It doesn’t matter at all what kind of house you live in: it can be your own country house, summer house, apartment in a high-rise building and other buildings. You always want to live in warmth and comfort, for which you definitely need to take care of covering the house with insulating materials. If the walls are properly and efficiently insulated, you will not have to worry that they will freeze in the cold, the heat in your home will remain to the maximum.
How to insulate a house with foam?
Especially you can’t do without insulation if your house is built of beams, because they are not able to save heat, as a result of which you will have to pay decent amounts for heating the house in the winter cold.
So that the insulation of the house does not cost a pretty penny, it has become popular to use foam. Polyfoam is not only cheap, but also has the following advantages:
- light weight;
- unhindered breathability;
- able to suppress noise;
- It has high level thermal resistance;
- not afraid of moisture;
- easy to work and decorate.
Since a warm house is the key to a properly executed installation of insulation material, later in the article we will tell you how to insulate a house with polystyrene foam, doing everything with your own hands quickly and efficiently.
What is styrofoam?
We warm a private house using foam
First of all, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that polystyrene is a material in which there is no vapor permeability; it is strictly forbidden to use it for sheathing a room from the inside.
The density of the foam is also very important. The most suitable density option should be about 25. If you decide to insulate the walls with a less dense material, there will be a possibility of injuring the surfaces, and too dense material will lead to unjustified financial waste, because excessive density will not affect the thermal insulation characteristics.
The third, no less important point is the thickness of the foam, on which the quality of surface insulation directly depends. It is best to use foam with a thickness of 50mm, but you can also purchase thicker material, no one forbids you, and a thickness of 100mm also has a right to exist. By using thicker foam, prepare to see a higher price point. To avoid rash and unnecessary financial investments, it is possible to attract experienced craftsmen who will carry out the correct calculations and select best option for your climate zone. When calculating, they will take into account the following indicators:
- average temperatures;
- the thickness of the walls that you plan to sheathe;
- the material from which those walls are made and much more.
Comparative characteristics of conventional foam with extruded are shown in the table below.
As can be seen from the table, it is more appropriate to insulate the house with extruded foam, technical features which in many respects are superior to conventional foam sheets.
What can not be done without while working with polystyrene foam?
Do-it-yourself insulation of the house with polystyrene foam
Before you insulate the house from the outside with extruded foam, you need to acquire building materials and devices that you cannot do without in such a matter. Working with polystyrene foam you will need:
- perforator;
- sharp knife;
- several different spatulas;
- dowels made of plastic with a wide cap;
- glue;
- reinforcement;
- rule;
- putty for work outside the house;
- priming;
- metal spacers;
- decorative material for facade decoration.
Home insulation technology
Insulation of the house with foam plastic yourself
Warming wooden house foam, like any other building, requires high-quality surface preparation.
It is very important to properly prepare the surfaces:
- remove the old finishing material;
- clean the surface;
- repair cavities and clean out bulges;
Of course, you absolutely do not need an ideal surface, but severe damage and defects are also unacceptable, because they will not allow the surface to be properly sheathed and cold bridges can form.
Then, as the surface is properly prepared, you can start impregnating it with a primer solution. The primer must be of deep action, which will increase the level of adhesion with the mounting adhesive.
At the next stage, it is possible to directly insulate surfaces with extruded foam.
For such work, you need to dilute the adhesive mass with water following the instructions. The mass should be well mixed without dry breasts, and the consistency should be homogeneous, not too thick, but not too liquid - it is better that the density resembles the consistency of sour cream.
To apply mounting adhesive with your own hands, you can use a spatula with teeth, but do not rush to cover the entire surface with it. It can dry out very quickly and you won't be able to treat the area properly.
In order for the cladding of the building from the outside with polystyrene foam to be done correctly, follow the following sequence of actions:
- cover the wall with glue (the area of \u200b\u200bthe wall must correspond to the size of the foam sheet);
- lay out the heater;
- apply glue under the second sheet of styrofoam and so on.
This sequence indicates that it is very important that the sheets are laid gradually, and the joints of the canvas are carefully lubricated with glue.
In order to properly insulate the house from the outside with penoplex with your own hands, control the evenness of the plates.
To keep the sheets as firmly as possible on the walls, they can not only be pressed tightly against the surface of the walls, but also fixed with special fasteners. For these purposes, it is better to choose dowels that need to be inserted into the wall 50 mm, or even deeper.
So that the fasteners do not fall into the insulation, it is worth acquiring metal spacers. Before screwing the dowels, holes must first be made in the foam using a puncher or drill.
Please note that you do not need to press the foam hard, because it can crack from your excessive exposure.
When the insulation of the building from the outside is completed, it will be necessary to attach reinforcement to the wall. To do this, you'd better cut it into strips of the same size that match the length of the walls. Then, with a wide spatula, spread the glue over the surface under one strip of the mesh, lay it on the surface and smooth it with a spatula to avoid hitches. Apply the next strip of reinforcement overlapping, this will avoid cracking the material at the joints.
Sheathing the house with foam plastic requires finishing, because the untreated reinforced surface does not look very attractive, and the constant impact on it natural disasters damage the integrity and quality of the finish.
As a finish on the outside of the house, you can use decorative plaster or paint. But, before applying them to the surface, the wall must be puttied.
Before you begin to sheathe your house outside with insulation materials, read these recommendations for work:
- in order to sheathe the house with high quality and save as much money as possible on utility bills during the heating period, select a foam plastic with a density of 25 and a thickness of 40 mm;
- if you were unable to buy a special glue, you can use the usual glue-cement, which is used for ceramics;
- purchase a reinforcing mesh with a mesh size of 5mm;
- so that the foam is more firmly fixed on the wall, before applying the adhesive mass, the surface can be treated with a spiked roller, which forms additional perforation;
- in order to increase the level of adhesion of the foam plastic with the reinforcing mesh, it is worth priming the surface before laying it.
In conclusion, I would like to add that by observing the above foam plastic installation technology, you can get warm housing without disturbing its microclimate. Thus, in the work you will not make any mistakes and reduce the amount of heat loss in your home.
As you can see, such warming of the house does not take much time and your family budget will not incur large financial expenses if you carry out the work on your own, without involving expensive specialists.
Warming the house allows you to make life in it much more comfortable and save significant amounts on heating. Released today great amount very different modern materials excellent for insulating walls, floors and ceilings. However, most of them are quite expensive. Therefore, many owners of country private houses prefer to insulate their homes in the old fashioned way - mineral wool or foam. At a low cost, these materials are distinguished by excellent performance and ease of installation. In this article, we will deal in detail with how to insulate a house with foam.
Advantages of foam plastic
The advantages of polystyrene include the following:
- A light weight. Plates are 98% air.
- Cheapness. This material is much cheaper than all other heaters.
- Sufficiently long service life.
- Possibility of use for warming the house both outside and inside.
- Ease of installation.
- Versatility. You can insulate the house with foam plastic with your own hands in any case, regardless of what its walls are made of - wood, concrete or brick.
Flaws
The disadvantages of polystyrene include its fragility and more short term service than modern materials. In addition, it is not recommended to use it to insulate the walls of houses if mice live in them. The fact is that rodents make moves in foamy materials and arrange holes. In this case, of course, the heat insulator loses some of its heat-preserving properties.
Preparation of materials
Before we learn how to insulate a house with polystyrene foam, let's figure out what materials should be prepared in advance. To perform isolation, you will need to buy:
- Well sharpened knife.
- Perforator.
- A hammer.
- Putty knife.
- reinforcing mesh.
- Dowel "fungi".
- Plinth planks. You can take a wide profile (according to the thickness of the foam) or bars.
Of course, you need to know about how to insulate the house with foam plastic. For residential buildings, a material with a thickness of at least 40 mm is usually taken. The best option would be a ten-centimeter foam. There are no restrictions regarding the length and width of the slabs. You can cut them with a regular knife.
Insulation of the house from the outside. Preparatory work
Most often, residential buildings are insulated from the outside. In this case this procedure will be much more efficient. It's all about the location of the dew point. When insulated from the outside, it will be outside the walls. If you insulate the house from the inside - inside them. Therefore, we first consider exactly the method of isolating the walls from the side of the street.
Do you want to qualitatively insulate the house with polystyrene foam with your own hands? Then without pre-training surfaces are indispensable! The latter must be thoroughly cleaned of dirt and greasy stains. In the event that the walls are made of wood, they should be treated with antiseptic and fire-fighting compounds. On concrete walls, all protruding bumps should be knocked down and cracks, pits and chips should be sealed with cement mortar. Next, the surfaces are treated with a deep penetration primer.
If the walls of the house are new, smooth and even, it is not necessary to prime them. Very old, crumbling surfaces, as well as those made of porous concrete, are treated twice. In especially neglected cases, the walls are additionally plastered by adding PVA glue to the cement mortar.
Window insulation
The answer to the question of how to insulate a house with foam plastic also comes down to how to insulate windows and doors. It is from them that you need to start work on the cladding of the building. Beforehand, it is necessary to arrange a window sill ebb. It should protrude beyond the surface of the insulated walls by at least 4 cm. The slopes of windows and doors - for the purpose of fire safety - are insulated not with foam plastics, but with strips of mineral wool.
Plinth profile installation
We will talk about how to insulate the facade of the house with polystyrene foam, or rather, about the method of mounting the sheets, a little lower. At the first stage, you need to fix the base profile. In the future, it will serve as a support for the first row of insulation boards. Mount it using the building level strictly horizontally. Pre-holes are made in the wall (three for each meter of base length). Planks are attached to anchors or dowel-nails.
Glue kneading
It is possible to start insulating the building only in dry weather, at a temperature of +5 ... +30 ° C. The glue is kneaded according to the instructions (indicated on the package). When making it, it is worth using a drill with a special nozzle. Manual mixing of a high-quality, homogeneous composition will not give. After the first batch, the product is usually kept for five minutes and thoroughly mixed again.
Sticking sheets
So, how to properly insulate the house with foam? Glue can be applied both on the walls and on the plates themselves. The second way is preferable. In this case, first spread the mixture around the perimeter of the plate at a distance of about 2 cm from the edges. You can't make solid stripes. They must be intermittent. This is necessary for air to escape. Over the area of \u200b\u200bthe sheet, glue is thrown with slaps in increments of 10 cm. In the event that the walls are treated with an adhesive, it should be applied only under one sheet at a time. After lubrication, the foam is firmly pressed to the surface and held in this position for several seconds. Next, proceed to the installation of the second sheet. The foam should be mounted in rows and apart. This means that each sheet of the top row must be set offset relative to the pieces of the bottom. Plates are laid out along the length, along the entire building. When gluing, it is necessary to prevent the glue from getting into the seams of the joints. This will reduce the quality of insulation. Glue seams pass separately - at the final stage.
Additional fixation
After pasting all the walls, they wait about five days, after which the plates are additionally fixed with plastic "fungi". This step is one of the main answers to the question of how to properly insulate wooden house, brick, block or concrete. And to insulate not somehow, but qualitatively. In the last three cases, the holes for the "fungi" must be made in advance. When mounting sheets on chopped walls or paving stones, you can drill them later, directly through the foam. The length of plastic dowels should be such that at least 5-6 cm of their rod enters the wall. They are hammered with a hammer so that the cap fits snugly against the plate and does not push through it. Each sheet should have at least two dowels. And plus one fastener in each T-shaped joint.
Styrofoam reinforcement
How to insulate a house from the outside with foam, we found out. However, in order for the plates not to move and the plaster not to crumble, the pasted-over walls must be reinforced. To do this, the foam surfaces are coated with a special glue with a layer of half a centimeter. Apply the composition from top to bottom with a wide spatula, carefully leveling. The grid (with a cell of 2.5x2.5 mm) is cut into strips and glued to the walls also from top to bottom (like wallpaper). Since this material is quite thin, it can jam during installation. Straighten the mesh with the same spatula. You need to smooth it, achieving complete drowning in glue. The overlaps must be at least 5 cm horizontally and vertically. At the corners, the mesh is brought onto the adjoining wall in such a way that the overlap is at least 15 cm. After installing the reinforcement, the surface is passed with a second layer of mortar.
fine finish
In the event that it is planned to paint the facade of the house, at the next stage it is treated with putty in two layers. If decorative plaster is used for decoration, this step can be skipped.
Warming the house with foam from the inside. Installation of plates on the walls
Sometimes it is not possible to insulate the house from the outside. For example, it is already sheathed with finishing material or some unheated outbuildings adjoin it. Therefore, we will further consider how to insulate the house with foam plastic from the inside. The material is mounted using a wooden frame.
Bars of the size corresponding to the thickness of the foam are simply attached to the walls. Plates are mounted between them. They are attached to the walls on the same dowels - "fungi". You can also additionally coat the plates with glue. A vapor barrier film is stretched over the foam on the frame (foil inside the room). Fix it with sticks. Next, the material is mounted on the resulting counter-lattice
We warm the floor and ceilings
Floor insulation with foam plastic is also easy to perform. First, bars are stuffed on it. Further, between them is laid. Then foam plates are inserted. On top of them, directly on the bars, a board is mounted. Overlappings are also insulated from above. At the same time, a vapor barrier film is attached both above and below the foam plastic plates. If the house does not have an attic, it is necessary to carry out insulation from below. In this case, the plates are inserted into the frame.
What you need to know
There are several rules for wall insulation with foam:
- On a flat surface, it is better to use hard at the corners - soft.
- In humid weather, the house should not be insulated either from the inside or from the outside. In the second case, it is also desirable that there is no wind.
- If the material is mounted in a frame, an air gap must necessarily remain between it and the finishing sheathing. That is why the vapor barrier is attached to the bars. The thickness of the air layer depends entirely on their thickness. For residential premises, it should be at least 3 cm. The temperature and humidity inside the house is always higher than outside. Therefore, condensation forms on the walls. When using a vapor barrier, moisture will settle on it. Passing through the air gap, the air simply dries it, which is an additional guarantee of dryness, and hence the effectiveness of the insulation.
So, now you know how to properly insulate a house with foam. As you can see, it's completely easy. If you do everything right, according to technology, carefully and accurately, you can get very high-quality thermal insulation and significantly improve the performance of the building.
Do-it-yourself wall insulation with foam plastic
Almost every home requires insulation, as this will help minimize heat loss and reduce heating costs. Do-it-yourself wall insulation with foam plastic is the most optimal solution which will help to make housing more comfortable and warm. At the same time, carrying out such insulation without the help of specialists can significantly save on the costs of performing the work itself.
If the insulation with the help of polystyrene foam was performed with high quality and in accordance with the existing technology, then this can reduce the cost of paying for heating services by three times. A feature of thermal insulation using foam plastic is that this process is quite simple, and therefore even an inexperienced person can insulate his house himself.
Material Advantages
Polyfoam is a fairly common insulation, which is used for thermal insulation of private houses, cottages and non-residential buildings. It has high thermal insulation qualities and is in no way inferior to analogues in its characteristics. Its popularity is easily justified by a number of advantages:
Preparing the wall for insulation
In order for the insulation to be performed qualitatively, and the thermal insulation itself to serve for a long time, it is necessary, first of all, to carefully prepare the walls for insulation. Wall preparation is perhaps one of the longest stages of the entire thermal insulation process, however, it is also the most important. In the event that insulation will be carried out in a new house, then some of the steps will be optional. Wall preparation is carried out in this way:
Pinning a start profile
On the lower border walls using a level, you need to pull the cord, which will serve as a guide for installing the starting profile. The first row of foam will be fixed on this profile. The starting profile must be selected in size based on the width of the insulation. To fix the profile, you will need six millimeter dowel nails, which are installed in increments of thirty centimeters.
It should be remembered that at the corners of the structure, the profile joints must be made with an oblique cut. Alternatively, a corner connector can be used for this. At the end between the base profile, you need to fix the connecting elements made of plastic. This is necessary so that the structure does not deform during temperature changes. Important point: it is strictly not allowed to overlap profile connections.
Installation of foam on the walls - technology for performing work
The technology for insulating walls with foam plastic from the outside with your own hands is quite simple, however, it is important to follow the sequence of work. Installation of this insulation is carried out in two stages:
Basic rules for gluing insulation on external walls
When performing wall insulation with foam plastic with your own hands, you must adhere to certain rules that are the key to quality work. There are a number of basic rules for the installation of foam.
Good external insulation significantly reduces heating costs as well as Maintenance at home. However, warming a house in this way will only be effective if it is well done. Before proceeding with the repair work, you should study well the question of how to isolate the walls from the outside. Then the funds invested in labor and materials will be effectively used and quickly returned in the form of savings on heating.
How to properly insulate the house with foam plastic from the outside, how to avoid mistakes?
Insulating the walls with Styrofoam (one of the types of Styrofoam) is not a very difficult task, but you must follow certain rules. Mistakes made when performing insulation can result in it being less effective, and in some cases can lead to serious damage to the facade. To properly insulate walls, it is important to follow certain rules and avoid common mistakes. Below are the 11 most common rules and mistakes when insulating a building with Styrofoam.
- Proper preparation wall surfaces
The surface on which the polystyrene boards will be placed must be properly reinforced, stable, level and dry. It must be free of contaminants that reduce adhesion, such as:
- dirt;
- adhesive coatings;
- formwork oil;
- any kind of pollution caused by chemical or biological agents.
The base must be even - small inequalities (up to 2 cm) are leveled with a leveling mortar. In case of large irregularities (greater than 2 cm), you must use different thicknesses of the Styrofoam boards so that they form one plane.
Underlay related errors include:
- incorrect assessment of the state of the substrate;
- lack of primer;
- bad grade wall geometry (evenness, deviation from the vertical).
- Styrofoam bonding, insufficient adhesive
The adhesive must be applied both along the edge of the slab and on its surface. If you apply glue only along the edge, or only at one point, the plate will bend, and the edges of the plates will be visible on the finished facade.
Correct Application foam adhesive:
a) along the periphery and points - in this case, the glue should be applied in the form of strips along the edge of the plates with a width of 4-6 cm. On the rest of the surface, the glue is applied pointwise, there will be from 3 to 8 points. total area adhesive must cover 40% of the panels white color and 60% graphite plates.
b) the comb method, which is used only in the case of even, plastered surfaces. The adhesive is applied with a notched trowel over the entire surface of the board.
Note: The adhesive solution is applied to the surface of the polystyrene plate, and never applied to the substrate.
The adhesive on each sheet must be placed around the edge and on the surface.
- Adhesive selection
A poor choice of adhesive or poor quality mortar can cause the foam plates to come off, along with other layers of the façade. Generally, it is recommended to use complete system insulation from the manufacturer - such a system contains all necessary elements, guaranteed quality, and good matching of elements with each other.
- Distribution of panels on the wall
It is important that the foam plates are offset by half their length from bottom to top, starting at the corner of the wall.
It is also important to correctly position the plates in the corners. If this is done incorrectly, then thermal bridges appear on the connection of the plates, through which heat losses occur.
In addition, polystyrene panels must also be laid neatly and tightly side by side. Connections must not form straight lines.
- Filling gaps between tiles
The gaps between the styrofoam boards must not be filled with adhesive solution (thermal bridges will occur). To fill gaps up to 4 mm wide, use polyurethane foam.
- Reinforcing with dowels
Dowels of insufficient depth will cause problems. If they are installed too deep, they will destroy the structure of the thermal insulation board. If they are installed too shallow, they can create a bulge that will be visible on the wall surface.
- Starter plinth and mesh
If a starter skirting and mesh is not used, the insulation will be exposed to the weather and rodents such as mice, which often burrow into the bottom layer of insulation while looking for winter shelter and cause damage.
- Uneven foam board surfaces
The surface of the plates after their placement must be even. If there are irregularities, the surface must be sanded to eliminate the irregularities. Otherwise, they will also appear on the facade. Unfortunately, sanding polystyrene is a laborious and time consuming process, so it is often forgotten.
- The location of the plates around the door and window openings
In the corners of window and door openings there should be no seams of board joints. In addition, in these places you should use additional diagonal grid strips.
Laying scheme in the corners of window and door openings
The corners of window and door openings must fall into the central part of the polystyrene plate.
- Weather conditions and performance of work in inappropriate weather
Often installers do not take into account weather during the renovation. It is important that the insulation work is carried out in the appropriate weather - the temperature is not lower than 5 °C and not higher than 25 °C. Of course, at the time of warming there should be no precipitation. This is important, not for comfortable work, but for the properties of materials that retain their qualities only when certain conditions. For example, with more high temperature The adhesive will dry quickly before it can properly bond the foam to the backing.
- Lack of sun protection materials
The use of solar shading is especially important when laying gray foam. Under the influence of the sun, it heats up quickly, and the result can be the formation of gaps between the plates and their peeling from the substrate.
How to properly insulate a house - video
accommodation in country house or in the country makes you think about keeping the heat in the interior. The understanding comes that without neighbors is bad. All walls are external. Through them, such a necessary and expensive heat escapes. Insulation of the house with foam plastic allows not only to save on energy, but also to give the building the new kind, increase the life of the walls.
Before you insulate the house with polystyrene foam, you need to find out what are the positive and negative qualities he possesses.
Receipt
Styrofoam for insulation is expanded polystyrene foam. It is obtained as a result of the expansion of gas in styrene when heated. The granules that have increased in volume are fastened with an adhesive composition and molded into plates. Finished products are sent for packaging.
Technical parameters and consumer qualities
The defining indicator is specific coefficient thermal conductivity. It shows how much heat energy passes through a unit of thickness per unit area per unit of time.
This indicator for polystyrene is 0.036 units. For comparison: for concrete - 1.5, for brick - 0.6, for wood - 0.2.
- has a vapor permeability and water absorption close to zero (about 4% of the volume);
- does not spread fungus and mold on its surface;
- has a small weight (1 m 3 PSB-25 weighs 11-12 kg), which allows you to insulate the house from the outside without additional load on the foundation;
with insufficient mechanical protection, it is used by rodents for home improvement;
- decomposes when exposed to sunlight;
- when exposed to an open flame, it ignites, supports combustion, emits harmful substances that are not suitable for breathing;
- has low resistance to active chemicals;
- has extremely low strength (breaks when bent, withstands certain compressive loads).
Available in slabs 500x500, 1000x500, 2000x1000 mm in size. Its cost is one of the lowest among the most effective heaters.
Is it possible to insulate a house with foam plastic? Undoubtedly, yes. Due to its qualities, it is recommended for use as a heat insulator for stone and concrete walls when doing insulation from the outside with your own hands, if, for example, the “wet” facade insulation technology is used.
Benefits of outdoor insulation
Despite the high cost of insulation from the outside with foam plastic with your own hands, it has several significant advantages:
- shifts the "dew point" outward outside the building structure, which ensures that the walls are kept dry and the life of the building is extended;
- provides additional protection wall material from exposure to water, heat, frost;
- prevents freezing of the wall winter period that, provides fast heating of rooms after airing.
When insulating with foam plastic inside the house, the humidity in the rooms increases significantly due to moisture condensation on the wall surface. This leads to dampness, damage to household items, the spread of fungus and mold. The useful area of living rooms and other premises is significantly reduced. The option of thermal insulation from the inside should be considered as possible only with the arrangement of additional forced ventilation.
Stages of insulation
The process of insulating a house with foam plastic with your own hands has its own characteristics and must be done in a certain sequence. Violation of insulation technology will lead to disastrous consequences:
- inefficient insulation;
- destruction of the insulation layer;
- reducing the life of the wall material.
Getting ready for work
Finishing the house with polystyrene foam is carried out in warm weather without sudden changes in temperature and strong winds. For middle lane In Russia, the end of April - the beginning of May or September is considered optimal, when daytime temperatures are about 20 ° C, and nighttime temperatures are 10 degrees lower.
The wall must be dry (otherwise, moisture at low temperatures will expand and tear the foam from the wall). Protruding parts of the wall, remains mortar, lagging plaster and paint, dust and dirt are removed from the surface. Existing gaps are expanded and sealed with mortar or mounting foam. On the remaining painted surfaces, serifs are made with an ax.
The surface is coated with a deep penetration primer to strengthen the surface and increase adhesion.
Foam insulation people carry out themselves or hire specialists. The latter option leads to an increase in the cost of the project by at least 50%.
The clay house must be started to be insulated by grinding the surface of the walls with double priming to obtain a solid foundation. A house made of clay, glued with insulation, acquires an attractive appearance with the possibility of a complete change in the design of the facade.
After choosing the material, you can insulate the walls with foam.
Choosing a brand of heat insulator
To the question: “What foam to insulate the house with?”, It is impossible to give a definite answer. Manufacturers recommend using PSB-15 and PSB-25 for these purposes. The heat-saving ability is better for the 15th, but it is not entirely convenient to use (it has increased fragility). Styrofoam of the 25th brand is considered optimal.
How to determine which foam is better when buying?
First of all, pay attention to the storage location. If the material is stored in an open area under the sun, choose another supplier. Yellowed sheets indicate prolonged exposure to ultraviolet radiation. The structure of the upper layer in this case is already destroyed.
A certain indicator of quality is the observance by the manufacturer of linear dimensions. With a deviation in length and width of more than 10 mm, and in thickness of more than 3 mm, we can assume that the manufacturer is not very concerned about the quality of the products.
Look carefully at the structure of the sheet. Styrofoam granules should be approximately the same size and fit snugly together.
The sheets must be in their original packaging, not have signs of fracture, compression, the corners must be intact and straight.
To insulate the house from the outside, a wide range of sheet thicknesses allows you to choose a heat insulator layer close to the calculated one, which significantly reduces the cost of purchasing the material.
First stage
Before starting work around the perimeter, a starting metal profile is installed with a width equal to the thickness of the insulation. In the absence of a special profile, a wooden beam of the specified width can be installed.
In addition to facilitating horizontal alignment, it will protect the foam from rodent penetration.
Before sheathing the wall with a thermal insulator, use a plumb line and a water level to make vertical and horizontal markings to facilitate level control during installation (the plates have tolerances from the sizes established by GOST).
Laser level
We mount plates
In order to prevent the formation of cold bridges, it is recommended to lay the foam in 2 layers. In this case, the layer thickness is equal to half of the calculated one. Plates of the 2nd layer should overlap the joints of the first.
Sheathing a house with foam plastic is cheaper, easier, better, more reliable without using a wooden crate. In this case, the fixing of the plates is carried out by chemical and mechanical means.
For the first stage of fixing, a dry adhesive composition or polyurethane foam adhesive in cylinders is purchased.
Dry glue immediately before use is closed with water and mixed with a construction mixer. Using a spatula, apply to the plate:
- with an uneven wall - along the perimeter and a few "blotches" in the center;
- with a flat wall - over the entire surface with a notched trowel.
The polyurethane foam composition is applied with a foam gun around the perimeter and in the middle along the long side.
The plate is pressed against the wall for a while. Surface cladding is done in horizontal rows starting from the bottom. In this case, the wall sheathing is done in a checkerboard pattern, like brickwork. Periodically, the evenness of the cladding is checked using the building rule.
When insulating a corner, pay attention to the thickness of the insulation layer. It should be no less than on the rest of the wall.
After the passage of time, specified in the instructions for the use of adhesive compositions and necessary for the complete drying of the adhesive, the plates are fixed with the help of umbrella plastic dowels. Dowel penetration in brick wall produced by 90 mm, into concrete - by 50 mm. When installing the dowel, it is buried below the surface of the foam by 2 mm. The places for installing dowels are the joints of adjacent plates and their middle. When calculating, use 5 dowels per sheet of foam.
We equip a decorative protective layer
The insulation of a private house with foam plastic from the outside is nearing completion. To protect the foam from harmful effects ultraviolet is generated protective layer from several layers.
Styrofoam finishing requires protective work after insulation.
Previously, the surface of the foam is cleaned with a special grater and treated with a primer.
First of all, a reinforcing fiberglass mesh is laid on the adhesive layer.
To reinforce the main part of the wall, it is recommended to use a more rigid mesh. Protect the corners of the building, window and door openings by installing a metal profile corner with a softer and less dense fiberglass mesh.
Level the adhesive surface with a spatula. After the first layer has dried, it is primed. It is covered with the 2nd layer of glue. The wall is primed again. Finishing the cladding of the house with foam plastic, apply colored decorative plaster or paint the created protective layer.
Do-it-yourself insulation of private houses with foam plastic will save money not only after insulation, but also during work. Styrofoam is a good insulating material that you can lay yourself. We warm the house with this material and take care of the comfort and coziness in the house.
Is it worth it to insulate the house with styrofoam from the outside? Warming technology in steps 29 photos on this topic:
