Polyurethane foam is an effective insulation. Spraying and pouring polyurethane foam in Rostov-on-Don and the Southern Federal District

Expanded clay, which is increasingly used as a bulk insulation, fills the gaps in the brickwork, or a layer is constructed from it to insulate walls made of blocks.

Types of masonry for filling

The construction of brick walls under expanded clay insulation is carried out by several types of masonry:

• Lightweight well. This method for wall insulation with expanded clay involves the construction of two walls, which are laid out in parallel with a thickness of half a brick with a gap between them from 14 to 34 cm. After the construction of the jumpers, which are laid across the walls through each row of height at a distance of 0.6 to 1.2 m, expanded clay is poured into the cavity wells. It should be carefully tamped and well spilled with "cement milk" every half a meter of the height of the walls being erected;

well masonry

• With embedded elements. Such masonry is also carried out by building two parallel brick walls with a gap filled with expanded clay insulation, but special embedded elements in the form of reinforcing brackets or fiberglass ties are used as a binder;
• Well with horizontal diagonals in three rows. The construction of two parallel walls is carried out with a clearance of 14 to 27 cm, and outer wall laid out in half a brick, and the inside - in a brick. After laying five rows, expanded clay and gravel are poured into the cavity, they are rammed and filled with "milk". Then a diaphragm is installed, consisting of three rows of overlaps. This type of masonry allows you to make the corners solid, without voids, which significantly increases the strength of the structure being constructed. In this case, wall insulation with expanded clay is the best option, since silicate or facing brick, stone, or concrete blocks, which are subsequently finished with plaster or even rubble, which has a variety of colors and is used as a decorative material.

Universal use of expanded clay

This loose insulation is used not only in the construction brick buildings by the method of the above types of masonry with intermediate wells. Expanded clay insulates internal walls, for the construction of which other materials were also used, for example, aerated concrete, foam concrete or expanded clay concrete blocks.

In this case, the front wall is constructed from facade material at a distance of at least 10 cm, and the resulting voids are covered with expanded clay. To prevent the insulation from fogging and dampening, it is necessary to leave gaps in the wall for ventilation.

Expanded clay is obtained by firing a mixture consisting of intumescent clay, sawdust, solar oil, sulfate-alcohol stillage and peat bog. Preliminary fusible raw materials are foamed, and then rolled in special drums, giving its particles a shape. As a result of their subsequent heat treatment are light and durable granules that have fractions of 2-40 mm.

On this basis, expanded clay is divided into three types: sand, gravel and crushed stone. Sand has the smallest fraction of 2-5 mm, gravel - 5-40 mm, and crushed stone is obtained by crushing gravel, its most used fraction is 10 mm. Slight deviations in dimensions within 5% are possible. The structure of the finished granules contains a large volume of air, which serves as an excellent barrier to the transfer of heat from the walls.

In addition to differences in fraction, the granular material is divided into 10 grades, the calculation of which starts with 250 and ends with 800. The grade indicates specific gravity 1 m 3 loose insulation and its density. For example, expanded clay M400 has a density of 400 kg / m 3. With its decrease, its thermal insulation qualities increase.

The heaviest bulk insulation must be stronger in order not to collapse under its own weight. In terms of strength, expanded clay has grades P15 - P400. The minimum strength of M400 granules should be P50, for expanded clay M450 - P75, etc.

A ten-centimeter layer of expanded clay in the wall is equivalent in terms of insulating properties to brickwork 1000 mm thick or wood paneling, having a corresponding size of 250 mm. Therefore, at a fairly low outside air temperature, the material is an excellent frost-resistant insulation, and in the summer heat it keeps the house cool due to its low thermal conductivity.

Compared to other types of insulation, wall insulation with expanded clay is much cheaper and more effective. She three times more effective than protection wood, and its cost is an order of magnitude lower than the price brickwork. The use of this material reduces heat loss in the house up to 75%.

Advantages and disadvantages of expanded clay wall insulation

A lot of requirements are imposed on the insulation of the walls of the house, the main of which is the environmental friendliness of the material used. This is expanded clay. It is made from natural raw materials and is absolutely safe for health.

In addition, the thermal insulation of walls with expanded clay has many more advantages:

• Loose insulation due to granules small sizes able to easily fill a cavity of any size.
• Expanded clay is quite affordable.
• Thermal insulation and sound absorption of this material has best performance due to its porous structure, which allows the successful use of granular backfill for the insulation of walls, floors, roofs and foundations.
• Due to the light weight of expanded clay, wall insulation gives a high-quality result with little effort.
• Thermal insulation of walls with this material can be performed in any climate zone, as it perfectly withstands temperature changes and humidity.
• The insulation is durable and fire-safe.
• Expanded clay does not rot, insects and rodents are indifferent to it, the material is resistant to chemical compounds.
• The installation of bulk thermal insulation does not require the use of construction equipment and can be carried out independently using simple tools.

The disadvantages of expanded clay include its long drying in case of moisture. The material is rather reluctant to part with absorbed moisture, so this must be taken into account when insulating walls. Another disadvantage is the tendency of the granules to form dust. It is especially pronounced during production. internal works. In this case, you have to wear a respirator to protect your respiratory organs from dust particles.

Expanded clay wall insulation technology

To get the maximum benefit from the use of expanded clay as a heater, you need to know how to lay it. Most often, granular ceramic heat insulator is used in a three-layer rigid wall structure or in the form of an insulating backfill made in a brickwork cavity. To work using any of these methods of insulating the walls of the house with expanded clay, you will need the following materials and tools: cement, brick or blocks, expanded clay, concrete mixer, containers and shovels, trowel, plumb line and rammer, jointing, tape measure and square, building level, cord.

Three-layer wall insulation system with expanded clay

This is one of the most best options thermal insulation using expanded clay. The first insulating layer of this design is considered to be a load-bearing wall erected from expanded clay concrete blocks, which in themselves are a good and durable insulator. In addition, such products are environmentally friendly and correspond to modern concepts of building construction. The thickness of the blocks used must be at least 400 mm.

The second layer of thermal insulation is made from a mixture of cement and expanded clay in a ratio of 1:10. The hardened mixture forms a rigid structure that transfers its load to the foundation of the house. The third layer serves as protection for heat-insulating material and is made of wood or decorative bricks.

Installation methods for insulating expanded clay layer

There are three technologies for wall insulation with expanded clay using interlayers:

1. well masonry. In order to perform lightweight well masonry, it is necessary to lay out two longitudinal walls of brick at a distance of 15-35 cm from each other, and then, along their height, through a row, ligate the brick longitudinal rows using transverse jumpers in increments of 70-110 cm. Obtained in this way way wells-cavities need to be covered with expanded clay. Every 200-400 mm of the wall height, the backfill should be compacted and poured with cement "milk" for impregnation.
2. Masonry with horizontal three-row diaphragms. Using the laying method with horizontal diaphragms, it is also necessary to make two longitudinal walls, of which the inner one should be brick-thick, and the outer one -? bricks. The distance between them should be 15-25 cm. Expanded clay is backfilled after every fifth row is laid, then the insulation must be rammed and filled with cement "milk". After that, three three-row overlaps (diaphragms) should be laid out with a brick. The corners of the walls in the process of maintaining brickwork should be performed without cavities. This will increase the strength of the surface. For the outer layer of masonry, you can use facing, silicate brick or concrete blocks, which then should be plastered.
3. Masonry with embedded parts. This method for warming brick wall expanded clay provides for backfilling of granules between two longitudinal walls, and the entire structure is connected by embedded parts - staples made of reinforcement, or fiberglass ties.

In addition to the above methods of wall insulation associated with the manufacture of wells and filling them with insulation, expanded clay can be used in combination with enclosing structures made of other materials. If it is required to insulate a house with it, the walls of which are lined with aerated concrete blocks, it is necessary to retreat 100 mm from the main wall and erect the front part of the structure from facade material, and fill the cavities with expanded clay. After raising the masonry for every 50 cm inside the wall, you need to load loose insulation, compact it and soak it with cement "milk". To protect the surface from moisture during the construction of the house, ventilation gaps should be left.

Some restrictions are present when insulating expanded clay frame walls. The main problem here is that over time, bulk materials become caked and can settle, leaving a section of the previously insulated surface unprotected. This circumstance reduces the quality of the insulation of the entire structure. Therefore, when laying expanded clay in frame wall it must be carefully tamped, which exposes the skin to significant loads.

As for wooden walls, their insulation with expanded clay causes certain difficulties. For comparison: the thickness of the outer coating using mineral wool is 10-15 cm, and for backfilling expanded clay, it will be necessary to prepare cavities 20-40 cm wide, since it thermal insulation properties noticeably worse than that of mineral wool. To support the weight of expanded clay, the load-bearing wall must have sufficient strength. It is problematic to hang such a mass on a log house, besides, a backfill thickness of more than 40 cm will not allow this to be done. Therefore, to insulate a wooden wall with expanded clay, an additional foundation will have to be made outside. If we take into account its cost and the amount of insulation, which will need 4 times more than mineral wool, we can understand that thermal insulation wooden house expanded clay will be much more expensive. Therefore, it would be better to choose another option for insulation that does not require strengthening structures and widening the foundation.

How to insulate walls with expanded clay - look at the video:

Installation and dismantling of traditional wall insulation with mineral wool, polystyrene foam and other plates is a rather laborious process. In some cases, it is appropriate to use loose insulation. It is much cheaper and more convenient with the same efficiency. There is a wide variety of such materials on the market.

Characteristic

Loose heat insulator is used not only for internal surfaces- they can insulate the room and outside. Walls, floor, roof - you can insulate all the elements that structurally allow backfilling of the material.

Backfill insulation is cheap. Some of its types are simply production waste (sawdust) or ready-made natural materials(sand).

The only drawback is hygroscopicity. Wet, it loses its properties.

Need Special attention be given hydro and vapor barrier to its layers. However, the fear of moisture is typical to the same extent for all types of thermal insulation.

Material Features

There are several types of bulk material for insulation. Each of them has its own properties. List of bulk heaters:

• expanded clay;
• expanded polystyrene in granules;
• foam concrete crumb;
• ecowool;
• sawdust and sand;
• boiler slag;
• vermiculite.

The usual form of this material is round or oval granules. Granules or other shaped material is porous and very light (some species may float on water). Expanded clay is formed as a result of firing light-alloy clay. It is absolutely non-flammable, safe, environmentally friendly in its composition.

The material can be in three forms:

• sand with a grain size of 0.14 to 5 mm. It is used as a filler for lightweight concrete and for floor insulation;
• expanded claydite crushed stone is granules with a fraction of 5–40 mm. The best way for thermal insulation of foundations and floors of residential premises;
• expanded clay gravel. Rounded granules 5–40 mm with a melted surface, absolutely resistant to fire. Inside they have closed pores, which gives them excellent frost resistance. Such gravel is recommended for warming attic floors: the material is light, has low thermal conductivity.

The marking of the material necessarily contains the size of its fraction:

• 5–10 mm - floors and roofs;
• 10-20 mm - baths and saunas, able to keep the temperature and humidity in the room for some time;
• more than 20 mm - for foundations and basements.

This is the most controversial bulk material. It is a very light, airy granules white color. It is used as a backfill for insulating roofs and walls, it is also used as an additive in a mixture for insulating concrete.

The disadvantages are toxicity and flammability, but its properties are not yet fully understood. Instead, it is recommended to use granular foam glass. Expanded polystyrene is cheap, convenient for insulation in the way of well masonry.

It is a layered material based on mica. In the process of its manufacture, no chemical additives or impurities are used. It is an excellent option for warming loggias, rooms. It is used as an energy-saving lining of housing inside and outside. For the floor and walls, a layer of at least 10 cm is recommended, for the roof - at least 5 cm. Backfilling with this material 5 cm thick reduces heat loss by 75%, 10 cm - 92%.

Material Features:

• high air permeability of the insulation - the material is porous - which allows the walls to "breathe", ideal for natural circulation, air renewal and provision of indoor microclimate;
• environmentally friendly, no toxic substances;
• non-combustible, refractory, belongs to the combustibility group G1;
• fungi, mold, rodents, insects are not afraid of such isolation;
• special skills or experience, special tools are not needed to backfill it. The layer of material is simply filled and compacted. Additional fasteners are not needed;
• service life - more than 50 years.

For walls, a thickness of 10 cm of vermiculite backfill is sufficient, for attics, roofs, floors- 5 cm. When laying, it is advisable to use vapor barrier film- this will additionally protect the insulation from moisture.

sawdust and sand

This is traditional materials to preserve heat, which are used in attics and basements, have been used for more than one century. Disadvantages: poorly isolated from moisture, pests can start in them. Sawdust - combustible, susceptible to mold, fungus. It is still recommended to use more modern materials.

For insulation, not ordinary sand is used, but perlite. It is light in weight, less hygroscopic, its characteristics resemble mineral wool. Thanks to a small bulk density does not create a load on the walls, does not burst them.

Ecowool or cellulose

The components of this insulation are ecowool (7%), shredded paper (81%), antiseptics (12%) and antipyrines (7%). The material is non-flammable and does not rot thanks to special impregnations. It has been used in the world for more than 80 years, in the CIS it has been known for the past decade.

As an antiseptic in this material is used boric acid, in the role of a flame retardant - borax. These substances are environmentally friendly.

The material is quite practical: the fibers fill small voids well, so it is recommended for complex structures.

For backfilling, there are the following recommendations. First of all, bulk material settles over time, so it needs to be well tamped. Boiler slag and expanded clay should preferably be used in regions where winter temperatures do not fall below -20°C. Warming pitched roofs expanded clay and similar compositions is carried out outside, after laying the vapor barrier. Along the slope between the rafters, transverse limiters are installed - they evenly distribute the insulation.

After laying on the floor or in the basement, it is well rammed to prevent shrinkage and deformation of the finish. The only problem is the ingress of moisture, bulk insulation is quite hygroscopic. In baths and saunas, and, by the way, everywhere, the insulation layer must have high-quality hydro and vapor barrier. It is necessary to ensure that there are no gaps in the finish, and bulk material does not wake up through them. It is also worth remembering that expanded clay is quite heavy. It is necessary to ensure that with its mass it does not burst too weak partitions or walls.

Backfill methods

The process of backfilling any insulation is the same: the material is poured into the cavity and rammed. It is recommended that the issue of insulation be addressed immediately when designing a house. If there are no internal cavities for filling the insulation, layers are made using PVC panels or drywall.

A good option is when the insulation is poured between facing and ordinary bricks, between internal and external masonry. There may be ribs inside so that it is well distributed. Thanks to loose thermal insulation, the walls can not be made thick, which saves costs. There are ready-made reinforced concrete products on sale - slabs, inside of which there are already cavities filled with expanded clay, they retain heat 50% better than ordinary ones.

Options

For the floor, such methods of insulation with bulk components are used. The first option is a backfill (or loose) insulation on the logs. On the floor, logs are made on the posts, cranial bars are nailed, then the flooring is made of boards. A vapor barrier is placed on the flooring, expanded clay is poured. Further, if necessary, the next layer of thermal insulation, on it - a screed, a rough wood floor covering.

The second option - mound on top concrete slab. An option for low-quality housing is Khrushchev, for example, when it is possible to raise the floor level. The floor covering is removed, waterproofing is laid, expanded clay is poured on it with a layer of 5 - 10 cm. Then you can put a mesh for reinforcement, and on it is done rough screed- the basis of the finish floor covering. A vapor barrier is laid on top of the expanded clay pillow, and another layer of insulation is placed on it.

Finally, the third option is dry expanded clay screed. A layer of expanded clay is poured, a layer of gravel is poured on it, then another layer of expanded clay. The surface is leveled, gypsum fiber boards are laid on it, and any finishing coating is applied on them.

Lightweight, durable and strong expanded clay is made from natural raw materials and has high, but at the same time it costs much cheaper than similar materials. He also has some drawbacks, but subject to all installation conditions, they are reduced to nothing. We deal with the main properties of the material and the features of house insulation with expanded clay, the nuances of its use for thermal insulation of the floor, walls, roof and foundation.

No. 1. Expanded clay: production and fractions

For the production of expanded clay is used fusible grades of clay with a quartz content of 30%. They are processed in special chambers, where they are heated to a temperature of 1050-1300 0 C for 30-40 minutes, resulting in swelling and the formation of porous granules with a melted sealed shell, which gives the material the necessary strength. The more pores in expanded clay, the better.

During the production process, as a rule, granules of different fractions:

• expanded clay sand with granule size up to 5 mm;
• expanded clay crushed stone- granules resembling cubes in shape;
• expanded clay gravel- granules of an oblong shape.

Expanded clay of such fractions is distinguished by the size of the granules: 5-10 mm, 10-20 mm and 20-40 mm.

No. 2. Advantages and disadvantages of expanded clay

Expanded clay won wide popularity not only thanks to low price but also at the expense of others benefits:

Among shortcomings:

No. 3. Physical and technical properties of expanded clay

When choosing expanded clay for home insulation, pay attention to its following properties:

Due to its properties expanded clay has a wide scope. It is used as a filler in production, as a decorative and drainage material, but still the main area is thermal insulation, and not only structures, but even soil.

No. 4. Warming the floor of the house with expanded clay

Expanded clay is one of the most suitable materials for, especially if the budget is limited. Warming can be performed by one of several existing methods.

Classic variant provides for the following sequence of actions:

You can do without the time-consuming process of preparing the mortar and pouring the screed using simplified dry technology:

• a vapor barrier is laid on the surface of the main floor;
• expanded clay is poured over the beacons, for reliability it can, of course, be fixed with cement milk;
• dense gypsum-fiber sheets are laid on expanded clay, which are fastened with glue.

Similar to the dry method lag insulation option:

No. 5. Insulation of the walls of the house with expanded clay

For wall insulation with expanded clay is used three-layer masonry method, which is applicable only for newly built houses: the first layer is a load-bearing wall, the second layer is expanded clay with cement milk, the third layer is exterior finish. There are three technologies:

If they are insulated walls, then expanded clay insulation must be very carefully tamped. Walls the hardest thing to insulate with expanded clay. Since its thermal insulation properties are somewhat worse than those of its closest competitor, it is necessary to leave cavities 20-40 cm thick, and this is a significant load on bearing walls, therefore, an additional foundation will have to be made outside. The complexity of the technology and the cost of all additional manipulations practically negate the efficiency of expanded clay insulation, therefore, for wooden houses it is better to consider another option for wall insulation.

At any stage of construction or operation. Special components for pouring allow you to completely fill the existing air cavities with polyurethane foam insulation, as well as eliminate all the smallest cracks and gaps in brick or other masonry.

Currently, lightweight (well) masonry is a common type of economical construction of brick walls in construction. low-rise buildings. AT middle lane In Russia, brickwork is most often found with a thickness of 1.5 and 2 bricks (380 and 510 mm). This wall thickness was obtained according to thermotechnical calculation, based on current regulatory data and thermal resistance heat transfer of brickwork, taking into account the calculated outdoor temperature in cold period years in the area of ​​residence. Therefore, based only on considerations to ensure the necessary resistance to heat transfer, and not bearing capacity The construction of the walls is determined by the generally accepted thickness of brick walls of one and a half and two bricks. In order to low-rise building it was strong and held the roof and snow on itself, it is enough to make walls only one brick thick. In most cases, during the construction of the walls of the house for additional thermal insulation, an air gap was left between them, the width of which can reach from 5 to 12 cm. outer wall at the same time, it is erected as thick as a brick floor, the inner one - one or one and a half bricks.

But now, with the introduction in 2013 of updated SNiPs and sets of rules, the traditional wall thickness of 1.5 or 2 bricks is insufficient to meet the conditions for thermal protection and energy saving.

Rice. Double masonry with an air gap

Therefore, in order to meet the tightened norms of SNiPs and at the same time reduce the cost of building walls, insulation began to be laid in the well masonry. Calculations show that well masonry with insulation inside is much more efficient than solid masonry, as it allows to reduce brick consumption by 40% and reduce wall weight by 28% while increasing the thermal resistance of the building envelope. Well masonry with insulation is widely used in private housing construction, as well as in construction multi-storey buildings with a monolithic reinforced concrete frame.

Advantages of brickwork with insulation:

• Possibility of ensuring the norms of SNiP for heat loss.
• Reducing the load on the foundation - reducing the cost of the foundation.
• The final cost-effectiveness of building a house with walls erected by the method of well masonry.

Disadvantages of lightweight brickwork:

• Structural heterogeneity.
• Decreased capitalization of the wall.

Foam plastic and extruded polystyrene foam in slabs are used as traditional heaters for well masonry. These heaters are laid during the construction of the house at the stage of building walls. The main disadvantages of these plate heaters are the presence of interpanel joints, which subsequently act as "bridges" of cold.

But what if during the construction of the walls of your house no insulation was laid and only an air gap was left? Don't worry, there is a way out!

Although most of the traditional thermal insulation materials must be installed during construction, pouring polyurethane foam (PPU) into the well masonry with an air gap can be done at any stage of construction, including in already closed cavities, as well as when the house is already ready and in operation. Where the use of traditional roll or slab insulation is simply impossible, and the use backfill materials(ecowool, expanded clay) can be associated with additional work and the cost of dismantling the roof or part of the wall, filling the inter-wall voids by pouring polyurethane foam (PPU) is carried out without expensive disassembly and dismantling of enclosing structures and is the most optimal and effective way home insulation.

In order to spend high-quality insulation buildings by pouring polyurethane foam (PPU) into the cavity of the walls, special PPU components are used, which have a delayed start time (start time of active foaming). These are separate grades of polyurethane foam, which have a very low thermal conductivity and their foaming begins only after a certain time after thorough mixing under high pressure usually after 20-40 seconds. This allows the PPU components to descend in liquid form to the very bottom of the wall cavity, evenly distribute there and only then foam filling all the free space, both in the horizontal and vertical planes.

Currently, there are two main ways of pouring polyurethane foam into the inter-wall space (well masonry). This is the filling of polyurethane foam at the construction stage into an open cavity and filling the air void of an already built house through filling holes in the masonry.

Pouring polyurethane foam into an open space between walls.

Produced at the construction stage during the construction of the walls of the house. PPU is poured from above into an open cavity, but only after a set of brickwork of the required strength, the degree of filling is carried out visually.

Rice. Pouring PPU into open cavities

Pouring polyurethane foam into a closed space between walls produced through special holes with a diameter of 12-14 mm, drilled in the outer or inner wall Houses.

Rice. PPU gun

Filling holes are evenly distributed over the entire area of ​​the wall in a checkerboard pattern with a step of 50-100 cm from each other.

Rice. The location of the holes in the wall for pouring polyurethane foam

First, the PPU is poured through the holes located in the lower level, then the upper levels are sequentially filled, and so on to the very top. The filling of the cavity is controlled by a special probe, as well as visually through the extrusion of foam from the filling holes.

Rice. PPU filling into closed cavities

Pouring polyurethane foam (PPU) into the wall cavity is carried out using professional high-pressure equipment. The pouring composition in liquid form under high pressure is fed into the wall using a gun with a special pouring nozzle. The start time for polyurethane foam for pouring has been increased to 20-40 seconds. This time is sufficient for the material in liquid form to be evenly distributed over the bottom of the cavity. Then foaming occurs, the material increases many times in volume and fills all the free space in the wall. Moreover, the rise and growth of the foam occurs in the direction of least resistance, that is, the polyurethane foam fills the free air space in the existing cavity and does not squeeze out the brickwork. After 60-140 seconds, polyurethane foam "hardens", forming a dense, seamless and hermetic layer that reliably protects the walls of your house from heat losses. In the well masonry, as a rule, there are no unfilled parts that could serve as conductors of cold. In addition, PPU filling allows you to eliminate all possible gaps, cracks and defects in the masonry remaining as a result of construction work.

It is also worth focusing on one of the most popular misconceptions about pouring PU foam into the cavity, which often occurs among users on the network, and is also often asked in the form of questions to our specialists. This is supposedly what PPU, when expanding and increasing in volume, squeezes bricks out of the masonry. We answer, subject to a set of brickwork of 70% strength, extrusion and any deformation and destruction of the masonry do not occur. Filling the void when pouring PPU follows the path of least resistance, namely, replacing the existing air gap polyurethane foam. Agree that it is easier for polyurethane foam to fill the existing air cavity than to squeeze out the "seized" bricks from the masonry! Below is a photograph of a brick wall, where you can see that the polyurethane foam came out of the wall from the existing holes and defects in the brickwork and thereby sealed all the gaps and cracks.