How to insulate a wooden floor

Wood is considered to be the best material for construction. It is widely used for building log cabins, as well as for organizing interior partitions and flooring.

In this article we will explain how to warm the wooden floor in a private house with your own hands so that the room is more warm and comfortable.

Insulation material

Before you think through the sequence of work, you need to navigate the variety of material used for insulation and choose the appropriate option.

Best of all, in terms of insulation showed the following materials:

• Sawdust and expanded clay.
• Mineral wool.
• Isolon.
• Styrofoam.
• Ecowool

Expanded clay or sawdust

These are the two most affordable in terms of cost and material performance. Warming is carried out by the method of filling material between pre-laid lags, and here more preference is given to sawdust. After all, it is a waste product of woodworking, and accordingly, it is an environmentally friendly material. True, to insulate the floor in a private house is better to use expanded clay, as sawdust is the favorite place of residence of mice.

Note! Sawdust is used for insulation of any buildings. The uniqueness lies in the fact that they can fall asleep in hard to reach places where the use of other materials is impossible.

Mineral wool

Mineral wool is also a no less popular material, but unlike sawdust it is a product composed of various chemical compounds, and if you need to warm the floor in a living room, it is better to choose another option.

Also, when this material is insulated in rooms with a high humidity coefficient, it is necessary to conduct waterproofing on both sides, since mineral wool loses insulating properties when water gets into it or when moisture is absorbed.

The positive qualities of mineral wool include the following:

1. Resistance to burning.
2. Immunity to biological and chemical influences.
3. Good heat and sound insulation properties.

Note! Minvat is made in the form of slabs or flexible mats. As a rule, the sides have different hardness, and the one that is harder, the manufacturer marks with a blue stripe. When working, this should be taken into account and the material should be laid with the hard (marked) side up.

Isolon

This is a material based on mineral fibers. However, unlike conventional mineral wool, it is characterized by a higher hydrophobic capacity and low thermal conductivity. Isolon is better to use to reliably insulate the old wooden floor.

Note! It is possible to carry a heater - a rokvul to a version of an isolon. It has similar properties, but due to the use of basalt wool in its production, it has a higher noise insulation coefficient.

Styrofoam

The people used to call him foam. It is inexpensive, resistant to moisture and quite durable material. It has good thermal insulation performance, and its distinguishing feature is a long service life.

It can be used for insulation of any premises, it is completely harmless to humans, easy to process, and retains its original shape for a long time. You can also add that polystyrene foam does not interest rodents and insects.

Quality check

Choosing material for warming, you, first of all, hope for its durability, and only high-quality material will be able to cope with this task.

Note! The main indicator of reliability is the strength of insulation. During operation, some samples may deform and loosely adhere to the surface. In this case, bridges of cold are formed, and the quality of insulation will be low.

You can check the strength of the material as follows. Step on a small area with your foot and lightly push it down. If, when you remove your leg, it will quickly take on its original shape, it can be safely used for work.

Lagging

In the new house under construction or in the repair of the old premises, wooden floor insulation is used along the logs. In this embodiment, the technology of laying insulation between pre-laid wooden lags with subsequent floor stitching is applied.

Lags are single or double wooden slats, using which a wooden frame is constructed, with laying insulation in it. The frame itself provides natural ventilation, helping to maintain the required technical condition of the wood.

Instructions for the work

• At first, the work surface is thoroughly cleaned of any dirt. If the base is already equipped with lags, then they should be checked for durability and reliability. Inspect all connections thoroughly and, if necessary, replace rotten parts, and secure the existing ones.

• The next step is to mount new, or additional lags, if it is necessary to strengthen the structure.

Note! When building a new house, it is better to foresee a small reserve in the foundation so that the lags are fastened in it.

• On logs the draft floor from a chipboard or plywood from 10 to 20 mm fastens. This should be done from the bottom, and it is better to mount with screws using a distance of 15–20 cm between them.

• Then comes the line of insulation. It is cut according to the size between the lags and neatly laid between them.

Note! When choosing sheet material, carefully measure the dimensions before cutting. Try to avoid large gaps between the boards. If there are gaps, cut a small part of the insulation and close them.

• Above the insulation fit vapor barrier. The best option is a polyethylene film. Places of the junction of the cloths should be overlapped and additionally glued with foil tape.

• At the end of the wooden flooring is laid, and finishing work is carried out on the floor covering.

Material for lag

Lags - the concept is quite capacious, and includes not only the well-known wooden beam. For technical definitions, lags can be made from the following materials:

1. Logs, the cross section of which in the thinnest part is not less than 150 mm.
2. Logs, hewn from both sides, also not less than 150 mm in the cut.
3. Two paired boards installed on the edge, and having a width above 100 m, and a thickness of 25-30 mm.
4. Rectangular timber. Its size is determined by the upcoming load. Dimensional minimum is 100? 150 mm, with a lagging step up to 60 cm.
5. H-channel. For a wooden floor, this arrangement of the lag is unacceptable, as a rule, it is used for floor insulation by reinforced concrete beams.

With all the simplicity of installation, the guarantee of the correctness of work will be the design study of all processes, as well as the need to calculate the insulation layer, taking into account some factors:

1. The climate of your region. It is important to correctly determine the average rainfall in your region, and the lowest temperature in winter.
2. Choosing a heater, get acquainted with its technical characteristics, service life. Also ask where the use of material is recommended. As a rule, some materials can be laid on concrete, some on the ground and wood.
3. When building a new house, all communications should be laid before the process of insulation.

The amount of material on the market allows us to carry out high-quality insulation of any premises. Having correctly selected the material, and having carried out all the necessary work, the house will be really warm and cozy.

Video

This video shows the insulation of penoisol wooden floors on logs in a private house:

This video demonstrates the process of warming floors, as well as protection from moisture and cold from the underground: