How to insulate the basement of the house

The foundation of any home must be strong, reliable, durable. The microclimate inside the building will depend on these indicators. As the statistics show, up to 20% of heat can be lost through an unheated foundation, so this issue should be approached with particular care. Warming up the basement of the house is foreseen before the construction, as it is necessary to choose insulation and lining material. This article will consider all the nuances regarding how to warm the basement of the house with your own hands, without the involvement of professionals.

General information about the base

The constructions of the basement of a private house are such that all girder floors of the first floor are supported by it. The main part should be underground, so the outer part protrudes no more than half a meter. It is this part with the wrong insulation or its absence can lead to large heat loss.

To avoid this, in modern construction devote a lot of time to technology and the choice of material for basement insulation. This will minimize the heat loss. When designing, in most cases, the process of insulation outside is considered, since this option is more acceptable and less labor intensive.

Thanks to the preliminary calculations and the purchase of all the material, we can carry out the work on the insulation of the basement immediately and efficiently, so that you do not spend money on rework or finishing work.

Types of insulation

To be sure of the final result, it is important to choose the right insulation, the range of which is increasing annually. If we talk about the insulation of the basement, here it is necessary to highlight a few basic options:

• Styrofoam;
• polystyrene foam;
• priming;
• keramzit.

Each of these materials has its own advantages and features, the principle of installation.

Choosing the material and technology of warming the basement of the house, it is necessary to start from the planned budget, terrain, climate features and other nuances.

Preparatory work

Before you begin to warm the basement, you must carefully prepare. In addition to purchasing the selected material and selecting the necessary tools and fasteners, it is important to prepare the surface. If you do not know how to properly perform all the steps, then you should familiarize yourself with three main points that will be sufficient for successful work.

At the first stage it is necessary to go deep, that is, to prepare a trench up to half a meter wide (the depth is individual). The second stage involves the complete cleaning of the wall from the ground, debris and even dust. At the third stage, the wall must be protected from moisture, for this purpose waterproofing is done (for example, with bitumen mastic).

If there are obvious irregularities on the wall, they must be eliminated before the start of insulation. Waterproofing is applied in two layers, while the first must be completely dry before it is applied to the second.

Ground Wrap Procedure

This method is one of the most common and affordable, since it requires minimal time, effort and material. That is how our ancestors warmed their homes outside. It was necessary to pour sand or soil into the prepared trench, but at the same time its height should reach the floor itself. Among the advantages of this technology are the following:

• waterproofing layer is fixed;
• availability;
• speed of work.

It is worth noting that the soil and sand as a heat insulator are ineffective, so this option is used very rarely.

When choosing this method of insulation, it is necessary to take into account that not only the basement will be underground, but also the basement, if there is one.

Керемзит

Due to its porosity, expanded clay is several times more efficient insulation than sand, and since its cost is also low, it is widely used. Even a small layer of expanded clay is sufficient for insulation, since the thermal insulation properties of the material are very high.

Prepared clay should be poured into the formwork, if we are talking about the insulation of the basement during construction. If the insulation occurs after the completion of construction work, the material is poured into the prepared trench. You should not mix clay with concrete, as this mixture will not give the desired result.

Керемзит очень часто используют для утепления полов, но в этом случае необходимо сверху постелить слой минеральной ваты и гидроизоляционную пленку, так как материал достаточно хрупкий.

Tiled insulation

To date, the most common materials for basement insulation are foam and polystyrene foam, they differ in thickness, density and functionality. To insulate the basement with polystyrene foam, it is necessary to purchase a special adhesive solution, as well as to carry out finishing work to protect the material from the effects of atmospheric phenomena.

The prepared adhesive mixture is applied on a sheet of foam, and then fixed it on the wall. For greater reliability, experts recommend the use of plastic new settlers, a wide cap of which reliably fix the insulation. A plastic dowel is driven into its interior.

Inside the house

For the insulation of the basement from the inside of the house, it is impossible to use the same materials that are used for walls - foam and polystyrene foam, as they are vapor proof. The best option for insulation would be mineral or basalt wool. In both the first and second cases, it is necessary to install an additional wall (snag) from aluminum profiles and sheets of drywall. The resulting space is filled with cotton wool, and the top is sheathed with plasterboard.

A rather important issue in the process of insulating the plinth inside the house is waterproofing, because without it, any insulation will constantly get wet, which will lead to its rotting, mold and permanent dampness in the room. The ideal solution would be wall coating with bitumen mastic in two layers, which will reliably protect against moisture.

If it is not possible to purchase bitumen mastic, then modern dry waterproofing mixtures can be used, with which roll and coating materials should go together.

Useful tips from experts

In order for the basement insulation procedure to be as effective as possible, it is necessary to carry out all work at a temperature not lower than + 5 ° C. Therefore, such work is carried out from mid-spring to early autumn. If to carry out plaster at a subzero temperature, then the layer, most likely, will undergo a freezing and will not keep.

Before proceeding to work on the insulation of the basement, it is necessary to get rid of all types of deformations: cracks, crevices, holes, mounds and irregularities. Any kind of plaster or modern mortars will cope with this task: gypsum or sand-cement.

When choosing mineral wool, special plates should be used, which are fixed with adhesive solutions. In this case, the glue is applied to the insulation and to the wall of the basement.

In any insulation they make holes for communications in designated places. This procedure will save time.

At each stage of the basement warming it is necessary to constantly monitor the flatness of the surface obtained. To do this, use a wooden rail or building level.

Regardless of the choice of material for warming the basement of a private house, the final works are finishing. Finishing reliably protects the material from mechanical impact, as well as the effects of precipitation.

We recommend to read:

• how to sheathe a house with a siding with insulation;
• a visor over the porch made of polycarbonate with your own hands;
• boilers to work out their own hands (drawings).

Video

You can find out how to insulate the basement of the house with polystyrene foam from the video: