The better to insulate the attic floor of a private house. Insulation of the attic floor: thermal insulation of the floor and characteristics of materials

As many people remember from the school physics course, the warm air in the room rises, and the cold air, respectively, falls. It is through an uninsulated attic and roof that a house loses from 15 to 30% of its heat! Usually the attic is insulated during the construction of the house, but if necessary, attic insulation can also be done in a private old house.

Roof insulation

Insulating the attic of a new house

As a rule, they begin to insulate the attic after the work on the arrangement of the roof is completed: the coating is laid, the wind insulation is made. First, the floor is insulated, and if the layer of thermal insulation material is sufficiently reliable, you can take your time with the insulation of the roof slopes and gables.

Keep in mind that you can start warming the attic of a wooden house only after the building shrinks. Usually this is done no earlier than six months after the completion of construction, although shrinkage can continue for more than a year. Sometimes, during shrinkage, wooden structures warp or cracks appear in them. Before starting work in the attic, these shortcomings should be eliminated.

For work you will need

1. Insulation (chipboard, mineral wool, expanded polystyrene, polyurethane foam, expanded clay, sawdust with clay, etc.).
2. Materials for arranging steam and heat insulation:
   • vapor barrier foil (polypropylene or polyethylene film, metallized membrane or fiberglass membrane);
   • one- or two-sided adhesive tape for sealing seams between sheets of foil;
   • felt or polyurethane electrical tapes for heat and sound insulation of floors.
3. A tool for cutting insulation (mineral wool, expanded polystyrene plates) and finishing materials (chipboard, lining, drywall, etc.).
4. Boards, plywood, lining or drywall boards.
5. Nails, hammer.
6. Construction stapler and staples.
7. Protective goggles, respirator and gloves for working with mineral wool.

Keep in mind that the attic insulation methods listed below are used in cases where it is not heated and is used as a warehouse, summer workshop, etc. However, if the attic is heated or used as a summer residential attic, slopes and walls should be additionally sheathed with moisture-resistant drywall slabs and paint, and lay slabs of expanded polystyrene or chipboard on the floor.

We warm the space under the roof

Many people probably noticed that in old village houses only the floor of the attic is often insulated, but not the roof. The fact is that the sloping surface of a gable roof holds a layer of snow well - it is this that serves as an additional “blanket” for the roof. Even in severe frosts, the temperature under the slopes rarely drops below zero degrees. In the attic, small windows are made that open for ventilation even in the summer heat.

In the attic, which will be used as a utility room, the space under the roof will have to be insulated. For self-insulation, it is convenient to use sheet insulation (polystyrene foam, mineral wool mats) or rolled mineral wool. Density of mineral wool insulation - 10-55 kg / sq. m. Sometimes these heaters are also used together: polystyrene foam is attached with the first layer, mineral wool is the second.

Before fixing the insulation between the rafters, a vapor barrier foil is nailed to the crate with a construction stapler. The joints are sealed with insulating tape, but you can also overlap the foil. You can also use foil mineral wool mats. In this case, additional vapor barrier is not required.

Usually the required thickness of the insulation sheets is somewhat greater than the thickness of the rafter legs. Make thickening “packings” on them and nail perpendicular elements from wooden or steel slats. Between them, place an additional layer of insulation, after which it is fixed with thin slats, and fill the wooden covering on top. In residential attics, you can finish the finish with drywall.

We warm the floor

As in the previous case, before laying out the insulation, a vapor barrier is made (for example, from foil polyisol). When arranging the floor slab, the film is laid on top of it, when the wooden floor is insulated, it is nailed with an overlapping stapler.

1. Concrete floor insulation. If a reinforced concrete slab serves as a ceiling, materials with a high density (> 160 kg / sq. M) are used to arrange thermal insulation. These are mineral wool or cork mats, extruded polystyrene foam, and expanded clay from bulk materials.
2. Thermal insulation of a wooden floor. Insulation in wooden floors is laid between the lags. Usually these are cotton wool insulation with a low density (< 50 кг/кв.м). Поверх утеплителя желательно настелить рубероид, а в качестве чистового пола уложить плиты ДСП.

Thermal insulation of the attic of an old house

Before starting work on warming the attic of an old house, carefully inspect it. Check for cracks in the rafters and gables, what is the safety of the ceiling. It is possible that some beams will have to be replaced, or it may be necessary to additionally insulate the roof. Wooden parts must be impregnated with special moisture- and fire-resistant solutions and an antiseptic solution from fungus and pests.

