In country houses, there is often an attic floor. This is a kind of attic space. But if it is properly equipped, then it will make a wonderful living room. However, we should not forget that this room needs not only an interesting finish, but also high-quality insulation. Indeed, in the summer, due to the large area of the roof, the room is quickly heated. In winter - instant cooling. Therefore, if you decide to equip an excellent room, initially familiarize yourself with how to insulate the roof of the attic from the inside.
Key Features
Warming the attic, it is necessary to consider high-quality thermal insulation. At the same time, the room under the roof has many features that should be considered during the repair.
Professionals recommend that before insulating the roof of the attic from the inside, provide the following points:
- Roof configuration. Most often, the roof has a sloping surface. It is rarely possible to meet a strictly horizontal roof. Accordingly, the insulation layer will have to be laid on an inclined plane. Hard sheets will not cause any particular difficulties. But with soft rolls you have to work hard.
- Thermal insulation. For the roof, wood or other lightweight materials, which are characterized by water-repellent characteristics, are usually used. But such a roof often does not have sufficient thermal insulation. Often you can observe gaps in a wooden crate. And this even more provides heat loss.
- Warming gables. The attic is not only a roof. Therefore, do not forget about the pediments. Mansander insulation will not provide the necessary thermal insulation if you do not insulate these walls.
- Vapor permeability. Steam condensate rising from the rooms accumulates precisely under the roof. Therefore, when choosing a heater for a roof, be sure to choose a material that has excellent vapor permeability.
- Security. Since the attic will become a living room, then choose environmentally friendly material. It must be non-combustible and completely fireproof. In addition, this material should not be harmful to health.
Choice of insulation
Initially, you should determine what material you will use. Indeed, the thickness of thermal insulation and the number of required layers depend on its technical characteristics. Therefore, insulating from the inside, start by examining suitable materials.
The modern market provides a wide range of heaters. Consider the most popular of them.
Foam insulation
The material is a fairly convenient means for laying on inclined surfaces. In addition, if you decide to insulate the roof of the attic from the inside with your own hands using polystyrene, then the cost of such a repair will be quite affordable. After all, the price of the material is relatively low.
The advantages of this insulation are:
- low thermal conductivity;
- light weight;
- ease of installation.
The foam attic, despite the advantages described above, has a number of disadvantages that this material gives it. Therefore, before choosing such a heater, familiarize yourself with them.
The main disadvantages of the foam are:
- lack of vapor permeability;
- when ignited, releases toxic substances;
- attractive to rodents.
Mineral wool
For insulation, this material is very often used. Mineral wool consists of synthetic and basalt fibers connected to stone chips.
The material has the following advantages:
- low price;
- high thermal insulation;
- environmental friendliness;
- light weight;
- fire safety (mineral wool is not lit);
- high vapor permeability.
Thinking about what to choose a heater for the attic, many owners prefer mineral wool. After all, this material is not only distinguished by its excellent characteristics. It is very easy to mount.
Professionals say that you can not even use fasteners. It is enough to cut the plates, the dimensions of which are 2-3 cm larger than the distance between the rafters. Such pieces fit perfectly between the crossbars and will not fall out.
Extruded Styrofoam
This is another material that can be used to warm the attic. It is made in the form of certain plates with a porous texture.
The advantages of the material are:
- high strength;
- moisture resistance;
- excellent thermal conductivity.
However, along with the advantages described above, polystyrene foam has serious disadvantages:
- high flammability;
- air tightness;
- the ability to secrete toxins during combustion or oxidation (triggered by heat);
- high cost.
Given these points, it is extremely rare to warm the attic from the inside with polystyrene foam. Most often, this material is used for gables. At the same time, it is often used for facade works. After all, expanded polystyrene does not absorb moisture and does not pass it.
The use of polyurethane foam
This is a liquid insulation for the attic. It can be applied without any problems to any surface. This material will be an indispensable solution for complex roofs.
However, to work with such material, a protective suit and a special installation are necessary. That is why warming with polyurethane foam is most often entrusted to hired specialists. Of course, the cost of work increases significantly.
But it is polyurethane foam that creates a monolithic continuous layer that does not allow cold. In addition, such a surface does not need additional vapor barrier layers.
The use of environmental materials
Today, many owners choose heaters that are highly safe for both human health and the environment. They practically do not contain chemical fibers and do not emit toxic substances during combustion.
Such materials are:
- ecowool;
- ekolen;
- fabric cotton insulation.
The main advantages of such heaters are the following properties:
- high quality thermal insulation;
- ability to pass air;
- high sound insulation;
- hypoallergenicity;
- excellent air filtration.
Roofing cake
So, if you decide to insulate the roof of the attic from the inside with your own hands, then you need to familiarize yourself with the intricacies of installation in detail. In order for the room to become livable, it will be necessary to form a certain roofing pie, consisting of several layers, under the roof.
Consider it in detail, starting with the inner surface:
- Drywall. This material is almost always used to decorate the walls of a room.
- Layer of vapor barrier. It provides condensate discharge to the outside. It is recommended to perform vapor barrier using a special membrane. It is overlapped (approximately 10 cm), and glued with adhesive tape on top. The vapor barrier must be continuous, with no gaps or gaps.
- Crate. This is the next layer of the roofing cake. It performs several functions at once. The lath supports insulation. In addition, it is the basis to which the vapor barrier membrane is attached . And it is this layer that provides an extremely important clearance for ventilation under the roof.
- Insulation. It is located above the crate. Depending on the selected material, as well as on the planned end result, the insulation can be laid in one or several layers.
- Waterproofing layer. It is designed to protect the insulation from getting wet. The layer is important enough. When planning how to insulate the roof of the attic from the inside, be sure to forget about the need for waterproofing. So you protect the insulation from premature damage.
- Crate. This layer is necessary to create a ventilation space between the waterproofing film and the roof. This gap allows moisture that has accumulated on the water-repellent membranes to erode. However, it is important to consider the possibility of evaporation of condensate. For this, special holes are made in the areas of the base of the slopes. Their value completely depends on the selected material for the roof. For example, roofs covered with tiles, decking, need holes, approximately 25 mm. And for roofs with flat materials, the size of such holes increases to 50 mm.
- Windproof vapor barrier. It is mounted over the second crate. It allows you to provide warmth and comfort indoors even with a strong wind. This insulation is laid over the rafters and carefully secured with rails.
- Roofing. This is the top layer of the roofing cake.
Insulation technology
Having dealt with the varieties of materials, having carefully studied what a roofing pie consists of, you can go directly to work. So, we will consider how to insulate the roof of the attic from the inside on your own.
The most popular material is still mineral wool. It is often used for such purposes. That is why we will analyze how to properly insulate the roof of the attic from the inside with mineral wool.
The technology of work consists of the following steps:
- Training. Initially, try to protect yourself from various kinds of problems. Check if the room is adequately ventilated? Stock up on protective equipment. They are: respirator, construction gloves, goggles.
- Check rafters. This is the next step in your work. Now you need to check how evenly the rafters are located. This task is carried out using a long aluminum profile. It should be applied to the rafters. The bars installed correctly will be completely in contact with the profile.
- Measurement of distance between rafters. Take measurements in at least 2 different places.
- Preparation of mineral wool slabs. Now you can start working with insulation. For this, using previously taken measurements, slabs of appropriate dimensions are cut out of mineral wool. However, remember that the size of such fragments should be approximately 2-3 cm higher than the measurements you took. This will ensure a good placement of the plates between the rafters and eliminate the need to fix the insulation with additional fasteners.
- Installing mineral wool. To lay the insulation, it is squeezed a little and placed in an inter-styling niche. Mineral wool should take its original form. If wrinkles or blisters form, be sure to flatten the material. This continues the insulation from the inside of the entire surface. The place of combination of the wall with the extreme rafter is sealed with a sealant.
- Laying vapor barrier. When laying a special film, fix it with a stapler (in increments of 15-20 cm). Overlap individual fragments, and glue the sections of the joints with a special tape.
- The design of window openings. They are equipped with special constructions of wooden blocks, maintaining a distance of 40-60 cm. Vertical slats are fixed using self-tapping screws. A base is formed under them, which will then become the junction of the drywall with the film. The frame is filled with insulation. On slopes it is covered with a film.
- Warming the walls of the attic. It's time to think about the gables. They are insulated in the same way as the roof. Carefully study the ends of the roof. Now create a metal frame on which drywall will be mounted. Between such parts, a heater is again laid. From above it is closed with a metal profile.
- Installation of vapor barrier film. It is attached to the frame using tape and glue. Drywall installation occurs using self-tapping screws.
Attic insulation with polystyrene foam
If you decide to use this material, which, in fact, is a modern and advanced successor to polystyrene foam, then the technology will be slightly different. If your roof is mounted correctly, then a waterproofing layer is already provided.
The attic insulation with polystyrene foam consists of the following steps:
- Processing of wooden elements. Start from this stage. All wooden structures must be carefully treated with an antiseptic. It is recommended to open such surfaces with a flame retardant. Be sure to allow time to soak in the funds and dry completely. Be sure to replace moldy or rotten elements.
- Fastening sheets. Extruded polystyrene foam is placed in the openings between the rafters. For fastening the material, you can use staples, corners, thin rails (they are nailed across the rafters). To ensure ventilation, leave a gap between sheets and waterproofing of 2-5 cm. Expanded polystyrene is laid very carefully, leaving no distance between the sheets and rafters. If gaps nevertheless are formed, then they are covered with polyurethane foam or pieces of the material itself. Sometimes expanded polystyrene is laid in several layers. When the insulation is fully laid out, you should get a flat surface that does not contain any crevices or protrusions.
- Installation of vapor barrier. For the next layer, a special film is used, which can look like a perforated or foil membrane. They fasten it with a stapler, with an overlap. Joints are sealed with a special tape.
- Fine finish. This is the final stage. Depending on your desires, you can arrange the room with a lining, drywall, plastic or other materials. This finish is mounted close to the vapor barrier. If you wish, you can make a thin crate, consisting of battens, and mount the selected materials for the fine finish on it.
Wall insulation
If in your room the roof does not reach the floor, then the room must have lateral surfaces. If you do not take care of the walls, then, no matter how high-quality you insulate the roof, the attic will continue to remain cold. Of course, work on a vertical surface is much easier than under the roof.
It is very easy to warm the attic walls yourself. The technology of work is almost the same as for the roof. Therefore, if you were able to insulate the roof on your own, then this task will not cause you any difficulties. So, which algorithm should be followed?
Stages of attic wall insulation:
- Fix the special rails on the surfaces initially.
- Now lay the insulation layer.
- Following him must be provided vapor barrier.
- Do not forget about waterproofing. For walls, this is no less important than for the roof. Therefore, pre-lay appropriate waterproofing material.
- As a heater for wall decoration, fiberboard sheets can be used. It’s easy to work with such material. It is perfectly attached with screws or nails.
Conclusion
Now, knowing how to insulate the roof of the attic from the inside, you can easily cope with this task. And even if you do not plan to use the attic space for a living room, you will still need to take care of the roof. Indeed, high-quality insulation significantly reduces the cost of heating the house. In addition, it provides a home microclimate in the cottage. And importantly, it significantly extends the life of structures.