Common mistakes in floor insulation

Recommendation points

• The first mistake – improper storage and unpacking of insulation
• The second mistake – the gaps between the insulation or its compression
• Error three – did not assess the state of the floors
• Mistake four – processing of wooden floor elements was not carried out
• Mistake five – insulation is too thin
• Mistake six – lack of waterproofing
• Mistake seven – using impermeable membranes to protect against moisture
• Eighth mistake – violation of the “pie” of the heated floor

Floor insulation is an important process for creating comfortable conditions in a house, apartment, bathhouse or other room. However, everything does not always go smoothly. Let’s talk about what mistakes are most often made by non-professionals during floor insulation and what consequences they lead to.

Our site wrote in detail about how to insulate the floor in a wooden house. Our instructions will help you avoid mistakes, but so that you do everything right, we will tell you what mistakes are made most often in the process of floor insulation in various rooms and buildings..

The first mistake – improper storage and unpacking of insulation

Let’s say you bought mineral wool, which is often used as insulation between logs. It is sold in its original packaging and keeps well in it. However, after delivery to the construction site and repair, the following rules should be observed:

1. The insulation must be unpacked at least one day before installation. This is best done in the most insulated house, and if the procedure is carried out on the street, next to the construction site – only under a canopy.
2. You cannot leave the unpacked insulation for a long time, store it only indoors, because moisture will have a detrimental effect on the properties of the material.
3. After laying the insulation, you need to quickly proceed to the installation of the top layer of the “pie” of the floor covering.

The second mistake – the gaps between the insulation or its compression

The laying of insulation between the logs should be carried out clearly and accurately. In case of compression, mineral wool will lose some of its thermal insulation properties. And the gaps between plates, for example, expanded polystyrene or polystyrene, will become cold bridges. They should be blown out with polyurethane foam..

Error three – did not assess the state of the floors

You cannot insulate the floor if the logs under it have been exposed to mold or are just old. To apply insulation on dilapidated floors is an additional risk, an increase in the load, they should be replaced before starting work.

Mistake four – processing of wooden floor elements was not carried out

It is necessary to process all wooden structures that will be under insulation, antiseptic. Only in this case, you can be sure that the floor will last a long time, fungus and mold will not appear..

Mistake five – insulation is too thin

If the insulation layer is too thin, then the desired effect will not be achieved! You cannot save on this moment, especially when it comes to a private house or an apartment on the ground floor. For example, in order to keep the house warm in a frost of -35 ° C, the thickness of the mineral wool layer on the ground floor should be 14 centimeters, sawdust concrete – 18 centimeters, and expanded clay concrete – 27 centimeters.

Mistake six – lack of waterproofing

When building a private house, it is important to determine the level of groundwater at the site. If the groundwater depth is less than two meters, the floor insulation on the first floor should be started with waterproofing.

Mistake seven – using impermeable membranes to protect against moisture

The point is that often in order to protect the insulation from moisture that comes from below, an impervious material is used. However, moisture condensation will still occur in the insulating layer, despite the use of a vapor barrier over the insulation. Therefore, the bottom protection – a waterproofing membrane – must be diffusive so that moisture does not accumulate inside the insulation, but freely goes out in the form of steam.

Eighth mistake – violation of the “pie” of the heated floor

Do not skip layers of vapor barrier if you want the floor to last really long. The insulation should be protected both from below and from above, carefully, avoiding gaps, fastening the joints of the material.