Often, residents of private and apartment buildings have to deal with the problem of cold floors. This issue is especially acute for those who live on the ground floors. Attempts to "warm" the floor with thick carpets or installing a fireplace are usually ineffective. Let's approach the solution of this problem more broadly and consider the possibilities of real floor warming on the ground floor. Having solved this question, you will not only get rid of cold floors, but also you can save considerably on heating your apartment.
Materials for floor insulation
Warming the floor with a variety of materials. The most popular of them are:
- Styrofoam;
- expanded polystyrene;
- vermiculite;
- mineral wool;
- drywall;
- expanded clay.
The choice of material will depend on the existing material of the floor covering and the maximum height, on which it will be possible to "increase" the floor in your apartment with the help of a heater. For example, mineral wool is mainly insulated with wooden floors, and polystyrene - the floors of apartment buildings, where the cold comes from the basement below. Effective thermal insulation materials are also modern expanded polystyrene and sprayed insulation with polyurethane foam, which make it possible to use them practically at any floor height. The screed using claydite is used much less often due to its great laboriousness and the duration of work (more than a month), however it is no less effective.
In addition, today the use of the system, which is called - "warm floor" is very popular. Its implementation is possible in two forms: the installation of a heating cable or a film element. The latter is considered the most preferable because of its minimum thickness, which makes it possible to use a system of "warm floors" with a lack of free space for warming the floors in the house.
Technology of thermal insulation of floors
Work on the insulation of the floor of the first floor of the high-rise buildings is distinguished by the fact that it is preferable to start with the basement. Namely - it is necessary to isolate all cracks (except for ventilation holes) with the help of mineral wool. This is done from the bottom - the ceiling of the basement is covered with mats from mineral wool, which will protect the floors from inevitable dampening and reduce heat emission.
The next step is directly warming the floor. Here options are possible: if the rooms do not have high humidity, then you can simply remove the cover and fill the bottom crate with the same mineral wool, fiberglass, polystyrene, organic insulators (jute or linen). In case the base flooring is wet, it is necessary to additionally lay a vapor barrier layer on top of which another layer of screed should be poured and the floor covering to be completely remade. This is a very time-consuming and laborious process, but the problem of cold sex will be solved once and for all.
As for the insulation of the floor of the first floor for a wooden house,
If you decide to insulate the floor with a fiberboard, then use a special floor carpeting as the base. It will be another thermal insulation material in addition to the fiberboard itself.