plywood, OSB / GVL sheets and topcoat.

Bulk materials

Wood chip materials are considered the highest quality and easiest to use. These include the following types of heaters:

• ordinary sawdust / special mixtures: sand + cement + sawdust + lime;
• plywood - involves two layers of laying with different thicknesses (1st layer - up to 8 mm, 2nd layer - up to 12 mm) and mandatory gaps between sheets to prevent shrinkage and floor creaking;

A source: http://teplo.guru

• Chipboard - the easiest way to insulate a concrete floor, the optimal sheet thickness is 20 mm;
• ecowool - high-quality, environmentally friendly, but expensive insulation. There are several ways of applying between the lags: laying with special equipment and manually filling the dry mix. Note that with machine laying, material savings are obtained up to 40%.

A source: http://www.nashpol.com

Mineral heaters

How else can you insulate the floor? Consider the option of using mineral materials, such heaters include:

• mineral wool;
• building mixtures based on cement.

Mineral wool is considered the most popular material for insulating housing on the 1st floor and attic spaces. It has excellent soundproofing and fireproof characteristics, is not subject to deformation from temperature changes, mold infections, and is vapor-tight.

Expanded clay is a heat-insulating material based on clay, with an affordable price range and a high degree of environmental friendliness of the components, but still it has drawbacks. Unlike mineral wool, it has high moisture permeability and brittleness.

Important: to improve the performance of expanded clay, it is practiced to use it with cement mortar. Such a screed increases not only the thermal insulation performance, but also increases the strength and water resistance of the coating.

Polymer materials

The use of polymeric materials in insulation is gaining popularity. Quality, availability and a large selection on the construction market allow you to immediately start installation. Note that the process of installing polymeric materials is extremely simple and even beginners can do it!

Among the polymeric materials it is worth noting:

• penoizol - a liquid polymeric material with a foamed structure;
• polystyrene and its improved form - polystyrene foam (great for concrete floors);
• polyurethane foam - liquid insulation, applied by spraying up to 10 cm thick;
• penoplex - a modernized version of foam.

Today, penoplex is becoming more and more popular. We will figure out how to properly insulate the floor with penoplex.

The cold floor is the weak point of all apartments located on the first floors. Residents of these premises every day have to deal not only with the cold coming from below, but also with the spread of dampness, mold and fungus. The question of how to insulate the floor on the ground floor is relevant both for apartment owners in multi-storey buildings and for residents of private houses, under the first floor of which there is an unheated basement. Work on warming the floor structure helps to solve the problem of cold and constant dampness: if this is done with the highest quality, the temperature in the rooms during the winter period will be comfortable, and the mold will disappear forever.

Concrete floor insulation work

Cold penetrates into the apartments of the lower floors of high-rise buildings due to the location of the room above the basement, as well as due to the poor thermal insulation characteristics of the floor slabs themselves. Warming of the concrete floor of the first floor is carried out using a cement-sand screed and heaters, which are characterized by a high density of the material.

What is the order in which the flooring works are carried out? The old coating is dismantled and removed, the remaining base is leveled and covered with sand or expanded clay. This backfill is used for three purposes at once: it not only makes the surface even, but also partially plays the role of thermal insulation, and also raises the level of future flooring. Many experts advise using a bulk pillow when insulating floors on the ground floor, since it eliminates deformation of the heat-insulating layer layer under heavy loads.

A damper tape must be glued along the perimeter of the floor of the first floor. If there is no adhesive layer on the tape, then it can be attached to the walls with self-tapping screws. The tape is needed for two purposes. It serves as an additional way to heat and, and also protects the walls of the room from the expansion of the cement screed, which will be poured from above.

On top of the expanded clay backfill, a layer of waterproofing is spread on the working surface - a dense polyethylene film, its joints are firmly fastened with construction tape. Then you can proceed to the installation of insulation. It is best to lay expanded polystyrene on the ceiling of the cold floor of the first floor, since its high density provides the best thermal insulation qualities. As a replacement for expanded polystyrene, you can consider options with floor insulation with mineral wool or polystyrene foam.

The material for the heat-insulating layer must be chosen carefully, the desire to save money can lead to the fact that all repairs will not provide a good result, and the temperature in the apartment during the cold periods of the year will remain uncomfortable.

Styrofoam boards.

Expanded polystyrene tiles should be placed tightly on the surface, it is not necessary to fasten them to the ceiling. When the installation of the heat-insulating layer is completed, the insulation of the floor of the first floor proceeds to the next stage of work: preparations for pouring the screed begin. In order for a decorative floor covering to be laid on the surface of the screed without any problems, it must turn out to be very even. for these purposes, before pouring the cement mortar, experts advise installing beacon profiles.

This is how the profiles for the future pouring of the screed look like.

Profiles must be set strictly according to the level and fixed. For fixing, you can use both self-tapping screws and the cement mortar itself. When mixing cement mortar, fiber and plasticizer can be added to it. These special additives are of great importance for increasing the strength of the future concrete screed. The finished solution is poured onto the work surface in the direction from the walls to the door and leveled with the rule. After the screed has completely dried, you can lay the selected floor covering on it. On this, the insulation of the concrete floor of the first floor can be considered complete.

Concrete or cement-sand mortar can be replaced with a dry screed. Dry mixes fit quickly and quite simply. The drying of the cement screed lasts about four weeks, if you do not have such a long period of time, then a dry screed remains the only possible option. It is not required to wait for it to dry, it is almost immediately ready for installation of the top layer of the floor.

Floor insulation in a wooden house

How to insulate a wooden floor? Floors on the ground floor often require thermal insulation work. Cold and damp enter the premises from the cold underground, making it uncomfortable to be in the rooms on the lower floor of the house. To insulate the floor structure, the insulation is placed between the rough and finish coatings.

Before starting work, it is necessary to choose a heater, since the distance between the lags will depend on the type of material. The sequence of work in the arrangement of the floors of the first floor is such that first a lag frame is mounted, and then heat-insulating material is placed between them. So that you have to cut and fit pieces of insulation as little as possible, the step between the lags should be equal to the width of the material.

Experts recommend installing double logs across, as this will greatly raise the floor, and nail the bars under the insulation flooring onto the floor beams. Using this method will save the height of the ceilings, which is most important in small rooms where it is impossible to sacrifice extra centimeters.

After installing the lag, the surface should be covered with a dense plastic film.

It is impossible to neglect the arrangement of the waterproofing layer, since the effect of all other works in its absence will be minimal. If the thermal insulation layer is exposed to moisture and gets wet, then almost all of its characteristics that ensure heat retention will be lost.

After the bars on the logs and the thermal insulation are installed, the first level of the raised floor is attached to them using self-tapping screws. It can be made both from boards or plywood, and from OSB sheets. If you are making a warm floor in an apartment on the ground floor, then you do not need to install an additional rough coating; a concrete floor slab will serve as the basis for the entire structure.

Insulation of the floor of the first floor can be done using polystyrene foam, polystyrene foam or mineral wool. The material should be laid between the lags in a checkerboard pattern tightly to each other. Most often, for the purposes of insulation, mineral wool is used, which is produced in rolls or tiles. As a replacement for the listed heat-insulating materials, an embankment of expanded clay or sawdust can be considered. They can also be used as thermal insulation, but in exceptional cases, since the falling asleep of expanded clay and sawdust is accompanied by a large amount of dust. Backfill made of expanded clay or sawdust is afraid of moisture and loses its properties when wet.

Mineral wool.

On top of the laid insulation, another layer of waterproofing is laid, which can be firmly attached with a construction stapler. If the waterproofing material cannot be laid with a single sheet, then at the joints, parts of the polyethylene are overlapped at least 10 cm wide. Then it is necessary to fill small bars on the logs in order to leave a gap between the insulation and the board finish to ensure ventilation of the entire floor structure.

After thermal insulation work, the floors of the first floor can be sheathed with any material you like. The flooring can be made of both floorboards and plywood or chipboard. When installing a finishing coating, it is necessary to remember about the gaps near the walls: a space of 1.5 - 2 cm wide should be left between the flooring and the wall of the room.

One of the alternative options for warming wooden floors is the use of penoizol, which many call liquid foam. Insulation of the floor of the first floor when using penoizol differs in that it does not require removal of the casing. This saves you a lot of time for repairs. The cost of the floor insulation method using penoizol depends on how much material you need to fill the space between the lags.

The sequence of work is quite simple. Holes are drilled in several places in the wooden floor, or you can simply remove one or two boards from the flooring. Penoizol is supplied under pressure through these holes into the structure. The material fills the entire space between the lags, no matter what form it needs to take.

The advantage of this method of warming the floors of the first floor is not only the simplicity of its implementation, but also the protection of the entire floor. Penoizol in the process of polymerization increases in volume and exits through the slots of the boardwalk. As a result, it fills absolutely all voids and cracks that can contribute to heat loss.

When choosing a material for thermal insulation of the floor, one should be guided by financial possibilities and adhere to a rational approach. If you have enough time to dismantle the old floor and lay a new flooring from the boards, then you can choose mineral wool or expanded polystyrene as a heater. Both materials can be mounted with your own hands, without using the services of specialists.

The use of rolled mineral wool is one of the most common ways to insulate the floor, which is used by many. Thermal insulation of the floor in the premises of the first floor with the help of expanded clay is undesirable, since the result of the work carried out will not be highly effective. If there is no opportunity to spend a serious amount of money on the purchase of thermal insulation material, then you should pay attention to insulation with foam. Using penoizol requires serious costs, but it will save you time.

How to insulate the floor on the ground?

In some private houses, the floor is mounted directly on the ground, therefore it also requires serious insulation. Thermal insulation of such structures should be considered at the stage of building a house.

When building a house, the top layer of soil is removed and removed, crushed stone and sand are poured in its place. Each layer is poured to a height of about 10 cm and well compacted. Insulation of the floor of the first floor in this case can be carried out on sand or on a concrete screed. In the first method, the heat-insulating material is laid directly on the compacted sand, in the second, a concrete slab up to 12 cm thick is first poured.

As a heater, it is best to use expanded polystyrene, which is not afraid of moisture. The perimeter of the room is treated with a damper tape, and waterproofing is laid on the insulation in the form of a polyethylene film or a vapor barrier membrane. Then, a cement screed with a reinforcing mesh is poured over this entire structure. After the solution has dried, the floors of the first floor can be covered with a decorative coating.

Insulation of the concrete floor is very important to create comfort and warmth in the house, especially if the apartment is located on the first floor.

But wooden floors sometimes also require insulation.

For example, in a private house, no matter how well the coating is made, it does not give a full guarantee of heat preservation, which means that it will not be possible to save on heating.

The systemic heat exchange of a house or apartment largely depends on the floors, since they are the place of great heat loss.

Concrete is durable and has excellent performance, it is popular for flooring, but it has one serious drawback - the material is very cold. If it is arranged in a residential area, then high-quality thermal insulation is required, otherwise any heating will not be effective.

A cold floor means uncomfortable conditions in the room, significant energy overruns for heating.

In addition, in the absence of insulation, and in the apartment on the ground floor, located, as a rule, above an unheated basement, dampness may form, and as a result, mold on the walls.

All this can be avoided with a high-quality insulating structure.

Floor insulation work is not impossible. With the necessary materials and tools, any owner can handle it on their own.

Which heater is better to choose?

There are several types of insulation, produced in the form of blocks, bulk materials, rolls, and even in liquid form. Each of them is quite suitable for warming the cold floor of the first floor.

Mats and slabs

Insulators of this type have low thermal conductivity and low weight, they are the best suited for insulating the concrete floor of the first floor.

They can be used in conjunction with thin roll materials, which increases the overall thermal insulation.

Heaters in the form of mats and plates are made of foam, mineral wool, basalt fiber, based on expanded polystyrene and other composite materials.

Since ancient times, mats made from plant fibers, such as straw, which is an excellent environmentally friendly insulation, have been used to insulate floors in private homes. The only negative is that organic matter decomposes over time.

Loose insulation

Bulk materials include sawdust, foam chips, slag and others.

They are used for floor insulation in apartments on the first floor, as well as in private houses.

The advantage of bulk insulation is that they completely fill the space between the bars of the crate.

This material is suitable both for placement on open ground under the floor in a private house, and in apartments with an unheated basement below.

Roll materials

Foamed polystyrene, mineral wool, cork or cork-based composite mats, multi-layer foil insulation, etc. are produced in the form of rolls.

Some of them have a small thickness, and therefore will not fully cope with the task of retaining heat - they are good to use in addition to thicker heaters.

Rolled mineral wool, 7-10 cm thick, is an excellent thermal insulator, so it is quite suitable for insulation.

Liquid heaters

Cement mortars mixed with foam plastic chips, wood shavings, expanded clay and other light airy materials are used as liquid insulation materials.

The modern version of the liquid insulation is a polymer with a foamed structure - penoizol. To work with it, special equipment is used, with the help of which the cavities between the guides of the crate are filled with material.

How to properly insulate a concrete floor?

When calculating floor insulation, it is necessary to take into account the significant load that all layers of the structure will be subjected to.

For different types of floors, the insulation material is somewhat different from each other, but the insulation system common to all floors consists in laying materials in the following sequence:

1. The base is a concrete slab.
2. waterproofing layer.
3. Wooden crate.
4. Insulation laid between the guides of the crate
5. (its sheets overlap by 15-25 cm and are glued with special adhesive tape).
6. If the insulation has the thickness of the crate, a counter-rail is nailed to it, which will create a gap between the insulation and the subfloor, allowing ventilation.
7. Draft floor (thick plywood or board).
8. Additionally, a thin rolled insulation can be used under the draft floor, which is spread over the crate.

The method of floor insulation is easy to understand by considering the above graphic diagram.

Features of insulation of the concrete floor of the first floor in a private house and apartment

Insulation of concrete floors in a private house and apartment differ in some nuances, but the principle of insulation is basically the same.

If the concrete floors of a private house are insulated, which does not have a basement underneath, then you will have to resort to the use of several materials.

Naturally, it is better to calculate the thickness of the insulation in advance, during the construction of the house, but if the insulation is carried out already in the finished room, it is necessary to prepare the base. The same is done in the apartment:

1. To do this, the decorative coating is removed and a thorough revision of the concrete slab is carried out for cracks and chips.
2. The slab is cleaned, and all identified defects are eliminated with a concrete or ready-made repair mortar.
3. After it hardens, it is advisable to treat the surface with a strengthening impregnation - siling.
4. Next comes the waterproofing device - this process is important both for the floor of the first floor of the apartment and for a private house.

The waterproofing layer can consist of a polyethylene film, which should be 15-20 cm on the walls, or a special water-repellent deep penetration primer applied to the floors and lower parts of the walls.

If in an apartment the crate (logs) can be laid directly on the waterproofing, then in a private house it is better to raise it by 5-7 cm.

Floors raised above the concrete slab will allow a thicker layer of insulation material to be laid.

To do this, pieces of timber 5x5x15 cm are laid on the waterproofing, under which it is necessary to lay small pieces of roofing material.

1. Logs are laid on the bars and the entire structure is fixed to the concrete base.
2. Further, with a layer of 12-15 cm, loose insulation can be laid, for example, expanded clay in dry form or with the addition of liquid cement mortar to it. In the latter case, after filling the space, it is necessary to wait for the layer to harden.
3. Slabs or a rolled version of mineral wool are laid on top of it, which has low thermal conductivity and is an ideal floor insulation for both a private house and an apartment. In addition to it, you can use foam or liquid insulation - penoizol.
4. The top layer of insulation should be below the level of the lag by about 5 mm.
5. Mineral wool is covered on top with a vapor barrier film, which is attached to the logs with staples.
6. The last stage of insulation is the installation of a subfloor, which may consist of boards or thick plywood - this will depend on which finish is chosen.

It is worth noting that if it is assumed, then the rough coating can consist of two layers: boards and plywood.

How best to insulate the wooden floor of the first floor

Wooden floors in modern high-rise buildings are no longer satisfactory, but they are often found in old buildings and in the private sector.

Wood itself is a warm material, but it tends to dry out over time, as a result of which cracks form in the floors, through which drafts penetrate into an apartment or house.

Such floors require insulation work:

• To do this, it is necessary to lift the existing old coating. If it is in good condition, after the insulation process it can be installed back.
• After removing the boards, the logs are inspected and, if necessary, replaced with new ones. Then they are treated with antiseptic antifungal agents and given time to dry.
• Insulation is laid or poured on the base of the floor.

  If the logs are high enough, you can arrange two layers of insulation, the lower of which will be bulk, and the upper one will be made of foam or mineral wool slabs.

• The next step is to cover the insulation with a vapor barrier film, and the floorboard is laid on top.

When building a house, it is better to insulate wooden floors immediately, observing all technological rules. The diagram clearly shows the layers of an insulated wooden floor, going in the following sequence:

1. The foundation of the house.
2. Floor beams (logs).
3. Beam for subfloor.
4. Vapor barrier.
5. Draft floor.
6. Insulation.
7. On top of it is a waterproofing film.
8. Batten.

Basement insulation

If the apartment is located above the basement, it is possible to insulate the floor from its side.

On the ceiling of the basement under the apartment, you can strengthen the insulation.

For this procedure, foam, foam flex or mineral wool is suitable.

• Styrofoam is glued to the basement ceiling using special glue. After it dries, all the gaps between the plates are sealed with mounting foam.

With the help of mineral wool, you can also insulate the floors from the basement, but this will be more difficult and expensive.

• Bars are fixed to the ceiling at a distance of the width of the mineral wool, minus 5 cm. This is necessary so that the insulation mats fit tightly between them.
• In order for the insulation to hold securely, fiberboard or thin plywood is strengthened on top of it on the logs. Along the edge of the structure, along the walls, all the gaps formed are sealed with mounting foam.

In order for the insulation work to be effective, you need to know a few nuances on which the desired result will depend.

1. The first thing to do when starting floor insulation in an apartment on the ground floor is to examine the walls of the basement.

If cracks, chips, and possibly even holes are found on them, they must be repaired with cement-based mortars, mounting foam, or, if necessary, apply brickwork.

Basement vents can be covered for the winter, but they cannot be completely sealed.

1. If insulation is being done in a private house, under which there is a basement, the floor should be additionally insulated from the outside, i.e. fix the insulation on the ceiling of the basement.
2. You need to know that low-density foam has high thermal insulation properties, due to its porous air structure.
3. We must not forget about the installation of a vapor barrier, which must be installed correctly, and be sure to glue the joints with special adhesive tape.
4. It is impossible to close the holes completely ventilating the subfloor, otherwise condensation may form under the floor covering or on the insulation itself.

In order not to make any mistakes, before starting work, you need to study its technology, calculate all the necessary parameters in accordance with the chosen method of thermal insulation and the type of insulation material.

If your apartment is located on the ground floor, there is no need to postpone work on floor insulation. Sooner or later, cold and dampness will settle in the room, and with them, fungus and mold will appear on the walls of the premises, and it will be very difficult to get rid of them.