Thermal insulation of extruded polystyrene floor: under screed, under laminate

Heat losses through the floor up to 20%. Therefore, the inhabitants of the ground floors of apartment buildings, as well as owners of private houses today necessarily insulated floors using different materials and methods. The options are actually quite a few, but this article will parse polystyrene for underfloor heating. More specifically slabs of foamed polymeric material.

What is expanded polystyrene

It is a gas-filled polystyrene, which is classified as foams. The production technology is simple - viscous mass of polystyrene filled with a gas that is soluble, forming bubbles. Then the polymer mixture is heated using steam, making it expands many times, and the pellets are filled with gas, a sintered Mezhuyev. Expansion is performed until, until the mixture will fill a form in which it was placed.

It is a hollow structure of the material made it owner low thermal conductivity. By the way, it is polystyrene - 0,034-0,044 W / m K. This is one of the best results among all thermal insulation materials on the market.

But we need to indicate that there are several varieties of polystyrene plates, which are based on their density. This characteristic varies from 15 to 50 kg / m³. And the denser the material, the worse he heat-shielding qualities. In this case, to insulate the floor slab polystyrene is required material having a density of 25-35 kg / m³. The thing is that the floors - construction, all the time subjected to a load. So, there is a strong material to be used.

Other features of insulation:

• material is combustible and belongs to the class G3;
• service life - 20 years;
• ecological - high, i.e. at varying humidity and temperature do not emit toxic and other harmful substances to humans;
• ease of installation.

It flammability with the release of caustic and toxic smoke, pushed many consumers from polystyrene plates when there was a problem of warming inside the premises. Preference was given to the mineral wool. Today, manufacturers offer self-extinguishing expanded polystyrene, which introduced retardants. That is, under the influence of a fire it melts, but does not burn. He obtained by extrusion. It is recommended to purchase this today, when the task of warming of the sexes.

floor insulation technology of polystyrene foam

Thus, with the features of polystyrene uproarious, pass directly to the process of its use as a thermal insulating layer for floor bases. First of all it is necessary to indicate that the heater can be installed on floors constructed of different materials: concrete, wood, soil and others. Therefore, the process should be considered from these positions, because a purely technological method of insulation from each other are very different.

Thermal insulation of concrete floor

We will start with concrete floors, because it is the base of all multi-storey buildings where floors - reinforced concrete slabs, which are cast on top of the screed. So, it is necessary to take as a basis styazhechny layer structure.

• Screed examined for serious defects. If any are found, they are repaired using conventional repair mortar of cement and sand.
• After drying the repaired areas floors covered with primer deep penetration. The main purpose of this liquid material - top layer strengthened ties.
• On top of a concrete floor veiled waterproofing material. It may even be a conventional polyethylene film of thickness 0.2 mm, folded sleeve. Strips waterproofing overlapped relative to each other with a shift of 10-15 cm. The joint necessarily stick with duct tape or masking tape. Note that the waterproofing material required to give birth on the walls to a height of 15-20 cm. that is, on the floor of the trough should form a kind of waterproof material.

See also - Methods for proper insulation of concrete floor.

• Spend laying insulation boards. Today, many manufacturers produce panels with connecting lock tongue and groove. Convenient design that enables the floor to collect thermal insulation layer without gaps and crevices. If such plates are not found, it is possible to lay conventional, without the tool joint. Only for sealing gaps (seams) is recommended to use a special sealant which is a foam. This is not a polyurethane foam, this sealant which when exposed to air is not increased in volume. Please note that the foam polystyrene insulation boards are laid staggered, ie offset in the half panel. Thus solves the problem of uniform distribution of loads.
• Next layer - waterproofing. He laid in the same way as the lower.
• On top of the thermal insulation cake reinforcing frame or set of steel reinforcement in form of a lattice with a mesh of 10x10 cm, or from the grid.
• Pour the screed.

The best option - to hold insulation from the outside. And if carried out thermal insulation the floor of the first floor, The plate can be laid from the cellar. Them or simply glued to the basement ceiling special adhesive composition, or collect the crate, attaching it to the ceiling surface, and has among its elements lay the insulation. Required insulating layer closes waterproofing.

Warming of the floor on the ground

In the private house building floors on the ground are not uncommon. They are also insulated, but more often used for this concrete block, perlite or other loose insulation. As for polystyrene thermal insulation, it is a rare technique in this case. Simply denoted as warm a floor on the ground, using polystyrene plates:

1. The soil between the elements of the tape base is cleaned of debris and vegetation, leveled.
2. Thick layer of gravel is filled to 10 cm.
3. Fall asleep sandy base 30 cm thick. This size is not chosen in vain. At the sand there is one very interesting feature - it can let through moisture only at a height of 30 cm.
4. Veiled waterproofing material in the same way as described in the previous section. The main thing - to start the edge of waterproofing the entire height of the foundation. If the density of the plate is used for more than 30 kg / m³, The waterproofing can not be used.
5. Laying insulation slabs offset relative to each other.
6. Dim topsheet waterproofing.
7. Installation of reinforcement.
8. Fill screed.

The procedure of thermal insulation of concrete floors differs little. Basically, you need to accurately correlate with the pit depth of the thickness of each layer. That is the whole layered structure must fit exactly in height between the foundation parties.

Main article: how to insulate the floor with sawdust.

Warming of the wooden floor

The process of wooden floor insulation extruded polystyrene difficult. It should be understood that the very wood flooring - it is the lag structure on which stuffed floorboards or stacked slab or sheet material: plywood, chipboard, OSB and others. So lay the PPP panel should be between joists. So, you need to create a plane on which the insulation can be laid.

Therefore, the work itself begins with the creation of the reference planes. Purely technically have two options structures, which differ from each other by the presence of wooden floors, a basement, or lack of it.

If a basement is present

Process should begin with a basement:

1. Across lag fit waterproofing film overlap between the strips, the joints which are closed with tape or adhesive tape. Fixing to the joists - metal brackets with a stapler or small tack.
2. Across the log set and fasten them with screws or nails boards (of any type), you can b / y. Instead of boards used plywood, chipboard or OSB panels, DPA, gypsum board, corrugated board and so on.
3. Now the rest of the operation is transferred to the room.
4. Between logs stacked plate extrusion of insulation so that they have entered into a niche formed by an interference fit, tightly clinging to the log ends. The main task - not to leave large gaps. Even if these appear, they are filled with foam sealant. Please note that the best option - to fill in the space formed by the beams, all the way to the upper edges of the latter. If the thickness of one layer is not enough, the second layer stack. But keep in mind that the boards in the different layers should not be stacked on top of each other exactly in size. Laying extruded polystyrene is carried out with an offset of half the panel that the joints were not on the level of the hold.
5. On logs laid waterproofing film. These same and fixed.
6. Installation of wooden flooring.

If there is no basement

Here, all the processes are carried out from the premises.

1. On logs at their lower edges of the ends stuffed so-called cranial bars.
2. They are laid across the joists and secure the boards, plywood, OSB, particle board and so on.
3. By joists and niches formed waterproofing membrane is laid so that it is exactly repeated contours collected lag structure. Notice in the photo below. That's should be laid waterproofing.

All other operations are exactly the same as in the previous case.

Warming under floor heating

Today, the heating system floor heating is very popular. Try to use it elsewhere, if the opportunity arises. But this type of heating required to outdoor base number of stringent requirements, one of which - conducting insulation floor structure itself. If this is not done, the heat energy that comes from the underfloor heating will go through the floor stand. This decrease in the efficiency of the heating system.

Previously used for floor heating techniques described above. Today, manufacturers offer special products from expanded polystyrene for laying underfloor. To understand what was going on, note the image below.

This special modules assembled on a floor base, the outer surface of which presents a large number of small protrusions. Recently a hillocks are circular, rectangular or oval. They form channels where lay the pipe system of underfloor heating.

Such modules are made of thick extruded polystyrene foam with high waterproofing qualities. Therefore, the product is placed directly on the concrete floor without additional waterproofing. They are not covered with protective films or membranes. For example, in stacked panels of mounting of floor heating pipes can be directly laid tiles using an adhesive composition based on cement.

Polystyrene for underfloor heating in the form of plates are mounted on a very simple technology. But there are certain requirements:

• floor base surface must be smooth without defects;
• plates placed on the type of masonry with an offset of half module;
• compound plates to each other is made using lock - groove and tenon;
• If the coating of large area, then in the process of laying the adhesive is applied;
• between walls and slabs of polystyrene gap left - 8-10 mm.

The main task of the floor insulation using panels of expanded polystyrene is that you must choose the right insulation thickness and density. The technology is paving slabs - is simple, and in this you are able to make. But in order to get a high quality end result, it is necessary to strictly observe the sequence of operations and do not forget about the nuances of the construction process.