How to make insulated floors in a bathhouse. How to insulate a bathhouse floor: methods for different coatings

• Stage 1: ceiling insulation
• Stage 2: wall insulation
• Stage 3: floor insulation

Often the problem of thermal insulation of apartments and houses is not paid attention to, but for baths it is of particular importance. After all, if you do not insulate the steam room, then the heat will not stay in it for a long time. Therefore, it is so important to insulate the bathhouse from the inside, paying special attention to the steam room. After all, this is where you have to spend more time.

• bars;
• self-tapping screws;
• nails;
• screwdriver;
• saw;
• foil;
• Styrofoam;
• glass wool;
• waterproofing material;
• polyethylene film;
• blank paper;
• masking tape;
• anti-corrosion composition;
• building level;
• facade panels;

Stage 1: ceiling insulation

Stage 2: wall insulation

Scheme of wall insulation in a bathhouse.

Stage 3: floor insulation

Scheme of floor insulation in a bathhouse.

Scheme of insulating a bathhouse from the outside.

Insulating a steam room with your own hands: step-by-step instructions (video and photos)

Insulating a steam room with your own hands is quite simple. You just need to read the step-by-step instructions and prepare everything you need for work.

Insulating a steam room from the inside step-by-step instructions

Insulating the steam room allows you to solve the problem of heat loss, otherwise the effect of visiting the bathhouse will be reduced to zero. The thermal insulation of a given room can be called high-quality if insulation work has been carried out on the ceiling, floor and walls.

The steam room must be maintained heat. At the same time, heat loss must be minimized, and insulating the steam room from the inside will help achieve the required level of thermal protection. During construction bathhouse building This room should be equipped according to all rules.

The better the thermal protection of the steam room, the less fuel will be required to heat it during operation, and the longer the steam will be able to remain in it, which has a beneficial effect on the human body. Regardless of the material of construction of the bathhouse, the insulation process certainly consists of thermal insulation ceiling, flooring and walls.

Materials used in arranging steam rooms

To produce internal insulation steam rooms, in former times people used exclusively environmentally clean materials. They not only retained heat well and were easy to use, but at the same time had a number of disadvantages, including susceptibility to rotting.

Modern materials meet many of the requirements for them:

• successfully withstand high temperatures;
• tolerate high air humidity well;
• do not emit substances harmful to human health;
• look aesthetically pleasing.

In order to thermally insulate the steam room from the inside, the following building materials are used:

• wooden slats (for arranging the sheathing);
• mineral wool or glass wool;
• polyethylene film;
• penoizol (can be replaced aluminum foil);
• expanded polystyrene;
• perlite;
• concrete mortar;
• reinforcing mesh.

Before insulating a steam room in a bathhouse from the inside, you should prepare the following tools:

For internal lining Steam rooms are most often chosen using wooden slats, boards or lining, which depends on the personal preferences of the owner of the building. It is wood that meets the operational requirements for such premises.

Low-density deciduous wood is ideal - alder, maple, linden and aspen. Concerning coniferous trees, then at high temperatures their wood will begin to release resin.

Insulation of steam room walls from the inside

Properly performed insulation of the walls of a steam room from the inside is a structure of several layers: steam, hydro- and heat insulating. Special attention attention should be paid to the arrangement of the first of them, since it should protect the remaining layers from the influence of hot steam. If it penetrates into the insulation, this material may become wet and lose all its properties.

Most often, a vapor barrier is installed using aluminum foil or special insulators that are coated with a foil layer, for example, it can be penoizol (the material is shown in the photo). At the same time, experts do not recommend using such well-known vapor barriers as roofing felt, polyethylene, glassine when covering a steam room, since at high temperatures they begin to release toxins that are dangerous to human health.

In turn, the foil prevents the insulation from getting wet and at the same time provides the effect of a thermos, as a result of which heat will be retained indoors for a long time.

Waterproofing is essential to protect the thermal insulation material from moisture. The fact is that poorly laid waterproofing material in conditions of high humidity, namely the air in the steam room, can trigger the onset of the rotting process. The appearance of mold and mildew on walls can cause irreparable harm to both the structure and human health.

For waterproofing, foil or special film materials are most often used. The joints of the panels must be sealed with tape to prevent steam and condensation from penetrating into the insulation. All these materials for arranging waterproofing are mounted using construction stapler.

The next layer when creating thermal protection for the steam room will be the installation of thermal insulation, which is made using materials that have the property of retaining heat. These include mineral wool and glass wool.

The first of the above-mentioned insulation materials is an environmentally friendly natural product. But mineral wool is afraid of moisture and loses its properties when wet. When using mineral wool, it is necessary to ensure by all possible means that penetration is prevented. humid air, therefore this insulation is carefully wrapped with foil and films.

Glass wool differs from mineral wool in that it does not get wet and therefore can be used to insulate a steam room from the inside. When insulating a steam room from the inside, the step-by-step instructions suggest that work should begin by fixing a wooden sheathing to the walls, to which the insulation is then mounted.

Thermal protection of the floor and ceiling from the inside

Basically, heat loss in the steam room occurs due to insufficient thermal insulation of the ceiling, since warm air flows always rise upward. For this reason, the ceiling should be insulated not only from the room side, but also from the attic side.

Thermal insulation of the ceiling on the steam room side is carried out in the same way as it is done with walls. First of all, the wooden sheathing is fixed. Then a thermal insulation material is attached to it, preferably glass wool. It is covered with a vapor barrier on top, and an outer finishing layer is installed on it - most often lining.

As for the ceiling on the attic side, it can additionally be insulated with straw, clay, sawdust or other materials. Near the chimney pipe for fire safety special mastics are used.

Currently, various floor coverings are installed in steam rooms. You can insulate the floor, for example, with expanded polystyrene. This material is characterized by high mechanical strength, fairly low thermal conductivity, and in addition, once in a humid environment, it does not change its qualities.

When using it to insulate a steam room from the inside, the step-by-step work looks like this:

1. A waterproofing layer is placed on a prepared, level base using a special film, on which polystyrene foam boards are laid tightly one to the other.
2. To give the structure greater strength in order to increase its service life, a reinforcing mesh is mounted on the polystyrene foam and concrete mortar is poured. When performing work, you must not forget about arranging a slight slope to ensure water drainage.
3. After the concrete has completely hardened, which usually takes about a month, you can begin laying the finishing floor surface. Not a bad option is laying ceramic tiles.

You can also insulate the steam room floor using a natural material such as perlite, which is sand expanded by a special method. To create insulation, take 2 parts perlite and part water, mix and combine with cement. Mix the whole mass thoroughly.

The base of the steam room floor is poured with a concrete screed, on top of which an insulating mixture is placed and allowed to dry for a week. Then the screed is made again and the work is completed with a finishing floor covering made of finishing material.

Sometimes in a steam room, wooden gratings are placed on a high-quality concreted, durable and reliable floor, which should be periodically dried during operation to avoid rotting and rapid deterioration.

How to insulate a steam room?

• What will be required to carry out the work?
• Stage 1: ceiling insulation
• Stage 2: wall insulation
• Stage 3: floor insulation
• Stage 4: insulation in the steam bath from the outside

Often the problem of thermal insulation of apartments and houses is not paid attention to, but for baths it is of particular importance. After all, if you do not insulate the steam room, then the heat will not stay in it for a long time. That’s why it’s so important to insulate the bathhouse from the inside. paying special attention to the steam room. After all, this is where you have to spend more time.

At the same time, it is necessary to insulate the steam room with high quality, performing all the work in stages. Below are step-by-step instructions. She will help you in this difficult, but so important matter.

What will be required to carry out the work?

The first step is to prepare all the materials and tools that will be needed to insulate the steam room. Here is their list:

• rolled thermal insulation material;
• bars;
• self-tapping screws;
• nails;
• screwdriver;
• saw;
• foil;
• Styrofoam;
• glass wool;
• waterproofing material;
• polyethylene film;
• blank paper;
• masking tape;
• wood material for cladding (linden, aspen);
• anti-corrosion composition;
• building level;
• facade panels;
• water-repellent varnish for wood.

Stage 1: ceiling insulation

Scheme of ceiling insulation in the steam room.

First of all, thermal insulation in the steam room should be done for the ceiling. First you will need to cover it with rolled paper; it is important that its joints overlap (from 10 to 15 cm). After this, it needs to be strengthened, otherwise deformation will occur during further work. To do this, you need to take small blocks (size 5x5 cm) and nail them to a roll of thermal insulation material.

It is important here to create a monolithic coating so that seams with cracks do not form, otherwise the tightness of the waterproofing will be compromised.

As a result, steam will penetrate into the rolled thermal insulation material, which will lead to its deformation and deterioration of its performance characteristics.

Scheme of the ceiling in the steam room.

Now you need to secure the foil with additional blocks. This will prevent it from peeling off, and the finished sheathing will also allow you to quickly lay down the finishing material. Wood should act as it. The use of non-ecological materials here is simply unacceptable. After all, you will inhale the harmful substances that they emit while taking water procedures in the bathhouse. As a result, instead of improving your health, you will, on the contrary, worsen it. It’s great if you use linden or aspen for cladding the ceiling. These materials emit special resins that heal the body and make the atmosphere in the bathhouse better, as a pleasant smell spreads.

You can attach the finishing material to nails, making sure to pre-treat them with an anti-corrosion compound. The wood itself must be coated with a water-repellent varnish. It is better to do this before it is fixed to the ceiling. After all, then you will be able to process it from all sides at once, which will extend its service life.

Using boards you need to create an even surface. To prevent misalignment, be sure to use a building level. In addition, for finishing, choose only those boards that have the same thickness, otherwise there will be differences in height finished coating can't be avoided.

Stage 2: wall insulation

Scheme of wall insulation in a bathhouse.

Do not assume that only the ceiling needs to be insulated. The walls also need additional finishing using insulating materials. Therefore, having completed work with the ceiling, you will need to move on to them. It is also necessary to start insulating walls by laying out rolled material. It must then be nailed down with a wooden frame, which is immediately lined with foil. But here it is necessary to take it with a thickness of 65-70 mm. After all, much more heat escapes through the walls than through the ceiling. Therefore the use here is more thin material not acceptable. Lay it out overlapping and glue all the joints several times. masking tape. Then it will be possible to make the surface of the walls as airtight as possible. As a result, the steam room will be as warm as possible.

After this, a wooden frame is installed on the foil fixed to the surface of the walls. And the finishing material is already installed on it. It is not necessary to use boards here. you can choose lining for the walls. By the way, you can also decorate the ceiling with it, but then the insulation in the steam bath will cost a pretty penny, but if you have allocated a significant budget for this, then feel free to opt for this material. The aesthetic and performance properties will not disappoint you. The wall decoration will turn out great and will delight you every time you take water treatments.

Stage 3: floor insulation

Scheme of floor insulation in a bathhouse.

Now you can insulate the floor in the steam room. Here the work is carried out according to a slightly different scheme. The first thing you need to do is waterproofing. It is necessary to prevent mold, mildew and rot from appearing inside the floor. This layer will protect the floor from condensation. To create it, you will need to use plastic film. It is laid out over the entire surface of the floor. If there are seams, make large joints and seal them with masking tape.

Next you will need to create another layer on top of the film. It must be laid out from clean, thick paper. It is necessary to ensure that no harmful substances are released from the base of the floor. In addition, such a layer will minimize the loss of hot air. It will definitely need to be secured to a wooden frame of small width. And you need to lay out mineral wool slabs on the frame and fix them with self-tapping screws.

Then the following material is laid out on the floor surface: polystyrene foam. It needs to be attached on top of the cotton wool using small nails. After which you will need to cover it with foil and put plastic wrap on it again. So many layers need to be created in order to minimize heat leakage through the floor, which occurs through it in large quantities. As a result, the insulation will be of very high quality.

And the last thing you need to do is create another frame on the floor surface. It should be thicker than the previous one. It is necessary for subsequent finishing. After all, you will need to lay boards on the floor surface. Pre-treat them with water-repellent varnish.

Stage 4: insulation in the steam bath from the outside

If your bathhouse is wooden, then you must insulate it from the outside. After all, a sealed floor, walls and ceiling in this case will not be enough. Therefore, here you need to create a crate outside the bathhouse; mineral wool slabs should be laid on it. They need to be fixed with screws or nails. After which it is lined with plastic film. Next, the façade panels are laid on it. All of them must be varnished. This will protect them from adverse environmental factors.

Insulation in a steam bath consists of these stages. As it becomes clear, here it is necessary to carry out complex works. It is not enough to insulate only the surface of the walls and floor, you also need to not forget about the ceiling and outer skin. This is the only way to do quality work. The result will not disappoint you. And since all the instructions are presented in an accessible form and are step-by-step, using it, you can do everything yourself.

The main thing is to prepare all the necessary tools and materials in advance. We wish you good luck in insulating your steam room!

How to insulate a steam room in a bathhouse with your own hands

Preface. In Rus', since ancient times, bathhouses were built from log cabins; today, along with this traditional material, timber, foam block, expanded clay and other modern materials are used. Thermal insulation of the steam room will solve the problem of rapid heat loss and the heat from the steam room will not leave so quickly.

How to properly insulate a steam room wooden bath? Thermal insulation of the dressing room and steam room will be of high quality if the work touches all three planes of the steam room - floor, walls and ceiling. Most of the heat escapes through the ceiling of the bathhouse, but other surfaces should not be ignored, including the door in the bathhouse. Let's look at how to properly insulate a steam room in a bathhouse.

Is it necessary to insulate the steam room in a bathhouse?

Photo. Insulating a steam room from the inside with your own hands

Despite the low thermal conductivity of modern and traditional materials, any steam room needs high-quality insulation. Especially when it comes to internal thermal insulation of structures in the steam room - walls, floor and ceiling. Insulating a steam room is a very important task; when working, you should strictly follow the manufacturers’ instructions and take into account other nuances.

For example, not all heat and vapor barrier materials can be used when finishing the floor and ceiling in a bathhouse. Many materials cannot withstand moisture, and if you use roofing felt or glassine in a given room, then a visit to the steam room can be spoiled by unpleasant odors from these materials. The choice of thermal insulation is made depending on the material from which the bathhouse was built.

How to insulate a steam room in a bathhouse from the inside

The most common materials for the construction of bathhouse walls are logs, timber, foam concrete, aerated concrete or expanded clay concrete. Compared to natural wood, the thermal conductivity of the blocks is higher, which means that thermal insulation of the steam room is simply necessary. But, before considering the technology for carrying out the work, you should figure out how and how to insulate a steam room in a timber bathhouse with your own hands.

If basalt wool was chosen as thermal insulation, then high-quality mineral wool vapor barrier should be performed, since this material absorbs moisture. The most balanced solution for finishing wet rooms is penoplex or foil penofol. Extruded polystyrene foam is often used for self-insulation strip foundation and blind areas of a private house.

For owners of bathhouses made of blocks, there is no question of whether or not to thermally insulate the room from the inside. It is important to learn how to insulate a steam room in a block bathhouse yourself. Thermal insulation technology is divided into three main stages: arrangement and insulation of the walls, floor, and ceiling of the steam room of a brick bath. All work can be done on your own and inexpensively.

How to insulate the walls of a steam room with your own hands

Photo. Thermal insulation of walls in a log steam room

Thermal insulation log walls in the steam room, the inside is a layered “pie” of vapor barrier, thermal insulation and waterproofing layers. The vapor barrier film on the side of the warm room protects the mineral wool from moisture and the effects of steam; in addition, it additionally creates the effect of a “thermos” in the steam room and is a natural heat reflector.

Roll waterproofing prevents moisture from entering walls made of logs or timber, protects the structure from condensation and the formation of fungus, and prevents the process of rotting of the structure. To do this, use polyethylene film, foamed polyethylene or foil. The waterproofing film is laid between the thermal insulation layer and the walls in the steam room made of blocks or wood.

The insulation layer itself is placed between guides fixed to the wall. When installing the frame, please note that the distance between the guides should be 1 cm less than the width of the mineral wool slab, so that basalt slab sat tightly in the frame. If you use slab insulation, then all cracks should be thoroughly foamed.

How to insulate a steam room ceiling with your own hands

Photo. Thermal insulation of the ceiling in the steam room

If many people neglect the thermal insulation of walls, then insulating the ceiling in a steam room with your own hands is simply necessary in any bathhouse. Since this part of any building is the most vulnerable in terms of heat loss. Through the ceiling of the steam room, hot air leaves the room in a short time.

To insulate the ceiling in the steam room, inexpensive base materials were previously used - sawdust mixed with ordinary earth or expanded clay. The ceiling boards above the steam room were covered with loose thermal insulation, thereby significantly reducing heat loss in the room. These “old-fashioned” methods, even with the advent of new materials, have not lost their relevance to this day.

The ideal option for finishing the ceiling in a steam room is thermal insulation of this structure from the outside, i.e. from the attic side. To do this, use glass wool or basalt insulation. Where the chimney pipe comes out of the ceiling, you should use non-flammable insulation - expanded clay or Rocklight mineral wool. Let's consider further how to insulate the floor in a steam room.

How to insulate a steam room floor with your own hands

Photo. Insulating the floor in a steam room with penoplex

Let's consider a more common option for thermal insulation of the floor in a steam room - using polystyrene foam or extruded polystyrene foam. Penoplex extrusion answers everything necessary requirements requirements for thermal insulation of wet rooms. This material does not absorb moisture and is not afraid of rodents, but the insulation should only be laid on a flat base.

Most often, the floor in a bathhouse is insulated under a screed. To do this, a waterproofing film is laid on the ground to protect it from groundwater, then slab insulation is laid. Gaps and cracks between the plates should be sealed with foam. At the end, a reinforcing mesh is laid and a concrete screed is made. To waterproof concrete, penetrating composition Penetron or liquid glass should be used.

Used to finish the floor in the steam room floor tiles or porcelain stoneware. You can also lay a wooden floor on joists, which will be more pleasant and warm for your feet.

How to insulate a steam room

Without a good steam room, a bathhouse loses its meaning of existence. When building baths, this room is given special attention. The main task of the steam room is to store hot air and steam for a long time, to ensure the quality of bath procedures at the highest level. And the main job of the builders is to insulate the steam room in the bathhouse in such a way as to eliminate prolonged heating and rapid cooling, and to increase the concentration of steam.

Poorly performed thermal insulation work and the use of low-quality materials will inevitably lead to the appearance of dampness, mold, and rotting of wooden structures. This applies to all surfaces of the steam room: floor, walls, ceiling. It is very important to carefully and step-by-step carry out work on insulating the steam room from the inside; step-by-step instructions will help you correctly navigate the sequence of actions and the choice of materials.

Choice of insulation

A steam room is a specific room, so the choice of thermal insulation materials for walls, ceiling and floor should be approached responsibly. The insulation for the steam room must be moisture resistant, not afraid of significant temperatures, and not emit toxic substances. Mineral wool, or more precisely its variety - stone or basalt wool, most closely fits these definitions. It is also produced in the form of slabs various thicknesses and dimensions. The material is easily cut with a regular construction knife, so stone wool slabs are very easy to fit required sizes. For arranging the floor and ceiling from the outside, they are used bulk insulation materials– expanded clay or expanded perlite.

Foil material is most suitable for steam and waterproofing for steam rooms. It is produced on a foam base or on kraft paper. You can use any of them, but in the case of insulating a steam room from the inside, preference is usually given to the second option.

The procedure for performing insulation procedures

The process of insulating the steam room in a bathhouse proceeds from top to bottom. That is, work starts from the ceiling, then the walls and, lastly, the floor. It would not be superfluous to remind you that before starting insulation work, wooden surfaces should be cleaned of dust and signs of fungal manifestations. It is necessary to treat the wood with antiseptic preparations and a fire retardant, since it is possible to insulate a steam room in a bathhouse from the inside efficiently and effectively only with a well-prepared base.

Ceiling insulation

It is most convenient to insulate the ceiling from the attic side. Ideally, do this on both sides, because the ceiling is one of the most vulnerable parts of any building, especially a bathhouse. It is through this structure that the largest share of heat loss from the inside occurs. So, from above:

• a layer of rolled vapor barrier is attached to the rough ceiling, tightly closing all joints and making an overlap on the pediment and rafter elements;
• pour a layer of expanded clay or foamed perlite and level it;
• in places where the thermal insulation comes into contact with the chimney, they are treated with fire-retardant mastics.

Insulation of a steam room in a wooden bath from the inside on the ceiling occurs as follows. If the ceiling structure below has a smooth surface, then a frame is built on it. If there are ribs, there is no such need. The first layer of the thermal insulation cake is a vapor barrier membrane, which is attached to the base, observing the configuration of the ribbed surface. Then stone wool slabs are laid as tightly as possible between the beams and covered with another layer of vapor barrier. The next stage of insulating the steam room, its upper part, is the installation of a protective layer of foil material. The joints between individual sheets are sealed with aluminum foil tape. Particular attention must be paid to the junctions between the ceiling and the walls in order to prevent the slightest possibility of the appearance of “cold bridges”. Use if necessary polyurethane foam.

Baths are built not only from wood; there are options for brick buildings. In such buildings the process of execution thermal insulation works looks a little different. Insulation of a steam room in a brick bathhouse begins at the stage of constructing the roof structure. Supporting ceiling beams that are to be embedded in brick walls are wrapped in two to three layers of glassine or roofing felt before installation. The nests for them are made slightly wider than the beams themselves, and the free space is filled with polyurethane foam or mortar. From the outside, the recesses are covered with masonry. Next is the installation ceiling structure, and insulation is performed in the same way as in a log house.

Thermal insulation of walls

Insulation of wall surfaces brick bath start by applying a waterproofing layer to them. Most often, roll materials or mastics that do not contain bitumen are used. Because the specific smell of this material, when heated, can penetrate the room and spoil the positive impression of visiting the steam room. Further, the process of producing thermal insulation work for walls made of brick and wood is the same and is carried out in the following order:

• Vertical bars are placed on the walls in increments equal to the width of the stone wool slabs;
• using a construction stapler, attach a vapor barrier membrane, carefully wrapping it around each beam;
• between the bars, heat-insulating material is tightly laid in one or two layers, depending on the thickness of the slabs; stone wool is a little springy, so it holds well on its own and does not require additional fastening;
• The top vapor barrier layer is made of aluminum foil on kraft paper; you can use foil material on a foam base, but the first option works more reliably in humid conditions.

The foil is secured end-to-end, and the seams are covered with a special adhesive-based protective tape. All work must be carried out carefully and responsibly, but special care is required when sealing corners and places where walls meet the ceiling surface.

Floor insulation

Making warm floors in the steam room is no less important than properly insulating the walls and ceiling. You can use two options: using slab materials or bulk materials. However, in both cases, you need to start with leveling the surface and a rough preparation device. And here, too, there can be two versions: with and without drain. By and large, water is not used in the steam room, so there is no need to install a drain hole there. But some developers do this. Then, when arranging the floor pie, starting from the preparatory layer, slopes are made towards the drain. Otherwise, the floor must be strictly horizontal. Now about the floor structure itself:

1. Insulation with polystyrene foam boards. After rough preparation, a layer of waterproofing is laid with a slight overlap on the walls. Then the insulation boards are laid in one or two rows, depending on the thickness. The next step the reinforcing mesh is laid and then the screed is applied cement-sand mortar.
2. For insulation with bulk materials, expanded clay or perlite is used. First, waterproofing must be done. Then pour a layer of dry insulation required thickness, level it using the plaster rule according to the level. The covering layer is made with a concrete mixture or mortar.

The clean floor in the sauna is made of rough ceramic tiles and porcelain stoneware. Traditional wood flooring is often used. Well behaved terrace board. In addition, its use is useful in terms of safety, since the board has a corrugated surface and does not slip.

Wall and ceiling cladding in the steam room

For cladding walls and ceilings in a steam room, they are usually used. wooden lining. Each owner chooses and arranges the design of the steam room of the bathhouse according to his own taste. However, there are general rules that must be followed. First of all, this is the type of wood from which the lining is made. Linden, aspen, and larch are considered the most suitable. It is undesirable to use rocks containing a large amount of resins. At high temperatures they emit fumes with a heavy odor. The next requirement is that the lining must not have knots, cracks or other defects. That is, high-quality material is best suited for lining a steam room.

The principle of covering walls and ceilings is traditional. A sheathing is made using aluminum foil with the beams positioned for the planned layout of the lining. Then the planks are attached to the frame, connecting them with tongue-and-groove locks.

Insulating a steam room from the inside - step-by-step instructions

Before insulating the steam room, the owner of the bathhouse must select the correct thermal insulation material, focusing on the following recommendations:

First, the insulator must demonstrate high stopping power. The heat transfer coefficient should not rise above 0.2 W/(m K). And this is only for flooring. And for insulating walls and ceilings, it is better to use a material with a coefficient of 0.2 W/(m K).

Secondly, the insulator should not react to moisture. Especially the flooring material. For walls and ceilings, we can use a membrane or reflector that cuts off moisture, but in the case of the floor, this material will not work.

Thirdly, the open (floor) insulator must have a high mechanical strength. On walls and attic floors special requirements No. Here the characteristics of the material can be improved through external finishing.

Fourthly, insulating a steam room requires constant contact of the material with an area of ​​high temperatures. Some amateurs manage to heat the room up to 100-120 degrees Celsius, and 75-80 °C is considered a normal temperature. Therefore, the insulation should not melt or catch fire even after a long, many-hour stay in this temperature range.

Fifthly, the material must be absolutely neutral to the human body. Selection harmful substances and provoking allergic reactions is excluded in principle. People go to the bathhouse for health, not for new illnesses.

As a result, granulated expanded clay should be considered the optimal insulation option for the field. It is not afraid of mechanical stress or moisture. It is better to use regular or foil-clad mineral (basalt) wool on the walls and ceiling. It will withstand heat, and a layer of finishing will protect it from moisture and possible mechanical stress.

Polystyrene foam, expanded polystyrene, foil polyethylene are not suitable for insulating a steam room - they cannot withstand heating even up to 70 degrees Celsius.

Well, now that we have selected the materials, we can begin to directly insulate the steam room from the inside, having previously studied step by step instructions for floors, ceilings and walls.

How to insulate a floor - layer by layer review

To do this, we will have to form a multilayer structure in the direction from the ground, consisting of waterproofing, thermal insulation and finishing. The first layer is waterproofing. It is made in the form of a plastic film, which is laid on the prepared soil. Moreover, the preparation consists of adding a layer of sand, at least 15 centimeters thick.

The second layer is thermal insulation. It is formed on the basis of expanded clay bedding. The thickness of this layer is usually equal to double the thickness of the walls and ranges from 30 to 40 centimeters. Moreover, upon completion of the formation of the bedding layer, we must reach the level of the first crown of the bathhouse frame.

Expanded clay is perfect for thermal insulation of the steam room floor

Next, a reinforcing mesh with 20-centimeter cells is laid on the expanded clay and the screed is poured using sand-cement mortar with filler. The optimal thickness of the screed is from 5 to 8 centimeters. At the same time, along the perimeter of the floor, at the level of the future baseboard, it is necessary to fill a waterproofing skirt made of foil, which protects the logs from contact with concrete.

For finishing heat-resistant floors use tiles or boards laid on the sheathing.

Insulating the ceiling - step-by-step instructions

To insulate the ceiling in the steam room, you need a completely different heat insulator - foil-clad mineral wool. It can withstand heating up to 700 degrees Celsius and can easily withstand the usual temperature in this steam room zone, which does not rise above 160-180 °C.

The finishing process itself begins with covering the ceiling with an antiseptic primer, which protects the boards from fungus and mold. The second step is to lay sheathing boards on the ceiling, the depth of which should be equal to the thickness of the insulation (usually 10 centimeters). The pitch of laying the boards is equal to the width of a standard strip of mineral wool.

The ceiling is insulated with foiled mineral wool

The third step is laying insulation. After completing the assembly of the sheathing, the space between the boards is filled with mineral wool, laid with foil outward (towards the floor). And all joints are carefully taped with foil tape. After completion of the work, there should be no gaps left on the ceiling.

The final step is installation of finishing boards (lining) or plywood panels on top of the sheathing. Moreover, in this case, it is necessary to read the description of the specification for the lining - options made of pine and spruce and other resinous trees are not suitable in this case. The ideal lining for a bathhouse is made from hard deciduous trees.

How to insulate walls in a steam room - an overview of the process

Installing vertical thermal insulation on the walls of a bathhouse does not require the use of expensive foil-coated mineral wool. In this case, it is enough to take ordinary mineral wool and aluminum foil, which will serve as a good vapor barrier and shield from high temperatures.

The installation process itself is as follows:

• We saturate the walls with an antiseptic - it will protect the log house from rot and fungus.
• We fill the walls with boards 3-4 centimeters thick and 2-3 cm wider than the depth of the insulation. The spacing of the boards should match the width of the mineral wool roll. At the end, all boards must be soaked with an antiseptic.
• We lay mineral wool on dry logs (the antiseptic must dry), filling the spaces between the boards.
• We stuff aluminum foil over the sheathing, rolling it out in horizontal stripes from bottom to top. In this case, the upper strip should overlap the lower one (2-3 centimeters will be enough). It’s better to use staples (from a stapler) as fasteners. Moreover, it is better to seal the joints with foil tape.
• We stuff 2 centimeter thick planks onto the boards, pre-impregnated with an antiseptic. This will create a counter-lattice. And at the end, on top of these planks, we install hardwood paneling.

Such a scheme allows you to assemble very effective thermal insulation, protected from mechanical stress by a clapboard finish. Therefore, almost all steam rooms are finished according to this scheme.

Insulating a steam room from the inside step-by-step video instructions

Insulating a steam room from the inside step-by-step video instructions Insulating a steam room allows you to solve the problem of heat loss, otherwise the effect of visiting the bathhouse will be reduced to zero. Thermal insulation

Insulating a steam room from the inside yourself

The bathhouse helps us relax not only with our bodies, but also with our souls.

Therefore it is important that Decoration Materials not only fulfilled their direct function, but also pleased with their attractive appearance.

A few general rules

The first step before the next treatment is preparing the work surfaces.

It is necessary to inspect the base to see if there is any fungus and mold on it.

There should also be no foreign inclusions or protrusions.

To get rid of fungus, it is enough to use a regular antiseptic composition.

Without it, insulating the steam room from the inside will remain ineffective.

It is important to pay attention to the safety of materials.

The main requirement in this case is the ability to withstand high temperatures. Materials should not absorb moisture and must have reliable protection against mold.

And remain durable. Aluminum foil and basalt are good, modern solutions. The technology itself plays no less a role than the materials.

How to make insulation

During the work we will get a kind of “sandwich”. It usually consists of several layers.

• Waterproofing. Prevents the appearance of fungal and mold formations. And prevents the activation of decay processes. This layer also protects the walls from the appearance of condensation on them. It forms when a surface is exposed to hot steam. Polyethylene film or foil are considered the best hydro insulating materials. This is also required for insulating a steam room from the inside in a wooden bathhouse.
• Thermal insulation. Plain, clean paper is first laid on the base. The insulating layer comes only after this. Paper base makes sure that even minimal amounts of harmful substances are not released into the air. The paper ensures that the minimum amount of hot air escapes. After this, a wooden frame with the same width as the insulating material itself is attached on top. Synthetic board or mineral wool often make excellent insulation materials.
• To protect thermal insulation from the effects of steam, a vapor barrier is needed. It also reflects thermal radiation. And it creates a kind of “thermos” effect. This layer is made of foil, with a thickness of up to 65 microns. Installation is carried out to a wooden sheathing. What are small nails or a stapler used for? The main thing is to carefully cover all edges and joints with foil. Then the steam will definitely not penetrate inside the insulation.
• Internal lining. For which all surfaces are covered with clapboard. The frame is mounted on top of the heat-insulating layer. The lining itself, which is made from different breeds tree. The most important characteristic in this case is the minimum density.

What materials to choose

The question is not only about choosing between materials of artificial and natural origin. There are several other factors to consider.

This applies to purpose and appearance, cost. Materials that solve this issue can be classified into one of the following groups depending on their properties.

• Wall blocks and slabs.
• Matte and lamellar, fibrous varieties.
• Backfills with different densities

Several groups are also distinguished according to their chemical composition:

• Which have a plastic base. This includes polystyrene foam and polystyrene foam.
• Technoblocks and technovets. This is a group of technical insulation materials.
• Inorganic compounds include glass and mineral wool, basalt fiber.
• Organic. These include wood concrete and fibrolite, aqua wool.

Each variety has both advantages and disadvantages. For example, for insulating steam rooms from the inside, plastic insulation materials are not very suitable.

This is due to the fact that such a base does not resist open fire. But they can be used to insulate other rooms included in the bathhouse.

In turn, organic bases benefit from environmental safety. Their cost always remains affordable. But, if you do not use special processing compounds, the material remains flammable.

Inorganic varieties are considered more versatile and practical. This is why mineral wool has become such a popular solution.

Internal insulation will be more effective with materials such as:

• Aluminum foil
• Polyethylene materials
• Glassine base
• Ruberoid types

Vapor barrier with glassine and roofing felt will not give the desired result. After all, these materials, when exposed to high temperatures, emit chemically active and harmful substances.

But glassine is generally used to insulate baths. But best of all, it has proven itself in conjunction with materials such as lining, aluminum foil, mineral wool and log house.

There are several schemes by which insulation is carried out. But one of them has become the most widespread. For example, when using lining with fiber insulation.

• It all starts with creating a frame on the working wall surface. We take timber battens, horizontal and vertical, and fix them on the wall. The timber should be thicker than the insulation, but only by 20-30 millimeters. This reserve is necessary to predict possible shifts.
• After this, the wall is sheathed using mineral wool.
• A layer of vapor barrier is laid on the insulation. The main thing is to overlap the materials. For places with joints and their sealing, thin slats are used. A distance of approximately 3 centimeters should remain between the mineral wool and the vapor barrier.
• The lining is pressed onto the surface of the vertical sheathing. The width of the latter is 40-50 mm. There is still a distance remaining, which will be a kind of gap for the ventilation system.

Such work has proven its effectiveness. But they require certain costs, both in time and in effort.

There are now materials on the market that greatly simplify the entire process. Moreover, they combine the functions of waterproofing and vapor barrier.

One such option is foil foam. This is a fire-resistant insulation; there are no problems with its installation. As you can see, insulating a steam room from the inside is not a very complicated technology.

The scheme described above is well suited for installing timber buildings. Panel and frame structures have their own requirements for this process. There are several lightweight materials that will become indispensable assistants when working with panel walls:

Treatment of the heat insulator with lime milk acts as an additional requirement. In the future, you will need to dry the base properly. Due to this, fire resistance increases, rotting will no longer threaten the material.

If the walls are used in difficult conditions from a climate point of view, then the walls can be covered with fiberboard, or their equivalent - reed slabs. In warm regions, the use of gypsum, cement and particle board compounds will be relevant.

Work order for ceilings

Ceilings suffer the most from exposure to temperatures that are often 160 degrees. The insulation process itself and its features depend on the design of the ceiling itself.

The work will look like this if there is an attic or ceiling.

• We coat the ceiling boards with clay. Its layer should have a thickness of about 20 mm.
• Clay is needed to effectively retain moisture.
• Wooden chips are poured into the cracks that form between the boards.
• Other materials can also be used for thermal insulation. The main thing is that their thickness is at least 200 mm.

The insulation scheme for rooms where there is no attic looks somewhat different. First they put it there vapor barrier material. Sheathing and insulation layer come next, followed by ceiling boards and beams.

Depending on the materials used and design features, the order of work will always vary.

Places where insulation and pipes are connected to each other. Between them it is necessary to make an indent of approximately 200 millimeters so as not to violate fire safety requirements. For this purpose, a special box is constructed from rafter legs.

It will be the part that separates one part of the structure from another.

The main thing when insulating a bathhouse is to ensure that there are no places through which warm air could leave the room. It is also necessary to do everything possible to prevent the formation of condensation.

About floor insulation

You can use two solutions to insulate the floor in a steam room.

Polystyrene has an important advantage in the form of a cellular structure. Thanks to this, moisture will never penetrate inside the material. Thermal insulation properties are retained high level, even if the surface experiences severe mechanical stress.

Insulating the steam room from the inside

But this material is most often used in baths that are built of brick.

He demands additional protection, because the brick itself easily conducts moisture inside.

Expanded polystyrene is a material that meets all safety requirements.

But the surface requires preliminary preparation before using such material.

The main requirements are strength and evenness. You can't do without thorough drying.

A layer of waterproofing is laid on top of the material prepared in advance. Then, on top, the polystyrene foam boards themselves are installed.

Here it is important to ensure that there are no places left without treatment. Gaps and cracks can cause the formation of so-called cold bridges, so they should also be absent.

Decorative coatings are also laid on top, but only after the base has completely dried. Ceramic tiles are one of the best solutions to date.

But it is also possible to create a collapsible wooden floor. It fits perfectly into the interior of the bathhouse. And walking on such a surface is very pleasant. With a removable structure, you can dry the boards without any problems, which extends the overall service life.

About ventilation in the bathhouse

It is impossible not to consider this issue when touching on the topic of insulation.

Particularly stringent requirements are imposed on this part of the system in the bathhouse. Ventilation should not just provide air flow into the room. It is important that it does not let the cold in, but retains heat.

To solve this problem, it is necessary to create special supply and exhaust channels. An inlet opening is located near the stove, slightly above floor level.

As for the exhaust duct, it should be on the opposite side, in the upper part of the room. Special valves provide air flow regulation. One more condition must be met for the system to work properly - that the supply opening be half the size of the exhaust opening.

The operation is regulated by valves. If you manage them correctly, you can achieve the desired results. If you open only one valve, only pleasant aromas, the air will be fresh. Intensive forced ventilation is organized by opening two valves at once.

About floor waterproofing

The base and its materials determine which insulation method is used in a particular case. Each method should be considered separately.

Concrete floor insulation

This is the simplest and affordable solution on waterproofing for those who have a steam room. It is suitable for washrooms where the floor is completely filled with concrete. The order of work will be as follows.

• First, the floor surface is leveled until there are no deviations at all. Even the slightest dimples and tubercles are unacceptable.
• After this, they proceed to applying bitumen mastic. You have to wait until it dries.
• Polyethylene film and roofing felt are laid on top of this layer.
• The base of the floor is ready, you can proceed to laying ceramic tiles.

There is a second method. Its implementation is more complicated. But the result justifies all the costs; such waterproofing will pleasantly surprise you with its high quality. There are several steps you need to take.

• A plywood sheet is fixed to the surface of the subfloor.
• Hydrosol is laid on top of plywood. This is a material whose edges extend behind the wall.
• All joints in the waterproofing layer are reinforced with aluminum tape.
• Places of seams and joints that remain untreated are sealed with a regular construction hairdryer.
• Next comes laying the reinforced mesh and laying the concrete mortar.
• The last stage includes decorative cladding.

To prevent all walls from getting dirty, the lining is covered with tape. You also need to look at the age of the log house for the bathhouse. Buildings usually last for at least two years before complete shrinkage. Otherwise, the floor surface will be deformed.

Insulating a wooden floor

This insulation method is very similar to what we wrote about earlier. It features the simplest step-by-step instructions.

• A layer of mineral wool mat with a minimum thickness of 15 cm is fixed under the joists.
• Roofing felt or euroroofing felt is fixed on top of the first layer.
• Wooden structures require mandatory antiseptic treatment. This will eliminate the risk of rotting. And it will protect materials from spontaneous combustion and eating by insects.
• The subfloor must be laid on top of the antiseptic layer. After that, everything is sheathed using clapboard.
• Only the decorative cladding will remain.

Door insulation with mineral wool

Insulating a bathhouse is a process that takes place somewhat differently than in other rooms.

The main difference is the high temperature and humidity, which remain constant here.

But solving the problem is not difficult if you follow simple rules.

Seals must be laid on the wall as tightly as possible.

This will avoid the appearance of cracks and cracks through which hot or cold air passes inside.

There will be less chance that excessive moisture and condensation will appear in the bathhouse.

Drying of the insulation is ensured only by ventilation gaps, so it is not recommended to forget about them.

Ceilings must withstand the highest temperatures, this is always worth remembering. The main thing is not to use materials that are too easily deformed for insulation in this part of the room.

Or those varieties that release harmful chemicals when exposed to high temperatures. Condensation collects on plastic without any problems.

Doors and thresholds in a room also affect thermal insulation performance. Big gap under the door can lead to a low heat capacity of the steam room. There is always a solution - it is enough to install low doors that have a large threshold.

• Insulating a steam room from the inside yourself

  
  The bathhouse helps us relax not only with our bodies, but also with our souls. Therefore, it is important that finishing materials not only fulfill their direct function, but also

About a dozen types of baths have survived to this day, differing in the number of required premises, method of operation, and main purpose. The most popular are Finnish and Russian.

According to the method of exposure to water and high temperatures baths are divided into:

• aquatic (Japanese);
• cheese-air (Russian);
• dry air (Finnish).

Modern bathhouse became an entertainment facility, a kind of room for leisure or for lovers of brooms and steam rooms, which affected the structural and technological features its construction.

Traditional dressing rooms, washrooms and steam rooms began to be supplemented with relaxation rooms, swimming pools, gyms and even billiard rooms.

We can do it ourselves, with our own hands.

If we are not talking about an ambitious project, but about a simple village bathhouse for a summer cottage or a country house, then with today’s possibilities in the construction market, you can build it with your own hands.

This process is labor-intensive, but feasible, taking into account modern materials and technology.

Let’s assume that you did just that, erected a free-standing log house according to a traditional design, of which there are so many “walking around” on the Internet.

How to reliably protect this room from harsh winter frosts middle zone, if the cold spreads from bottom to top, from frozen ground along the walls? There is only one answer - insulate the floors. How to insulate the floor in a bathhouse?

To choose the best insulation option, you need to evaluate the type of bath floor:

• clay floors (do not provide insulation);
• earthen floors (do not provide insulation);
• wooden floors (leaking and non-leaking);
• concrete floors;
• warm water;
• and the principle of obtaining and maintaining heat in a Russian bath.

Features of the Russian bath

Progress has also affected the device modern traditional sauna: stones for heating and generating steam are placed in the stove itself and heated by a hidden electric heater.

Pouring hot stones cold water, steam room lovers receive hot steam, which reaches 100 degrees in the upper part of the room, and a stable 50 degrees in the lower part. This temperature must be maintained for the entire duration of the steam procedure.

How to insulate a wooden floor in a bathhouse?

• Modern baths are placed on a foundation, which requires the construction of a rough and finished floor.
• The finished floor (impermeable) is made with a slope towards the drain;
• The finished floor (leaky), laid on joists with a gap of 3 cm at the walls, requires air drying - the convenience is questionable.
• The groundwater level determines the type of vapor or waterproofing barrier used: if low, it can be a vapor barrier membrane; if high - glassine or roofing felt.
• The waterproofing should, covering the entire surface of the subfloor, protrude upward along the surface of the wall by 15 cm, overlap, and fasten with tape or a stapler.
• The best insulation is polystyrene foam. It actually does not absorb moisture. Plates of this material are laid between the floor joists so that a 2-centimeter ventilation gap is formed on top. Perlite or expanded clay can also be used as insulation.
• The next layer of waterproofing protects the insulation from water ingress.
• The finished floor is laid from well-fitted planed tongue-and-groove boards and impregnated with a special water-repellent and antiseptic impregnation.
• The edges of the waterproofing are cut above the installed baseboards.

In the following diagrams you will see other options for floor insulation.

And here is a video about how to insulate a bathhouse floor with your own hands.

Insulation of a concrete floor in a bathhouse

1. The subfloor is represented by a rough screed.
2. As a waterproofing agent, a thick polyethylene film with a rise of 5 cm along the wall or a layer of bitumen coating ( roll material when overlapped, it is held together).
3. On top of the waterproofing, frames are made of wood, which are fastened with self-tapping screws on dowel plugs to the rough screed.
4. Polystyrene foam is placed into the frame structure and fixed with mortar.
5. The entire structure is reinforced with reinforcing mesh and concreted with a thickness of 2 cm.
6. A self-leveling mixture 5-8 cm thick completes the floor installation. A needle roller removes air from the mixture.
7. The floor covering can be wooden or tiled, with a wooden grid for the feet.

Time-tested material

As many years of practical experience show, in the competition of thermal insulators Expanded clay wins in many respects:

• expanded clay base - natural material, clay;
• during the firing process, it acquires the structure of porous, but closed with a sintered crust, granules;
• it is fire resistant;
• its 15 cm layer is superior in thermal protection to 25 cm of wood, 60 cm of foam concrete, 1 m of brick;
• withstands loads up to 300 kg/sq.m. m;
• cheap.

Ability to absorb moisture, as a disadvantage, is compensated by a special technology for laying the floor, which makes it moisture resistant even for a bathhouse.

Sequence of work when insulating the floor in a bathhouse with expanded clay, the same as with other insulation materials:

• a thick layer of plastic film is spread on the rough screed, extending onto the wall;
• beacons are placed at the finishing level;
• expanded clay (preferably a mixture of two fractions - gravel and sand, without splitting the granules) is filled in using the “jamming” method; (also, the method of insulation with expanded clay directly in bags, with pre-made holes, is used);
• The top layer of leveled expanded clay backfill is held together with cement “milk”;
• if necessary, lay a reinforcing mesh;
• a screed of 3-4 cm is poured onto the surface of the expanded clay, gripped with cement; (concrete will dry in 28 days, polymer - 7);
• Air bubbles are removed using a special concrete roller.

Warm floor. His device

The invention of warm floors (liquid and air) is the merit of ancient civilizations. Nowadays, only a few improvements are being made due to technological progress (electric heating).

The essence of a warm floor is that under the finishing coating there is a distribution for heat carried by water, air or a heating element. This floor is suitable for small rooms with low load-bearing load.

1. A heat insulator is laid on the leveled surface of the subfloor (subfloor) - mineral wool mats, expanded polystyrene. To enhance the effect, aluminum foil is laid.
2. Pipes for heated water are laid (“snail” or “snake”) on the reinforcing mesh with a certain freedom, no closer than 10 cm to the wall; when laying, the probability of deformation is taken into account.
3. Through the outlet manifold, the pipe system is connected to the heating system. The connection points are fixed with a coupling and winding.
4. A leak test is carried out.
5. Poured rough screed, and then self-leveling.
6. An absorbent layer is placed under the finishing coating.
7. Facial finishing - tiles.

Insulation of the floor in the dressing room

Stability depends on the preservation of heat in this room. temperature regime soap and steam rooms. The entrance to the dressing room is equipped with a vestibule in order to preserve heat. A thoughtful arrangement of doors in the bathhouse will also work for this purpose. A small door frame and a high threshold are essential conditions for heat conservation.

Waiting room does not interact with water to the same extent as the main rooms of the bathhouse, and therefore does not require serious efforts to waterproof the subfloor.

Just put it between layers of glassine thermal insulation layer, in the form of mineral wool, and cover it all with a tongue and groove board. Laminate can be used as a finishing coating.

Climatic comfort in a bathhouse is achieved at a certain humidity and air temperature (50 g/m3, up to 60*C). Maintaining such comfort is achieved by using finishing building materials with a high rate of thermal insulation and vapor barrier (aluminum foil or foil on fiberglass). Based on the thermal insulation properties of the material, you can determine how to insulate a steam room (steam room, wash room) in a bathhouse from the inside to ensure climate stability and comfort. Maintaining a constant climate involves energy costs. Walls, ceilings and floors must not only have good vapor barrier, but also the room they form must have a volume that allows the air to be heated at a comfortable time.

Approximate diagram of steam room insulation

What material to choose for insulation

Mineral wool slabs and mats are used for walls (ceilings). Properly performed insulation of floors (ceilings) will provide protection against condensation and accumulation of excess moisture. Soft fiberglass mats with aluminum foil will solve this problem. Wood of any species is an excellent finishing heat-insulating material for walls, floors and ceilings in all rooms of the bathhouse. The main thing is to choose quality wood. Expanded clay, expanded sand, basalt wool and polyisocyanourethane foam (thermopyr) have excellent thermal insulation.

A concrete floor on porous aggregates in the washing room serves as a kind of insulation. This thermal insulation design has little effect on the climate and floor temperature. 30 degrees is quite comfortable for a person. Its main task is to drain water into the sewer. The use of polystyrene foam (expanded polystyrene) is limited to the walls and ceilings of the dressing room and dressing room. To solve the question of how to insulate a steam room in a bathhouse, you need to know such properties of materials as thermal conductivity and vapor permeability.

Lowest thermal conductivity the following materials at 10(-4) kW/m x deg:

1. Still air - 0.24;
2. Expanded polystyrene - 0.3;
3. Pine - 1.4.

Thermal insulation in the steam room

Lowest vapor permeability of 10(-6) kg/m x sec x atm:

• Aluminum foil - 0
• Steel – 0;
• Glass – 0;
• Polyfoam – 0.1:
• Pine – 2;
• Expanded clay concrete – 3;
• Mineral wool – 7.

Various ethylene films, glassine and roofing paper do not allow steam to pass through. Such materials are placed on top of thermal insulation layers in the walls. Roofing paper (glassine) smells unpleasant when heated. Expandable polystyrene is durable (up to 20 years), does not allow moisture to pass through, absorbs it well and prevents the growth of bacteria.

More durable extruded polystyrene is even less moisture permeable

The most popular are multilayer foil insulation such as polystyrene coated on both sides with aluminum foil or foil polyethylene () up to 1.2 cm thick. At a melting point of about 120 degrees, it emits toxic gas. The same effect from foil cardboard and vapor barrier film prevents the accumulation of condensation at the junctions of the thermal insulation of the walls and the ceiling in the steam room.

We insulate the walls, ceiling and floor in the steam room from the inside

How to insulate a steam room in a bathhouse?

Regardless of the material of the walls, ceiling and floor of the steam room (brick, timber or concrete), the main insulating element is the interior finishing with insulation (mineral wool + 1 cm lining). This does not mean that a wall made of timber is not capable of insulation. Heating a steam room made of timber or brick to the required temperature will require more time and heat, since you will have to heat the wood or brick at the same time. Steam room optimal sizes from 15 cm timber will require 120 kW.hour. heat to heat up to 100 degrees at the ceiling. With an additional layer of 4 cm insulation and 1 cm lining, the heat requirement will become 15 kW. hour. Climatic comfort in a bathhouse depends almost entirely on the steam in the steam room.

The main thermal insulation material for the steam room will be a material with thermal conductivity parameters up to 0.5 x 10(-4) kW/m x deg

It is necessary to raise the finished floor to + 0.150 and the entrance door thresholds to + 0.350.

Insulation of the floor in the steam room

To provide the necessary norm thermal conductivity of the bathhouse enclosing structures is required to reduce heat loss through the floor of the steam room. The steam room is the most heated part of the building, so it is necessary to insulate the floor in the steam room. Considering that in winter the ground freezes to a depth of 1 m, therefore, the better we insulate the floor, the less losses there will be. Under the entire steam room we dig a hole up to 60 cm deep from the level of the clean floor. Having leveled the soil in the pit, we prepare the base with sand 5 cm thick. On the finished base we place a main layer of thermal insulation made of polystyrene foam 20 cm thick. Treat the joints between the sheets with mounting foam or glue for polystyrene foam. We make two layers of 5 cm each from cement mortar mixed with foam chips and vermiculite (50:50).

After the base solution has hardened, we fill it with concrete reinforced with a 10 x 10 cm mesh, grade M 200, 25 cm thick, with iron reinforcement (on the second day of hardening, the surface is sprinkled with a very thin, even layer of dry cement M500) on the upper surface with a slope towards the sewer riser.

After the solution has hardened, fill the base with concrete

Having completed all construction work (but not earlier than two weeks), lay the plank floors. For non-leaking floors use floorboard with a quarter of a general slope towards the sewer. Leaky floors are made from floorboards with cracks. It is necessary to provide for the possibility of removing the floor boards for drying in the sun.

In existing bathhouses, the floors can be various designs. The most common types of steam room floors are leaking floors along the ground or into a concrete ventilated funnel (ladder). It is necessary to decide how and with what material you can insulate a leaking floor in a steam room. A do-it-yourself insulation option is to make a concrete floor made of M200 concrete 25 cm thick with thermal insulation made of foam plastic 20 cm thick. Or a floor made of expanded clay concrete with masonry reinforcement mesh 100 x 100 mm. Old sand must be replaced, as it is not capable of being a base for the floor. After completing the concrete work, lay a non-leaking floor with water drainage into the sewer (as shown in the photo).

Plank floor with drainage

For a leaking floor, reinforce the concrete surface with a slope towards the sewer.

Thermal insulation of ceilings in the steam room

Construction modern baths and saunas are carried out using reinforced concrete floor slabs. The thermal conductivity of the slabs is not low enough for a steam room. Therefore, additional thermal insulation is required to create a comfortable temperature. Bars 10 x 10 cm along the entire length are attached to the slab with dowels at intervals of 50 cm from each other. The bars should press fiberglass or vapor barrier film to the bottom surface of the slab, which prevents condensation from accumulating at the junctions of the thermal insulation of the walls and the ceiling in the steam room. The outermost bars along the perimeter of the steam room should press the fiberglass to the walls.

Basalt or kaolin wool 10 cm thick is laid between the bars. A 1 cm thick lining with nails with flattened heads presses the main vapor barrier layer of foil. In the attic space, an additional vapor barrier film + thermal insulation made of expanded clay 15 cm thick is additionally installed.

The photo shows the order of the layers of thermal insulation of the ceiling in the bathhouse

Insulation of steam room walls

The walls of the steam room are insulated in the same way as the insulation of floor slabs. When insulating walls made of timber (logs), they require the use of special structural elements. Before properly insulating the walls of a bathhouse in a steam room from the inside, you need to know what deformation occurs with the timber when temperature and humidity change over two years of operation. To compensate for linear expansions, it is necessary to provide sliding fastening supports between the wall material and the material of the insulation structure. The better such supports work, the fewer gaps there will be in the timber wall. If all the walls of the bathhouse are made of timber, then it is necessary to provide for a shrinkage of 20 cm when installing insulation and inserting door and window openings not only a steam room, but also a washroom with a locker room.

Lathing option

In the 6 x 6 cm vertical bars of the sheathing for the lining, vertical grooves 20 cm long for nails are made every 50 cm. The load-bearing bars of the sheathing with grooves are made vertically every 50 cm. Nails through the slots in the bars are nailed to the wall made of timber, pressing the vapor barrier film, which prevents condensation from accumulating at the joints in the steam room. The nails are placed taking into account the possible shrinkage or swelling of the timber in the middle of the groove when insulating the steam room. And for the remaining walls above the middle of the groove. Does it need to be so complicated?

insulation design? Yes need. This allows you to prevent the log from hanging on the nails of the sheathing after moving it in the grooves of the sheathing, which increases heat loss.

The nails move when they shrink and return when they swell with moisture. The maximum length (20 cm) of movement is under the ceiling. The insulation is cut to size. It should fit snugly against the sheathing bars. It is not recommended to use polyurethane foam in the steam room. Vapor barrier sheets (penofol) are attached with a furniture stapler to the sheathing bars. The surface covered with foil should be directed indoors. Cover the joints with aluminum tape. To create an air gap between the vapor barrier and the lining, a counter-lattice made of 2 cm thick bars is used.

Selecting a skin

Is it possible to cover a steam room with plastic rather than wood? Yes. But steaming will not be comfortable. Not even any type of wood is suitable for such premises. Preference is given to linden, alder, aspen and abash. When heated, such wood maintains a temperature of close to 36 degrees, does not darken, and does not burn human skin. After steam treatment, a pleasant smell specific to each tree is released. The choice of wood depends only on the taste of a particular person.

Lining with foil in the steam room

To preserve the characteristic properties of the finish, each element is necessary in advance:

1. Cut to size;
2. Plan, rounding the corners of the workpieces;
3. Sand, drilling the fastening points with nails;
4. Impregnate with a solution (borax, sodium fluoride);
5. Dry at a temperature of 60 degrees until the humidity does not exceed 10 degrees;
6. Saturate the brush generously with a water-repellent compound (heavily diluted PF varnish).

When it comes to a good sauna, the first thing people mention is the opportunity to steam longer and warm up thoroughly. That's why it's so important to keep it there comfortable temperature, that is, insulating the floor in a bathhouse is one of the tasks that requires the most careful consideration. How to insulate a bathhouse from the inside is almost the most important question during its construction.

There are several methods of thermal insulation, which take into account the purpose of the room, design features and type of floor. It is advisable to think about how to insulate the floor in a bathhouse during the design process, because a cold one will completely ruin the pleasure of washing in the bathhouse, and in winter it will even make bath procedure impossible.

Materials for floor insulation in a bathhouse

Taking into account the special operating conditions, for baths and saunas they are somewhat different from those put forward for insulation in residential buildings. For example, due to the high humidity in the washing room, porous materials are not suitable for these purposes.

The best option is materials that have a closed cellular structure, or any variety of it. They:

• retain their qualities in conditions of high humidity;
• are able to maintain the temperature reached in the room for quite a long time.

Many craftsmen choose extruded polystyrene foam to insulate the bathhouse floor. He:

• quite hard, due to the special structure with a predominance of small granules;
• does not absorb moisture and thereby does not create conditions on the surface of this bath insulation that are conducive to the development of bacteria and the appearance of fungus;
• It is lightweight and therefore does not require reinforcement of the foundation;
• practical and easy to install;
• economical.

We also note that insulating the floor in a bathhouse with your own hands, in addition to foam materials, can be done using other insulation materials. Of course, a lot depends on the type of floor.

For example, for a concrete floor in a bathhouse, glass wool or expanded clay for the floor are also suitable.

How to insulate the floor in a bathhouse with your own hands

The solution to the question of how to insulate the floor in a bathhouse lies in how the floor is made. Let us immediately note that thermal insulation is only necessary for so-called dry floors that have a drain hole.

There are only two possible options: a monolithic poured concrete or a non-leaking wooden floor.

A concrete base is usually tiled, but a wooden base is finished with boards. The choice, as you can see, is small, but this is due precisely to the features of operation. The most important of these is considered to be high temperature.

, like others synthetic materials They are not suitable as a floor covering for such premises, since toxic substances are released when they are heated. The same principle is followed when choosing thermal insulation wheninsulation of the steam room.

Insulation of concrete floor

Here are several different methods of thermal insulation of a poured floor in a bathhouse.

The floors in the bathhouse are poured with a layer of insulation

Pour in 2 stages, placing an intermediate layer of thermal insulation between them.

• Cooking concrete mixture. Then the initial layer is poured using expanded clay as a filler. The layer thickness should be approximately 15 cm.
• The initial layer is left to dry for 28 days. During the drying process, it is recommended to moisten the surface, after which it is sprinkled with sawdust. This is necessary to increase the strength of the base.
• Next, thermal insulation, for example, made of glass wool or construction felt, is laid on the dried concrete.
• After one week, the next concrete layer is poured.
• It will take 28 days for the layer to dry completely. Then you can lay the flooring, say, ceramic tiles.

Insulation on the floor slab

• A layer of thermal insulation runs along the floor slab. It is first thoroughly waterproofed.
• A reinforcing mesh is laid on top of it, which is filled with a cement-sand screed.
• The finishing floor is laid on the dried concrete.

Do-it-yourself insulation of the floor in a bathhouse with expanded clay

Another material that allows you to insulate the floor yourself is expanded clay. To insulate the floor in a washing room with expanded clay, perform the following steps sequentially.

• A thick layer of plastic film is laid on the concrete subfloor, extending it onto the walls.
• The finishing level is specified and beacons are placed along it.
• Expanded clay can be poured directly from bags, having previously made holes in them, or using the “jamming” method, using two different fractions of the material - granules and sand, without splitting them.
• The expanded clay backfill is leveled and the surface layer is fastened using cement “milk”.
• If necessary, install a reinforcing mesh.
• A screed 30–40 mm high is poured onto the expanded clay layer set with cement.
• A special roller is used to remove air bubbles from concrete.

Insulating the floor of a bathhouse made of concrete with polystyrene foam

• Waterproofing is installed on the rough screed using fairly thick polyethylene with a rise along the walls of 50 mm or adhesive insulation, laying the rolled material overlapping. The overlap should be up to 100 mm. As for the joints, they are taped with tape.
• A frame of wooden frames is assembled on top of the insulation, which is fixed to the dowel plugs using self-tapping screws.
• Foam plastic cut to size is placed in the frames and fixed with a solution of at least 20 mm in height.
• The structure is reinforced with a mesh to reinforce the screed and concreted by pouring a layer of 20 mm or more.
• The floor installation is completed by pouring a height of 50–80 mm and air bubbles are removed from the mixture using a needle roller.
• The finishing coating can be wood or tiles; you can also lay wooden gratings under your feet.

How to insulate a wooden floor in a bathhouse

It is better to carry out thermal insulation work at the construction stage, however, if desired, insulation can be done in a room that is already ready for use.

Let's consider the technology of insulating an already laid wooden floor, which involves an additional operation to dismantle the flooring.

• Floorboards and baseboards are removed.

To simplify the restoration of the coating in the future, experts advise signing the dismantled elements.

• All wooden elements are subject to inspection. Damaged areas are cut out and then replaced with the same new ones.
• Along the lower edge of the beam, cranial bars are built up. The rough floor is laid on the resulting support, maintaining small gaps between the floor elements.

If construction was carried out on water-saturated soil, care must be taken to protect the insulation from high humidity in the underground of the building. A low groundwater level requires the use of a vapor barrier membrane, a high groundwater level requires waterproofing from roofing material or glassine.

• The layer of vapor or waterproofing should cover the entire floor, extending onto the walls by approximately 150 mm. Roll insulation lay overlapping, gluing the seams with tape.
• The insulation is “sewn” to the surface of the walls and joists using a stapler.
• The gaps between the joists are tightly filled with insulation, leaving no gaps or cracks. The joints are taped with tape.
• Between the thermal insulation layer and the finishing floor it is necessary to provide air gap necessary for ventilation of the insulation. If the thickness of the insulation does not allow this, lathing is placed between the finished floor and the thermal insulation layer in increments of approximately 400 mm.
• Thermal insulation must be protected from moisture and on top, so it is covered with any waterproofing material. Its edges are cut above the baseboards.

The requirement for waterproofing the thermal insulation layer is strictly mandatory for washing, whenWhen insulating a steam room or dressing room, this step can be skipped.

• The gap formed between the hole in the drain pipe and the thermal insulation is sealed. Liquid penoizol or polyurethane foam are suitable for this.

The technology for insulating a wooden floor assembled on logs on a concrete base is practically the same. The differences relate more to the design of the bathhouse floor. For example, logs are laid on a leveled concrete base, with insulating materials laid underneath them.

Insulation of the floor in a bathhouse on screw piles

Many people get confused when they need to insulate the floor in a frame bathhouse with their own hands, which is usually built on screw piles. In such structures, wooden floors are often laid. The technology for insulating such a floor is quite similar to that used for a wooden floor in a building with a strip foundation.

In such buildings there is no ground floor, and one of the possible options for organizing insulation is precisely its creation.

This is done as follows:

• The piles are connected using wooden beams or using long boards of sufficient thickness. It is very important that they are strengthened strictly horizontally. The places where external panels are supposed to be attached must be located in the same plane to avoid possible distortions. It is advisable to treat the wooden elements from which the inner lining is made with antiseptics.
• Wooden filing protected from moisture by a layer of waterproofing film.
• Next, it’s time to lay thermal insulation, which should fill the internal cavity of the resulting structure. There are no special criteria for choosing insulation. In principle, polystyrene foam, mineral wool, penoplex, and other insulation materials can be used for these purposes. Lay out the material in layers, securing each one in turn.
• Waterproofing is installed on top of the insulation.
• From the outside, the ground floor is decorated with heat-insulating panels. They should have ventilation holes that will ensure free circulation of small air flows.

Finally, watch how to insulate a wooden floor in a bathhouse, video instructions.

What are the difficulties of insulating floors in a bathhouse? A bathhouse is a structure with high levels of humidity and temperature; in order to comfortably take water procedures, certain temperature conditions should be created throughout the entire volume of the premises, while taking into account both the design features of the building and the materials for the construction of individual elements. There is another significant distinctive characteristic of baths - the conditions for using a relaxation room and a steam room are so different that this has a decisive influence on the building materials and technologies used during their construction.

For the southern regions of our country, the problem of insulation is not relevant, but in the northern regions, cold floors create significant difficulties. This concerns not only large heat losses from the interior, but also unpleasant sensations during washing. The cold has a particularly negative effect on young children; they are constantly either on the floor or in close proximity to it. Bringing a cold child home from the bathhouse is not the biggest problem.

In the article we will consider several methods used for insulating floors in a bathhouse, taking into account the purpose of the premises and features construction technologies. Insulation solutions will vary; you will need to make your own choice, taking into account the characteristics of your bathhouse, personal preferences and financial capabilities.

Insulating a floor with a screed on the ground - diagram

This method can be used for various bath premises and is characterized by good efficiency and reliability. We will consider the most complex multi-layer insulation option, and you can simplify it a little for yourself and refuse some work. It all depends on climate zone accommodation.

Step 1. Make the markings.

The height of the last covering should be at the level of the subfloor; this must be remembered during marking. Therefore, take into account the number of layers of screed, the features of the insulation, etc. Use a hydraulic level to mark the subfloor mark on the walls and make marks from it for each layer in the reverse order.

In our case, this will be a dry concrete screed (about 5 centimeters), a layer of foam concrete (about 10 centimeters), a layer of expanded clay (about 15 centimeters) and a sand cushion (about 15 centimeters).

Foam concrete - structure

You can add insulation from pressed polyurethane foam or polystyrene foam, replace one of the insulating layers we named with them, etc.

Thickness is also not a dogma, we cannot know your specific conditions. But you must make vertical marks for each layer; constantly monitor the thickness of the layers made. Otherwise, the floor height in each individual bathhouse room will not be the same.

Step 2. Level the ground at a depth determined according to our advice. You need to level it with a shovel “by eye.” If you wish, you can check the horizontality with a level.

Step 3. Add a layer of dry sand. It will absorb vertical loads during soil heaving. Compact the sand using any available means. Under no circumstances should you pour water on it to shrink it! Apart from harm, this “technology” does nothing.

Sand pillow – photo

Step 4. Add a layer of expanded clay. You can replace it with slag or other porous production waste. At the lowest level, it is better to use durable and moisture-resistant insulation; they cope well with all the adverse effects that arise during operation.

Slag – photo

Step 5. Fill the expanded clay with foam concrete.

This is an excellent material in all respects. It is made only from cement and sand in a ratio of 1:3; the porous structure is obtained by adding special additives. They can be purchased at construction stores.

Important. Do not purchase such additives from open warehouses; the additives lose their characteristics after freezing. Not a single seller will talk about this, and you won’t know it by touch. The point is that according to appearance foam concrete made using low-quality additives is almost no different from normal. Only after it cools down will it be discovered that the material has almost no strength and crumbles under the slightest load.

Video - Pouring the floor with foam concrete

Step 6. For the foam concrete to harden, you need to wait two to three days, after which work can continue. There are two options here - lay the finishing flooring on it immediately or make cement-sand screed. We recommend the second option; in terms of time and finances, the top screed should not scare away developers. And the strength and reliability of the coating increases significantly.

Step 7 Screed.

It is advisable to place it on a reinforcing mesh, the mesh size is about five centimeters, the thickness of the wire does not matter. It is better to make the screed with dry concrete. It is much easier to work with, it has good heat-protective properties, the cost and consumption of dry concrete is much lower than that of ordinary concrete.

Semi-dry floor screed - mortar

“What is it and how is it made”? Dry concrete differs from ordinary concrete in the much smaller amount of water; when squeezing it in the hand, water should not appear between the fingers, and the shape should be retained. In this simple way, the relative humidity of the material is checked.

For production, you should use only sand and cement, the proportions are 1:4; you can prepare the mixture either manually or using a concrete mixer. The second method is easier physically, but requires experience. The fact is that the inability to prepare such a solution will lead to the formation of balls of different diameters in the concrete mixer instead of a homogeneous granular mixture. This is not critical, but it significantly complicates further work and somewhat reduces the physical characteristics of the strength of the screed. And dry screed does not have very high load-bearing properties. To prevent balls from forming during mixing, you must first pour water into the concrete mixer, then cement, and only lastly sand, and not vice versa.

How to work with such material?

Step 1. Place a reinforcing mesh on the foam concrete and place beacons on it; the screed should be as level as possible.

Beacons are installed using a level or a stretched rope. As beacons, you can use ordinary wooden slats of appropriate height, industrial metal beacons, or make them yourself from a dry mixture. The last method is the most universal and of the highest quality, but it is used only by professional, experienced builders.

First, you need to make several pyramids of dry concrete in level, their height should be slightly higher than the thickness of the screed.

Using a trowel, carefully remove the top of the pyramid at the calculated height and level the upper plane. Next, you should suspend work until the next day, let the solution harden a little. The next day, pour narrow strips of solution between the individual cut pyramids. Rovnaya wooden slats or a long level is placed on two adjacent pyramids and the horizontal position of the poured strip is beaten off. Such operations need to be done for all beacons. The advantage of such beacons is that the surface is absolutely identical, there are no places with reduced strength. After all, metal or wooden beacons will have to be removed from the solution and the resulting cracks will have to be sealed. The strength of the screed in these places decreases.

One more tip. If you need to make beacons very quickly, after leveling, sprinkle them with dry cement, carefully remove the cement that has absorbed moisture and repeat the operation again. This simple method will allow you to use the beacons an hour or two after production. True, the strength will not be very good; you will have to work very carefully with the leveling bar.

Step 2. Start work on one side of the room. You shouldn’t pour a lot of solution at once; depending on your dexterity and ability to work, take 3–4 wheelbarrows. Use a shovel to level the dry concrete to an approximate height level.

Step 3. You need to level the solution in height along the beacons with an even strip. If there are holes, pour the solution into them. Next, work with a smoothing iron. Experienced builders screed 30 square meters or more in one day using this method. If you reach a productivity of 5÷10 m2, great, this is exactly the area of ​​the bathhouse premises.

To guarantee the tightness of the insulation, you can place a layer of waterproofing made of any material over the foam concrete.

Step 4. The finishing coating on dry concrete can be applied on the second day, which greatly speeds up the construction of the bathhouse. Best used ceramic tiles, but this is optional.

Prices for reinforcing mesh

reinforcement mesh

Extruded durable foam sheets or pressed mineral wool can be used as insulation. The concrete pavement must meet the technical parameters of SNiP 2.03.13–88.

SNiP 2.03.13–88. SP 29.13330.2011. Floors. File for download

Industrial or homemade ones can be used as flooring concrete plates. Factory-made concrete floors have special holes to reduce heat losses, which makes it possible to obtain warmer floors. To improve the characteristics of ordinary concrete, you can dilute part of the gravel or crushed stone fraction with porous materials during its production. The strength of the concrete will decrease slightly, but this will not have any noticeable negative effect on the floors.

It is very difficult to pour a floor slab yourself; it is much cheaper to use a ready-made one. In this regard, we will not even talk about how the process of pouring concrete floors is carried out.

Be sure to inspect the floor slabs before work

Check the condition of the ceiling, remove all large protrusions.

If the size of the nervousness exceeds acceptable standards, it is necessary to make a screed. We recommend making a liquid screed for concrete using a cement-sand mortar. Although in terms of physical strength it is somewhat inferior to the usual ones, it is done much faster and easier.

How to make liquid screed?

Step 1. Inspect the surface of the reinforced concrete slabs, bend the protruding metal rings, caulk or simply fill large gaps in the joints between the slabs with any available materials.

Step 2. Prepare a solution for the screed. To prepare it, you can take four to five parts of sand to one part of cement. Water must be added until the solution reaches the consistency of sour cream, but not fatty, but ordinary. When pouring onto a flat surface, most of the solution should spread independently under the influence of gravity.

Step 3. Prepare For these purposes, you can buy special metal ones in the store, they are quite convenient to work with.

If it is not possible to use store-bought ones, ordinary wooden even blocks 2÷3 centimeters thick are suitable for beacons. Is it true, wooden blocks need to be secured with dowels to the slab, otherwise they will move during concrete pouring.

If metal beacons lie unstable on the surface of the slab, fasten them too. The distance between the beacons should be slightly less than the length of the leveling bar with which the mortar will be leveled. Place the slats first in the corners of the room, and then place the rest along the rope stretched between them.

Beacon installation - installer

Step 4. Pour the solution into buckets onto the slab one at a time, and immediately level it with the level of the beacons using a lath.

The work is done quickly, no special physical effort is required. The entire room is flooded - leave it to cool for at least a day. You can significantly speed up and facilitate the process of leveling the solution; you don’t have to work in a bent position all the time. To do this, you need to make a simple device - a leveling bar with a long handle.

How it's done?

1. For the slats, select a flat board approximately 10 mm thick, 100 mm wide and 50÷60 cm longer than the distance between the beacons.
2. Select a block of approximately 30x30 mm, 2 meters long. The surface needs to be sanded a little to avoid injury during work. From the same block, prepare two pieces 30 centimeters long, cut the ends of the pieces at an angle of 45°.
3. Secure a long block in the center of the board with a self-tapping screw; it will serve as a handle. Fix the pieces on both sides of the block and attach the other ends to the board.

With this device, you can not only level the liquid solution much faster, but also get tired much less. The main condition for working with any leveling slats is that they must always lie on two beacons. Keep an eye on this; slipping of the surface of the board from the beacons leads to the formation of craters, and you will have to waste extra effort and time to level them.

Step 5. After a day, you can remove the beacon slats or leave them in the solution; this will not affect the characteristics of the insulated floor.

Step 6. To finally align the screed, you need to once again go through the lath in a transverse direction to the previous one. The fact is that small waves 1÷3 millimeters high will inevitably remain on the surface of the screed after the lath. It is impossible to say exactly when to do the final alignment. It all depends on the speed of drying of the solution, and the speed, in turn, is affected by the composition of the solution, temperature and humidity in the room. “Readiness” should be defined practically. If the solution can support the weight of the builder, then final leveling can be done. Let’s say right away that it is advisable to do this operation under penoplex slabs, but not necessary.

Prices for cement-sand mixture

cement-sand mixture

Insulation

On ready-made screed Penoplex sheets are laid, making sure that there are no gaps between the joints. It is better to lay them with a little force; the edges will be slightly deformed and will “seal” the joints hermetically.

There is no need to protect the insulation from below, but waterproofing should be placed on top. For these purposes, use any of the modern waterproofing materials or ordinary polyethylene film with a thickness of at least 30 microns. Next, you need to protect the upper surface of the penoplex from excessive loads and distribute the forces over the maximum area. This can be done using a reinforced screed. Now it only needs to be done semi-dry, some call such a solution dry, there is no difference, every builder uses the terminology familiar to him. But all professionals understand this terminology; get used to speaking not only in bookish language.

Penoplex prices

penoplex

How to make a dry (semi-dry) screed on insulation?

Step 1. Prepare a solution of sand and cement. You can prepare it manually or in a concrete mixer. The two methods have fundamentally different technologies; let’s consider both. For a dry mixture, you need to take 4 ÷ 5 parts sand for one part of cement. The sand must be sifted, without large inclusions. Pebbles will create inconvenience when grouting the surface.

Preparation of dry mortar manually.

1. On a flat surface (in most cases, a sheet of metal approximately 1.5 x 1.5 meters in size is used under it), pour sand and cement in the center. Mix the mixture thoroughly with a shovel, do not allow individual lumps of cement or sand to appear, pour it in a pointed pyramid in the center of the sheet.
2. Make a cut cone from the pyramid with a funnel inside. Water will be added to this funnel. Very important! There must be a shaft of the mixture around the circumference of the entire cone, otherwise the water will flow out.
3. Add water to the cone in small portions and immediately mix the mixture with a shovel. Do not add a lot of water; the finished solution should be easily compressed in your fist without releasing water between your fingers.
4. In this way, gradually stir all the dry ingredients. If you made a slight mistake with the amount of water, then you need to add sand or liquid to it, depending on the consistency of the mass.

In a concrete mixer, dry mortar is prepared differently. First, the entire portion of cement dissolves in the entire volume of water. After complete dissolution, sand is added and the mixture is brought to the desired state. If you do not follow our recommendations, the concrete mixer will “roll” you a huge amount of cement-sand balls. This, of course, is not fatal, but it is much more difficult to work with them.

The solution is ready - start making a dry screed with reinforcement on the insulation.

Prepared base - film and mesh laid

Step 1. Install beacons, we described how this is done a little higher. Prepare a piece of flat board for yourself - you will place it under your knees while working. You will have to level the screed on your knees.

Step 2. Pour several buckets of the mixture more or less evenly onto the area between the beacons, and use a shovel or trowel to level it out a little.

Step 3. Lower your knees onto the prepared board and level the mixture to the level of the beacons with an even slate. The collected solution accumulates near the knees, the path lies there, you will need it during the final grouting of the screed.

Step 4. When leveling with a lath, gaps will certainly form; with a trowel, take the mortar that has accumulated at the knees and throw it with small tubercles into the holes.

Important: do not generally use a small board to level out large uneven areas; its edges should lie on flat areas.

And one more note. Place the board exactly in the middle of the poured mound of mixture, press gradually, without fanaticism. Tool movements should always be only circular, never make straight-line movements. At first you will have little experience; a hole will again form in place of the tubercle. It's not scary, add a little dry mixture again and start all over again. Believe me, after an hour or two of work, things will go much faster and better.

Step 5. Having prepared a section approximately 50 centimeters long in this way, proceed to completely level the piece of floor. Do not leave too large surfaces for smoothing; they are difficult to reach, and this is very tiring for your back and arm.

Step 6. While working, keep a bucket of water and a brush at hand at all times. Using a brush, you will need to slightly moisten the surface of the screed from time to time, this will make it much easier to smooth out the dry mortar. Just wet with “feeling”, do not overdo it, do not turn a dry solution into a wet one.

Step 7 Before leveling, do not forget to place a metal mesh for reinforcement. The mesh should be in the middle of the solution, keep this in mind. The thickness of the mesh wire is within 0.5 mm, the wire must be galvanized. If in some places the wire is visible on the top layer of the screed, it is not a problem; the strength of the reinforcement is quite sufficient to withstand the loads present in residential premises.

A semi-dry screed dries much faster than a wet one, so you can continue working the next morning.

This is if you are in a hurry. If not, then it is better to moisten the screed generously with water in the morning and leave it for another day to dry. Wetting with water will significantly increase the strength of the dry screed.

The cement has set - proceed to the finishing floor coverings. You can use any type of flooring you like, from ordinary wood to tiles. This flooring base falls into the category of universal use.

Insulation by joists

Rolled or pressed mineral wool, foam plastic or bulk materials can be used as insulation.

Step 1. To the bottom of the floor beams you need to nail the so-called “ cranial bars", the size of the bars is 20×20 mm. The subfloor will lie on them.

Installation of cranial bars for rolling: A – from scraps; B – from bars; B – reinforced with metal brackets; D – using longitudinal samples

Step 2. Can be used for subfloors unedged boards, pieces of plywood or OSB, the subfloor does not need to be made solid, leave a gap of up to five centimeters between the boards, this will reduce the amount of materials, but the quality will not suffer.

A vapor barrier must be installed on the subfloor. The fact is that in an underground house there is always high humidity; moisture or condensation on insulation or wooden structures is prohibited.

Step 3. Fill the space between the floor beams with insulation, making sure that the material lies evenly without gaps or cracks.

Laying insulation - photo

Step 4. The top insulation should be protected with any waterproofing material. Choose not by price, but by quality. Many expensive “promoted” materials are no different in waterproofing characteristics from cheaper competitors. The high price is explained by the high qualifications of advertising agency employees.

The thickness of the insulating layer must be at least ten centimeters, otherwise the effect will be insignificant. There are options for insulation over joists on a concrete base. The insulation technology has no fundamental differences. The only difference is that wooden joists need to be placed on a flat cement base, and thermal insulation is laid between them. It goes without saying that the logs should be insulated from the concrete with insulating materials, and the insulation on top should also be covered with waterproofing.

Prices for waterproofing material

waterproofing material

Video - Floor insulation using joists

If you plan to insulate the floors in the bathhouse in advance, then the work can be simplified and cheaper. To do this, reduce the distances between the floor beams. For standard cases, beams are installed under the joists at a distance of approximately one meter. Then logs and flooring are installed on them. Reduce the distance between the floor beams to 50÷60 centimeters; use ordinary 50×150 mm boards for their manufacture. Then the insulation will be located in the niches of the beams, and the finishing floor covering can be laid on the upper plane.

Still very important note. If, without insulating the floors in the bathhouse, we always only recommended using antiseptics for the lower wooden structures, then in the case of insulation building standards are already obliged to produce them chemical protection from damage by fungi and rot.

Floor insulation with liquid foam plastic (penoizol) or polyurethane foam

Enough new technology, universal use, highly efficient and durable. Disadvantage: not recommended for residential use.

Recently, for insulation with this material there is no need to contact specialized construction companies. Portable equipment has appeared in the implementation, which makes it possible to perform all the work independently.

Video - Equipment for liquid insulation

Liquid insulation can be used on both concrete and wooden bases; they have excellent adhesion to all types of building materials. Another undoubted advantage is that the top layer of liquid insulation, after hardening, becomes smooth and continuous, which prevents moisture from penetrating inside.

We will consider the option of insulating floors with liquid insulation along joists.

Step 1. Clean surfaces from dust and construction waste. Liquid insulation should only be applied to clean surfaces. Another very important condition is that all wooden structures must be dry. If you fill damp joists, they will completely rot in just a few years, and unscheduled floor replacement costs quite a lot of money. Before starting work, it is advisable to specially dry the materials in a separate warm room.

Step 2. Wooden structures should be protected from moisture penetration from below; for this, use any materials. For example, ordinary cheap polyethylene film is in no way inferior to expensive foreign-made materials in terms of performance characteristics.

Step 3. Carefully apply a layer of liquid insulation.

Very important! The insulation materials contain chemically aggressive substances; work only with a complete set protective equipment: mask, goggles, protective clothing, etc. After drying and completion of chemical reactions, these substances evaporate from the material. Before continuing work, ventilate the room well; such precautions will minimize the risk of unpleasant situations.

Step 4. Cover the insulation layer with boards, sheet plywood or OSB boards, install the finishing flooring. If there is a high probability of water getting on the insulation, then you can cover it with waterproofing material for insurance.

Another advantage of liquid insulation is that it can be used on all surfaces without prior leveling. This always significantly reduces the work time, and in some cases this method is considered the only possible due to the unsatisfactory condition of the surfaces.

Insulation using traditional methods

We warn you that traditional methods of floor insulation can hardly be considered effective by modern standards. In addition, they require a lot of time and physical labor. But there are developers who prefer to build baths only using ancient traditional technologies.

Insulation	Description
	For floor insulation, only rye straw is used; wheat straw is not suitable - it rots quickly. In addition, rodents love this kind of straw. The straw must be chopped and mixed with clay in a 1:1 ratio. The clay should be liquid. You have to mix with your feet or by hand. The minimum thickness of insulation is 20 centimeters. The liquid solution is placed on an earthen base, leveled and left to dry.
	The preparation process is no different from the version with straw. Sawdust can be taken from any type of wood, but coniferous ones are better. They contain resinous natural substances that significantly slow down the decay process.
	You can use slag, expanded clay, waste from brick factories, etc. The materials are usually poured onto the ground. A layer of clay at least ten centimeters thick is compacted on top.

Due to the fact that bathhouses have unfavorable operating conditions from the point of view of wooden building elements, insulation must be approached very carefully. For wooden structures, the main condition for long-term operation is relative humidity and the presence of natural ventilation. Any hydro- or vapor barrier almost completely eliminates the natural ventilation of elements wooden coverings, the consequences of this situation are known. That's one problem. There is one more.

No coating guarantees 100% protection against moisture penetration. Such situations may arise due to a violation of the technology for laying waterproof layers or due to their mechanical damage. Any damage allows moisture to penetrate to wooden structures, but does not allow them to dry quickly. High temperature is added to high humidity; the combination of these factors greatly accelerates all destructive processes in wood.

Is it cold to stand on the floor in a bathhouse for a long time? Try making ordinary wooden gratings or purchasing beautiful mats made from rubberized materials in the store. Such insulation of “cold” floors will be the fastest, cheapest, most versatile and reliable.

Floor grate for baths and saunas