The foundation has been poured, the walls have been raised, the roof has been installed and windows and doors have been installed. You can start laying floors in wooden house with your own hands. This stage of work is not difficult, but requires careful attention to detail.
Proper installation of the floor pie is the key to its long service life. A small mistake with waterproofing is enough and you will have to re-cover the entire coating in a few years. Lack of underground ventilation will lead to the same result. And without insulation, you will not only have to walk around the house in warm slippers, but also fork out for additional heating costs.
Subfloor - what is it?
It is important to protect a wooden house from moisture - rotting makes the elements of the building unusable very quickly. Therefore, you should not embed logs into the first crown of the log house, even if they are made of larch and treated with an antiseptic - in any case, they will have to be changed someday. It is optimal to lay the logs on the foundation and fix them after the walls have been raised.
It is also important to ensure good ventilation underground, organizing sufficiently sized vents in the base or foundation. According to the standards, in the underground without forced ventilation The area of the vents should correspond to 1:400 of the area of the subfloor. Otherwise, regardless of waterproofing measures, the picture under the house will be unflattering.
When the flooring is ready, you can begin insulation. But before laying the insulation, it is necessary to resolve the issue of protecting it from moisture - after all, wet mineral wool not only does not retain heat, but also contributes to the formation of fungus and mold on the adjacent wood.
Waterproofing and vapor barrier - what is the difference?
Waterproofing protects materials from direct ingress of water, and vapor barrier prevents the penetration of wet fumes. Thus, all waterproofing films are laid on the outside, and vapor barrier films on the inside. Everything is clear with the walls. But how and what to put on the floor?
Under hygroscopic insulation on the rough flooring of the first floor, it is better to lay any vapor-proof films, you can even use simple polyethylene films. They will protect expanded clay or basalt slabs from fumes rising directly from the wet ground. At the same time, expensive membranes that remove moisture outside are not useful here - all the evaporation still rises. But, given the ventilated subfloor, they are increasingly returning to time-tested glassine as a “breathable” material.
But on top of the insulation it is necessary to lay vapor-permeable films that remove possible moisture. To do this, leave a special ventilation gap (minimum 5 cm). If the joist boards are not high enough, a counter batten is nailed along them, on top of the membrane, on which the finished floor is laid.
Floor insulation - why is it necessary?
Even schoolchildren know the principle of convection - warm air rises up. By this logic, an uninsulated floor cannot release heat from the house. In fact, heat loss in a cold field reaches 20%!
All due to the same convection - air from the underground rises into the house, cooling it, and energy resources are also spent on heating the air in an unheated basement or underground.
Each type of insulation has its own advantages and disadvantages:
- perlite, vermiculite, shungizite - analogues of expanded clay, do not absorb moisture, but are more expensive;
- polystyrene foam and its derivatives are not susceptible to moisture, so they do not need waterproofing, they are lightweight and inexpensive, but they create a “greenhouse effect” in the house and are not recommended for wooden houses.
Bulk insulation is laid on a continuous flooring, slabs and mats can be placed on a sparse subfloor, you just need to properly lay the waterproofing and protect the insulation from rodents.
Finish floor and its types
Depending on the desired interior design, you can lay almost any floor in a wooden house:
Wood floors are great for living rooms. The main thing is to put good waterproofing to protect the insulation. But it is better to lay tiles in the kitchen and bathroom – places with high humidity.
In addition, there are variations with the device of warm wooden floors and even concrete screed on the joists. So the choice depends only on construction skills and design preferences.
DIY technology for laying floors in a wooden house
Warm floors are comfortable, economical and extremely functional. Especially when you have to dry the winter overalls, jackets and mittens of three children after winter games on the street. And so the entire floor area turns into a capacious battery - it would be a shame not to use it!
Concrete screed in a wooden house - reliability and functionality
In a wooden house, it is difficult to make a warm floor in a concrete screed, but it is quite possible:
- The most important thing when pouring a concrete screed is to correctly calculate the load on the joists in advance. After all, the weight finished slab taking into account the finished floor it will be about 150 kg/sq.m and this does not take into account furniture and residents. When pouring concrete, the pitch of the beams is halved, and the logs themselves are lowered to the height of the screed (if the pouring is done only in the kitchen and bathroom, and not in the whole house).
- A great way to reduce the weight of the floor is to not install a subfloor. Enough to secure at the bottom vapor barrier film slats so that the insulation boards do not sag.
- Dense waterproofing is laid on top of the log with a mandatory ventilation gap of 5 cm. It is very important to glue all places where it is attached to the beams with butyl rubber tape - so that there are no holes left through which the screed will wet the insulation.
- Slate or cement bonded particle board– they have the best adhesion to concrete. Formwork of the same height as the future screed is installed on top of the level. Reinforcing mesh is laid on the same slate substrate. The height of the substrate is about 1 cm.
- A “snail” of heated floor pipes is laid out. It can be attached to the mesh with ordinary cable clamps. It is important not to forget to lay a damper tape between the formwork and the reinforcement to compensate for the expansion of the future floor.
- To protect yourself, carry out a test run of underfloor heating systems with high blood pressure. If no leaks are found, you can start filling.
- After pouring, it is better to vibrate the screed and only then level it using a long rule. Concrete needs to be watered for 1-2 weeks to gain strength. After a month, you can begin laying any floor covering.
Wooden floors - simple and beautiful
If the floor joists are not strong enough to support the weight concrete slab, no need to be upset! After all, you can make a dry heated floor with water heating. To do this, you will need boards with grooves for pipes, and foil is used as a heat-reflecting layer. Laminate is laid on top. The entire process is presented in detail in the video:
Striving for environmental safety drives city dwellers closer to nature. And more and more often building material becomes a tree. And this is understandable. A wooden house has numerous advantages compared to a stone or one built from artificial materials By modern technology. One of the most important parts of your home is a properly installed floor.
When building a house, they care not only about its beauty, but also about making it warm and cozy. Insulating the walls is only half the battle. The house must be protected from the cold from below. The tree is natural material susceptible to rotting, therefore reliable insulation from moisture is also important. And finally, it should look nice and fit interior decoration premises. In order for all goals to be achieved, it is not enough to lay the boards on a concrete base.
The floor in the house should be smooth, warm, beautiful and durable. All these qualities are achieved by laying the floor in several layers:
- base;
- heat and vapor barrier;
- rough floor;
- fine coating.
Looks like a layer cake, doesn't it? That's why it's called floor pie. His proper arrangement will help you avoid:
- high energy costs for heating the house;
- excessive moisture, which will inevitably lead to the appearance of mold and mildew;
- rotting of internal wooden structures.
Types of floors and their features
Homes may have different designs. It must be taken into account when arranging floors. Laying the floor on the first floor depends on whether there is ground floor, or it will be laid directly on the foundation. Reliable thermal and steam protection is needed here.
For interfloor ceilings Sound insulation is more important, since the main load of heat conservation and protection from moisture is borne by the lower and upper floors.
The attic space must also be separated from the living space by an insulated floor to avoid heat loss through the ceilings of the upper floor.
Floor options
The floor can be wooden or concrete. The choice depends on the desire of the owner and technical capabilities.
Wooden flooring - advantages and disadvantages
It would seem that the answer is simple - in a wooden house there should be wooden floor. It’s easier, cheaper and faster to do without resorting to services professional builders. The structure will be light enough and any foundation will support it. Again, this is an environmentally friendly option and fits well into the interior.
However, there are a few "buts". A wooden floor will last a maximum of 10 years. Wood tends to rot, no matter how much you protect it from external influences. In addition, wood-boring beetles will also do their job. For a wooden floor, constant humidity in the house is important - no more than 60%. Otherwise, the floor will begin to deform and rot. Laying a wooden floor must be done with special care so that it does not warp or creak later.
Concrete floor
Its main advantage is durability. You can put any finishing coating on it - laminate, linoleum, ceramic tiles. However, this is a rather heavy structure that not every foundation will support. Concrete is used only for laying the floor of the lower floor.
In modern wooden cottages, as a rule, there is a ground floor where a boiler room, workshop or other utility rooms. It is better to use concrete slabs for the overlap between the ground floor and the first floor. This is a more expensive option than wooden logs, but more reliable.
Selection of thermal and waterproofing
You can choose several materials for thermal insulation. The most environmentally friendly is expanded clay. It is inexpensive, non-flammable, does not rot, and mold does not form on it. But its thermal insulation qualities leave much to be desired.
Another environmentally friendly pure material- this is sawdust. You can get them at sawmills almost free of charge. They have low thermal conductivity and are suitable for insulation attic floor. Disadvantages include their ability to decrease in volume over time, susceptibility to moisture and, as a result, the formation of fungus. These risks can be reduced by using additives - clay, cement, lime or boric acid as an antiseptic.
Mineral wool (or glass wool) - also a budget option. It does not burn, retains heat well and has high sound insulation properties. But its installation requires adherence to a certain technology, in addition, it can cause allergies and skin irritation.
Polystyrene foam is one of the most convenient options in all respects. It is cheap, has good thermal insulation qualities, and is easy to install. You can use it to make a dense reinforced screed. From the same series - extruded polystyrene foam, it is more resistant to moisture.
Waterproofing
This is an equally important component of the floor pie. The simplest option is plastic film.
The second option is pasting roll materials, consisting of waterproof material with a bitumen-polymer composition applied to it. Its use is justified where groundwater comes close to the surface. Most often, roofing felt is used for this purpose.
The most technologically advanced and most expensive option is a membrane coating. It is a self-adhesive film consisting of three layers - rigid plastic film, bitumen-polymer and anti-adhesive layer. It is convenient to use for creating waterproofing in rooms with complex configurations.
Wood floor pie
The basic principles of creating a wooden floor pie are accurate calculation and verification of all parameters. No less important wood selection. Typically the following types are used in construction:
- pine can only be used if the board is not very resinous. This floor will bring a very pleasant pine smell into the room;
- oak is the most reliable and durable material;
- maple is easy to process and moisture resistant;
- Larch is comparable in strength to oak and has natural protection against insects. The most expensive option.
The tree must be treated with an antiseptic against rotting and a fire retardant, which reduces its flammability.
Floor installation
Laying down wooden structure onto the foundation, it is tightly fastened to it and to load-bearing structures walls The disadvantage of this method is that if the overall structure is deformed (and this is inevitable due to changes in temperature and humidity), the floor may also warp.
Laying on beams
If the house is seasonal, you can make a single-layer floor. For a residential building, a two-layer one is more suitable - rough and finishing.
The beams are leveled and fastened to the foundation. The distance between them is 2.5-3 meters. To create a double floor, logs are laid on top of the beams - bars 5-6 cm thick. The laying step is 60-70 cm. A rough flooring is made on them from unedged boards. It needs to be planed and sanded. There may be small gaps between the boards, which will be covered with hydro- and thermal insulation. The bars are again laid on the insulating layers, serving as the basis for the finishing layer. Their height should be no more than 2-3 cm, this will ensure ventilation between the layers. Finish coating You can choose according to your taste - wood, laminate or linoleum.
Laying on support posts
It would be more acceptable to lay the floor on posts. In this case, there is no adhesion between the floor and the walls; a gap is left between them. This design is called “floating”. It is suitable for houses where there is no basement floor.
Work order
- Marking for posts (60-70 cm increments) and removing about half a meter of soil. Moreover, there is no need to select all the soil over the area of the house, so as not to fill it back up to a certain level later so that there is no draft under the floor.
- Filling and compacting the bottom under the posts - it must be rigid.
- The columns are made of baked bricks or filled with concrete. In the latter case, you need to make formwork. Their upper part is aligned with a level.
- Filling with a thermal insulation layer (expanded clay, sawdust), about 25 cm should remain to the top of the columns.
- After the solution has completely hardened, the beams are laid.
It is more convenient to place the supports first around the perimeter, and only then in the middle. On top of them are laid two layers of waterproofing - roofing felt. Logs made of timber or timber are laid along the supports. Further assembly of the floor is carried out in the same order as installation on beams. The space between the added soil and the subfloor is covered with thermal insulation material, leaving 5 cm free for ventilation.
Floor pie on concrete base
The concrete base can be laid on the ground. There are practically no contraindications for arranging such a floor - neither the seismicity of the area nor the height matters groundwater, nor the level of freezing.
The layers of the pie are arranged in the following order.
Step 1. Clearing the site from the fertile layer of soil, leveling and compacting the soil.
The photo shows soil compaction
Step 2. Backfill – sand and crushed stone. First, sand is poured out in a layer of 8 cm; you can use any sand. The layer is also compacted. The crushed stone must have a fraction of at least 30-50 mm, the height of the bedding must be 7-10 cm. The crushed stone layer must be leveled. It doesn't have to be compacted.
Step 3. On top of the poured layers it is done rough screed made of concrete. The height of the mortar layer is 5-7 cm. You can make a reinforced screed. To do this, before pouring, a reinforcing mesh is laid on the crushed stone.
Step 4. Waterproofing is laid on the screed. To do this, use roofing material or film. The strips are laid overlapping and secured with construction tape. The waterproofing material should extend 20-25 cm onto the walls.
Step 5. Thermal insulation slabs or strips are laid end-to-end; they must be pressed tightly against each other.
Step 6. The film is again spread over the insulating layer. Double protection of the thermal insulation layer from moisture penetration from below and from above will prevent its premature deterioration.
Step 7 The next layer is a reinforced finishing screed. For final and perfect alignment Beacons are placed on the floor. The screed mortar is made from fine - 5-10 mm - crushed stone and river sand. Reinforced with wire mesh with 3-4 mm rods, layer thickness - 7-10 cm.
Construction of a wooden floor when laid on a concrete base
Step 9. The floor covering can be anything.
You can safely place floors on such a pie interior walls in the house. That is why reinforcement must be done with a mesh and not with separate reinforcement.
Features of a concrete floor
- You need to start making a floor pie no earlier than the walls of the house are built.
- The concrete screed must be poured at once, otherwise the floor will be of poor quality.
- During the week after pouring, it must be constantly shed with water to avoid the formation of microcracks.
- Full operation is possible no earlier than two weeks after filling.
Video - Concrete floor on the ground
Floor pie
It will not be so multi-layered; its main task is to reduce audibility between floors. On the other hand, the floor must be strong to support the weight interior partitions, engineering equipment and furniture.
The most convenient will be beam structure. By the way, it can be played in the interior of the first floor. In any case, a double floor is required - rough and finishing.
In order for the structure to be strong, the cross-section of the beam must be at least 15 cm. The length of a beam made of solid wood is from 2.5 to 3.6 m, from laminated veneer lumber – from 4.2 to 6 m.
The gap between the insulation and waterproofing will improve the characteristics of the “pie”
Step 5. The finishing layer is laid on top and then the floor covering.
Beam ceilings are convenient because the space between them can be hidden engineering Communication– cables, pipes, etc. Such floors are the best option for a wooden house.
A beautiful, smooth, warm, dry floor is not just aesthetically pleasing. This means warmth in the house and the health of its residents.
Video - Installation of an insulated ceiling with visible beams
Video - installing a floor in a wooden house made of timber
No one disputes the triumphant return of wood flooring; their environmental friendliness and durability have been proven over decades of use. It will not be a secret that such “revolutionary materials” as carpet and laminate are made on the basis of polymers and contain substances harmful to others. Whether it's a classic - warmth and cozy color natural wood will make the interior of any home comfortable to live in.
General requirements
Any object made of wood implies, first of all, installation of floors in a log house from similar material. This solution will create harmony between the walls and floor covering. The technology for laying wooden flooring has been known for a long time, but the improvement of technological procedures continues to this day. Structural diagram arranging a wooden covering consists of:
- preparatory (rough) layer;
- finishing flooring.
Regardless of execution the flooring must meet these requirements, How:
- water resistance;
- aesthetics;
- abrasion resistance;
- hygiene;
- durability;
- installation manufacturability.
In addition, the coating must be warm, easy to clean, have high sound insulation properties and match the interior of the building.
Options for installing floors in a wooden log house and the main structural elements
Experts advise using two most common methods arrangement of plank flooring in a private house:
- on the ground using logs;
- along the floor beams.
The choice of option depends on the design of the object and should be carried out on initial stages design construction. In buildings with two levels and rooms with a basement The second method is almost always used - along floor beams. His advantage is complete isolation from the ground Moreover, such a structure increases the rigidity of the entire structure. Flaw such installation of floors along logs in wooden log house consists of increased noise, but the use of special noise-absorbing pads will reduce the noise level.
Option with flooring on the ground provides for the installation of supports on which logs are subsequently placed. Thus, connection with walls is excluded and, accordingly, sound and vibration vibrations are minimal. The base for the supports can be masonry made of red brick or concrete. Important! The supports are formed in rows with spans equal to the distance between the logs, usually 0.5-1 meter. A layer of roofing material must be laid under the base of the logs. During work, regularly check the horizontal lag level; their joints should only be on the support columns.
It would be useful to remove a layer of soil to a depth of about 40-50 cm and then fill the underground space with gravel, crushed stone or river sand.
Depending on the operating conditions of the living space plank flooring is divided into two types:
- single– for properties intended for seasonal residence;
- double– for premises with permanent residence.
First option installation of floors in wooden log houses most often used V country houses where people spend summer season. Double design is being formed in permanent buildings and implies the use insulation, as well as layers of vapor and sound insulation.
Technology for laying single wood flooring
In rooms with small area the beams are mounted and attached directly to the wall. If laying lags on support posts, then it is necessary to take into account the requirements that will ensure the reliability of the overall design. Let's say the gap between the pillars is 0.8 m - load-bearing beams must have a cross-section of at least 100X100 mm. If the parameters between the supports are increased to 1 meter, beams of 120X120 mm will be required. The logs are mounted across the room at intervals corresponding to the thickness of the boards. For example, a distance of 0.5 m will be enough to install a 28 mm coating. For quality installation of floors in a wooden log house tongue and groove lumber is used from coniferous or hardwood thickness 28-40 mm. Traditional location – perpendicular to the wall with windows. The material is fixed with nails; their length is taken from 2.5 times the thickness of the lumber. Possible two fastening methods:
- ordinary;
- parquet.
The essence of the conventional method is that the nail is driven into front part boards. Second option- This driving a nail at a 45° angle into the corner of the ridge.
Important! The very first plank is laid at a distance of 10-15 mm from the wall. It is recommended to carry out the laying first parquet method, i.e. Only every sixth board is fixed. As the material dries, the floor can be re-laid with less labor. Wedges are used to compact the rows; the gap should not exceed 1 mm.
In order to ventilate the underground space, it is necessary to arrange openings in the corners of the floor that close decorative grilles. Its design should prevent the entry of foreign objects and water during cleaning. It should be remembered that there are not enough vents in the flooring, and provide windows for ventilation in the basement of the building in advance.
We bring to your attention an analysis of the most popular variations in laying floors in wooden houses, their features, and material characteristics. You will also learn how to make log floors with your own hands. We will tell you about the commonly used types of floor heating in log houses, their pros and cons.
According to the method of laying, floors in log houses are divided into wooden and concrete. made from several types of materials and stacked one on top of the other. Structural elements of a heated floor can be laid between the layers.
Do-it-yourself floors in log houses are often installed on logs or pillars. Most often this is done if the house does not have concrete base. makes laying out the floor much easier.
Types of floors in a log house and methods of laying them
Before you start laying the floor in a log house, you need to take care of ventilation between the layers in order to avoid. High humidity- the main enemy of wood.
Subfloors provide good ventilation and add strength to log floors. They resemble a rigid frame that holds the entire structure.
The next stage of work on laying the floor in the log house will be. This can be done using a blind area, using roofing felt, and waterproofing materials. Lagi, lower crowns antiseptics or recycled machine oil.
By accepting subfloors as the foundation of the surface, builders are to some extent mistaken. Often the bases are made with using chipboard, plywood and other boards for construction, which are laid on logs.
Such substrates are used to level the surface of the foundation, for horizontal laying of floor coverings, as well as to distribute a uniform load on the floors.
The easiest way to lay a floor is to install it on skull blocks, followed by laying insulation, waterproofing and vapor barrier materials.
Mineral wool is the most best material for insulating the floor in a log house.
After the vapor barrier layer has been laid, you can begin laying the finished floor. To do this, use tongue-and-groove boards and chipboards. Next is the turn for the selected floor covering. This is at the discretion of the home owner.
When laying the floor, it is very important to remember that the temperature difference between the rooms and the floor cannot exceed 2º C, so its insulation is very important point work. In any case, walking on a cold floor is not very pleasant, especially in the cold season.
For waterproofing they take: isoplast, polyethylene film, PVC membranes. When the materials for insulation are selected, you can begin work on laying the floor in the log house on the logs.
Finish floor
Quite affordable and quality material For laying the finished floor, a milled board is used. Modern market building materials brings to the attention of developers boards that have tenons in the grooves for connection. Their size is 28 – 44 x 98 – 145 mm. The dimensions of the vents on the reverse side are 20 mm. Ventilators are needed for natural air circulation.
Also, for the finished floor, folded boards with tongue-and-groove slats, sectional, trapezoidal and straight tenons are used. The disadvantage of this material is that it has no air. Therefore, it is necessary to control their contact on the joists. After finishing laying the finished floor, you can begin finishing.
Laying the boards should be done with the orientation of the annual rings of wood, which should “look” at different sides.
The technology for laying concrete floors is quite simple.
To do this, you need to knead in correct proportions complementing it with fittings.
The undeniable advantages of concrete floors are strength, quality and durability.
To improve the performance characteristics of concrete, self-leveling mixtures can be used.
On such a floor you can lay any covering, laminate, porcelain tiles, and wonderful quartz vinyl tiles, with which there is no hassle at all.
Concrete floors are laid in two ways: on joists and on the ground. We have already considered the option of laying on logs. Now let's determine the features of laying on the ground.
First you need to determine the level of the floor in a house made of timber, mark it with a rope and pegs. Concrete foundation can be poured to a level of up to 10 cm, then it is covered with gravel at the level of the driven pegs and compacted. The concrete floor is left to dry for a period of about 3 months. Next, a mounting screed or liquid concrete is applied to the foundation.
Water floors in a log house
The gasket in a log house must be laid in a concrete screed.
Construction of a water floor in the house:
- thermal insulation layer 20 – 100 mm;
- concrete foundation on the ground;
- reinforcement mesh;
- heating system pipe, which is attached using clamps to the reinforcement cells (step 10 - 30 cm);
- flooring underlay;
- flooring to choose from.
A water floor is simply irreplaceable for a bathroom or nursery.