It is also necessary to perform a number of preparatory work. If the attic of the old house was previously insulated, and the insulation has not lost its properties, additional insulation materials can be laid on top of existing ones. For example, on top of a floor insulated with clay and sawdust, you can install a crate and lay mineral wool. Thus, “the initial level of the floor turns out to be “rough”.

Otherwise, the old insulation should be removed, and a new modern one with a higher set of operational properties should be laid on top of it. After additional insulation, a new finishing floor is laid.

Features of working with common heaters

Basic requirements for insulation materials:

1. relatively light weight (this is especially important in houses with wooden floors);
2. non-toxicity;
3. ease of processing;
4. fire resistance;
5. moisture resistance;
6. good heat and sound insulating properties.

All these requirements are met to some extent by modern insulating materials. The most popular of them are polyurethane foam, expanded polystyrene, mineral (fiberglass and basalt) wool. In brick and stone houses with solid reinforced concrete floors, insulation is sometimes used "the old fashioned way". This can be done using inexpensive environmentally friendly expanded clay or clay mixed with sawdust.

Mineral wool

Insulation of the attic with mineral wool is the most inexpensive and at the same time acceptable in quality way of insulating attic spaces. Mineral wool has excellent heat and noise insulation properties, and its elasticity makes it easy to mount it on rafters. In addition, it is non-flammable and not susceptible to biological pests. Mineral wool is sold in the form of mats or in rolls.

Warming with mineral wool

Mineral wool slabs with so-called "randomly oriented fibers" are considered the most effective heat insulator. A mineral wool slab with a thickness of only half a centimeter in terms of thermal protection properties replaces almost a meter-long brickwork! At the same time, it is quite light and does not create additional load on the floors. Mineral wool is a durable material, its service life is at least 50 years.

When working with mineral wool, you need to remember that it contains a certain amount of formaldehyde. In addition, the smallest mineral wool “needles” are dangerous for the eyes and respiratory organs and irritate the skin of the hands. Therefore, it is necessary to cut and, moreover, lay mineral wool in goggles, a respirator and gloves. Respiratory masks can also be used.

Polyurethane foam (PPU)

Polyurethane foam refers to a liquid heat insulator and is applied to any surface (wooden, brick, stone, concrete) by spraying. Today it is considered the most effective heat-insulating building material. When processed with polyurethane foam, a durable base coating is created, so there will never be drafts in the insulated attic.

Insulation with polyurethane foam

By itself, polyurethane foam is an expensive material. However, before applying it, you do not need to do vapor barrier and waterproofing, and working with it is much easier than with other heat insulators. They can process the space under the roof between the rafters, and the voids between the logs of the wooden floor, and reinforced concrete floors.

Polyurethane foam allows you to reduce heat loss by almost almost 30% (compared to other materials for thermal insulation). Having spent a large amount of money on its purchase, in winter you will save twice on heating.

Styrofoam

Inexpensive, lightweight and durable, extruded polystyrene foam sheets are commonly used in old houses with hardwood floors. It holds heat well and does not weigh down the supporting structures, it is easy to cut (with a sharp clerical knife or saw) and mount it. Its other advantages are moisture resistance (it does not absorb moisture) and environmental friendliness.

To insulate the space under the roof and the floor, plates with a thickness of 10-15 centimeters are used in two layers. The first is fixed between the lags, and the second is laid on top of them. They fix the structure with slats, lay a vapor barrier on top (for example, Izospan), and then upholster it with plywood or clapboard.

It is worth insulating the attic with polystyrene foam if you use it as a technical or utility room. But if you are going to arrange, for example, a workshop in the attic, it is not recommended to use it. This material offers little to no noise protection and is not resistant to organic solvents that can spill onto the floor or evaporate into the air. Some types of expanded polystyrene are resistant to fire, but in general it is considered a combustible material.

Expanded clay

Expanded clay is an inexpensive and quite effective natural heat-insulating material, which is used for thermal insulation of foundations and floors. It can be used in attics with reinforced concrete floors, as it creates a significant load on the beams. An effective layer of expanded clay on an area of ​​100 square meters according to GOST is poured in a layer of up to 60 centimeters, while the weight of the bedding is about 30 tons! In non-residential attics, the insulation layer may be smaller (25-40 centimeters), and in this case they do not make a concrete screed, but it often turns out to be unbearable for the attic floor of a wooden house.

Expanded clay insulation

Attic insulation with expanded clay has some features compared to other materials. Since this is a porous material that absorbs moisture, not only vapor barrier, but also waterproofing must be laid under the expanded clay backfill. It can be a roofing felt or an ordinary plastic film, which is better to lay with a single sheet, and not welded from several sheets.

It is not recommended to use polyethylene for a wooden floor, since the tree covered with it will not "breathe" - it is preferable to use Izospan as a vapor barrier.

For insulation, expanded clay with a fraction of 10-15 mm is used, which is poured into a wooden frame (“box”) made around the perimeter of the room. A vapor barrier membrane is also laid on top of the expanded clay layer. Despite the good thermal insulation properties of expanded clay, experts do not recommend using it specifically for thermal insulation of attics. If the attic is already insulated with expanded clay, its layer is insufficient, but you have no way to completely change the insulation, remove the subfloor and lay mineral wool on the expanded clay (under the upper vapor barrier membrane).

sawdust and clay

In the days of our grandmothers, in order to “do not blow from above”, dry leaves, straw, and hay were laid on the attic floor. But the most common and affordable way to make the house cozy was to insulate the attic with sawdust and clay. Insulating an attic in a village house or in a wooden cottage in the old way is very simple. It is important that this method of insulation will cost you almost free.

Insulation with sawdust and clay

Prepare the solution:

• dilute the clay to the density of fatty milk;
• Pour enough sawdust into the solution so that the solution can be mixed. In appearance, it will be just wet sawdust, slightly smeared with clay;
• pour the mixture on the attic floor with a layer of 15 centimeters, level and tamp.

After the mixture dries, you will get a very dense, slightly springy floor covering. From above, you can add another five centimeters of wet sawdust and tamp again. A mixture of clay and sawdust keeps heat well, besides, such a floor “breathes”. Fill the floor with a thin layer of lime, and sprinkle straw, chaff or dry sawdust on top.

Foreword. The attic protects the house from cold, moisture and the scorching rays of the sun. In addition, the heat from the house leaves it through the attic to a greater extent. Therefore, the question is “what is the best way to insulate the attic in a private house?” - the owner decides in the first place. We will also consider the issue of attic insulation in a private house with our own hands in this article and show a video lesson from Isover.

How to insulate the attic floor of a private house

Often the attic, due to its disorder, remains unused. But it is from the attic that you can make an excellent rest room or bedroom, if you correctly approach the choice of insulation and equip the attic for living quarters yourself. These issues can be resolved independently, or you can invite a team of builders who can offer several options for insulating the attic of a wooden house, as well as ventilation devices for the attic floor.

Gables and attic floors are insulated using various types of insulation. But more often, three types of insulation are used for attic thermal insulation. Consider the advantages and disadvantages of each:

– Organic derivatives (polyurethane foam);
– Heaters based on mineral wool;
- Bulk heaters such as expanded clay.

We analyze the better to insulate the attic of a private house

Insulation with polyurethane foam (PPU) attic

Polyurethane foam is the most popular insulation for roofs, gables and attic floors. Among its advantages are called low thermal conductivity with a small thickness. Its use is especially relevant here, because. the load on the supporting structures is reduced and a significant part of your attic space is saved.

PPU is applied by spraying, which creates a monolithic structure that perfectly protects housing from cold and moisture, and also prevents heat from escaping from the house. Polyurethane foam does not absorb moisture and is resistant to mold, prevents the penetration of insects and rodents.

Insulation of the attic with polyurethane foam enhances the strength of the entire roof due to the creation of a single sprayed structure, without cracks and cracks. Also, PPU has high strength and wear resistance - the service life exceeds 30-40 years. PPU does not require the creation of moisture and vapor barrier, since it itself perfectly performs the functions of its moisture protection.

Warming with mineral wool of the floor of the house

Mineral wool is suitable for insulating attic floors and attic floors, as well as for insulating walls and roofs. However, mineral wool insulation implies the creation of external wind and moisture protection with the help of waterproofing. Mineral wool has a structure that perfectly transmits steam, therefore, from the side of the room, the insulation must be protected with hydro-, vapor barrier.

Mineral wool is laid in the form of rolls or mats. Usually mineral wool is laid between the rafters, and on the floor - between the lags. Inevitably, seams form between fragments of material and structures. They must be carefully foamed and sealed with adhesive tape. For central Russia, a layer of insulation of at least 200 mm is required.

Mineral wool has a considerable weight - the load on the supporting pillars and floors is significantly increased. Therefore, before insulating the attic with this material, you should make sure that the supporting structures and the roof are reliable. You ask - and this is all that can be used to insulate the attic? And how was the attic floor insulated before the invention of polyurethane foam and mineral wool?

Expanded clay insulation of the attic floor of the house

Expanded clay is a bulk insulation, it is perfect for insulating an attic floor, because it creates a ventilated space, while retaining heat. Expanded clay is light, in terms of flammability, it is safe and environmentally friendly. Thanks to the manufacturing technology, expanded clay is strong and durable, resistant to moisture, high and low temperatures.

Expanded clay differs in the size of granules. Attic insulation with expanded clay is often carried out in the floor area. From the inside, expanded clay needs a vapor barrier coating. The material needs a frame, and this "eats" part of the attic space. A special “box” is usually created on the floor, where expanded clay is poured, and a wooden floor is laid on top.

More often, expanded clay insulation and attic insulation with sawdust complement mineral wool or polyurethane foam, especially for horizontal surfaces. You should not choose only one option than to insulate the attic in a private house - you should correctly combine materials. For horizontal surfaces, it is better to use bulk insulation, they are cheaper and more convenient in the device.

Insulation with sawdust and foam attic

Insulation with sawdust can be used as one of the ways to insulate the attic. But this method is no longer in demand today as it used to be. The main disadvantage is the flammability of the material, which is not suitable for the roof of the house. Attic foam insulation is easy to implement, but it also has a significant drawback - a fire hazard and the release of toxins during combustion.

Comparison table of thermal conductivity of materials

Video: how to insulate the attic in a private house

The under-roof space is one of the risk areas, therefore attic insulation is a mandatory and necessary process to maintain a comfortable temperature in the premises of the house, save energy spent on heating, and extend the life of the entire residential building.

Through a cold attic, according to statistics, up to 20% of the heat from the lower space can go away, and this is 1/5 of the family budget. It is all the more important to insulate the attic space, since the bulk of hot air always rushes upward, which means that all joints, cracks, and surfaces must be carefully insulated. A natural problem arises, how to do this so that the insulation of a cold attic in a private house does not become an empty undertaking and a waste of money. Warming with mineral wool

What insulation technology, method or technique is the most popular and cheapest, we will consider in the article below, based on the use of environmentally friendly and natural building materials.

Varieties of attic structures

Starting attic insulation in a private house, you need to choose one of three areas of operation of this space, the implementation of which will help to maintain the desired temperature and humidity:

1. Unheated attic, where the temperature in winter must be maintained (due to properly carried out thermal insulation measures) within 5-10 0 C.
2. A comfortable temperature is provided by the influx of hot air through the ventilation ducts from the living quarters of the house. Such an attic (warm, but without an attic) is typical for low- and high-rise buildings.
3. Attic space in the attic of a heated type: works like a normal living space with heating, like the rest of the rooms in the building. To insulate such a room, fewer layers of insulation are needed without laying a vapor barrier layer, but the sealing of joints and gaps in the joints of structures must be complete.

How to choose the best insulation material

Before deciding how best to insulate the attic of a private house, it is necessary to identify the range of proposed insulation operations. Some refer to insulation as the need to insulate only ceilings and roofs to reduce heat loss without insulating the under-roof space. A group of owners has also been identified, which believes that it would be more correct to insulate the attic of a private house only from the inside along the slopes of the roof, and leave the floors partially insulated, for example, lay a layer of clay. But building trends are increasingly leaning towards insulating the entire attic so that you can live in it, and here the choice of materials is much wider than in the previous two options. But let's start with how to insulate a cold attic inexpensively. This can be done using materials such as:

1. Expanded clay and blocks from it.
2. Waste woodworking industry (wood chips, sawdust, shavings).
3. Mineral wool in various designs - glass wool, basalt or stone wool (rolls, slabs, mats).
4. Foamed Resins: Extruded Styrofoam, Styrofoam, NPE, etc.

Which of these thermal insulation materials are the best and which can be successfully used for sloping attic surfaces? Expanded clay will be discarded immediately (it is only suitable for horizontal surfaces), therefore, first of all, slab heaters (foam plastic and polystyrene foam) remain. These are fairly cheap materials, but due to flammability, they will have to be protected with other layers that prevent the main heaters from igniting.

According to the combustibility group, it is best to choose mineral wool, although it must also be covered with a layer of durable draft or decorative materials. In addition, mineral wool absorbs moisture faster, so a layer of vapor or waterproofing is simply necessary to preserve the main insulation.

Glass wool is not quite the best material, it should not be chosen for attic insulation, if only because glass microparticles quickly enter the air and harm people.

Sawdust or shavings must be laid in such a way that it is possible to replace them - over time, a layer of such insulation is compressed, losing its insulating qualities.

Stages of insulation

The process of attic insulation in a private house can be divided into several stages:

1. Laying heat-insulating materials on the surfaces of floors.
2. Roof internal insulation.
3. Insulation of roof gables, installation of insulation and finishing. In this case, the insulation can immediately play the role of a decorative surface, for example, a sandwich panel.

Preparation of materials for insulation

Briefly about what materials can be used for insulation, based on their characteristics:

1. Wood chips or sawdust have a thermal conductivity of 0.05-0.095 W / m 0 C, if they are laid in a layer no thinner than 20 cm.
2. The folk method of insulation is reed, its thermal conductivity is 0.042 W / m 0 C.
3. Penoizol is a liquid insulation, excellent for any surfaces, has a thermal conductivity in the range of 0.028-0.040 W / m 0 C. In practice, laying occurs by spraying.
4. Expanded clay is the most common of environmentally friendly and fireproof insulating materials, thermal conductivity is 0.1-0.18 W / m 0 C. The expanded clay layer for good insulation should be ≥ 0.2 m, but they can only insulate the floor surface.
5. Mineral wool has a thermal conductivity in the range of 0.038-0.055 W / m 0 C.
6. The most modern material is ecowool. It does not rot, does not burn, does not attract rodents and insects, but on top of ecowool it is required to make protection against mechanical damage.

Auxiliary materials for insulation:

1. Membrane for vapor barrier.
2. Sheet material for flooring - boards, chipboard, fiberboard, OSB, etc.
3. Wood preservative.

Mineral wool insulation scheme

Floor surface preparation

1. The old flooring on the ceiling must be removed.
2. Soak the beams with an antiseptic.
3. Collect the overlap of the floor - the boards are nailed to the beams from the side of the house, that is, from below.

Floor insulation

1. Before insulating the ceiling in a private house, a vapor barrier layer with an overlap of 10-15 cm is laid on the beams and boardwalk.
2. Thermal insulation is laid on the vapor barrier layer, for example, a mineral wool slab or EPS expanded polystyrene sheets. Plates, sheets, rolls or mats are placed close to each other.
3. The next layer of vapor barrier is laid on top using the same technology as in the first case.
4. On the logs, a roll is assembled from boards or any sheet material on which the draft floor of the attic will be equipped.

In the attic with a concrete floor, insulation is carried out using mats of mineral heat-insulating material or XPS, and a concrete screed is made on top with a layer of 5-10 cm.

The thermal insulation layer is covered with waterproofing on both sides, especially if mineral heaters are used, which can absorb moisture faster than other materials.

The overlap of concrete slabs and wooden beams is recommended to be insulated on both sides - outside and inside, but not all materials are suitable for such a multiple purpose - expanded clay and other loose materials cannot be used, since they can only insulate the attic on the floor.

To make the process itself clear, consider the laying of Izover mineral mats:

1. The existing reel is removed from the boards.
2. A layer of vapor barrier is attached to the beams. The membrane film must be fixed, and the easiest way to do this is with a stapler and 14-16 mm staples.
3. Mineral mats are laid in the space between the beams and fixed with transverse wooden slats with a section of 2 x 5 cm.
4. Another layer of membrane vapor barrier is attached to the rails.
5. A boardwalk is mounted on top, after which the ceiling is arranged.

Roof insulation in a private house

Before insulating the attic in a private house, it is prepared:

1. Check the integrity of the rafter system, if necessary, repair or change parts and elements.
2. If the insulation is thicker than the logs, they are increased to the required size with bars or slats. Thus, all the space between the rafters will be filled.
3. All wooden elements are impregnated with an antiseptic. Such work will extend the life of materials and structures.

Do-it-yourself roof insulation in a private house is carried out approximately as follows:

1. The vapor barrier membrane in rooms located in the attic space should not come into contact with roof waterproofing. To maintain the air gap between these layers, nails are hammered into the rafter legs, between which thick synthetic threads are pulled.
2. The vapor barrier membrane is attached to the rafters with a stapler, while the smooth surface of the material is laid on the insulation, and the joints of its strips are fastened with construction tape.
3. Thermal insulation fits tightly into the space between the rafters. To prevent the formation of "cold bridges", mineral mats must be laid close to the rafter legs and to each other. When cracks appear between the layers, they are clogged with the same material. Such a layer of insulation is fixed again with thick threads stretched between the rafters.
4. A vapor barrier layer is applied on top of the laid insulation, which is fixed with adhesive tape.
5. On top of all layers of the cake, a wooden crate is made of inlays or bars with a section of 2 x 5 cm. Decorative finishing materials will be attached to the crate on one side.

Vapor barrier installation

conclusions

In practice, the number of new and traditional materials and technologies for insulating the floor and walls of the attic is much larger, but those described above in the article are the easiest to implement with your own hands. To date, mineral wool and polystyrene are the most popular and affordable heaters.

The main requirement for any home is that it must be warm. To achieve this, it is necessary to insulate not only the walls, but also the attic. Professional craftsmen will insulate the attic efficiently and quickly, but their work is expensive. So if you want to save money, get ready to do it right yourself.

materials

Most often, attic insulation is carried out using polyurethane foam, mineral wool or expanded clay.
Each of these materials has certain advantages and disadvantages.

Polyurethane foam (PPU)

This material is a type of plastic. With its help, the attic floor, roof, gables are insulated. PPU has many advantages:

• strengthening the strength of the roof (after application, the PPU layer turns into a single structure without cracks and cracks);
• low thermal conductivity;
• durability (service life of at least 30 years);
• excellent adhesion with any building materials (no need to use additional fasteners when applying);
• lightness, small layer thickness (which saves attic space and reduces the load on supporting structures);
• moisture resistance (PPU, due to its properties, protects itself from moisture, so there is no need to create moisture and vapor barrier layers);
• resistance to mold, penetration of rodents and insects;
• possibility of operation at any temperature (not afraid of drops from -200° to +200° С).

Such a heater is made right on the spot from a minimum number of components. Polyurethane foam is an excellent protection for the attic of a private house from cold, moisture and heat loss.

PPU is afraid of exposure to ultraviolet radiation, so it must be protected with a layer of plaster or paint, covered with various panels. Polyurethane foam is a slow-burning material, but under the influence of high temperature it will begin to smolder. Do not use it in places where there is strong heating.

Mineral wool

With it, you can completely insulate the attic in a private house. Since the structure of the material is such that it perfectly passes steam, it must be protected from the inside with a vapor and waterproofing layer.

Mineral wool is a non-combustible material, at a temperature of +1000 ° C it does not even melt. It is resistant to biological effects (microorganisms do not multiply in it). It has low thermal conductivity.
Mineral wool is produced in the form of mats or rolls. It is laid between the rafters and lags.

The weight of the material is considerable, which increases the load on the supporting structures. Before proceeding with the insulation of the attic, you need to make sure that the roof and all supporting structures are reliable. Or, provide for the use of this type of insulation at the design stage of the house and strengthen the supporting structures.

The ingress of moisture adversely affects the thermal properties of mineral wool.

Expanded clay

Expanded clay can be used to insulate the attic of a private house. This, moreover, it is lightweight, fireproof, environmentally friendly. Expanded clay is strong and durable, moisture resistant, not afraid of temperature changes. Most often they insulate the floor of the attic. Applying the material indoors, you need to create a vapor barrier coating.

When insulating a cold attic with expanded clay, a frame is created (a special “box” on the floor, into which insulation granules are poured, a wooden floor is laid on top of it). This "eats" a certain amount of space.

When insulating the attic of a house, it is better to choose several types of heat insulator. used for horizontal surfaces, mineral wool or polyurethane foam - for vertical ones. Such an arrangement will be cheaper, and installation is more convenient.

Warming technology

Before insulating the attic, for example, with mineral wool, it is necessary to prepare the following tools and materials:

1. mounting stapler (with staples 5-7 mm);
2. special tape;
3. mounting foam;
4. construction knife;
5. waterproofing film;
6. vapor barrier material;
7. glue for mineral wool (nails and screws);
8. eye and hand protection.

Before starting work, it is necessary to measure the area to be insulated: for this, the width of the surfaces is multiplied by their length. Then you need to decide how many layers of insulation will be used. For central Russia, a layer of mineral wool for warming the attic of a private house should be at least 20 cm.

Room preparation

It is necessary to completely free the room from foreign objects. Remove all seals from the slots, construction debris, cobwebs. All surfaces must be properly cleaned. It is necessary to provide good lighting in the attic. Then bring the necessary tools and material.

For convenience, you can put several sheets of plywood on the logs of the attic floor. Seal all cracks in the roof, near the ventilation ducts with mounting foam.

In the event that an attic is not planned in the attic, it is made ventilated. To do this, special ventilation troughs are attached with brackets under the roof.

