The question: “Which insulation is better for the floor?” Is asked by everyone who appreciates convenience and comfort. Agree that walking barefoot on the warm floor is much nicer than soaring your feet in thick socks and slippers. Such moments are especially relevant in the early spring or late autumn, when central heating is not yet turned on, and the heaters seem to be too early to get. Well, in the winter, even with mighty working batteries, the floor can still remain cold.
Thermal insulation for the floor and heat in the house itself are two interconnected components. Properly selected staff will provide your home with comfort and coziness. Today's construction market offers a ton of options. And if professionals with knowledge of business are guided in all this variety, then for an ordinary layman the question is: “What insulation for the floor will be better in this or that case?” Is more relevant than ever.
Criterias of choice
First of all, we will deal with the main points that need special attention. Firstly, it is a climate zone. For the northern inhabitants of Russia, the choice will be noticeably different than for the Krasnodar or Stavropol Territory.
Second, these are some features of the room where the insulation for the floor and its purpose will lie. The difference between, for example, office or home options is also significant. Thirdly, it is necessary to take into account the existing or planned coverage. Heater for the floor in a wooden house needs one, but in the apartment is completely different.
Well, the last one is the cost. This moment is especially important for the domestic consumer. Buying frankly cheap materials is impractical both in terms of return and life. But to buy, for example, the best heaters for a wooden floor, while your geyser more than copes with heating everything and everything, also makes no sense. In general, one must approach the choice wisely and without fanaticism. Here the rule “the more expensive the better” justifies itself only partially.
When choosing a floor insulation, you also need to know that the materials used for these purposes must be resistant to moisture, compressive, have low thermal conductivity and a long service life.
Next, we consider specific types of insulation.
Mineral wool
Mineral wool is characterized by low thermal conductivity, good sound insulation, as well as high fire resistance. Such a heater for floors in the house is produced, as a rule, in two versions - flexible mats or hard plates.
Most often, one of the sides has a special coating in the form of a layer of perforated paper. It is just adjacent to the surface of the insulated room. If there was no perforation, then on the right side (more dense and stiff) there should be a blue strip.
Judging by the reviews, the most attractive manufacturers in this regard are Izover, Nobasil, Knauf and Ursa.
- Isover OL-E - 1100 rub.
- Knauf Nobasil FKL / FKD - 1000 rub.
- Ursa GEO - 550 rubles
Thermal insulation for floors from these brands are not only high quality materials, but also attractive prices.
Expanded polystyrene
In common people they call it polystyrene. This is one of the best insulation for the floor, which allows you to save on waterproofing materials. Expanded polystyrene has low thermal conductivity, good fire resistance, a long operational period, and is also not subject to decay. In this regard, we can say that this is an excellent insulation for a wooden floor.
Many companies are engaged in the production of polystyrene, but domestic companies and the European Ursa have distinguished themselves with quality products along with reasonable prices.
- Ruspanel RP 50XPS 2500 x 600 x 50 mm (1 panel) - 2300 rub.
- Ursa XPS-NV 4 1250 600 50 mm (8 plates) - 1800 rubles.
- Penoplex Comfort 1200 x 600 x 20 mm (18 plates) - 1400 rubles.
Sawdust
This is a good insulation for the floor in a wooden or frame house. Unlike the above options, it does not have the same high efficiency, but it costs a penny and is environmentally friendly.
Sawdust is poured between the beams in the subfloor or laid, if we consider a more expensive option with pressed boards (chipboard). To obtain a visible effect, a layer of at least 20 cm is required. Regarding the cost, a bag of sawdust can be easily bought on any construction market for 150-200 rubles.
Expanded clay
Expanded clay has a specific porous structure on a clay basis, and its production is not very troublesome. After firing, small granules are obtained and the quality of the insulation directly depends on the quality of the raw materials.
The cost of expanded clay also varies widely. Here, the fraction, that is, the thermal conductivity index, plays an important role. The larger the granules, the greater the thermal conductivity. Builders consider expanded clay as an ideal insulation for screed floors. You can buy material on any construction market from 100 to 200 rubles per cube, depending on the fraction.
Consider which insulation will be better for a particular floor.
Wooden floor
Practically any material described above is suitable for a wooden coating. If you care about the environment and want your home to comply with all the “green” norms and rules, then sawdust will be the best option. In all other cases, both expanded clay and polystyrene with mineral wool are suitable.
"Warm floor"
This is now a fashionable system, which is located under the floor. Water and electric varieties of underfloor heating are available for sale . Electrical systems, in turn, are classified into the following subtypes: cable, film and rod floor heating.
When choosing a specific heating system, you need to consider many significant characteristics and additional conditions. First of all, this is the area of ​​the heated room and the features of its location. In addition, water structures can be equipped only in a private house. By and large, warm floors can hardly be attributed to heaters as such, but it is still worth mentioning them within the framework of this topic.
Rough floor
For such solutions, it is best to use an unpretentious, malleable, and at the same time inexpensive claydite. Not only does it have excellent warming qualities, but thanks to its granular structure, it will even out the floor itself.
Mineral wool and sawdust are also good for these purposes, but subsequent alignment may be problematic. Hard polystyrene foam in this case is better not to use.
First floor
To cover the ground floor, you can choose any insulation from the above. But here one critical point must be taken into account. The thickness of the insulation should be quite large, because in winter, a good half of the cold weather comes from underground.
For variants with expanded clay or sawdust, the layer of bulk material should be at least 20 cm, and even more in the northern regions of Russia.
Under concrete
For a concrete-based floor, expanded polystyrene or mineral wool is best suited. As one of the options, and also if you want your house to comply with all environmental standards, you can fill the floors with a hybrid mixture of sawdust mixed with concrete.
The design will lose several points of strength, but the surface will become noticeably warmer. In addition, for ordinary apartments and small rooms in private houses, the safety margin is not as critical as is the case with office or industrial premises. To use expanded clay granules in tandem with concrete does not make sense or practical benefits.
Under linoleum
Linoleum is better to insulate with mineral wool. Construction stores sell special rolls for such cases with a smaller sheet thickness. You can also meet a hybrid insulation with the addition of foil and polyethylene foam. The main thing here is to close all joints on linoleum with due meticulousness. Otherwise, cotton wool will begin to creep out, which obviously will not add pluses to the ethical side of the room.
There is an option with sawdust. Only for these purposes you need to choose a compressed option - particleboard. Such a solution will cost much cheaper and safer in terms of ecology. Despite the good performance indicators, a good half of consumers prefer to see this option exclusively on balconies or loggias.
Under the screed
Screed floors are a very relevant solution for modern apartments and private houses. Here, all the above-described heaters are suitable, except for sawdust, but with an eye to some important nuances.
Polyfoam in plates can withstand severe physical stress, has excellent hydro and thermal insulation, but is mainly suitable for industrial or office options, that is, for large rooms. It is unprofitable to invest solid money in a small apartment or private house. For screed in these cases, it is better to find another, more practical option.
Mineral wool is precisely the optimal solution for apartments, private houses and residential premises in general. The material is distinguished by its relatively low cost and good level of heat and noise insulation. In addition, mineral wool is more flexible in installation, so an ordinary consumer can handle the installation.
As a budget option, but no less effective, expanded clay can be used. Only here, an ordinary layman can not cope without the help of a professional, because the laying technology requires a certain theoretical baggage and considerable practice. Otherwise, you risk spoiling the insulation.
The technology of insulation here is quite complicated. First, the necessary layer of expanded clay is laid. After the insulation is poured with cement "milk". After some time, which will be needed to dry the composition, the screed itself flows. If you violate the laying technology, then expanded clay granules will absorb water from the screed, after which the floor will significantly lose in points of strength. Despite such troubles, this is the cheapest and most effective option for insulation.
Summarizing
As mentioned above, you need to approach the choice of insulation for the floor wisely. After the material is laid and the floors are laid, it is very difficult to change anything, and any alterations will fly into serious expenses.
If you are not confident in your strengths, knowledge and skill, then it is better to consult a specialist for laying insulation and advice. Yes, it costs money, but sometimes it’s better to pay once, than after paying for some alterations or perplexing about the cold floor and wondering about the reasons.
It will also be useful to note that in the construction market you can also find other, more specific types of insulation: flooring foil, foam insulation, ecowool, “corks”, polystyrene concrete and other materials. And if the situation with apartments is much simpler, then private houses differ, as a rule, with individual design features, because here, again, it is better to ask a competent builder for advice, and not to buy material at random.