Installing an electric heated floor in a wooden house is quite simple task. It can be mounted on joists and screeds, as you wish.
The technology for installing such a floor is similar to the technology for a water floor. If the floor is installed on joists, then it is necessary to create a layer of air. The cable is distributed over the fittings, gaps 5 cm high are made in the logs, with a distance between each of 5 cm. The gaps are insulated with foil, the heating cable is pulled in these spaces, crossing the logs according to the principle reinforcing mesh made of metal.
Such coatings are considered the most environmentally friendly and durable. They are also quite convenient to use. This is an old classic that will bring comfort and coziness to your home, and also make the interior attractive and interesting. Wooden floors in log houses The best decision, because it will immediately fit into the overall composition of the premises and will not be conspicuous as something alien. Wood flooring technology is improving every year.
Of all possible options flooring arrangement is the simplest and most practical. As a rule, such floors are widespread in the construction of private houses and baths, especially wooden ones, made of logs or timber.
This article describes the technology for arranging an insulated log floor. You will learn all the stages of doing the work yourself; you will also consider insulation materials that are optimally suited for thermal insulation of a joist floor in a private home.
1 Why is it necessary to insulate a log floor?
In general, among the advantages that determine the rationality of arranging a log floor, one can highlight the possibility of doing all the work with your own hands, without the need to resort to construction organizations, or renting expensive equipment.
Also an important factor is the speed of installation and the simplicity of the technology used to construct a wooden floor with.
This design is not without its drawbacks - a log wooden floor has an order of magnitude less load bearing capacity than that of a concrete screed. Also, due to the characteristics of wood, it is not recommended to install a log floor in rooms with high humidity air.
This floor, in comparison with concrete screed, extinguishes worse impact noise, however, this issue is resolved high-quality insulation materials, which in most cases have good soundproofing properties.
Any floor, including lag, is the coldest internal surface in a private home, which in addition to discomfort, especially in winter time years, can negatively affect health, since a person’s feet react very painfully to constant walking on a cold surface.
1.1 Features of insulation
When insulating the floor with materials and, the thermal conductivity of which ranges from 0.3 to 0.4 W/mk, you will need to lay a layer of insulation 150 mm thick if the flooring is located above a cold basement, or 100 mm if the floor is located on concrete screed.
The slab insulation is laid between the joists in two layers so that the joints of the lower layer are in the middle of the top slab - this technology guarantees the absence of cold bridges (zones with greater thermal conductivity than the main part of the structure), which can become the joints of the insulation.
Also, when insulating a wooden log floor in a private house, it is mandatory to have a vapor barrier. For this, special vapor barrier membranes (films) are used, which are laid on top of the insulation and protect the material from the formation of condensation.
Condensation is the main enemy of any thermal insulation, since when moisture is absorbed, the insulation is prone to losing its properties. thermal insulation characteristics, weight gain and rotting.
It may also be necessary to lay a vapor barrier membrane under the insulation. This is necessary in cases where a wooden log floor is installed directly on the ground surface, or in a private house, on top of a concrete floor slab located above a damp basement.
To improve the soundproofing properties of insulation, you can use special acoustic pads that are placed under the joists and contribute to more effective noise reduction. This a good option, if there is any production equipment located under your floor, or in the basement of the house.
2 Types of insulation for log floors
Considering all the requirements that thermal insulation must meet, it is best to insulate a log floor using the following materials:
- Expanded clay;
- Mineral wool;
- Foam plastic;
- Extruded polystyrene foam (penoplex).
2.1 Expanded clay
Expanded clay is loose insulation, as a result of which the technology of thermal insulation with expanded clay is fundamentally different from the technology characteristic of other insulation materials.
Insulating a wooden log floor in a private house with expanded clay, which is produced by swelling clay rock, is quite simple - you need to equip a supporting frame and simply scatter the insulation between the logs themselves.
When insulating with expanded clay, the presence of a waterproofing and vapor barrier layer is mandatory, since the porous structure of this material ensures that the insulation freely absorbs any moisture.