If a cold attic is insulated in order to create an additional room, then it is not necessary to install such gutters.

Installation of a waterproofing layer

A waterproofing film is needed to protect the mineral wool and the entire room from moisture. This layer is especially important if the attic of a house with an old roof is insulated.

The film must be tightly stretched onto the truss structure of the entire roof with small overlaps. So the waterproofing layer will become airtight. Fix it with a mounting stapler.

On the one hand, mineral wool slabs are treated with glue (it is applied with a spatula) and pressed tightly into fragments between the rafters. You can fix the insulation on nails or screws. Laying is carried out along the slope from the bottom up in two layers. The joints of the plates should be staggered: this will reduce heat loss. Often, mineral wool slabs are simply inserted into sections of the truss structure.

If mineral wool is used in rolls, then its installation is carried out directly from the roll in order to avoid taking the necessary dimensions and cutting the material. If necessary, you can cut off the mineral wool with a clerical or construction knife, after placing a plank under it.

Be sure to insulate communications in the attic, ventilation shafts.

Installation of a vapor barrier layer

So that moisture does not affect the life of mineral wool, it is necessary to fix the vapor barrier layer. The film is fixed with a stapler on the plates. For tightness, the joints are glued with special adhesive tape.

Making a crate for decorative trim

You can sheathe the attic space with OSB boards or drywall. To do this, you need to properly make the frame. To save money, you can install the crate flush with the truss system.

The rafters are the basis of the frame, between them you need to lay the crossbars. If this option is not suitable, you can create a full-fledged frame from a metal profile.

Floor insulation

When insulating a cold attic with mineral wool, logs are laid on the floor that will hold all the material. Then they perform work similar to the one described above: first waterproofing, then insulation and vapor barrier. After that, strictly according to the level, for example, an OSB plate of 10-12 mm is laid and varnished.

It is possible to insulate the attic with your own hands correctly and quickly if you correctly approach the choice of heat-insulating material and carefully study the technology of its installation.

When providing insulation for a private house, one should not forget that special attention should be paid to such a place as the attic.

Warm air tends to rise to the top, and therefore, in a temporarily unheated room, heat can escape through the space of a cold attic. Therefore, the issue of attic insulation must be addressed without delay.

1 Why is attic floor insulation necessary?

Insulation of the cold floor of the attic with stone or mineral wool, by and large, is necessary in little used premises, which are properly equipped with special roof ventilation.

The attic, or rather its ceilings, perform the function of a kind of boundary between heat and cold. In such places, attic floors are exposed to intense moisture due to the formation of condensate.

However, it is possible to properly insulate the floors in the attic of the house with mineral wool with your own hands. The very process of insulating the floor in the attic with mineral wool is the creation of a durable thermal insulation coating, which will have a low degree of thermal conductivity.

The very technology of insulating the floor with mineral wool in the attic, as well as implies strict adherence to its stages and requirements.

By itself, this technology is quite simple and understandable. Good thermal insulation of the attic floor with mineral wool helps to close unwanted gaps.

To do this, the insulation must be laid tightly. In most cases, mineral wool is used to insulate the attic of a house.

The presented insulation is the most suitable for this type of work, it can also be used to insulate the floor surface in the living quarters of the house.

With the organization of good insulation with mineral wool, the most optimal temperature will be maintained in the living quarters.

If the procedure is not performed correctly, then moisture rising from the floor of the house will lead to the formation of condensate.

It will accumulate on the ceiling, and then seep through the floors. The resulting temperature difference in those areas where attic floors adjoin the walls of the house initiates the formation of mold and microscopic fungi, which can be the causative agents of allergic diseases.

1.1 Attic insulation requirements

The process of insulating the attic floor and, more precisely, the level of its quality has a direct impact not only on the size of heat loss, but also on the duration of the operational life of the entire truss structure and roofing.

The fact is that the water vapor inside the heated room diffuses to the attic of the house. In order for the applied insulation to provide a high degree of calculated efficiency of the heat-insulating layer, it must always be dry.

Based on this, the insulation must be protected from excessive moisture by vapors of ascending heated air using a special vapor-tight material.

If the attic is well insulated, then it will not only provide high-quality thermal insulation, but will also help to increase the operational life of the entire roof structure.

If there is no vapor barrier, then steam will penetrate through the unprotected attic ceilings and condense on the ceiling surfaces.

This will lead to the fact that moisture will drain onto the rafters, which, under its influence, will slowly begin to rot from the inside.

As a result, the probability of destruction of the entire roofing pie increases. The thermal insulation performance of the structure is also reduced due to the fact that the tightness of the vapor barrier layer has been broken.

Before you insulate the attic, you need to drain the layer and remove moisture from the entire attic space. To do this, ventilation should be done through windows. They may be:

• Skating like;
• eaves;
• slotted;
• Auditory.

In order to ensure maximum ventilation intensity, the indicator of the total area of ​​​​all ventilation openings should be equal to 0.2-0.5% of attic floors.

If all the work is carried out correctly, then in the winter, icicles will not form on the roof. The very process of warming the attic space is carried out not from the living quarters, but from the floor of the attic.

So it is most convenient to lay insulation, the choice of which depends on the technology used and the design features of the structure.

1.2 Features of insulation of beam ceilings

When implementing such an insulation scheme using mineral wool, heat is stored in the space between the beams. Their usual height is almost always enough for this, however, if necessary, several bars are stuffed on top.

The lower part of the overlap is sewn up with the help of molded material as with. For this, lining or drywall sheets can be used.

On top of the beams, a subfloor covering is laid. It can be a tongue-and-groove board, plywood sheet or OSB board. Mineral wool is adjusted to a special vapor barrier prepared in advance.

An alternative to it can serve as an ordinary film made using polyethylene. If the vapor barrier material is foiled, then it is laid with a shiny surface down.

The intermediate distance between the beams is filled with mineral wool with the desired thickness parameters. The surface of the beams must be equipped with an additional insulating layer.

This will block the so-called cold bridges and significantly reduce the overall level of heat loss. If a high quality beam was used to create the beams, then the finishing material will spread directly onto their surface.

Mineral wool is placed between them as with, and the attic floor is laid on top. The use of this technology is especially important in houses that are made of logs or beams.

It is important to protect the mineral wool with a high degree of reliability from the ingress of the smallest drops of moisture, this is especially true if the roof has minor coating defects, due to which leaks occur.

The layer of mineral wool must be reliably protected from the effects of wind from the side of the eaves. For this, mineral wool slabs with a high degree of density are used.

2 Why is mineral wool used for attic insulation?

In most cases, when insulating attic floors, the choice of the consumer falls on mineral wool. Its advantage lies in the fact that its installation does not require special skills.

Mineral wool has excellent thermal insulation properties. Its structure consists of thin vitreous fibers, the length of which ranges from 2 to 60 millimeters.

High soundproofing characteristics are provided due to the presence of a large number of air pores.

These pores are located in the space between the fibers and can occupy 95% of the total volume of the insulation. Mineral wool is presented in three varieties, it can be basalt glass and stone.

Basalt wool is made using molten basalt rocks, to which binders are added.

This may be a carbonate-type rock, which regulates the level of acidity of the substance, which entails an increase in the service life of the insulation. Glass wool exhibits high heat-resistant properties and is able to withstand temperatures up to +450 degrees Celsius.

2.1 Technology of insulation of attic floors with mineral wool

During work related to mineral wool, it is important to comply with all safety requirements and regulations.

This is due to the fact that in the process of cutting and laying such material, the air is filled with tiny particles that can enter the respiratory organs and thus cause harm to human health.

When carrying out installation, be sure to take care of the availability of personal protective equipment. Goggles, a respirator and thick rubber gloves should be available.

The process of warming attic floors begins with the selection of the necessary tools and additional materials. Can't do without:

insulation

• Boards and plywood;
• vapor barrier film;
• Mineral wool (excellent);
• Waterproofing;
• adhesive tape;
• Roulettes;
• Knife;
• Construction stapler;
• spatula.

The essence of the insulation technology lies in the fact that the insulation must be carefully laid in the space between attic floors or beams.

To enhance the thermal insulation qualities, reliable vapor barrier should be used. Warm and moisture-saturated air will continuously rise from the living rooms and go up through the ceiling.

There, in the roof space, he will collide with a layer of insulation. Due to the fact that mineral wool is generally considered to be a vapor-tight material, it will take all the outgoing moisture into itself.

If it is left without the necessary access of air and sunlight, it will gradually shrink and, in the end, will lose all its heat-insulating qualities.

In order to avoid such destructive consequences, it is necessary to lay a vapor barrier material under a layer of mineral wool.

Before starting the main work, it will be necessary to carefully calculate the required amount of insulation.

The amount of wool purchased depends on how many layers you plan to use when covering the attic. In addition, the thermal insulation thickness parameter directly depends on the climatic conditions in the region.

2.2 Proper insulation of the attic floor (video)