Types, materials and methods of self-insulation of the attic. Attic insulation with mineral wool: technology for lovers How to insulate a cold attic in a house

In order for the house to be warm, and we did not have to overpay for heating, it is necessary to take care of the high-quality insulation of the walls, floor and roof. It is also important to insulate the ceiling of a private house in the attic. There are several options for insulating the attic in a private house inexpensively and efficiently. How to do it yourself, what materials can be used for this? Let's consider this question in more detail.

How to insulate the attic of a private house correctly?

An attic is a space under a sloping roof that is not used for residential purposes. If the roof slopes are not thermally insulated, insulation material can be placed on the ceiling that separates the space under the roof from the living rooms.

The roof space that is not used for living is often devoid of an insulating layer, which creates the need for laying a buffer zone to insulate the ceiling. The complete absence of such insulation is allowed only when the room is unheated, for example, a garage. In other cases, it is necessary to retain the heat that is used to heat living rooms, since warm air tends to rise up. To save money spent on heating, it is necessary to prevent its leakage through the roof.

Before starting repairs, it is very important to learn how to properly insulate the attic in a private house, and many factors should be taken into account. These include the design features of the roof and the height of the attic.

The better to insulate the attic of a private house with a concrete floor

Concrete floor - monolithic or prefabricated is intended, as a rule, for a residential attic. Sometimes, however, such a solution is also used for a non-residential roof. How and how to insulate the attic floor in a private house made of concrete?

The concrete floor is insulated after the construction and finishing of the roof. This operation will be simple as long as we have convenient access to the attic, and also if the height of the attic allows free movement.

The most commonly used material in such cases is mineral wool. Compressed mats are especially recommended, which are gradually expanded up to the nominal thickness. The elastic surface easily fills all the nooks and crannies in the attic. The mats should be placed close together without any gaps between them that could lead to heat leakage.

It is much more difficult to achieve this result with more rigid materials such as expanded polystyrene, extruded polystyrene or polyurethane foam.

To create a structure, insulation must be laid between wooden beams, to which boards or wood panels will be screwed to form the floor.

It is also possible to make a mineral lining from a mineral solution that is poured over the insulation insulated with foil, but this solution is rarely used.

How to insulate the attic of the house with loose insulation?

If the attic is too low, then so that the work is not very difficult and time-consuming, good decision there will be insulation using one of the bulk insulating materials:

granulated cotton;
polystyrene granules;
cellulose fibers.

The thickness of the insulation layer depends on the material used and the thermal permeability of the ceiling. The average thickness is approximately 20 cm.

How to insulate a wooden ceiling?

If the ceiling is wooden, it is better to insulate the attic of a private house with your own hands in a slightly different way. Thermal insulation is placed primarily between the beams. It uses materials from mineral wool or derivatives of wood. How to insulate the attic of a private house with mineral wool? Thanks to their excellent elasticity, the boards or mats fill the gaps between the ceiling beams very well. Before insulating the attic of a private house with mineral wool, a lining should be laid from the bottom of the roof. If it's going to be a drywall suspended ceiling, it's a good idea to place an extra insulating layer on the underside of the attic. Wooden beams will also be insulated, which has a very positive effect on the heat transfer of the entire layer.

Also, if the ceiling is insulated in this way, it will be easier to build a floorboard or OSB floor over it. If you decide not to insulate false ceiling, then an additional heat-insulating layer will be located in the attic. The construction of the floor will then be more difficult for two reasons. First, perpendicular to ceiling beams nail beams with a section of 4 x 6 cm and put an insulating layer between them, in addition, the surface of such a floor will eventually turn out to be higher, thereby reducing the height of the attic.

Photo. When insulating a wooden ceiling thermal insulation material placed primarily between beams

For warming wooden ceilings polystyrene is not used in the traditional form, but it is possible to fill the space between the beams with polystyrene granules. However, the light weight of such backfill, despite good thermal insulation, does not give the ceiling satisfactory sound insulation. Also this type of insulating material does not provide sufficient fire protection wood.

Among bulk heaters, mineral wool granules or cellulose fibers are much more profitable. Both products have very good thermal insulation properties, provide good sound insulation and protect the structure in the event of a fire.

In buildings that have an unused attic, it is cost effective to implement a roof truss structure. Prefabricated elements replace traditional rafters. They form large triangles that are closely spaced next to each other.

The space under the roof with such a design is severely limited by bevelled beams. At the same time, it is almost impossible to isolate such an attic with slabs or mats. The most rational solution in this case is insulation with a blower using polystyrene granules or cellulose fibers.

The air flow fills the space through holes in the gable walls, through a hatch in the roof, or through the so-called viewing hole.

Bulk material is able to crumble very densely in all nooks and crannies of this attic. Insulation work should be carried out only after the construction of the ceiling is completed. It is also necessary to check if the ceiling can support the weight of such insulation, it may be necessary to provide adequate reinforcement.

Attic ventilation

Since many of the thermal insulation materials, including rock wool, lose their insulating properties as a result of high humidity, you need to make sure that the attic space is provided with sufficient ventilation. Good ventilation is provided by air intakes on the eaves and outlets made in the gable walls. They must be protected with a net to prevent the entry of birds and small animals. Upper layer Insulating materials with high elasticity should be covered with a windproof film, then less heat will be blown out of the insulation.

How to insulate an attic in a private house video

August 27, 2016
Specialization: Capital construction works(laying the foundation, erecting walls, constructing the roof, etc.). Internal construction works (laying of internal communications, rough and fine finishing). Hobbies: mobile communication, high technologies, computer equipment, programming.

If you live in apartment building, then you hardly ever thought about attic insulation. Moreover, you hardly guessed about the presence of such a technical room in the building, unless, of course, you ran to the roof as a child.

However, in country house or a country cottage (which I am currently building for my son), the under-roof space plays a huge role. Often there is an open expansion tank heating system, ventilation pipes, chimneys. And sometimes they equip living quarters - attic.

Therefore, I will not talk for a long time about how important thermal insulation measures are for this room, but I will simply tell you how to insulate the attic of a private house using the example of my own son's country home.

I think the described technology will be useful to everyone who builds or is going to build a dwelling outside the city with their own hands.

Thermal insulation materials

Attics have been insulated for as long as I can remember. My great-grandfather and grandfather used hay and straw for this purpose, sawdust and shavings, and some in their village - and dry leaves from trees.

Dad was already a more “advanced” builder and cold - in a private house and in the country house he insulated the attic with expanded clay and old soldier's blankets. By the way, expanded clay granules are also used in modern construction.

I won't tell you now what better option of the above, as I can offer more technologically advanced and efficient thermal insulation materials for attic insulation.

However, before that, I’ll note what technical characteristics a heat insulator should have in order to be used for the described work:

Light weight. The material after laying should not exert a large load on the attic floor, roof rafters and load-bearing walls.

Otherwise, even during construction, more durable building materials will have to be included in the project, which increases the amount of the final estimate.

Safety. The material used for insulation should not harm human health.

Therefore, both the floor of a cold attic and the roof must be insulated with heat insulators that do not emit hazardous gases into the air. chemical compounds. Especially if you plan to equip a living room there in the future.

Ease of installation. The less effort you need to spend on the installation of heat insulators, the better, right?

In addition, there is not much space in the under-roof space of some houses, so working there is not very convenient. I always try to buy materials that do not require the use of sophisticated equipment.

Low thermal conductivity. The better this indicator is, the smaller the layer of heat-insulating material should be used. Accordingly, the interior space of the attic will not greatly decrease.

Again, I consider this important, since I plan to make an attic in my son's dacha in the attic. But I think it’s not very interesting for you to lay thermal insulation with a thickness of 20-30 cm.

hydrophobic properties. In attics, the air often has high humidity, which reduces the efficiency of the heat-insulating layer.

I advise choosing materials that are either treated with water-repellent compounds, or those that do not change their technical characteristics when wet.

Fire safety. The roof is where there is a risk of fire due to improper installation or blockage of the chimney.

Therefore, when choosing a material, I would give preference to those varieties that do not ignite under the action of open fire and do not support combustion.

Of course, I failed to choose the perfect insulation that 100% meets all the listed requirements. But still I will tell about those with whom I had to work.

So, I insulated attics:

polyurethane foam;
foam;
mineral wool;
expanded clay.

I'll tell you more about them.

polyurethane foam

The raw material for the manufacture of this heat insulator is plastic. Insulating the attic with polyurethane foam is a pleasure, but this requires special equipment. The fact is that the insulator is applied by spraying, for which compressors are used.

But you do not need to buy screws, adhesive mixtures, crates and so on. And the polyurethane foam itself is applied very tightly, leaving no gaps through which cold air can penetrate into the under-roof space.

After hardening, the insulation becomes rigid, therefore it additionally strengthens the structure. The material has antiseptic properties; mold, fungus and other microorganisms do not multiply on its surface.

If you need to insulate the ventilation pipe in the attic, you can also use polyurethane foam. Only not sprayed, but in the form of ready-made shells with a protective layer of aluminum foil. They simply need to be fixed to the pipelines with adhesive tape or plastic ties.

The biggest drawback of the material in question is the high price. However, if you consider the total cost of work, then you can save money, because in this case additional hydro and vapor barrier is not required.

Styrofoam

This heater, as well as similar to it technical specifications expanded polystyrene, are widely used for warming rooms under the roof. I personally prefer the expanded polystyrene obtained by extrusion. It is more durable, does not burn, has a low coefficient of thermal conductivity and is not damaged by rodents.

The cost of insulation is quite affordable, and anyone, even the most inexperienced summer resident, can lay it in the attic. Polystyrene is processed with hand construction tools and fastened with dowels.

Mineral wool

Fibrous heat insulators are a versatile material. Mineral fiber-based heaters are rolled, slab, in the form of a dry mix, and so on. They are great for insulating attic floors and roofs.

Basalt fiber, from which mineral wool is made, has a very high temperature melting. Therefore, this insulation can be used for installation on chimneys, the surface of which can become very hot.

There is one point here. The insulation is not waterproof and, when moistened, may lose its heat-shielding properties. To avoid this, when insulating, it is necessary to install hydro- and vapor barrier membranes. Or buy those varieties of mineral wool that are treated with special water-repellent compounds.

The bottleneck of some types of mineral insulation is environmental friendliness. In the manufacture of basalt mats, a certain amount of formaldehyde resins is used, which can be harmful to human health. Especially during the installation process.

Expanded clay

Granules of this material, as I already told you, were also used by my father, insulating his first cottage. Expanded clay has a low coefficient of thermal conductivity and weighs a little. However, it is loose, so it can only be used to insulate the floor of the under-roof space.

But the installation process itself does not require any tricks. You just need to pour it on the floor, and then properly protect it from moisture with a moisture-proof membrane. If you are going to equip the attic later, you can cover it with a screed on top, and then lay a decorative coating.

Independent insulation of the attic space

We sort of decided on the most popular heat-insulating materials, now I’ll tell you how to properly insulate the under-roof space so that you can equip an attic there in the future.

Let's take up the question of how to lay the insulation under the crate, because this method will allow you to stuff the decorative material of your choice without any problems in the future.

In my son’s attic, I decided to use mineral wool, but I’ll tell you right away about foam plastic, since the work technologies are similar, and it’s easier to work with foam plastic if you are a beginner builder.

The whole process of warming consists of several stages:

Preparation;
waterproofing;
laying a heat insulator;
vapor barrier;
arrangement of the crate and installation of decorative trim;
insulation of engineering communications;
floor insulation.

I will tell you about each stage in more detail.

Preparatory activities

Let's start, as usual, with preparation, because it is unlikely that your attic is already ready for construction work.

After all, in almost 100% of cases this room is used as a trash storage, where all unnecessary things are taken down (and sometimes they are taken from the apartment). In the attic of my son's dacha, it was clean, since the house is new, but in my home, when sorting out the rubble, I found old books, clothes, several family heirlooms (which my wife did not consider as such) and much more.

In addition, if you have tried to perform insulation before, then I advise you to get rid of any traces of this process. For example, remove sawdust, scraps of felt, construction debris, and so on from all slots. Believe me, I have insulated attics more than once and I know how important it is.

By the way. And drive all the spiders out of the attic, then clear the room of the cobwebs. After all, you will build an attic for yourself or your children, and not for any insects.

Last moment. Take it to the attic necessary tools and provide lighting. It is unlikely that you have sockets there, so you will have to stretch out an extension cord with a light bulb. Although these measures seem obvious to you, since I had to return to the city for electric, since not a single extension cord at the construction site reached from switchboard to the attic.

Waterproofing

A waterproofing membrane is needed in order to protect the thermal insulation layer itself and the room under the roof from excessive moisture. This is especially important if the roof has been laid for a long time (for example, you are insulating the attic of an old house) and roofing materials used not the most modern.

The moisture-proof film is installed directly on the roof structure. It must be stretched and overlapped so that after the end of the work an airtight layer is formed. You can fasten the material with a construction stapler with staples.

Insulation laying

The heat-insulating material, as I said, must be mounted on a pre-mounted crate. However, if you want to save a little, you do not need to design a separate frame. The roof truss system will perfectly play its role.

In the latter case, in order to press the material and be able to mount the decorative sheathing, it will only be necessary to equip a light counter-lattice at a certain distance from the surface of the heat insulator. Then you get a small ventilation gap that removes excess moisture from the insulation layer.

So, the scheme of work on laying insulation is as follows:

Rolls of mineral wool must be cut so that their width corresponds to the distance between the rafter supports. After that, lay under the roof surface, gluing to the surface or temporarily attaching with wooden slats.

To make installation easier, mineral mats can be used.. Their width should slightly exceed the distance between the rafters, so that after installation they suddenly fall into place and do not fall out.

The foam must be cut as accurately as possible so that it comes close to the installation site.. The gaps between the insulation panels will greatly reduce the effectiveness of insulation measures, so they need to be blown out with mounting foam.

vapor barrier

After laying the insulation, you need to install a vapor barrier membrane. It will protect the insulating material from the penetration of moisture to it, which is formed during the life of people.

For vapor barrier, special films are used that do not allow the heat insulator to be moistened, but do not prevent air infiltration through the building envelope. As a result, a microclimate comfortable for living will be formed in the attic, when viewed from the point of view of humidity.

So, after installing the insulation, it is necessary to attach a vapor barrier to the rafter supports (which act as a crate). This should be done with a stapler, gently pulling the film.

The edges of the material overlap each other to prevent the mineral wool from getting wet. To further insure yourself against surprises, I recommend gluing the seams with adhesive tape.

Vapor barrier films allow air to pass only in one direction. Therefore, before installation, make sure that you have unfolded the membrane to the desired surface.

Control grille

Having finished with the films, you can begin to complete the operations for finishing the walls (well, or the roof, that's how you look). I will use it for this, but in the same way you can fix OSB boards, drywall, lining, and so on.

Here, too, there is an opportunity to significantly save on the purchase of materials and reduce the time for all work. The fact is that the main details of the crate will be powerful rafter legs, and you will only have to make cross bars, which will serve as additional stiffeners for the sheathing.

The material for the transverse frame can be a wooden rail or a galvanized profile. The essence of this will not change. The parts just need to be screwed from above to the rafters so that they are located at right angles to them. The step between adjacent elements depends on the decorative finish, I made 30 cm so that the skin does not sag under load.

Herself decorative trim also depends on your imagination. I'm going to glue the wallpaper on top for now to save money, and then I'll come up with something prettier. You can do the same.

Just before sticking the wallpaper, do not forget to putty the seams between the plywood sheets and perform other necessary operations (priming, and so on).

Warming of engineering communications

If you do not provide for the creation of an attic, it is imperative to insulate the ventilation ducts in the cold attic, as well as, if available, pipes for heating, water supply and smoke exhaust (which term I came up with).

Of course, you can use mineral wool for this, wrapping it around pipes, wrapping it with roofing material and fixing it with wire. But why complicate your life if you can buy ready-made shells for pipes of the desired diameter (made of polyethylene foam, polyurethane foam, polystyrene, and so on). They just need to be snapped onto the pipe and wrapped with adhesive tape to be sure.

The cost of such insulators is low, so you definitely will not go broke.

Attic floor insulation

The floor is a horizontal surface, so it can be easily insulated with bulk material. For example, expanded clay. But since I started working with mineral wool (styrofoam), I won’t buy expanded clay, I’ll limit myself to what I have at my disposal.

So, the attic insulation technology is as follows:

First you need to clean the surface of dust, accumulated debris, foreign objects, and so on.
Then install the support lags. I make them from wooden blocks with a section of 20 by 10 cm. You can select the height of the lags based on the thickness of the thermal insulation material you have.

The entire surface is covered with a layer of waterproofing. Be sure to check the tightness so that the mineral wool does not get wet, as this may affect its technical characteristics.

Cotton wool is laid on the waterproofing layer. Choose a material that is specifically designed for insulating horizontal surfaces. For example, Izover KT37.

From above, the vapor barrier membrane is stretched again, on which it is stuffed facing material. I used plywood, which I plan to cover with linoleum.

If you do not plan to use the attic as a living space, then you can not insulate the roof, but only insulate the floor. In this case, you need to pay attention to some features:

Wood for lags and sheathing must be treated with hydrophobic, fire-fighting and antiseptic compounds in order to maximize its service life.
To enter, it is better to use an insulated hatch to the attic, since it is this structural element that is often the source of large heat losses.

Now we can say with confidence that the insulation of the floor (or the ceiling from the side of the cold attic) has been completed in full. And in order to achieve maximum efficiency thermal insulation measures, I still advise you to make an insulated hatch with a ladder, as described in the video in this article.

Conclusion

As you can see, there is nothing terrible and heavy here. If you liked the material or have any questions, you can ask them in the comments. I would also be grateful for stories about how you perform attic insulation in a private house with your own hands.

The under-roof space is one of the risk zones, so attic insulation is a mandatory and necessary process for preservation. comfortable temperature in the premises of the house, saving energy spent on heating, and extending the life of the entire residential building.

Through cold attic, according to statistics, up to 20% of the heat can escape from the lower space, and this is 1/5 of family budget. It is all the more important to insulate the attic space, since the bulk of hot air always rushes up, which means that all joints, cracks, and surfaces must be carefully insulated. A natural problem arises, how to do this so that the insulation of a cold attic in a private house does not become an empty undertaking and a waste of money. Warming with mineral wool

What insulation technology, method or technique is the most popular and cheapest, we will consider in the article below, based on the use of environmentally friendly and natural building materials.

Varieties of attic structures

Starting attic insulation in a private house, you need to choose one of the three areas of operation of this space, the implementation of which will help to maintain the desired temperature and humidity:

Unheated attic, where the temperature in winter must be maintained (due to properly carried out thermal insulation measures) within 5-10 0 C.
A comfortable temperature is provided by the influx of hot air through the ventilation ducts from the living quarters of the house. Such an attic (warm, but without an attic) is typical for low- and high-rise buildings.
Attic space in the attic of a heated type: works like a normal living space with heating, like the rest of the rooms in the building. To insulate such a room, fewer layers of insulation are needed without laying a vapor barrier layer, but the sealing of joints and gaps in the joints of structures must be complete.

How to choose the best insulation material

Before deciding how best to insulate the attic of a private house, it is necessary to identify the range of proposed insulation operations. Some refer to insulation as the need to insulate only ceilings and roofs to reduce heat loss without insulating the under-roof space. A group of owners has also been identified, which believes that it would be more correct to insulate the attic of a private house only from the inside along the slopes of the roof, and leave the floors partially insulated, for example, lay a layer of clay. But building trends are increasingly leaning towards insulating the entire attic so that you can live in it, and here the choice of materials is much wider than in the previous two options. But let's start with how to insulate a cold attic inexpensively. This can be done using materials such as:

Expanded clay and blocks from it.
Waste woodworking industry (wood chips, sawdust, shavings).
Mineral wool in various designs - glass wool, basalt or stone wool (rolls, slabs, mats).
Foamed Resins: Extruded Styrofoam, Styrofoam, NPE, etc.

Which of these thermal insulation materials are the best and which can be successfully used for sloping attic surfaces? Expanded clay will be discarded immediately (it is only suitable for horizontal surfaces), therefore, first of all, slab heaters (foam plastic and polystyrene foam) remain. These are fairly cheap materials, but due to flammability, they will have to be protected with other layers that prevent the main heaters from igniting.

According to the combustibility group, it is best to choose mineral wool, although it must also be covered with a layer of strong draft or decorative materials. In addition, mineral wool absorbs moisture faster, so a layer of vapor or waterproofing is simply necessary to preserve the main insulation.

Glass wool is not quite the best material, it should not be chosen for attic insulation, if only because glass microparticles quickly enter the air and harm people.

Sawdust or shavings must be laid in such a way that it is possible to replace them - over time, a layer of such insulation is compressed, losing its insulating qualities.

Stages of insulation

The process of attic insulation in a private house can be divided into several stages:

Laying heat-insulating materials on the surfaces of floors.
Roof internal insulation.
Insulation of roof gables, installation of insulation and finishing. In this case, the insulation can immediately play the role of a decorative surface, for example, a sandwich panel.

Preparation of materials for insulation

Briefly about what materials can be used for insulation, based on their characteristics:

Wood chips or sawdust have a thermal conductivity of 0.05-0.095 W / m 0 C, if they are laid in a layer no thinner than 20 cm.
The folk method of insulation is reed, its thermal conductivity is 0.042 W / m 0 C.
Penoizol is a liquid insulation, excellent for any surfaces, has a thermal conductivity in the range of 0.028-0.040 W / m 0 C. In practice, laying occurs by spraying.
Expanded clay is the most common of the environmentally friendly and fireproof insulating materials, thermal conductivity is 0.1-0.18 W / m 0 C. The expanded clay layer for good insulation should be ≥ 0.2 m, but they can only insulate the floor surface.
Mineral wool has a thermal conductivity in the range of 0.038-0.055 W / m 0 C.
Most modern material- ecowool. It does not rot, does not burn, does not attract rodents and insects, but on top of ecowool it is required to make protection against mechanical damage.

Auxiliary materials for insulation:

Membrane for vapor barrier.
Sheet material for flooring - boards, chipboard, fiberboard, OSB, etc.
Wood preservative.

Mineral wool insulation scheme

Floor surface preparation

The old flooring on the ceiling must be removed.
Soak the beams with an antiseptic.
Collect the overlap of the floor - the boards are nailed to the beams from the side of the house, that is, from below.

Floor insulation

Before insulating the ceiling in a private house, a vapor barrier layer with an overlap of 10-15 cm is laid on the beams and boardwalk.
Thermal insulation is laid on the vapor barrier layer, for example, a mineral wool slab or EPS expanded polystyrene sheets. Plates, sheets, rolls or mats are placed close to each other.
The next layer of vapor barrier is laid on top using the same technology as in the first case.
On the logs, a roll is going from boards or any sheet material, on which the draft floor of the attic will be equipped.

In the attic with a concrete floor, insulation is carried out using mats of mineral heat-insulating material or XPS, and a concrete screed is made on top with a layer of 5-10 cm.

The thermal insulation layer is covered with waterproofing on both sides, especially if mineral heaters are used, which can absorb moisture faster than other materials.

The overlap of concrete slabs and wooden beams is recommended to be insulated on both sides - outside and inside, but not all materials are suitable for such a multiple purpose - expanded clay and other loose materials cannot be used, since they can only insulate the attic on the floor.

To make the process itself clear, consider the laying of Izover mineral mats:

The existing reel is removed from the boards.
A layer of vapor barrier is attached to the beams. The membrane film must be fixed, and the easiest way to do this is with a stapler and 14-16 mm staples.
Mineral mats are laid in the space between the beams and fixed with transverse wooden slats with a section of 2 x 5 cm.
Another layer of membrane vapor barrier is attached to the rails.
A boardwalk is mounted on top, after which the ceiling is arranged.

Roof insulation in a private house

Before insulating the attic in a private house, it is prepared:

Check integrity truss system, if necessary, repair or change parts and elements.
If the insulation is thicker than the logs, they are increased to required size bars or slats. Thus, all the space between the rafters will be filled.
All wooden elements are impregnated with an antiseptic. Such work will extend the life of materials and structures.

Do-it-yourself roof insulation in a private house is carried out approximately as follows:

The vapor barrier membrane in rooms located in the attic space must not come into contact with roof waterproofing. To maintain the air gap between these layers, nails are hammered into the rafter legs, between which thick synthetic threads are pulled.
The vapor barrier membrane is attached to the rafters with a stapler, while the smooth surface of the material is laid on the insulation, and the joints of its strips are fastened with construction tape.
Thermal insulation fits tightly into the space between the rafters. To prevent the formation of "cold bridges", mineral mats should be laid close to rafter legs and to each other. When cracks appear between the layers, they are clogged with the same material. Such a layer of insulation is fixed again with thick threads stretched between the rafters.
A vapor barrier layer is applied on top of the laid insulation, which is fixed with adhesive tape.
On top of all layers of the cake, a wooden crate is made of inlays or bars with a section of 2 x 5 cm. Decorative finishing materials will be attached to the crate on one side.

Vapor barrier installation

conclusions

In practice, the number of new and traditional materials and technologies for insulating the floor and walls of the attic is much greater, but those described above in the article are the easiest to implement with your own hands. To date, mineral wool and polystyrene are the most popular and affordable heaters.

When providing insulation for a private house, one should not forget that special attention should be paid to such a place as the attic.

Warm air tends to rise to the top, and therefore, in a temporarily unheated room, heat can escape through the space of a cold attic. Therefore, the issue of attic insulation must be addressed without delay.

1 Why is attic floor insulation necessary?

Insulation of the cold floor of the attic with stone or mineral wool, by and large, is necessary in little used premises, which are properly equipped with special roof ventilation.

The attic, or rather its ceilings, perform the function of a kind of boundary between heat and cold. In such places, attic floors are exposed to intense moisture due to the formation of condensate.

However, it is possible to properly insulate the floors in the attic of the house with mineral wool with your own hands. The very process of insulating the floor in the attic with mineral wool is the creation of a durable thermal insulation coating, which will have a low degree of thermal conductivity.

The very technology of insulating the floor with mineral wool in the attic, as well as implies strict adherence to its stages and requirements.

By itself, this technology is quite simple and understandable. Good thermal insulation of the attic floor with mineral wool helps to close unwanted gaps.

To do this, the insulation must be laid tightly. In most cases, mineral wool is used to insulate the attic of a house.

The presented insulation is the most suitable for this type of work, it can also be used to insulate the floor surface in the living quarters of the house.

With the organization of good insulation with mineral wool, the most optimal temperature will be maintained in the living quarters.

If the procedure is not performed correctly, then moisture rising from the floor of the house will lead to the formation of condensate.

It will accumulate on the ceiling, and then seep through the floors. The resulting temperature difference in those areas where attic floors adjoin the walls of the house initiates the formation of mold and microscopic fungi, which can be the causative agents of allergic diseases.

1.1 Attic insulation requirements

The process of insulating the attic floor and, more precisely, the level of its quality has a direct impact not only on the size of heat loss, but also on the duration of the operational life of the entire truss structure and roofing.

The fact is that the water vapor inside the heated room diffuses to the attic of the house. In order for the applied insulation to provide a high degree of calculated efficiency of the heat-insulating layer, it must always be dry.

Based on this, the insulation must be protected from excessive moisture by vapors of ascending heated air using a special vapor-tight material.

If the attic is well insulated, then it will not only provide high-quality thermal insulation, but will also help to increase the operational life of the entire roof structure.

If there is no vapor barrier, then steam will penetrate through the unprotected floors of the attic and condense on the surfaces of the floor.

This will lead to the fact that moisture will drain onto the rafters, which, under its influence, will slowly begin to rot from the inside.

As a result, the probability of destruction of all roofing cake. The thermal insulation performance of the structure is also reduced due to the fact that the tightness of the vapor barrier layer has been broken.

Before you insulate the attic, you need to drain the layer and remove moisture from the entire attic space. To do this, ventilation should be done through windows. They can be:

Skating like;
eaves;
slotted;
Auditory.

In order to ensure maximum ventilation intensity, the indicator of the total area of all ventilation openings should be equal to 0.2-0.5% of attic floors.

If all work is carried out correctly, then in winter period icicles will not form on the roof. The process of warming the attic space is carried out not from the living quarters, but from the floor of the attic.

So it is most convenient to lay insulation, the choice of which depends on the technology used and design features buildings.

1.2 Features of insulation of beam ceilings

When implementing such an insulation scheme using mineral wool, heat is stored in the space between the beams. Their usual height is almost always enough for this, however, if necessary, several bars are stuffed on top.

The lower part of the overlap is sewn up with the help of molded material as with. For this, lining or drywall sheets can be used.

On top of the beams, a subfloor covering is laid. It can be a tongue-and-groove board, plywood sheet or OSB board. Mineral wool is adjusted to a special vapor barrier prepared in advance.

An alternative to it can serve as an ordinary film made using polyethylene. If the vapor barrier material is foiled, then it is laid with a shiny surface down.

The intermediate distance between the beams is filled with mineral wool with the desired thickness parameters. The surface of the beams must be equipped with an additional insulating layer.

This will block the so-called cold bridges and significantly reduce the overall level of heat loss. If a bar was used to create beams High Quality, Then finishing material creep directly on their surface.

Mineral wool is placed between them as with, and the attic floor is laid on top. The use of this technology is especially important in houses that are made of logs or beams.

It is important to protect the mineral wool with a high degree of reliability from the ingress of the smallest drops of moisture, this is especially true if the roof has minor coating defects, due to which leaks occur.

The layer of mineral wool must be reliably protected from the effects of wind from the side of the eaves. For this, mineral wool slabs with a high degree of density are used.

2 Why is mineral wool used for attic insulation?

In most cases, when insulating attic floors, the choice of the consumer falls on mineral wool. Its advantage lies in the fact that its installation does not require special skills.

Mineral wool has excellent thermal insulation properties. Its structure consists of thin vitreous fibers, the length of which ranges from 2 to 60 millimeters.

High soundproofing characteristics are provided due to the presence of a large number of air pores.

These pores are located in the space between the fibers and can occupy 95% of the total volume of the insulation. Mineral wool is presented in three varieties, it can be basalt glass and stone.

Basalt wool is made using molten basalt rocks, to which binders are added.

This may be a carbonate-type rock, which regulates the level of acidity of the substance, which entails an increase in the service life of the insulation. Glass wool exhibits high heat-resistant properties and is able to withstand temperatures up to +450 degrees Celsius.

2.1 Technology of insulation of attic floors with mineral wool

During work related to mineral wool, it is important to comply with all safety requirements and regulations.

This is due to the fact that in the process of cutting and laying such material, the air is filled with tiny particles that can enter the respiratory organs and thus cause harm to human health.

When carrying out installation, be sure to take care of the availability of personal protective equipment. Goggles, a respirator and thick rubber gloves should be available.

The very process of warming attic floors begins with the selection of the necessary tools and additional materials. Can't do without:

insulation

Boards and plywood;
vapor barrier film;
Mineral wool (excellent);
Waterproofing;
adhesive tape;
Roulettes;
Knife;
Construction stapler;
spatula.

The essence of the insulation technology lies in the fact that the insulation must be carefully laid in the space between attic floors or beams.

To enhance the thermal insulation qualities, reliable vapor barrier should be used. Warm and moisture-saturated air will continuously rise from the living rooms and go up through the ceiling.

There, in the roof space, he will collide with a layer of insulation. Due to the fact that mineral wool is generally recognized as a vapor-tight material, it will take all the outgoing moisture into itself.

If she is left without the necessary air supply and sun rays, then it will gradually shrink and, in the end, will lose all its heat-insulating qualities.

In order to avoid such destructive consequences, it is necessary to lay a vapor barrier material under a layer of mineral wool.

Before starting the main work, it will be necessary to carefully calculate the required amount of insulation.

The amount of wool purchased depends on how many layers you plan to use when covering the attic. In addition, the thermal insulation thickness parameter directly depends on the climatic conditions in the region.

2.2 Proper insulation of the attic floor (video)

To ensure comfortable living conditions and save on heating at home, it is necessary to take care of the competent insulation of all its structures. A competent choice of materials and compliance with the installation technology can protect the house from the penetration of cold at minimal cost for a long time. One of the important stages in the implementation of measures for the thermal protection of the building is the insulation of the attic in a residential private house, which can be done by hand.

Why is insulation necessary?

From school course Everyone in physics knows that warm air rises. That is why the main amount of heat loss of the building occurs through the ceiling. last floor or a roofing cake. When building a house, it is necessary to calculate not only based on the cost of materials, but also take into account the further costs of operating a private lady, which insulation will significantly reduce. So how do you insulate an attic?

In order to properly insulate attic structures, it is necessary to understand in which cases additional measures are required. When insulating with your own hands, all responsibility rests with the owner, so you need to carefully study the issue.

Types of lofts

When carrying out work, it all depends on the method of using the under-roof space. There are three of them:

Cold attic. Such an attic is not heated, and air from the premises does not enter it. In this case, the temperature in the room is taken according to the norms of +5 degrees Celsius.
Warm loft. Availability warm attic typical for apartment buildings. All ventilation ducts with heated air open in the attic space, increasing the temperature in the room.
Attic. The under-roof space becomes a full-fledged living space and is heated, like all rooms in the house. In this case, we recommend that you read the article about attic insulation.

In a wooden or any other private house, it is correct to use the first or third option.

This is how you can transform the attic, turning it into a residential attic:

The choice of insulation

For thermal protection measures, it is better to use modern efficient materials. They will provide good insulation with a minimum layer thickness.

When insulating the floor and roof of the attic in the house, they use:

mineral wool;
extruded polystyrene foam;
polyurethane foam.

Details about attic insulation with polyurethane foam are described in the article. It deals not only with floor structures, but also with walls and roofing.

Styrofoam is popular due to its fairly low price, but at the same time, thermal conductivity indicators are close to mineral wool. Its use in floor construction is complicated by low strength, but it suits very well for walls.

If there is enough Money it is better to give preference to the closest relative of the foam - extruded polystyrene foam. This material is devoid of the main disadvantages of the previous one, and has the following positive characteristics:

high strength;
low water absorption;
incombustibility;
excellent thermal insulation properties;
resistance to low temperatures.

For wall insulation, it is preferable to use foam or extruded polystyrene foam, but mineral wool is more often used for laying between rafters.

To provide thermal insulation in the house with your own hands, you can lay thermal insulation material both above and below the ceiling. It is better, from the point of view of heat engineering, to perform work from above. Learn more about floor protection attic floor in a wooden house you can in the article "Insulation of the attic floor on wooden beams".

Attic wall insulation technology

Depending on the material of the walls, different ways carrying out thermal insulation measures with your own hands. The most common ones are listed below:

construction of multilayer brick walls;
wet facade technology;
ventilated facades.

All these options involve external insulation. If necessary, the material can also be fixed from the inside, but this is less efficient and can lead to high costs.

Layered walls

With this method of construction, a layer of insulation is laid between the outer and inner mile, due to which the walls of the entire building, including the attic (attic), are thermally insulated. It is important to prevent the risk of subsidence of the material, otherwise a “bare” area will appear in the attic.

Wet facade technology

In this case, the insulation is attached to the wall with your own hands and covered with plaster on top. For durable materials, the layer of plaster can be 20 mm. If it is necessary to prevent damage to the heat insulator, a 40 mm plaster layer is applied along the reinforcing mesh. This option of insulation is quite simple, but does not provide reliable protection of the heat-insulating layer.

Ventilated facades

In this case, the heat insulator is attached to the wall, and the facade decoration is hung on top. Between the insulation layer and the decorative layer, an air-ventilated layer is arranged to remove condensate. Mineral wool materials are used for this type of construction; for expanded polystyrene and foam, the technology can be the same, but they do not require a layer of air.
Do-it-yourself decoration can be done with siding, hinged panels, porcelain stoneware, wood.

To insulate mansard roof with their own hands, heat-insulating material is laid between the rafters. The most commonly used rigid slabs of mineral wool. They provide reliable protection and ease of installation. The distance between the rafters in cleanliness is taken 2 cm less than the width of the plate and it is held by friction.

From below, for reliable fastening, a crate is made, along which finishing work is carried out. Above the insulation, it is necessary to provide an air gap to remove the formed moisture. The value of such a layer is 3-5 cm. It is provided due to the height of the rafters or the installation of the counter-rail.

Proper insulation of the attic and attic space with your own hands can reduce heat loss and maintain the strength of structures for a long time, so it is so important to pay attention to both the floor and walls, and the roof.

A wonderful example of how you can turn an attic into a comfortable living space with the help of insulation: