Frame housing construction is a rather promising direction in the construction of private houses. They do not require powerful foundations, easy to install. The construction of a frame house will require much less financial investment than the construction of a brick building. So that the savings do not end at the construction stage, it is necessary to think in advance how to save heat indoors. One of the options may be the insulation of a private frame house with expanded polystyrene.
What is expanded polystyrene
Expanded polystyrene is a foam material of artificial origin. There are two types of polystyrene foam for insulating walls and other structures of a building with your own hands:
- Styrofoam;
- extruded polystyrene foam.
As the most affordable option for thermal insulation, you can use foam. It consists of small balls having inside a cavity filled with air. Air is one of the most effective heaters, it is better to prevent heat loss only inert gases. Do-it-yourself polystyrene insulation allows you to achieve excellent results thanks to the following material characteristics:
- availability and low cost;
- high thermal insulation characteristics;
- resistance to biological effects (mold, fungus);
- ease of work with the material and do-it-yourself installation;
- the material does not shrink over time;
- safety for humans.
But before buying this material, it is recommended to take into account its negative qualities, which significantly limit the scope:
- low strength (additional protection of the foam plastic from mechanical stress is required);
- the instability of the material to high humidity at low temperatures, can easily crumble into individual balls;
- instability to influence of fire.
All these shortcomings are compensated by the low price of the material, but it is possible to take them into account and reduce the negative manifestations to zero.
Wall insulation
Warming of the frame house with foam in this case is performed between the racks of the frame. After that, sheathing is performed on both sides. The work is carried out in the following order:
- frame treatment: cleaning from dirt and dust, eliminating bumps, removing excess sharp objects;
- laying a waterproofing layer on the outside of the walls;
- insulation laying;
- laying a vapor barrier;
- wall covering.
When using foam, there is no need to equip a ventilated facade, in contrast to the equally popular mineral wool.
Waterproofing is installed to protect the wall material from moisture from the outside. When building a house with your own hands, you can use:
- plastic wrap;
- modern moisture-proof vapor-permeable membranes;
- OSB-3.
The waterproofing material is laid with an overlap of 10 cm, the joints are sealed with a special tape. Manufacturers present polystyrene as a material with a small degree of water absorption, but it must be remembered that in winter it can break down if moisture gets in.
To prevent this unpleasant phenomenon, it is necessary to provide waterproofing of the walls.
It is important to remember that waterproofing is always located on the side of cold air (when insulating walls from the outside), and vapor barrier on the side of warm. As a vapor barrier of the walls, you can use a plastic film.
Floor insulation
There are several options for the use of foam:
- insulation of ceilings over a cold basement or technical underground;
- insulation of attic floors in the presence of a cold attic;
- increasing the soundproofing characteristics of interfloor ceilings.
In the case of a frame house, the material is laid between the lags. When using extruded polystyrene foam, it is possible to insulate under a reinforced cement-sand screed.
When insulating floors with your own hands with polystyrene foam, it is important to correctly observe the order of the layers. In the floor structure of the first floor, waterproofing is first laid, after it is polystyrene, and on top is vapor barrier. For interfloor and attic floors, the vapor barrier and waterproofing layers must be interchanged.
As a compromise of price and quality, you can use polystyrene foam insulation in the following form: the main layer of polystyrene is laid inside the floor cake, and a layer of extruded polystyrene foam of small thickness is laid on the outside. This will increase the strength of the insulation layer without large financial costs.
Mansard roof insulation
With the construction of a private house, the option of using an under-roof space as an attic becomes more and more popular. In this case, it is necessary to ensure a comfortable stay and to reliably protect the room from the cold. The main heat losses occur precisely through the roof, so its warming must be given sufficient attention.
In the vast majority of cases, expanded polystyrene fits between the rafters. Fastening is carried out using adhesive compounds and special nails to the rafter legs. The lower crate acts as an additional fixation.
The thickness of the insulation in the main territory of the country will be in the range of 150-200 mm. It is important to remember that the height of the rafters cannot be taken less than the thickness of the insulation layer. In the case of polystyrene, the installation of an air ventilated layer is optional. To protect structures and polystyrene from negative internal and external influences, the following materials are used:
- vapor barrier;
- waterproofing;
- wind protection.
As the second and third layers, modern moisture-wind-proof membranes can be used, which are mounted externally with respect to the heat-shielding material.
Mounting technology
The main difficulty when working with foam is to maintain accurate gaps between the plates of material. Expanded polystyrene is subject to thermal expansion, it is for its compensation that small gaps must be provided. The joints of the plates are glued with a special adhesive tape, it can also be foil tape.
Fastening to the surface from the outside and from the inside can be carried out with the help of adhesive compounds or with a dowel. The latter provides a reliable connection, but violates the integrity of the layer. When using polystyrene foam, several requirements apply to the adhesive composition, but one of them is the most important: the adhesive should not contain chemically aggressive components. Taboo applies to:
- acetone and other solvents;
- petrol;
- kerosene;
- formaldehydes;
- formalin;
- toluene;
- benzene;
- aggressive resins.
Warming a frame house with foam is a simple but effective measure that does not require large financial expenses. With its help, without special preparation, it is possible to conduct insulation of walls and other structures. The long service life of the material allows you to forget about the problem of heat loss for a long time and significantly save on heating a private house.