To maintain normal temperature and humidity conditions in a private house, it is necessary to provide reliable protection against the penetration of cold air. Not only the thermal protection of the walls and basement floors is required, but also the attic floor insulation with effective materials on wooden beams.
Types of attic floors
In a private house, you can apply the following types of horizontal structures:
- precast concrete;
- monolithic reinforced concrete;
- on metal beams;
- on wooden beams.
For the construction of a wooden house, the most rational solution will be the option of overlapping wooden beams. Wood has higher thermal insulation characteristics than concrete, but thermal insulation is still insufficient.
Insulation technology
How to insulate the attic floor so that there are no problems in the future? In general, do-it-yourself thermal insulation technology is almost the same. But the methods of its installation depend on the specific situation.
The attic floor is insulated with a cold attic. Thermal protection of the structure is performed from above, since in this case the thermal insulation is most competent. But in some cases, another scheme is used - protection from warm air.
The answers to the question why insulation from the ceiling of the upper floor is undesirable can be the following disadvantages of thermal protection from below:
- the heater only protects the ceiling, and the ceiling remains cold;
- Doing work from the bottom with your own hands is quite laborious;
- the condensation point is shifted inside the slab, which can lead to rotting of the structure on wooden beams.
It is also important to follow the correct order of all related materials.
When warming you need to remember one rule: vapor barrier is always located on the side of warm air, and waterproofing - on the side of the cold.
Improper location can lead to the following problems:
- wet insulation;
- condensation on the ceiling surface;
- decay of the ceiling of a cold attic on wooden beams.
Whether vapor barrier and waterproofing is needed depends on the chosen insulation.
Choice of insulation
The methods of warming the ceiling of the upper floor of the ceiling on the beams in a private house are very diverse. When doing the work yourself, the insulation is placed between the lags and provides reliable thermal insulation and noise protection. There are many options for thermal insulation of the structure, the most common of them are:
- mineral wool insulation;
- laying on wooden beams of polystyrene foam (polystyrene or foam);
- filling with expanded clay;
- warming with sawdust;
- filling the ceiling space with foam.
Each of these options has its own characteristics and advantages.
Mineral wool insulation
The material is available in two versions: plates and rolls. Thermal insulation of the attic floor with mineral wool has the following advantages:
- excellent heat-shielding characteristics;
- resistance to fire;
- low water absorption;
- resistance to chemical reagents and biological damage;
- long service life.
When insulating with mineral wool with your own hands, safety precautions must be taken into account: workers must wear protective clothing, masks and gloves to prevent particles of material from getting on the skin and lungs. To insulate the ceiling from above, hard plates are perfect, and to protect the ceiling from below, it is better to use rolled material. More details about the protection of structures using this material can be found in the article “Insulation of mineral wool flooring”.
Styrofoam
One of the most common materials for thermal insulation is foam. He earned a place in the top three due to a very attractive price. The use of this insulation in an individual house gives the following advantages:
- high degree of protection;
- resistance to rot and mold and fungus;
- low degree of water absorption;
- ease of installation and lack of need for sophisticated tools and protective equipment;
- light weight of the material does not allow excessive load on the structure and allows for insulation from below.
The material is suitable for insulation of the ceiling of the upper floor due to its low vapor permeability. The disadvantages include low strength and the risk of spilling into individual balls with simultaneous exposure to moisture and low temperatures. Besides polystyrene refers to combustible materials, which is not very desirable when erecting a wooden building. Details on working with this type of material can be found in the article “Insulation of the floor with foam”.
Extruded Styrofoam
More often this material is called a shorter word - penoplex. Being the closest relative of the foam, foam is devoid of most of its shortcomings. In the process of improving performance, cost has increased. The material is released fireproof, it has sufficient strength for use as a base for flooring and a small mass for use in the construction of the ceiling.
DIY installation is quite simple. This issue is discussed in detail in the article “Insulation of the floor with expanded polystyrene”. The text describes the use of both foam and foam for different types of floor structures.
For people who decide to build their own wooden house, the naturalness of the materials is usually important. Here, foam, like polystyrene, loses to other types of insulation due to artificial origin.
Expanded clay or sawdust
If you decide to use completely natural materials in the house, these two types of insulation will become indispensable helpers. They do not have high heat-shielding characteristics, as the previous types, but provide reliable protection against cold with a sufficient layer thickness. Sawdust can be obtained almost for free, expanded clay is also an inexpensive material.
Warming of the attic floor can be carried out by non-professionals and does not require special skills. The application is limited by the physical features of these materials: they cannot be used for thermal protection from below.
You can read more about these types of thermal protection with your own hands in the articles "Insulation of the floor with sawdust" and "Insulation of the floor with expanded clay".
Thermal insulation foam
Polyurethane foam insulation is a fairly new material in construction. With the self-construction of the building, this method can provide high speed and reliable protection from the cold. About the insulation of the building, including attic floors, foam can be found in the article "Foam for floor insulation".
This provides a large selection of materials for insulation and significantly save on construction.
Insulation of the wooden floor is made between the logs, therefore it does not require high-strength heat-shielding material: the main load from people, furniture and equipment will be borne by boards or beams.
A large percentage of heat loss occurs precisely through the overlapping of the upper floor, so it is so important to correctly choose a heater and observe the installation technology.
We recommend watching an informative video with comprehensive information on the topic: