What to lay on the floor for insulation. What is the best way to insulate floors in an apartment: choose the material and method of insulation

Floor insulation reduces heat loss in the house and affects the temperature in the rooms.

The better the thermal insulation of the floor, the less money is spent on paying for gas or electricity for heating.

An insufficiently insulated floor leads to a decrease in the air temperature in the room, which negatively affects the health of the inhabitants of the house.

This article will discuss how you can solve the issue of thermal insulation of various types of floors.

The following materials are used for floor insulation:

mineral wool;
foam boards;
foamed polyurethane;
reflective foil insulation;
linoleum;
Self-leveling floors.

Insulation of a wooden floor

In half of the houses with wooden floors, the joists are located 10 or more centimeters above ground level. They are fixed in wall niches and supported by stone or brick tables standing on the ground. When laying a floor on concrete, the joists are placed directly on the surface of the slab.

The floor insulation scheme is as follows: a material with low thermal conductivity is placed between the concrete or soil and the coating, and measures are taken to ensure that the material does not reduce the strength of the floor.

This scheme is used on concrete and wooden floors with any base.

Expanded clay

This is the easiest way to insulate floors in an apartment. Remove the covering and subfloor, mark it so as not to confuse it during subsequent installation. Inspect and, if necessary, repair the joists.

Fill in expanded clay. The backfill level should be 2-3 cm below the subfloor. Reinstall and lay the covering.

Foam boards or mineral wool

Remove the covering, subfloor, repair the joists. If the floor is mounted on concrete, cut the insulation into pieces the width of the joists and lay it on the floor. If the logs are on bedside tables, cut strips of plywood 10 mm thick, 20 cm wide and 1-1.5 meters long. Place the strips at the bottom of the joists until they look like an inverted T.

Secure with self-tapping screws. The distance between the strips is 20-30 cm. Treat all the joists. Measure the distance between the joists and cut strips of plywood 5-7 mm thick to that width. The distance between joists varies, so measure separately for each sheet. After cutting out the sheets, place them between the joists. Do not leave a gap between sheets of more than 1 cm.

Cut and lay insulation on sheets. Try not to make gaps between the insulation and the joists. The amount of insulation depends on financial capabilities. If possible, install one centimeter below the subfloor level. This will improve the thermal insulation of the floor.

Cut strips of vapor-permeable film, sold in construction and hardware stores. Determine the width using the formula: average distance between lags + 15 cm.

Video - insulation of a wooden floor in a wooden house:

Place the film on the insulation, leaving equal projections on the joists. Wrap the protruding parts 2-4 times. Avoid wrinkles from forming. Press the hems to the joist and secure with a staple gun. Drive staples every 5 cm. Lay and secure the subfloor, then the covering.

Reflective thermal insulation

Remove the covering and subfloor, repair the joists. Cut the seal so that one piece completely covers the gap between the two joists. Do not use multiple pieces - each joint between pieces reduces the insulation efficiency by 5-10 percent.

Determine the width of the pieces using the formula - the distance between the logs + 10 cm. Place the insulation with the foil towards the top. Secure it on one side to the joist using a stapler. The fixing height is 1 cm from the subfloor level. Fasten the other side in the same way. Lay and secure the subfloor, then the covering.

Foamed polyurethane

Remove the covering and subfloor, repair the joists. If the floor is on bedside tables, install plywood as described above in the section “Insulation with foam boards or mineral wool.”

Fill the resulting niche with a layer of 2-3 cm of polyurethane foam. Wait for the mixture to completely harden and lay the subfloor and coating in place.

When working with polyurethane, use a protective suit, goggles and a respirator. The drug is toxic.

Insulation of concrete floor

Foamed sheet materials

If the height of the room allows you to raise the floor by 15-20 cm, remove the covering and remove any remaining adhesive. Fill up any uneven surfaces. Cover the entire floor with insulation. Use thick polystyrene sheets, rigid foam and other dense materials. The thickness of the sheets is 3-5 cm. Place a two-layer reinforcing mesh made of steel or fiberglass reinforcement with a diameter of 10-15 mm on top of them.

Install beacons from boards measuring 25*125 mm. These boards will provide a smooth horizontal surface of the screed and provide temperature compensation for the concrete. The drying time of the screed is 25-30 days. After drying, lay down the covering. But whether a floor screed is needed in a panel house, where the ceiling height is already low, is up to you to decide.

If the ceiling height does not allow such an increase, use wooden blocks measuring 30*30 or 30*60 mm. Lay them across the room along the entire length. Secure with anchor dowels. The distance between the bars is 20 cm. Fill the space between them with foam plastic 25-30 mm thick.

Cover the floor with vapor-permeable film and cover it with 20 mm thick plywood. Join plywood only on blocks. Secure with self-tapping screws 35-40 mm long. Recess the screws by 0.5-1 mm. On top, parquet, cork or linoleum.

This technology is used to insulate the floor in an apartment on the first floor, because the height of the ceilings does not allow laying two screeds.

Mineral wool or expanded clay

Expanded clay has the following characteristics:

excellent heat and sound insulation;
high strength;
fire resistance;
frost resistance;
environmental friendliness and durability.

Carry out insulation in the same way as for foamed sheet materials, when you cannot increase the height of the floor.

Reflective foil insulation or technical cork

Remove the coating, clean the concrete from traces of glue, and fill in any uneven areas. After four days, cover the room with insulation. When using multiple pieces, ensure there are no gaps. Place the insulation with the foil facing up.

Lay plywood 25-30 mm thick on top of the insulation, securing it with anchor dowels in the amount of 9 pcs per square meter. The permissible gap size between sheets is 1 mm. On top, laminate, solid wood or linoleum.

Liquid floor

The use of “liquid floor” material gives the worst thermal insulation parameters of all those described in the article. At the same time, self-leveling floors make it possible to create a strong screed that does not require reinforcement and reduce the pressure on wooden floors. The cost of such a screed is 5-7 times higher than a traditional one.

Linoleum

In terms of thermal insulation properties, linoleums are on par with self-leveling floors. Therefore, the use of insulated linoleum alone will not give a noticeable effect. When used with any insulation, you will improve thermal insulation by 5-10 percent.

Floor insulation requires an individual approach. There is no single standard for the best materials or technologies. It all depends on the conditions, condition of the floor and financial capabilities. Sheets of foam materials provide good insulation, but are not suitable for all floors. Foil reflective insulation has 10-20 times worse thermal insulation parameters, but is used to insulate any floor.

The wrong choice of material will lead to the fact that the strength of the floor and the height of the room will be greatly reduced. Don't try to save money by using cheaper technology. It’s better to find material from a lesser-known manufacturer or use thinner insulation.

Video - thermal insulation of the first floor floor:

In earlier times, it was considered normal practice to lay finished flooring directly on the concrete base of a private or panel house, which resulted in cold floors. This is very uncomfortable for the people living there due to the unpleasant feeling of cold in the legs. In digital terms, heat loss through such a coating amounts to 20% of the total heat loss of the building. This is why it is important to insulate a concrete floor, and we will tell you how to do it correctly with your own hands in this article.

What is the best way to insulate a floor?

The range of materials that can be used to insulate concrete floors in a private home is so wide that it is sometimes very difficult for an ignorant person to choose the appropriate insulation.

To determine what can be used to insulate a concrete floor and which material is the best, you should find out the following points:

Where is it planned to carry out thermal insulation - in a house, apartment or country house?
How is the insulated concrete base located relative to other structures: above the basement of a panel house, on the ground on the ground floor of a private cottage, or is it the interfloor ceiling of an apartment?
Is the purpose of the event to carry out simple insulation or the installation of a warm water floor (as an option - electric)?
What is the chosen method of thermal insulation?
the amount of budget allocated for the event.

Generally speaking, you can take any of the currently existing insulation for a concrete floor. The main thing is that it fits the listed conditions. There is only one limitation: materials containing glass wool cannot be used inside residential premises. This is the answer to a frequently asked question - is it possible to insulate the floor with foam plastic.

What does clarification of the first point give us? If we are talking about an apartment in a brick or panel house, then we may be limited by the height of the ceilings, and therefore we need to choose the most effective and thin insulation - penoplex or extruded polystyrene foam. Otherwise, the floors will rise by no less than 150 mm; this must be taken into account when insulating the floors on the loggia. Moreover, penofol or isolon will not work, it has insufficient thermal resistance.

For reference. To imagine the required thickness of different materials for floor insulation, it is suggested to study the diagram with thermal conductivity coefficients. The lower the coefficient value, the better the properties of the insulator, and the thinner the layer.

You can inexpensively insulate a concrete floor in your dacha by using expanded clay for this purpose, you just need to choose the right layer thickness. It should be noted that expanded clay transmits 3-5 times more heat than foam plastic. If the dacha is heated constantly and the requirements for thermal insulation are high, then the thickness of the layer on the ground must be at least 300 mm. When periodically heating a dacha, it is enough to make the thickness of the expanded clay insulation 100-150 mm so that the event will cost you quite cheaply.

The greatest heat loss through floors is observed when a concrete screed is placed on the ground. Then there are 2 options: use the best and most effective insulation like penoplex, or something cheaper, but with a thicker layer. As a rule, in these cases, all types of foamed polymers are used, as well as high-density mineral wool. You can also take rolled materials, but there is only one way to put them into insulation - on joists.

It makes sense to insulate interfloor floors in a panel house only in one case - when installing electric or water heated floors. If this is not done, then your heated floor will heat the ceiling of the neighbor below, and there will not be enough heat for your own home. Since the temperature difference on both sides of the ceiling will be small, polystyrene foam up to 50 mm thick or polystyrene foam 25-30 mm thick will be suitable for insulation. You will have to add a larger layer of mineral wool or lay it together with foil foam, which will also serve as waterproofing.

Advice. The ceiling on the ground floor of an apartment or private building should always be insulated if the basement is not heated.

Thermal insulation methods

At the moment, there are only 2 methods for insulating concrete floors in any residential buildings; the choice of a suitable material largely depends on them:

the so-called dry method - insulation on joists;
“wet” method - laying insulation under a cement-sand screed.

Note. There is a practice of thermal insulation of rooms on the first floor from below, from the basement. This is convenient and cheap, but not very effective, since it must be combined with insulation of the foundation and basement of the building. When there is none, the cold will penetrate from the street through the edge zones of the concrete base.

The method of insulation on joists is quite accessible and, with the proper approach, can be easily done with your own hands. It involves the use of both roll and slab insulation for a concrete floor and is designed for subsequent laying of a finishing coating of linoleum or laminate on top of a flooring made of boards or OSB (chipboard). The list of insulation materials used is very wide:

mineral or ecowool in rolls and slabs: has high fire resistance, but easily absorbs moisture and at the same time ceases to be an insulator;
foamed polymers in slabs (foam plastic, extruded polystyrene foam, penoplex), on the contrary, are not afraid of water, but are susceptible to combustion and have better thermal insulation characteristics than cotton wool;
foamed foil polyethylene (penofol, isolon): the material repels moisture well and has zero vapor permeability, but is flammable. Works great together with other insulation materials;
sprayed polyurethane foam: the best insulation of all, but also the most expensive, resists moisture, flame (for a certain period of time) and has the highest thermal insulation rates;

For reference. There is also cork insulation on sale, but it is usually not chosen for insulating concrete floors; it is intended for heat and sound insulation of walls.

The essence of the second method of insulation is to monolith the heat-insulating layer under a cement-sand screed, and lay almost any floor covering on top of it. This means that floors insulated in this way are not only made for laminate or linoleum, but are also suitable for laying tiles. This is true in the kitchen or bathroom, where there is high humidity, where the screed will last much longer.

When installing electric or water heated floors, this insulation method is also the most effective. Of course, you can lay heating circuit pipes between the joists, but this will not achieve a large heat transfer area. And the screed monolith becomes like a solid heating device, heating the room with its entire surface. Therefore, warm floors are usually made of the same type (under screed) throughout the entire house, and not just in the bathroom or kitchen.

It is logical to assume that for the second method of insulating concrete floors it is impossible to use soft or rolled materials. Foamed polymers or basalt wool in slabs are suitable here, and the density of the latter should be at least 115 kg/m3 and thickness 100 mm. Expanded polystyrene can be taken thinner - 50 mm, polystyrene - 80 mm with a density of 35 kg/m3.

Floor insulation with polystyrene foam

If you chose the first method, then you should lay wooden blocks - logs - on the leveled and cleaned concrete screed, maintaining an interval between them equal to the width of the selected insulation. The lags are fastened with anchors or self-tapping screws on steel corners; their leveling is done using wooden spacers. Calculation of the height of the upper plane of the block above the floor looks like this: insulation thickness + 50 mm clearance for ventilation.

Advice. When concrete floors are insulated with mineral or basalt materials, it is better to make the distance between the joists less than the width of the insulation by 1 cm so that the insulation fits there as tightly as possible. For expanded polystyrene boards, the interval should be made smaller by a couple of millimeters for the same purpose.

Now let’s talk about how to properly install the insulation. First, waterproofing is laid from a dense polyethylene film with an overlap of 100 mm between the sheets and the joints are taped. Then the thermal insulation slabs are laid. On top they are again covered with a vapor barrier film so that moisture from the premises does not penetrate into the insulation.

Advice. Contrary to popular belief, polystyrene foam absorbs moisture, although in very small proportions. Therefore, protective films on both sides of the insulation are always needed when using any materials, especially cotton wool and polystyrene foam. This will significantly extend their service life.

Penofol is often used instead of film; it allows you to reduce the layer of the main insulator and protect it from moisture. The joints are also taped, only with foil tape. This completes the insulation of the concrete floor; you can lay the coating and laminate or linoleum.

Floors under cement screed are also insulated using waterproofing laid on a concrete base. If the process begins with the soil itself, then it must be compacted, and then a concrete preparation 5 cm thick must be made. After it has completely hardened, the waterproofing layer film is laid out, and then polystyrene foam slabs are laid out. Usually the cement screed is poured directly on top of the insulation, but we recommend laying a second layer of film first. This is inexpensive, but it will help preserve the insulating material of the floors longer.

For reference. The thickness of the cement screed should be in the range from 50 to 80 mm. The optimal option, taking into account different loads on the floors of a living space, is 70 mm.

When it comes to a wooden house, it should be taken into account that such structures can be slightly deformed because the wood “breathes”. This is almost unnoticeable in an old house, but in a newly built one, concrete floor coverings can crack if damping is not provided. To do this, a thin layer of polystyrene (up to 15 mm) is laid along the entire perimeter along the walls, even before work begins, as shown in the photo:

Similar measures should be taken before installing heated floors, where a special damper tape is laid around the perimeter of the premises, and only then waterproofing is laid, which is reflected in the diagram:

Owners of old houses often wonder whether it is possible to insulate the floor without opening it. There is no definite answer, since everything depends on the condition of the concrete surface. If the screed has retained its strength and does not crumble or crack, then laying insulation on top of it is possible. Only then will you have to raise the thresholds of all the doors and trim their leaves, which will immediately affect the interior. So the best solution would still be to open up the old floors, insulate them and pour a new coating.

Floor insulation with expanded clay

This insulation can be used for thermal insulation of floors in any way, even by filling it between joists or laying it under a screed. It simply replaces polystyrene foam or cotton wool, and the entire technology remains unchanged. It will cost less, but there is a question about the effectiveness of such insulation. In simple words, the best expanded clay in terms of thermal insulation properties is three times worse than the worst polystyrene foam.

Hence the conclusion: the expanded clay layer must be at least three times larger, otherwise such insulation will be of little use, the concrete floors will remain cold. It turns out that you need to fill in 300 mm of material, but in what rooms is this possible? In an apartment and on a loggia - definitely not, it won’t work above the ceilings either. Floors remain on the ground in buildings with a high base or on joists supported by brick columns.

But in the first case, most often there is a basement floor and there is nowhere to place such a thick layer of insulation, and there is no need to, it is necessary to insulate the foundation there. What remains are floors with joists on brick pillars, the kind found in old houses and on verandas. By the way, such an open veranda can be glazed, and the floors can be insulated with expanded clay from below; there will be enough space for it.

Conclusion

Each method of insulating concrete floors has its own advantages and disadvantages. It is impossible to say that one of them is better and the other worse. They just need to be applied according to the circumstances and in accordance with financial capabilities. Of course, a wooden floor is always better than a screed, but it requires repairs and does not last as long. But in any case, good thermal insulation will not cost you cheap, you need to understand this.

It happens that the house, despite the excellent performance of the heating system, is still cool. This indicates that the room is losing heat. To restore a comfortable stay in the house, it is necessary to take measures and insulate the floors.

Peculiarities

Often in a wooden or brick house with thick ceilings you feel cold coming from somewhere below. High-quality thermal insulation will not only cost the home owner cheap, but will also allow you to achieve maximum comfort in your home.

Advantages of using floor insulation systems in a private home:

Coolant losses will be significantly reduced, therefore, money savings will be noticeable;
If you insulate the floor, the area of the premises will be heated evenly;
Increased comfort in previously cold rooms;

The lower part of the room will become much warmer;
There will be no dryness in the air. The latest technologies will delay heat flow in the apartment;
There will be more free space, since the use of heating systems minimizes the number of radiators;
The heating process occurs faster, heat transfer increases;
Such systems have a long service life.

Types of insulation

All insulation materials can be divided into two categories: technological and those using heat-insulating materials. Technological types are divided into electric floors and water heating. Electric floors include infrared film, heating mats and heating copper cables, and water heating includes a piping system with water coolant.

Insulation materials, which use heat-insulating materials, also come in several varieties:

Oriented Strand Board (OSB)

It contains natural ingredients (wood). Produced by pressing using wood chips (sawdust) and adhesive ingredients.

There are four varieties:

OSB-1. The moisture resistance of this modification is quite low - less than 20%. This brand is intended for interior work and contains a minimum amount of harmful substances in the adhesive;
OSB-2. It has a more durable design and is used for covering elements of a dry room, because in a wet structure such material will be harmful to the human body;
OSB-3 and OSB-4. They are distinguished by the greatest resistance to humidity and increased loads, but are the most toxic materials in this line.

But, despite the danger of such material, its use is quite often practiced not only in Russia, but also abroad.

Advantages of using this material:

Saving money. The cost of such products is quite low;
Easy to install. This material is very easy to cut and attach. It is lightweight, so there will be no special problems with its transportation;
Long service life;
Widespread use. This material has found application in wall cladding, roofing and flooring;
Correct installation is a guarantee of resistance to a variety of hazards: corrosion, moisture, the appearance of microorganisms.

Mineral wool

According to regulatory documents, this material includes glass wool, slag wool and stone wool.

Glass wool fibers are tiny: the thickness is from 5 to 15 microns, and the length reaches only 50 mm. This structure allows it to be quite strong and elastic. When working with this material you need to be extremely careful - various dangerous situations may arise. For example, inhaling glass dust can damage your lungs, and if glass filaments break, there is a high probability of getting them on your skin and eyes.

Fibers produced from slag, or slag wool, have the quality of residual acidity. This has a negative effect on metal surfaces in damp areas. The material absorbs moisture well and is quite fragile. Not suitable for insulation of plastic and metal water pipes.

Stone wool differs from slag wool in that it is not prickly, so working with such material is much safer. Its most common variety is basalt wool, which has the best characteristics and does not contain any mineral or binding components. It can be formed into rolls or sheets, or stuffed into mats. When heated above the permissible temperature, it does not burn, but only melts.

Pros of using mineral wool:

Excellent sound insulation;
Low cost;
Long service life;
The ability to achieve maximum effect when waterproofing the base material;
Used for major repairs and construction of buildings.

Expanded polystyrene

This material is produced using natural or carbon dioxide, as well as polystyrene and styrene copolymers. Most of this material is used for insulation and is the most popular in this area.

This product is divided into several types: pressless, pressed and extruded. Pressless is characterized by many heterogeneous structures. Absorbs moisture well. Marking: PSB S-X, where X is the designation of the density of the product.

Pressed has sealed pores, due to which it is considered a reliable and high-quality thermal insulation material. It becomes dense and quite durable. Marked with the letters PS.

Extruded, or penoplex, is similar in structure to pressed polystyrene foam, but its pores are much smaller. Marking – EPPS (XPS-X). The second letter X indicates its density.

The following positions can be distinguished from the distinctive qualities of this material:

Thermal conductivity. Penoplex has the best thermal conductivity indicators. The denser the material, the higher this indicator. Therefore, the lion's share of consumers choose penoplex insulation.
Vapor permeability. This characteristic varies in the range of 0.019-0.015 kg/ (m*h*Pa), whereas in polystyrene foam it is practically zero.
Moisture permeability. When a pressless insulation is completely immersed in water, absorption occurs in an amount of 4% of the volume of the material, and for the extruded version - 0.4%.
A product with medium or high density also has high strength characteristics.
Expanded polystyrene does not collapse when exposed to substances such as soap, soda, fertilizers, lime, and cement. Damage can be caused using turpentine, acetone, drying oil, some alcohols, varnishes, and petroleum refining substances.

Advantages of the product when used:

Low thermal conductivity. For example: if you use polystyrene foam with a thickness of 120 mm, its thermal conductivity characteristics will correspond to a brick thickness of 210 cm or wood of 45 cm;
Light product weight. This material is convenient to use, since its low weight allows it to be installed and transported without assistance;
Waterproof. This material can be used as a waterproofing component, because it is resistant to moisture;
Resistance to deformation loads. The product has excellent compressive strength parameters. This allows it to be used for insulation and waterproofing under floor screed;
Resistance to temperature changes. Products made from polystyrene foam are resistant to cold and high temperatures;
Easy installation. An ordinary user can install, process the edges or trim part of the material; it is enough to have a knife at hand;
Low cost and reduced heat costs.

Styrofoam

This insulation is a foam structure containing air (98%) and polystyrene (2%).

In the process of thermal insulation, several types of foam are considered suitable: polystyrene, polyurethane, polyvinyl chloride and polyethylene.

For domestic needs, polystyrene foam is most often used.

According to its form and structure, it can be divided into:

Sheet. It is a universal type of insulation, as it can be used for thermal insulation of walls, ceilings and floors. The dimensions of polystyrene foam of this modification can be varied;
In the form of balls. Used as backfill in various cavities;
Liquid. Another name for this insulation is penoizol. The purpose is the same as the previous type of foam.

There are many advantages of its use: versatility, ease of installation, light weight, low cost, hypoallergenic and long service life.

Izolon

It is one of the latest developments in the construction industry, allowing you to maintain the comfort and warmth of your home.

There are two main groups of such material: isolon PPE and isolon NPE. Izolon PPE is a cross-linked polyethylene foam with a transverse structure, and PPE is an extruded version, which differs from the previous one in its molecular physics and non-cross-linked structure.

Advantages of this material:

High quality thermal insulation. For comparison: the characteristics of a thermal insulation material 1 cm thick are equivalent to 1 layer of brickwork, which allows further saving of free space;
Availability of waterproofing properties;
Protects against moisture and steam;
High noise absorption rates;
Strength;
Resistance to chemical reagents;
Long service life - over 100 years;
Reusability;
Elasticity and low weight characteristics.

The disadvantages of using this material include high cost, the need to comply with installation technology, compliance with storage requirements and careful transportation.

Penofol

This product is a roll material made of polyethylene foam with a layer of foil. The action of penofol is based on preventing convection due to polyethylene foam and increasing the parameters (up to 97%) of thermal reflection due to the presence of foil.

The varieties of this product can be distinguished by their markings, which are indicated by the letters:

A. This modification of the insulation is equipped with an aluminum foil surface on only one side. Can be used together with other types of material.
B. This version of penofol is used as an independent material for insulation. It has a layer of foil in its structure that covers both surfaces of the product.
C. This category is easy to install, as it is equipped with a moisture-resistant self-adhesive surface on one side and a foil coating on the other.
ALP. This type additionally has a plastic film on the foil surface.
R and M. The product is distinguished by a relief surface with layers of foil applied to one side.
Super NET. Used for thermal insulation of communications.
AIR. It is used to create air exhaust structures.

Positive aspects of using penofol:

Ease;
Easy installation;
This is an environmentally friendly material;
Fire resistance;
Low vapor permeability;
Low material cost.

The disadvantages of penofol insulation include its softness, since any insignificant pressure can lead to damage to the material, poor adhesion and high electrical conductivity (you need to be especially careful with electrical wiring, since aluminum conducts electricity well).

Expanded clay

This type of material is produced in granules with a diameter of up to 5 cm. Rejected elements are crushed. Thus, there are three types of expanded clay: granules, sand and fine gravel.

Advantages:

Environmental cleanliness;
Strength and durability;
Resistance to temperature changes;
Fire resistance;
Excellent thermal insulation and sound absorption qualities;
Affordable price.

The disadvantages include the amount required for good thermal insulation. There should be a layer of at least 50 cm of such material.

Expanded clay can be used to insulate floors made with concrete screed or boards on the ground, as well as on top of concrete. This material has also found application in insulating the underground of a private house, as an addition to waterproofing, in insulating the floor on loggias and first floors with unheated basements.

The correct choice of material for floor insulation in a country house should always be based on the technical characteristics of the product. They can be found on the product packaging.

Below are the parameters that you should pay attention to when purchasing material:

Flammability coefficient. It is designated by the letter G. The most non-flammable material is marked G1. It ignites only upon direct contact with fire.
Water absorption coefficient. The unit of measurement is percentage. The lower this indicator, the less moisture it can absorb. Consequently, the material will degrade less and retain its properties better.
Coefficient of thermal conductivity. This indicator is responsible for the thermal insulation of premises. The lower it is, the warmer the room will be.

Density. Indicates how much heavier the floor structure will become. The higher this indicator, the stronger the ceiling and subfloor should be.
If the owner of the house plans not to spend too much on insulating the floors, then you can use a budget option. Extruded polystyrene foam is ideal for concrete floors. It is compatible with underfloor heating systems.
Expanded clay can also be used for floor screed. It will last quite a long time and can be used in multi-story buildings.

There are a number of non-flammable insulation materials that have received worthy attention among domestic buyers. The following brands are especially popular: Isover, Ursa, Knauf Insulation, Termolife.

Non-flammable insulation materials also include materials based on flax, basalt, coconut and jute.

Often a person, when doing a major renovation of a private house, thinks about insulating the veranda. But here you can also save on finances. For this you can use polystyrene foam and mineral wool. However, polystyrene foam tends to release life-threatening substances when burned - this should not be forgotten.

To make the room truly warm, do not forget about insulating the attic floor. For wooden ones, a bulk version of insulation is suitable - this will allow the roof to “breathe”. Heavy options in the form of slabs can be used by home owners if the ceiling is made of concrete, and for environmentally friendly materials, roll insulation can be used.

Old houses that were built at the beginning of the 20th century are distinguished by the fact that they have an earthen floor. It is also possible to insulate it, but before that you need to sweep it thoroughly and compact it. Next - according to technology: waterproofing in several layers, insulation, finished floor. Foamed polyethylene can be used as insulation.

Thermal insulation of a wooden base

Insulation of wooden floors is usually carried out using mineral wool along the joists. The old wooden floor is removed. After inspecting the boards, it is necessary to remove the old paint, sand them and treat them with antiseptic substances. After they dry, you need to lay them horizontally.

Debris and dust from the rough base must be removed. Rotten logs need to be replaced, and the resulting structure needs to be treated with an antiseptic and allowed to dry. When laying dense polyethylene, it is advisable to insulate the joints with construction tape. Secure the waterproofing to the joists using a stapler.

Then you need to cut the mineral wool and lay it tightly between the joists. Next, you should provide a layer of vapor barrier over the entire structure, connect the joints with tape and secure with a stapler.

The next step will be laying the old boards and installing the baseboard. The protruding parts of the waterproofing must be cut off and then the coating must be painted.

Insulation with expanded polystyrene should begin with the removal of the final finish. Then you need to inspect the base and check its level. If the height difference exceeds 1.5 cm per linear meter, it is necessary to level the base.

Then you will need to remove debris and dust, as well as pour a cement screed of the required height and wait until it dries.

We cut out polystyrene foam and lay thick polyethylene. We connect the edges of the canvas with tape, place it on the walls and secure it.

The insulation must be laid in two layers. The first layer should be laid with ligation of vertical joints. The second - in the same way, only its location should be strictly above the seam of the first layer;

We install a reinforcing mesh with a post height of 3 cm. Prepare the mixture for the screed. We concrete the base in parts, smoothing the compartments with a trowel and checking the level, waiting for drying (this process usually takes a whole month). We carry out finishing work.

Insulation of concrete

The downside of a concrete floor is poor thermal insulation. Therefore, in this case it is necessary to use insulation.

Here are several ways to insulate a concrete floor in a dacha with your own hands:

The concrete floor is covered with expanded clay, and a screed is poured on top of it;
The mixture to create a screed is supplemented with fine-grained expanded clay or crushed polystyrene foam;
You can lay another layer of insulation on top of the poured screed. To do this, it is necessary to mount the bars, and from the inside make a layer of the selected material for insulation. Then lay a layer of vapor barrier and cover the top with boards or plywood;
Installation of any type of heated floor.

In order to make a heated floor in a country house, it is best to use the services of a specialist. But in order to save money, people spend their time and effort on this.

Below are brief instructions on how to install heated floors in your own home:

First, let's prepare a place for the collector. It is necessary to control the temperature in the room.
Preparation of roofing felt and other insulating materials - they will be required for the waterproofing layer. The first step is to roll them out onto the surface of the base. Laying should be done with an overlap of 10 cm.

The joints are glued together. To do this, you can use high temperature exposure or tape.

Preparing the insulation layer. Typically high density foam is used. The layer should be at least 5 cm thick.
The next stage is vapor barrier. Thick plastic film may be suitable. Laying is done with an overlap of 10 cm, after which gluing is done with tape.
A reflective film is placed on the resulting “pie” to direct the flow of thermal energy upward. A reinforcing mesh with cells 150x150 mm is placed on it.
The heating pipe circuits with a maximum length of 80 m are laid on top of the reinforcing mesh.
The pipes with the coolant must be secured using clamps to the mesh.
Filling the finishing screed. Additionally, you can use a plasticizer - it will prevent the screed from cracking when heated.
The final stage is laying damper tape and finishing coating around the perimeter of the room.

Errors

Below are some points that should not be allowed during the process of insulating floors:

You cannot partially insulate a room if it requires major repairs;
If you have a conventional meter, it is unacceptable to use an infrared or water floor;

Cheap materials in most cases are harmful to health. They can not only cause allergies in humans, but also lead to undesirable consequences;
During the installation of a heated floor system, the heating circuits must not be kept empty while pouring the screed. There should be no heating;
It is prohibited to use expanded polystyrene and polystyrene foam to fill the space between beams in a wooden structure that consists of several floors. When fastening the sheets, they are poorly insulated and therefore accessible to oxygen. Therefore, during the combustion process, fire can easily penetrate inside.

Proper floor insulation is necessary to maintain warmth and dryness throughout the house, reduces heating costs, and helps maintain a cozy atmosphere in the room. To carry out the work efficiently, you need to become familiar with the basic technologies, and then master the procedure for laying the material and install the insulation, following the recommendations.

Cold concrete floors, even if there is a basement, can be easily insulated with polystyrene foam. It is important to create a layer of insulation on the basement side, since an uninsulated basement is a source of cold. High-quality insulation becomes a barrier to the penetration of cold into the building.

For proper insulation, sheets of slab foam are usually used, the thickness of which is 5-12 cm. You can purchase sheets with chamfers, since their installation is easier than the classic version. If the walls in the room are uneven, you need to mask deviations from the norm with polyurethane foam. To level out uneven floors, foam of different thicknesses is used.

sheet foam

The foam is attached to the base with plastic dowels, the average length of which is 150 mm. Their size should be selected according to the specific parameters of the selected insulation. Work should begin from distant, hard-to-reach areas. The sheet is applied to the base, and the holes necessary for further fastening are drilled with a puncher. The sheet is removed, the designated places are drilled further until the required depth is obtained for the full installation of the dowels.

If it is not possible to adapt entire sheets to specific contours of the floor in certain places, you need to carefully cut out parts that fit the shape and continue laying. Upon completion of installation, the surface of the insulation is plastered. You can lay a thin reinforcing mesh, apply a plaster mixture on it and wait until it dries.

The floor surface must be level. A concrete screed is poured and, if necessary, a slight slope is artificially created. If any cracks are noticed in the subfloor, they should be completely repaired.

Mineral wool must be protected with a sealed layer of vapor barrier. You can use plastic film or select the material individually. The layer is laid with a large overlap, which extends to the walls, and is secured with thin anchors.

Installation of guide beams is necessary to create a clear frame for laying each mineral wool tile. The distance between the logs should be equal to the width of the insulation boards or be slightly smaller so that the mineral wool is additionally held without fastenings.

Mineral wool slabs are placed in the slots between the grooves. If the material is used in rolls, it should be pre-cut. If a decision is made to lay mineral wool in two layers, then the joints of the second should, if possible, be placed on the middle part of the elements of the first.

A layer of waterproofing should be applied to the mineral wool, which should reliably seal the coating. It is necessary to prevent the absorption of moisture into the insulation, since it will linger in the material and can come out of it extremely slowly. After installing all layers of preparatory materials, you can lay the finished floor.

An expanded clay cushion is poured onto the pre-prepared, leveled floor. The thickness is 15-30 cm; depending on the required reliability of the insulation, the layer can vary in thickness, but should not be lower than 10 cm, since a coating that is too thin will bring minimal benefit.

Expanded clay is poured in an even, uniform layer, so the installation of additional beacons is required. Metal profiles divide the workspace into several equal parts. The distance between them should not exceed 70-80 cm. If necessary, wooden linings are built under the metal profile, since the material must be poured as evenly as possible.

For waterproofing, you can use polyethylene film. It should be slightly larger than the floor area. The edges are fixed at the top, the material rises slightly onto the walls. You can make a concrete screed on the waterproofing layer. Sand, cement and water are thoroughly mixed in a ratio of 3:2:2. When pouring the mixture onto expanded clay, you need to carefully level the coating.

expanded clay

Waterproofing can be done in another way. An expanded clay screed is installed for it. The insulation pillow is not covered with film, but is immediately filled with a homogeneous liquid solution - “cement laitance”. This is necessary to prevent the possibility of moisture affecting the expanded clay granules. The solution should envelop the insulation, so you should not make it too liquid so that it does not go into the thickness of the material.

If necessary, additional components are added to the solution after the mixture is created. Typically, such cement is produced in a 1:3 ratio with sand. To properly mix the mixture, use a construction mixer.

Foil materials can also help reliably insulate the floor. The finished surface is filled with concrete screed or laid with a layer of any insulation. Izolon or penofol is glued to it. These materials do not allow moisture to pass through, so to avoid settling, they should be mounted so that there is a small, ventilated cavity above them to allow excess moisture to escape.

To form a corresponding cavity, thin wooden slats are placed on top of the insulation, the height of which is not less than 1.5 cm, the step is 30-50 cm. The laying level is controlled; if necessary, slats can be placed under the folding logs.

Floorboards are placed on the joists perpendicular to their location. Their thickness may not exceed 4 cm. An even layer of plywood can be laid on top of them, for which sheets 8-14 mm thick are suitable. If very thin sheets are selected, then the coating is laid in 2 layers. The floor covering is laid on the insulated floor structure. To make a warm floor on a foil base, the selected insulation is laid, and the heating systems are laid out on it. The logs and finishing part of the floor are installed.

If you plan to pour a cement screed onto penofol, you must purchase the “ALP” type; it is equipped with a protective coating that prevents cement from affecting the penofol. This condition must be met, since cement is an aggressive environment to which aluminum, which acts as a coating for this insulation, reacts.

Video - Izolon

Thanks to the possibility of insulating the floor with foam, there is no need to use special protective films; there is no need for additional leveling of the surface or its restoration after a few years. The frame is constructed by aligning guides and modeling profiles. Foam is sprayed. The flooring is being installed.

If it is necessary to carry out thermal insulation of an already finished floor, then foam insulation will reduce the volume and duration of work. The old coating is dismantled, foam is sprayed, and it swells almost instantly. To complete the work, it is enough to install a new floor covering. If repair work is being carried out to additionally insulate an already constructed wooden floor, you can only partially dismantle the boards to obtain the access inside the floor necessary when spraying foam.

Insulating the floor with foam allows you to provide airtight thermal insulation, since the material forms a homogeneous consistency.

There is no need to install waterproofing or any vapor barriers, since the foam independently performs their functions. The foam hardens within a few minutes after application, so it can be covered with floor coverings on the same day. It contains no nutrients, so there is no risk of deformation by harmful insects or rodents. It does not emit harmful substances, and its base is water. When purchasing, you can receive a manufacturer’s warranty for 50 years of operation, respectively, the actual terms are much higher.

Experts advise using the method of spraying ecowool from a special dispenser. The insulation is distributed from a previously rented or purchased installation. After drying, it can be covered with a floor covering. The thickness of the insulation should not be less than 30 cm to avoid heat loss.

Without the use of a special installation, ecowool can be laid manually if a small coverage area is required. Material consumption during manual installation exceeds the amount for a similar installation from a spray gun by up to 50%. Hard-to-reach areas are not easy to fill, so there is a risk of them remaining empty. The positive side of this method is that there is no need to purchase a blow molding machine.

After opening the package, the insulation is placed in a large container. It needs to be fluffed using a special drill with a mixing attachment. When selecting a suitable container, remember that when fluffed, the volume of ecowool increases three times.

A vapor barrier, such as clad kraft paper, is installed. Ecowool is laid out on the surface; a bucket or other capacious but not heavy object can become a dispenser. When manually laying ecowool, before covering the finishing floor, you should wait some time until a moisture-impermeable crust forms under the influence of lignin. After finishing the work, you can lay the floorboards.

ecowool insulation

Video - Blowing ecowool

It is recommended to lay polystyrene foam boards using logs, since in this case they will take the greatest load. The thickness of the coating should not be less than 10 cm. The cavity between polystyrene foam and joists, a special technological gap around the perimeter of the walls, can be sealed using fiberglass insulation, since its price is lower than that of polyurethane foam.

When laying a thermal insulation layer on top of a concrete base, you should select a material with the maximum strength characteristics available to the developer. To level the base, you can limit yourself to laying slabs of various thicknesses, but the best option is to create an even screed that will hide all the unevenness of the concrete, ensure the most even position of the slabs, and therefore increase their resistance to heavy loads. If necessary, you can use a leveling screed to change the angle of inclination by a few centimeters.

The prepared base is covered with a waterproofing film, which is fixed along the walls, spreading slightly over them, therefore, when calculating this material, the reserve required for hemming should be taken into account. When laying expanded polystyrene, the fastening solution is applied to the entire surface of the insulation; its thickness should be about 2 cm, and if possible it is distributed evenly. The structure is fixed with reinforcing mesh.

polystyrene foam board

The finishing screed is applied after the glue has completely dried, its thickness is 6-8 cm. All gaps formed for technical reasons or due to delamination or cracking of the material are sealed with polyurethane foam. If not available, you can use fiberglass. Rolled waterproofing is installed. It should be secured with an overlap of at least 10 cm. All strips are fastened with construction tape, sold in strips. A floor covering is laid on top of the insulating layers.

Video - Floor insulation with polystyrene foam

Thermal insulation with polyurethane foam avoids seams. It is beneficial to save space, since the thickness of the insulation layer does not exceed 10 cm. A layer of vapor barrier and waterproofing is optional. Polyurethane foam resists condensation and does not allow or absorb moisture. The entire floor can be covered in one day, since the application speed is record-breaking in comparison with other insulation materials. All components for preparing the solution are stored and purchased in liquid form. The service life of the material is from 60 years.

The use of polyurethane foam does not harm the environment. The components of the composition do not evaporate, so it is completely harmless to human health. The material is not subject to rotting, mold cannot grow on it, since it is not a favorable environment for bacteria. Rodents and other pests also do not live in polyurethane foam, since it is not suitable as food. The mixture must be prepared immediately before pouring it. After applying and drying the layer of polyurethane foam, you can make the final screed without the use of additional coatings.

To ensure high-quality floor insulation, an analysis of the loads that will be placed on it should be carried out. The insulation must be installed following the rules, since working according to the instructions will help ensure its long service life and protect the floor as much as possible from heat loss.

Every owner of his own home faces the very important task of insulating all rooms. The article is intended so that every owner can understand how to insulate a wooden floor in a private house, as well as create comfort and coziness in the presence of any other base for laying various layers in the floor “pie”.

Insulation of floors in a private house

Typically, private houses are located far from centralized coolant supply systems, so you have to take care of heating the premises on your own. Particular attention should be paid to floor coverings, which are the “Achilles heel” of a house in terms of heat conservation. Therefore, it is necessary to take care of their insulation first.

You can use various materials and, depending on the choice, determine the method of their installation. Today, there are many methods of insulating floors, and many of them are modified directly by the owners who showed their engineering talent. To understand how to properly insulate a floor in a private home, you need to familiarize yourself with the information presented below.

Main types of insulated floors

You need to decide on a method for insulating floors in a private house with your own hands. To do this, you need to know the material used to create them. The main varieties are represented by wooden floors, a concrete base or a dry screed structure.

Wooden floors

It is popular to use plank and plywood flooring as a wooden covering. There are two main types of such structures: single-layer and double-layer, under which there is a subfloor. Any type of wooden floors involves laying them on support joists that raise the covering to a considerable height above the poured screed, subfloor or compacted soil. First of all, this concerns the treatment of floors on the first floors when processing the foundation or soil. You need to know how to insulate a floor in a wooden house in order to take into account all the nuances in advance.

There are several basic ways to insulate the floor in a private house with your own hands under a wooden floor:

when installing on a soil base, you can add a layer of expanded clay under the wooden boardwalk;
insulation material can be placed in the cells between the support logs, or a self-expanding liquid composition can be poured;
an infrared heated floor can be installed on top of the boardwalk, on which the facing material will be laid;
if there is no subfloor, you need to use a vapor barrier film spread on a sheathing of wooden beams. A layer of insulation is laid on top of it, and the material is selected with minimal weight. It is best to use slabs or roll materials. A vapor barrier is again laid on top of this layer and covered with boardwalk. It also doesn’t hurt to know how to make a heated floor in a wooden house using modern materials and devices.

Concrete base

A floor poured from concrete mortar is very strong, reliable and durable, but its significant drawback is poor thermal insulation. The material itself is constantly cold, and therefore it is impossible to do without high-quality insulation. Unlike how a wooden floor is insulated in a private house, a concrete floor is the base on which all layers, including insulation, will be laid.

There are also several known ways to insulate concrete floors:

a layer of expanded clay is poured onto it, on top of which a screed is poured;
You can also add fine-grained expanded clay or rubbed polystyrene to the mixture to create a screed to increase the thermal insulation characteristics of this layer;
another layer of insulation is laid on top of the poured screed. To do this, special bars are installed in the gaps, between which the selected insulating material is laid. Next, a vapor barrier layer is laid, and the top is covered with plywood or plank flooring;
The best option, naturally, would be to install any of the well-known underfloor heating systems.

From a decorative point of view, a coating made of plywood and boards does not look elite, but in the photo and during visual inspection, parquet or laminate laid on top of technical wood will look better.

Dry floor screed

Today, dry floor screed is becoming increasingly popular in the construction industry. To create such a base, you need to purchase a bulk composition to create a dry screed. Its composition may include fine-grained expanded clay, expanded perlite sand, etc.

Once the layer of dry backfill is leveled, it can be covered with a technical layer of material, which will be the base for the facing coating. Most often used for these purposes: chipboard, OSB, moisture-resistant plywood and other materials.

This design has excellent sound and heat insulation characteristics. It is very easy to install, and the structure allows the joint installation of various utilities. You can improve the thermal characteristics of a room with such a screed by installing any type of underfloor heating system.

The insulation of the floor itself is carried out using a certain technology, based on what material was used to create the base for laying all the other layers.

Insulation of wooden floors

This part will concern how to insulate the floor in an old wooden house or during the construction of a new building. You can start work by insulating the soil (read also: " "). It is best to use a layer of expanded clay for these purposes. The mound of material should be 0.2-0.4 meters thick, and it should be leveled for high-quality laying of subsequent layers. The advantage of such a layer is that it blocks the penetration of cold into the premises, stopping it at the very base. However, this layer is not enough for high-quality thermal insulation of floors.

The insulation procedure is as follows:

the subfloor is brought to perfect condition. To do this, any defects are removed: cracks and holes are sealed with clay soaked in water until creamy. Clay can replace the putty usual for builders. This natural material interacts well with wood and acts as a means for sealing seams in boardwalks “excellently”;
As soon as the applied clay mixture dries, you can begin laying insulation into the voids between the support joists. You can use: expanded clay, polystyrene foam, mineral or ecowool, or polymer liquid insulation, presented in the form of polyurethane foam;
a vapor barrier film layer is laid on top of the insulation, secured to the joists and transverse fastenings between them;
Finally, you can begin laying the plank flooring and installing the baseboards.

Also, special cells can be made on the subfloor into which insulation is laid.

Next, a layer of insulation is laid on the resulting structure and covered with a vapor barrier material. Plywood is used as a floor covering, which can be primed and varnished upon completion of installation. Such a surface makes it possible to lay facing materials on it, as well as to install an infrared heated floor system.

Insulation of the concrete base

As mentioned above, concrete is a priori a cold material, which means its heating should not even be discussed.

The material can be laid out as follows:

To begin with, the rough concrete base is covered with a waterproofing film, on top of which a 10-15-centimeter layer of expanded clay is poured. It is best to pour and level this insulation along pre-installed beacons (more details: " ");
the prepared base is poured with a cement mortar of liquid consistency in order to create a film on the expanded clay layer that protects against moisture loss from the main mortar being poured under the screed;
as soon as the improvised base dries, a reinforcement mesh is laid on it, and a screed is poured on top of it. It is best to use for these purposes a cement-sand mortar with the addition of crushed foam, which will enhance the thermal insulation characteristics of the layer;
The selected coating is laid on the frozen screed.

However, in the coldest regions such insulation will not be enough and the owner should think about how to additionally insulate the floor in a private house. In any case, for these purposes it is necessary to treat the joints of the base and walls of the room with a waterproofing material in order to create a “trough” effect inside the room and minimize the risk of leakage of liquid components and ordinary moisture.

If you have a waterproofing layer, you can proceed to the following steps:

again, logs are installed at intervals equal to the width of the laid rolls or insulation boards. The height of the logs must also correspond to the proportions of the material being laid, and their thickness usually ranges from 7-9 centimeters;
especially wide pieces of insulation are pre-cut to fit the required areas of the floor;
It is worth remembering the ventilation gaps between the first joists and the walls, which should be about 5 centimeters and are also filled with insulation;
a vapor barrier material is laid on top of the laid thermal insulation layer;
The end of the work is the creation of plank or plywood flooring. Any facing materials can be easily placed on top of such a coating.

No less effective when insulating floors is the idea of laying heated floors. If the owner does not want to think about the best way to insulate the floor in a private house, then a well-installed floor heating system will solve this problem.

Insulation of floors on dry screed

A dry screed can act both as the main base for laying the floor covering, and as a thermal insulation layer on top of the existing concrete floor. However, many owners do not consider the thermal insulation characteristics of such a prefabricated structure to be good and therefore resort to additional insulation using a heated floor system.

Slabs are laid on top of the screed, covered with a waterproofing layer, on which the electrical heating system will be located. It is impossible to refuse to use waterproofing, since liquid from the solution poured over the underfloor heating system can leak to the lower levels of the structure.

Accordingly, the finishing cladding is carried out on top of the heating system and the solidified mortar. Any materials can be used as decorative cladding: tiles, linoleum, parquet, laminate, etc.

In the case of a dry screed, the use of a water heated floor is impossible, since the heating circuit has a significant mass, and its installation requires a significant recess into the coating. If you lay it in an expanded clay layer, the system will simply lose its effectiveness.

If the owner does not intend to lay a massive facing coating on top of the dry screed or create a self-leveling floor, then it is best to resort to using a thin film (infrared) heated floor. Let us further consider the implementation of all the above types of underfloor heating systems.

Electric heated floor

The electric floor heating system itself is produced in a ready-made form for installation. You just need to unfold it and lay it on a flat surface. The mesh with the heating element is fixed to the adhesive mixture, which is usually used when installing tiles.

According to the standard, a sheet of electric heated floor has a length of up to 25 meters and a width ranging from 0.5 to 1.5 meters. Accordingly, before purchasing such a heating system, it is necessary to take measurements of the room and determine the number of sheets required for high-quality heating (more details: " "). The advantage of this heated floor option is that it can be laid on top of a dry screed.

It is more difficult to use the option with an energy cable as a heating element, since it is necessary to prepare a specific base for it with fasteners of the appropriate size. This method is more suitable for cement-sand screed, in which it is easier to create appropriate fastenings.

After installing the electric heated floor, a thermostat is installed in the room at a height of 0.5-0.7 meters from the floor, with which the owner can control the used power of the system and regulate the heating level. This controller is connected to the laid cable, and the coupling, which contains the floor part of the cable, should be located under the screed.

The screed is poured over the installed and tested heating system. Its thickness should be from 5 centimeters. You can put a heated floor into operation no earlier than 1 month after pouring the screed, since this period is optimal for hardening the cement-sand mortar.

Water heated floor

A water heated floor consists of a heating circuit laid accordingly on a selected base. To assemble it, pipes made of metal-plastic or polyethylene are used, laid on special mats or reinforcing mesh.

The pitch between parallel sections of the pipeline should be from 30 to 35 centimeters. Upon installation, all pipes must be routed into a single manifold cabinet, and a screed 10-12 centimeters thick is poured over the contour, taking into account the laid materials. Any floor covering can be laid on top of such a screed.

It is best to lay a heated floor system on a layer of foil or any foil material so that the released thermal energy is directed towards the room, and the floor does not become a weak point that causes heat loss.

Film (infrared) heated floors

Laying a film heated floor is not much different from using electric heating, and the same layers are laid under it: waterproofing and foil. Given the weaker degree of heating, the film should be located as close to the floor surface as possible.

It is worth saying that such film in small sheet sizes is used as a substrate for mirrors, windows, etc. to eliminate the effect of fogging and icing. The electrical system can be used under the roof itself to remove snow and ice from the roof.

The main thing is that, regardless of the type of heated floor chosen, the system is not visible in the photo or during visual inspection, which makes it an even more original means of heating. Many owners even refuse to use standard heating circuits, opting for floor-mounted systems that cope with the heating task just as well.

Bottom line

Insulating floors in your own home is not a complicated process, but it requires investment and some effort. It is important not to deviate from styling technologies in order to achieve maximum results.

If certain difficulties arise, you can always seek help from specialists who will take responsibility for all stages of work - from measurements and calculations, purchasing the necessary materials and components to laying each layer and putting heated floors into operation with subsequent service if necessary .