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How to insulate a house correctly

This post provides valuable information about how to properly insulate a house to maximize energy efficiency while keeping out thermal drafts and noise. It explains essential steps such as inspecting and sealing wall cavities before installing insulation, identifying potential insulation hotspots along exterior walls and in attic ceilings, researching R-value and insulation types, and applying insulation in an evenly distributed manner. The post highlights the long-term energy savings and comfort benefits of expertly insulation, while cautioning against over-insulating and creating potentially hazardous situations.

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The main thing is the weather in the house – these words from the song better than any other reflect the most important characteristic of any home. Indeed, a good house is a warm house, so the main task solved when building a house is high-quality insulation.

How to insulate a house correctly

It should be understood that insulation of a house at the construction stage and insulation of an already built house are completely different tasks..

The first is solved either by erecting walls from energy-efficient building materials – wood, foam concrete, etc., or, for example, in the construction of frame houses by filling cavities inside the frame walls with energy-efficient heat-insulating materials. As a result, the house being built is initially warm enough..

In the second case, if mistakes were made during construction or there was a need to rebuild the house, which was not originally intended for living in the winter, all work on additional insulation is carried out only outside.

Insulation objects

What needs to be insulated so that the “weather in the house” is good at any time of the year:

  • basement – needs insulation if a warm basement is needed;
  • the floor of the first floor – it always makes sense to insulate, even if there is a warm basement under it;
  • walls are the most important object of heat loss;
  • interfloor floors – if the next floor is not heated (for example, this is an attic), then it is necessary to insulate. If the next floor is heated, then it is recommended that there is no temperature imbalance on different floors. The fact is that warm air always rises and, in the absence of thermal insulation between floors, enters the next floor. As a result, heat on the upper floors;
  • roof – do not forget about the warm air, which tends upward and eventually reaches the roof. This air, in addition to everything, is saturated with water vapor, which will condense on the cold, in the absence of thermal insulation, the inner surface of the roof. In winter, when the difference between the indoor air temperature and the temperature of the roof surface is greatest, this will be especially noticeable. The result will be water dripping from above, freezing in the case of insufficient thermal insulation of the ceiling, and a number of other, very unpleasant moments.

Heat insulating materials

A huge number of all kinds of materials are used to insulate a house. It makes no sense to describe all of them, we list the most popular today:

  • Styrofoam;
  • miniplate;
  • polyurethane foam;
  • foamed polyethylene (thermal insulation);
  • MDVP panels;
  • bulk insulation materials (expanded clay, etc.);
  • ultra-thin heat-insulating materials (heat-insulating paints, plasters).

Let’s take a closer look at each

Styrofoam– expanded polystyrene foam. It happens: ordinary – rather loose, fragile and combustible, or extruded – much denser, stronger, with improved thermal insulation characteristics – 100 mm are similar to 2000 mm of brickwork – it will be borne in mind when mentioning foam. Installation is quite simple – the slabs are easily cut with a knife to size. The side edges are equipped with a quarter lock for better adhesion between the sheets. When the seams are foamed, a monolithic, non-cold bridging, waterproof surface is obtained. If it is necessary to fix the sheets to some surface, either mounting foam, or a suitable mounting glue, or special dowels are used. Since the foam is destroyed by ultraviolet radiation, after installation it requires its own protection – it can be any opaque surface or painting.

How to insulate a house correctly

Minplita– is a cotton-like material made of glass or stone fibers. Manufactured in the form of slabs or rolls. Good thermal insulation – 150 mm similar to 2000 mm brickwork. Installation is carried out, as a rule, in at least two layers (the thickness of the slab is most often 50 mm) with a gap between the joints. The roll material is simply rolled over the surface. The excess is easily cut off with a knife. When working with a minelite, you must use personal protective equipment: gloves, respirators. The material is absolutely non-combustible and does not emit any harmful substances during operation, therefore it is considered environmentally friendly. However, there is a possibility of stone or glass dust formation, which must be taken into account during construction. Afraid of water, when wet it loses its thermal insulation properties.

How to insulate a house correctly

Polyurethane foam– for domestic purposes, foam in cylinders is most often used. Suitable for local insulation works – filling small cavities, cracks, insulation of door and window openings. Insulation of large surfaces is carried out using special equipment. It has the same thermal conductivity as foam plastic and is also afraid of ultraviolet radiation and requires additional protection. Not afraid of water.

How to insulate a house correctly

Teploizol– is a foamed polyethylene. With a small thickness, it is produced in rolls, and with a large thickness – in the form of mats. On one side it can have a heat-reflecting foil layer. In this case, it is called foil thermal insulation. A good heat insulator – 100 mm is similar to 2000 mm of brickwork. Installation of rolled thermal insulation is carried out using a construction stapler with an overlap. For the installation of mats, a special transparent mounting glue is used. It also glues the seams. Thermal insulation is not afraid of water and is very durable.

How to insulate a house correctly

MDVP boards– microporous wood fiber panels. Strong enough with good thermal insulation properties – 200 mm are similar to 2000 mm of brickwork. Forms a flat, hard surface during installation. They are fastened in the same way as any sheet wood materials (chipboard, plywood, etc.). Environmentally friendly material.

How to insulate a house correctly

Bulk thermal insulation materials– granules, usually foamed material. The most famous are foam balls and expanded clay. The thermal conductivity of expanded clay is worse than that of foam balls – 100 mm are similar to 500 mm of brickwork. Installation is carried out by pouring into existing cavities.

How to insulate a house correctly

Ultra-thin thermal insulation– the youngest material. As a rule, it is a base – paint or plaster filled with ceramic microgranules with a vacuum inside. It is applied in the same way as the base, that is, with a brush or spatula. With a minimum thickness (paint 3 mm, plaster 10–20 mm) have thermal insulation properties comparable to 2000 mm of brickwork.

How to insulate a house correctly

Installation of thermal insulation

Insulation of the basement

If you are planning to make a warm or at least frost-free basement, and the thickness of the basement walls is insufficient to provide the necessary insulation, then additional thermal insulation is needed. The most obvious, but wrong solution would be insulation from the inside. In this case, it may be possible to achieve a positive temperature in the basement, but the outer basement wall both froze through and will freeze through. To prevent this from happening, the basement insulation must be carried out only outside.

If the basement is not finished with anything, then the insulation is done with foam, polyurethane foam or ultra-thin thermal insulation. If you plan to finish with materials that require the installation of additional lathing, for example, basement siding, then you can insulate with thermal insulation. In this case, the lathing is mounted on top of the finished layer of thermal insulation. It is allowed to use miniplates, but do not forget that it is very hydrophobic, and the basement is a part of the house that is exposed to increased moisture. Therefore, when using a mineral slab, it is necessary to take care of a reinforced layer of waterproofing.

How to insulate a house correctly

If the base is already finished, then in this case the finishing will have to be dismantled, or the insulation must be done on top. The work is both laborious and costly, especially since the final finishing will then have to be done anew. It remains either to insulate from the inside – which, as was said, is very bad, or to forget about the warm basement. The problem can be partially solved by painting the finished base with heat-insulating paint. In this case, the appearance will, of course, be spoiled, but not as much as when using other heat-insulating materials.

Insulation of the floor of the first floor

Insulation works on the ground floor floor practically do not depend on the type of floors. They can be wooden or concrete. Consider both options, taking into account whether the floor was insulated, but additional is required or not.

Let’s start with a description of the work required where there was no insulation.

If the floors are concrete, then in this case they are used as a base on which the heat-insulating layer is laid. Sequence of work:

  1. Install lags.
  2. We make thermal insulation. Materials used for insulation:
    • foam – fits across the entire width between the logs. All seams are foamed;
    • miniplate – mats are cut to a size slightly larger than the distance between the lags. Slightly wrinkled when stacked. As a result, after the installation of the minelab, assuming its real dimensions, it reliably closes possible cold bridges between its edge and the log;
    • bulk thermal insulation – simply poured into the interlag space with the required layer.
  3. We lay the vapor barrier film.
  4. We lay the finishing floor.

How to insulate a house correctly

If the floors are wooden, then the materials are the same, but the work is slightly different:

  1. We stretch from below the lag a waterproofing film (roofing felt or a special membrane).
  2. We hem the subfloor from below (if subsequently bulk material is used, then with a solid shield, if any other, then it is possible with an interval of up to 100 mm between the boards).
  3. We produce thermal insulation.
  4. We lay the vapor barrier film.
  5. We lay the finishing floor.

The thickness of the insulating layer must in any case be at least 100 mm.

If additional floor insulation is required, then all additional insulation work is carried out from below, that is, from the basement side. Materials used for this:

  • polystyrene – attached to glue for external thermal insulation or mounting foam (be sure to fix the sheets with self-tapping screws with large caps until the glue has set);
  • foam – sprayed industrially from below onto the subfloor;
  • MDVP plates – fastened with any suitable fasteners;
  • thermal insulation – in the case of wooden floors – is targeted with a construction stapler, in the case of concrete – on a pre-assembled wooden lathing with a stapler, or on glue directly to the concrete surface.

Wall insulation

Consider two options:

  • primary wall insulation – carried out during the construction of frame houses and houses with a layer of an effective heat insulator provided for by the project (for example, brick-thermal insulation-brick);
  • additional insulation – is carried out with insufficient thermal insulation of the finished house.

In the first case, you need to know two things:

  1. For houses intended for living at any time of the year, the thickness of the required layer of energy-efficient thermal insulation must be at least 150 mm.
  2. The combination of different materials gives a better effect than using one.

House insulation work is divided into stages similar to floor insulation work, namely:

Installation of a waterproofing film – here, after all, it is better to use a special “breathing” membrane – the very first layer.

How to insulate a house correctly

Installation of thermal insulation – materials:

  • foam – all seams are foamed, if used as the first layer, then waterproofing is not required;
  • mine plate – as already mentioned, it fits at least two layers with a breakdown. Particular attention should be paid to fixing the material to a vertical surface. To do this, you can either use special fasteners (sold in hardware stores), or mount a fixing crate;
  • polyurethane foam – the entire space intended for thermal insulation is filled. Works are carried out using special equipment.

Installation of vapor barrier film. Do not underestimate the importance of vapor barrier walls. The fact is that in the process of human activity, a huge amount of water vapor is released. Together with the exhaled air, it creates increased pressure inside the room. In winter, when all the windows are closed, excess air has nowhere to go, and it starts to escape through the pores and micro-crevices of the walls, floor and ceiling. The outer surface of the walls has a negative temperature, and the inner one is positive. It is clear that somewhere inside the wall the temperature, going from plus to minus, becomes 0 ° C. This point is called the freezing point. Water vapor, penetrating through the wall, condenses in the cold zone – the dew point and freezes at the freezing point. From this, the characteristics of the heat-insulating layer deteriorate significantly. The result is a shift of the dew point and freezing point inward. The process of moisture condensation continues, but closer to the inner surface of the wall, which leads to a further shift of both points inward. In the end, the wall can freeze through. To avoid this, a vapor barrier film is used. It does not allow moisture to pass through the walls, while remaining breathable.

How to insulate a house correctly

Fine finishing of the premises. It is recommended to leave a gap between the material used for this (for example, drywall or clapboard) and the vapor barrier.

An example of the combined insulation of the walls of a frame house:

  • the first layer – 50mm foam – waterproof material, does not require waterproofing;
  • the second layer – 100 mm minelite;
  • vapor barrier;
  • finishing.

Additional insulation of the house is always made outside – remember the freezing point, insulation from the inside will move it inside the house, insulation from the outside will move it to the outer surface of the walls. Applicable materials:

  • foam – glued to the wall surface. Does not require waterproofing. Plaster for painting, or covered with any siding;
  • mine plate – a rigid or semi-rigid plate is used. Attached to the wall with special dowels. A waterproofing film is stretched over it. Further, two options are possible:
    • installation of a suspended ventilated facade
    • plaster with subsequent finishing
  • foam – sprayed onto the wall with a layer of the required thickness. Closed either with siding, or, after leveling, plastered and painted.
  • thermal insulation – mounted in any available way – using a stapler or glue. Does not require waterproofing. Closed with any siding;
  • MDVP plates – mounted on the crate with self-tapping screws. Outside, they are closed with a waterproofing film. Suitable for any type of exterior finish;
  • ultra-thin thermal insulation – applicable on any surfaces. Since, being a heat insulator, it retains all the properties of its base (paint or plaster), it is applied and finished using the methods corresponding to the base.

How to insulate a house correctly

Insulation of interfloor floors

As mentioned above, this is a necessary stage of comprehensive house insulation. In addition, do not forget that almost any thermal insulation is still a good sound insulator, which is quite important for floors between residential floors..

In fact, floor insulation is done in the same way as floor insulation. It should be noted that in the case of wooden floors, the sub-floor of the next floor is the ceiling of the previous one. Mounting from below on the logs of MDVP slabs, you can reduce the cost of the subsequent finishing of the ceiling and thermal insulation of floors.

Roof insulation

Before carrying out work on roof insulation, it is necessary to provide high-quality waterproofing. Any leak will negate the positive effect of thermal insulation. The work that needs to be done for waterproofing depends on whether you are building a house or will insulate an already built one.

In a new building, the roof is waterproofed at the stage of installation of the roofing material. As a rule, for this, a waterproofing layer is provided between the roofing material and the base (rafters with lathing). A special film or roofing material can be used as such a layer. In this case, it is necessary to leave a gap between the waterproofing and the roofing material..

What can be done if waterproofing was not provided during the installation of the roof. There are two options here:

  1. Thermal insulation has not yet been made – that is, the reverse side of the roofing material is visible from the inside through the crate. It makes no sense to mount the film from the bottom of the rafters, since the thermal insulation layer mounted below the film will significantly “eat up” the useful volume of the room. Waterproofing must be done in the space between the rafters. To do this, the waterproofing film is stretched between the rafters, as shown in the photo: as waterproofing, you can fix a roll of thermal insulation that does not allow water to pass through. At the same time, he will also be the first layer of thermal insulation. A waterproofing layer can also be made of foam. Sheets are cut in width equal to the distance between the rafters, and then fixed in the space between the rafters using polyurethane foam (all seams must be foamed).
  2. Thermal insulation has already been done – in this case, waterproofing will not work, since, as mentioned above, it is done between the roof and the thermal insulation. It remains only to monitor the integrity of the roof and, in the event of a leak, to immediately take repair measures. Mastic for repairing roofs and waterproofing is very suitable for sealing leaking areas..

How to insulate a house correctly

So, the roof does not leak, it remains to insulate it.

How to insulate a house correctly

In the case of primary insulation, the installation of thermal insulation is carried out in the inter-rafter space. For this, polystyrene, mineral plate, thermal insulation or foam are used. Installation is carried out in the same way as for wall insulation. After reaching the required thickness of the thermal insulation layer, the room is finished. If you use MDVP panels for this, then you can make the layer of thermal insulation between the rafters thinner.

If the roof insulation was carried out using hydrophobic materials, then the final stage before finishing finishing will be the installation of a vapor barrier film.

How to insulate a house correctly

When re-warming the roof, all work is carried out on the finished finish. The most “sparing” options, that is, requiring a minimum of effort, will be insulation with ultra-thin thermal insulation (painting) or installation of MDVP panels. Both of these options will require a minimum of effort for subsequent finishing..

If you use other materials – polystyrene, mineral slabs, foam or thermal insulation, then, after installation, you will have to re-carry out all the finishing work – the manufacture of lathing and sheathing with finishing materials or, if the material allows it, then, for example, putty and painting. When using a miniplate, do not forget about vapor barrier.

Separately, it is worth mentioning the situation when all the work on hydro- and thermal insulation was carried out, but the ceiling of the last floor still freezes. Freezing spots are clearly visible on drywall and wallpaper – they change color to a darker one. Such a situation is possible when, for example, insulation was carried out with a min-plate, which was not properly fixed on inclined planes and over time it slid down. In this case, holes are drilled in places of freezing and through them all cavities are filled with foam from balloons.

So, a properly insulated house will not only save people living in it from the cold, but will also last much longer, because thermal insulation, in addition to its main work, also protects the structural elements of the house from destruction.

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Comments: 3
  1. Rhiannon

    What are the important steps and materials needed for proper house insulation?

    Reply
  2. Tatum

    I would like to ask, what are the essential steps to insulate a house properly? Are there specific materials or techniques that should be used? Is it better to hire a professional or can it be done as a DIY project? Any advice or guidance would be greatly appreciated.

    Reply
  3. Wyatt Cooper

    Can anyone provide guidance on the correct steps to properly insulate a house? I’m looking for practical advice, such as materials to use, areas to prioritize, and any specific techniques or tools that are most effective. Additionally, any recommendations on cost-effective options would be highly appreciated. Thank you!

    Reply
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