To insulate a wooden floor, it is necessary to use expanded clay with different sizes factions. In this case, small pebbles of expanded clay will fill the joints between large elements, while with homogeneous fractions there will be many channels for air in the thermal insulation.
The thermal conductivity coefficient of this material is 0.19 W/μ, which makes expanded clay insulation quite effective, even with minimal layer thermal insulation.
2.2 Mineral wool
2.3 Foam plastic
Foam insulation – great option budget thermal insulation. At a low cost, this material has relatively good technical characteristics.
The thermal conductivity of polystyrene foam is 0.4 W/μ, this material is vapor-proof and practically does not absorb moisture - when completely immersed in water for 24 hours, the material absorbs liquid no more than 1.5% of its volume.
When insulating a wooden floor with polystyrene foam, it is necessary to take into account that the efficiency of this material is somewhat less than that of more expensive insulation materials, and you will need to use a thicker layer of insulation (which means the cake will take up more room space).
For thermal insulation of floors in a private wooden house the best option is PBS S-30 foam (they make it).
2.4 Penoplex
Penoplex is an improved version of conventional polystyrene foam. This material is rightfully considered one of the best insulation materials, since in terms of technical characteristics it is superior to most thermal insulation materials.
The thermal conductivity of penoplex is 0.28 W/mk, moisture absorption in 24 hours is 02%. The material is also characterized by a high vapor barrier ability, since the insulation consists of completely closed cells, through which neither steam nor moisture penetrates.
In addition to effective thermal insulation, penoplex insulation solves the issue of sound insulation - such a cake can dampen airborne noise within 41 dB.
In general, if your finances do not limit the choice of insulation, then it is better to thermally insulate a wooden log floor in your house with either penoplex or mineral wool. Penoplex insulation will cost slightly less, since such a cake does not require additional vapor barrier.
2.5 Technology for arranging insulated log floors
Creating an insulated log floor does not require any special construction skills. In the presence of necessary tools You can make such a cake for the floor with your own hands in 1-2 days.
To insulate a log floor with mineral wool (penoplex insulation requires the same), you will need the following materials:
- Slab mineral wool density about 20 kg/m³;
- Vapor barrier membrane;
- Waterproofing film;
- Polyurethane foam or liquid penoizol;
- Reinforcing aluminum tape;
- Wooden beam (determine the thickness of the beam based on the desired floor height and the thickness of the insulation used, optimally 15-20 centimeters);
- Nails, screws.
Depending on the characteristics of the house, the technology for fixing the joists to the floor may vary. There are several ways to attach the frame:
- In a wooden house, logs can be installed on load-bearing beams;
- Spacers made of boards are installed between the joists (the simplest option)
- IN brick house where a screed is used as a subfloor, the logs are secured with dowels using a metal corner;
- Also, logs are sometimes cut into the base of a house, but this technology is very rarely used due to its labor intensity.
2.6 Stages of creating an insulated joist floor
- A lag frame is created. The pitch of the frame can vary between 50-100 cm. It is optimal if the pitch between the lags corresponds to the width thermal insulation material(mineral wool is usually produced in slabs 61 cm wide).
- From below, on each side of the beam, slats are nailed - cranial bars, on which the subfloor covering is installed.
- It is recommended to leave 5mm gaps between the subfloor boards, which will serve as ventilation.
- Rolls out over the entire surface of the subfloor waterproofing film. The most convenient way to secure it is with a construction stapler.
- The joints of the film are glued with reinforcing tape.
- On top of the fixed waterproofing, insulation is tightly laid between the joists.
- A vapor barrier membrane is fixed on top of the insulation.
- The joints between the film and the walls are foamed with liquid foam insulation, further protecting the cake.
- The logs are covered with a facing floor covering made of boards.
2.7 Features of insulating a log floor with your own hands (video)