The best way to insulate the walls of a house from the outside - advice from experienced experts. How to insulate a country house quickly, easily and with a minimum budget. Insulate a private house from the outside with your own hands.

Insulation of houses is becoming more and more important with rising prices for public utilities. You can save a lot of money by doing everything yourself and first studying how to insulate private houses with your own hands. Considering that, for example, Moscow has rather cold and long winters, reducing heating costs can significantly affect the family budget.

What to insulate first?

Residents of high-rise buildings located next to the private sector see problems with insulation very well. So, at the beginning of winter, roofs where the snow quickly melts clearly indicate high heat loss in the attic. This can also be detected using a thermal imager.

Considering that warm air rises up and cold air comes down, Special attention you need to pay attention to the ceiling and floor. Especially if the house has no basement and stands on the ground. When insulating a house externally, you should never forget about the base, so as not to create cold bridges between warm and cold surfaces.

Also, a lot of heat escapes through the windows. And if all the cracks around the openings are reliably foamed, you should carefully look at the batteries. Their length should be equal to the width of the window, and the window sill cannot overlap the radiator. After all, it is due to convection that thermal curtain, keeping out the cold from the street.

Calculation of insulation thickness

The thickness of the insulation should be selected based on the material of the walls, the thickness of these walls and minimum temperature during the coldest period. According to SNiP, only 5 cm of polystyrene foam or 13 cm of vermiculite is enough to insulate a house.

But this is with additional insulation window openings and reducing the ventilation of walls.

If you need to ensure minimal heat loss, it is better to use a calculator and calculate the individual thickness of the insulation. For example, for a wall made of one brick, you will need 10 cm of mineral wool.

This will allow you to get only 37.20 kW of ash loss during the heating season, instead of 166 kW without insulation.

The same 10 cm of mineral wool will be enough to insulate a house made of timber with a wall thickness of 150 mm, but the heat loss will be even lower - only 34 kW. But 35-centimeter walls made of aerated concrete can be insulated with just 5 cm of mineral wool to ensure 44 kW of ash loss.

Details about how to insulate private houses with your own hands

Insulate a private house You need to do it wisely, because redoing it will cost you more. You need to remember the basic rule - only insulate external walls. Insulation installed from the inside will not only reduce the area of ​​the rooms, but will also shift the dew point into the house.

Condensed moisture, which has nowhere to evaporate, will cause mold to form, harming not only the building, but also the health of those living in it.

The second rule for building a wall pie is to increase the vapor permeability of materials from inside to the outside. In other words, the frame must be protected as much as possible from moisture from the inside, and steam entering the wall and ceiling material must evaporate freely.

If vapor permeability is impaired and water microparticles are retained at some stage, this again leads to the development of fungi. Special attention need to pay attention to the vapor barrier of the ceiling - warm and wet air rises upward and, falling on a more hygroscopic inner layer insulation, can no longer quickly evaporate through the ceilings.

Materials best suited for insulation yourself

Of course, for self-insulation materials that do not require additional equipment. Therefore, polyurethane foam and ecowool applied by spraying can not even be considered - the cost of the equipment will not pay off when used for one home.

So, the easiest to use:

• slabs and rolls of mineral wool - simply laid on a horizontal surface, they need to be pressed tightly to a vertical surface, for example, with self-tapping screws with “umbrellas”;
• polystyrene foam – glued to flat surfaces using a special composition and additionally fixed with “umbrellas”.
• vermiculite, expanded clay, sawdust - simply poured in the required layer into the pre-made formwork.

But to work with these materials, you will need a drill or hammer drill to make holes in the walls, a screwdriver to screw the frame, a saw or grinder to cut off the bars. So don’t think that insulation on our own- it’s a very simple matter, even if your hand is a little full of home construction.

Advantages, disadvantages and installation technology of mineral insulation

Mineral wool is universal - it can be used to insulate both wooden and brick buildings. Due to its high vapor permeability, it will provide optimal microclimate in the house without creating a greenhouse effect. But it is precisely for the ability to “breathe” that houses made of timber are so valued.

Basalt slabs in this regard it is preferable. The insulation technology is extremely simple:

1. The frame is made of 5x5 cm bars. It is attached to wooden walls with self-tapping screws, and to concrete and brick walls with dowels. The bars are leveled and leveled using wooden pads.



2. The pitch of the bars in the frame is 1 cm less than the width of the insulation mat (so that it lies tightly, but does not sag). If a large layer of insulation is required, cross bars are placed on top of the first layer of laid mineral wool and the second layer is laid. The roof is also insulated in the same way.



3. Brick houses can be insulated without constructing a frame. Basalt slabs are attached using special glue and fixed with “umbrellas”.



4. For wooden houses a ventilated facade is used with a mandatory gap between the insulation and the siding. In this case, the mineral wool is closed windproof membrane, and puncture sites and all joints are taped with butyl rubber tape. Siding guides are placed on top of the windbreak; they will also provide the required ventilation gap.



5. At wet facade basalt wool is reinforced with reinforcing mesh and plastered. It is worth remembering that mineral wool is flexible material, so even a light blow to the facade can ruin the finish.

Disadvantages mineral insulation there too. In addition to the aforementioned love of mice, it is hygroscopic, so it requires good waterproofing. With improper ventilation, mineral wool begins to mold, and over time it erodes and cakes.

You need to remember safety precautions when working with glass wool - fibers that get on the skin cause severe itching. Basalt wool crumbles a lot. If it gets into the lungs, the dust is not removed, so the face must be protected with a respirator and goggles.

Pros, cons and techniques of foam insulation

The main disadvantage of polystyrene foam is its low vapor permeability, so for insulation wooden buildings he doesn't fit. To avoid creating an effect plastic bottle when the house is always high humidity, it is advisable to pay special attention to ventilation.

The advantages of expanded polystyrene are obvious:

• easy to install - it is lightweight and does not require a frame or formwork;
• easy to cut – does not generate dust and is completely safe;
• does not rot or cake;
• inexpensive and durable.

PPS slabs are laid on a flat, prepared surface. There is no need to make a screed, but you will have to remove all protruding elements. The foam is attached with a special glue, and to improve adhesion, the walls are pre-treated with a primer.

The polystyrene foam is fixed with “umbrellas” with a slight indentation, and the caps are rubbed cement mortar to ensure tightness. The seams are sealed with polyurethane foam, the excess is cut off and also sealed.

The video shows in detail the entire foam insulation technology:

Bulk insulation materials and their features

Natural bulk materials are environmentally friendly and, in some cases, low in price. So, living in a forested area, there will be no problems with sawdust, but delivery of expanded clay can be expensive. Vermiculite, in terms of its qualities, is much more better than expanded clay, since the only one of the insulation materials is capable of absorbing heat. So it is best used as insulation inside a wall frame.

For industrial scale it is unprofitable, but private construction makes it possible to use bulk insulation even so.

If you need to insulate attic floor, the easiest way is to pour 15 cm of sawdust. They don’t even need to be covered with waterproofing films.

They also have disadvantages:

• Due to its properties to absorb and evaporate moisture, the material itself does an excellent job of removing excess steam, reducing humidity in the house. Besides, everything bulk insulation materials are not suitable for mouse nests, which also speaks in their favor.
  They also have disadvantages:
• expanded clay is hygroscopic and heavy, so it is not suitable for large-scale insulation of buildings on light foundations;
• Vermiculite is also quite heavy, but does not absorb moisture.

Any bulk insulation works best on horizontal surfaces, but for pitched roofs absolutely not suitable.

To build your warm house, it is enough to have the minimum required construction skills. And everything will definitely work out!

We can confidently say that every owner wants his home to be warm, to have no problems with freezing walls, condensation, the spread of mold, and wants the house not to cause any problems. In addition, well-insulated walls mean savings on heating and partially improve the internal climate in summer, which has a positive effect on air-conditioning costs. There are several options for how to insulate a house from the outside with your own hands. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages, differences in cost, and some require a special approach to the design of the external facade.

Brief overview of advantages external insulation and ways to protect the thermal insulating layer from moisture

Insulating a house from the outside is quite popular because it has clear advantages for the user. Short list can be formulated as follows:

• there is no need to spoil the interior decoration;
• external insulation, for example, small country house, will not affect usable area rooms;
• Carrying out work outside allows you to vary the thickness of the layer, as well as apply different design solutions.

In addition to the improved heat retention characteristics of walls, external insulation has several other advantages. The main and most noticeable of them is the shift of the dew point outside the building, which means solving problems with damp walls, excessive condensation, freezing and mold growth.

Depending on the used exterior finishing material, the question may arise about isolating the thermal insulator layer from direct or indirect (in the form of condensation) exposure to moisture. The most common protection methods (divided by complexity of work and level of financial investment) are as follows:

• surface finishing of the insulation layer with plaster, tile adhesives and other types of finishing, called “wet facade technology”
• covering the facade with materials that do not require large investments Money and not putting forward special requirements for the qualifications of performers ( plastic lining, wooden). In this case, before starting work on the insulation of the facade, it is necessary to provide for the construction of a frame for fastening the parts, which, most often, consists of wooden planks.
• construction of a ventilated facade. In this case, film is often used as a surface for the formation of condensation. A ventilated façade requires both the qualifications of the work contractor and significant financial investments. According to the level of complexity of the design, it can be considered as a separate complex means of insulation with various methods formation of the outer surface.

Despite some complexity and high cost of the latter method, it shows excellent results, preventing water from entering the insulation, as well as improving thermal protection due to its own properties (the presence air gap, ventilation and evaporation of condensate, compensation for rapid significant temperature changes, which shows good results V autumn period when the house is not yet warmed up).

What to choose as a layer of insulation

Any wall insulation can be divided into two groups:

1. applied as a composition various kinds, ideal for processing, for example, a small country house;
2. applied in the form of mats, shields, sheets, in the form of masonry made of various materials.

Depending on the qualifications of the homeowner, most of the work can be done by hand. In fact, using modern ready-made building mixtures, any operations to insulate a country house can be done independently. Let's carry out short review materials used for finishing buildings.

Mineral wool

A classic and very common material for insulation. It can be used both for finishing walls and thermal protection of foundations, which reduces the level of humidity inside and has a better effect on comfort, ease of use and other characteristics of the building that are priority for the owner. U similar material There are enough advantages and disadvantages. The advantages of use include the following:

• mineral wool is available in the form of mats of various thicknesses;
• there are several ways to fasten insulation to the wall surface, some of them are specifically specified (as recommended) in the manufacturer’s instructions;
• mats are easy to cut if you need a covering element of a certain size;
• Working with mineral wool is very simple, creating either a continuous layer of insulation on the wall, laying it in various types of frames, or forming multi-layer protection.

The last undoubted advantage for the consumer is the high prevalence and relatively low price of mineral wool. However, its use is also associated with a list of disadvantages:

• the material is porous, therefore, although the wool fibers do not absorb moisture, the layer of material must be protected from the effects of water, both in the form of precipitation and condensation;
• You should work with classic (created by pulling glass melt into the finest threads) mineral wool very carefully, since the fibers are strong and brittle, dig into the skin, break off inside and cause severe itching. Application protective equipment- Necessarily.

To improve user performance, manufacturing techniques are constantly being improved. Basalt mineral wool is more durable when exposed to moisture, but is significantly more expensive. Slag wool has great thermal insulation properties, but is less common and very strongly retains moisture inside the insulation layer.

Classic plaster and fur coat

To the most proven and simple ways applies thick layer plastering and spraying mortar with slag onto the wall surface. If we describe the advantages and disadvantages of this insulation method, we can make the following list:

• the method is simple, when using ready-made building mixtures you can do the work to insulate the facades of a country house yourself;
• with a small volume of operations, the cost is quite acceptable, especially if you use a classic cement-sand mixture;
• You can vary the thickness of the coating layer to achieve your goals. A minimum layer of 50 mm can eliminate internal condensation and freezing, and a thicker layer with a secondary fur coat will provide warmth;
• with steel mesh reinforcement it is easy to achieve required thickness plasters for finishing facades;
• insulation can be formed on any type of wall, which is interesting when decorating a country house;
• plastering can be carried out even on surfaces with large irregularities.

To describe it briefly, classic plaster has the lowest thermal protection of all possible materials, is quite simple to work with, but will require a significant amount of material when processing the facades of a large building.

It is worth noting that ease of use and versatility of use gave impetus to the development of application methods and coating properties. Modern warm plaster has much better performance:

1. the level of thermal insulation is approaching that of mineral wool;
2. the finish is light, porous;
3. the application layer is small, the maximum recommended is 50 mm;
4. There are no contraindications for secondary finishing.

In fact, warm plaster can be an excellent additional method of insulating facades, leveling the wall and at the same time reducing the level of heat loss.

Polystyrene foam and polystyrene foam

Two materials obtained using modern technologies, very common - polystyrene foam and extruded polystyrene foam. In terms of characteristics, the latter is somewhat better (retains heat 30% better, is slightly vapor permeable, at least 5 times more resistant to fracture), but is significantly more expensive. The undoubted advantages of the materials include:

• low weight;
• good thermal insulation performance;
• ease of use;
• can be attached to the wall in several ways;
• complete indifference to the effects of moisture;
• do not serve as a breeding ground for bacteria; with certain surface treatment, the formation of mold can be prevented;
• fixed thicknesses of finished sheets, which speeds up design and work.

The availability of these materials has led to their widespread use in insulating facades. There is a list of shortcomings that cannot be considered decisive in most cases:

• fragility (applies primarily to polystyrene foam; polystyrene foam is much stronger and more technologically advanced);
• flammability, when ignited, carcinogenic toxic smoke with a large amount of soot is released;
• zero vapor permeability, which puts forward certain requirements for the organization of ventilation inside the building.

However, the listed characteristics are not the main limitations, therefore polystyrene foam and expanded polystyrene are very often used to insulate the facades of a wide variety of buildings. They can also be used when decorating a country house; it will be especially successful to create secondary cladding from plastic or wooden lining, which looks quite neat.

Thermal panels

One of the modern composite materials actively promoted on the market for facade finishing products is thermal panels. They are a layer of insulation (most often polyurethane foam) with clinker tiles applied to the surface. The result is an externally durable and good-looking finishing material that guarantees excellent insulation.
Working with thermal panels is quite simple. By applying the manufacturer’s recommended methods of fastening to the wall surface, you can guarantee long service, and excellent characteristics facades. The main advantage of thermal panels can be considered the choice of appearance options and speed of operation, and the disadvantage is the very high cost and application requirements special tool for forming parts the right size and configurations.

Insulating a country house using thermal panels can be very justified, but preliminary work will be necessary to level the walls - the finishing material is not flexible.

Foil penofol

Penofol is an excellent material, thin, easy to work with, the foil coating protects against moisture penetration and guarantees surface strength. However, such insulation is rare, since it literally “costs a pretty penny.” The use of penofol is justified only when creating additional insulation, since its use in “ventilated facade” type structures with professional approach It’s just technically inconvenient, ineffective, and sometimes not recommended.

Sprayed materials

There are several groups of ready-made products that can simply be sprayed onto a cleaned and primed wall surface. It is worth immediately noting some key characteristics that determine the use of such facade insulation only in rare cases. The list looks like this:

1. extremely low strength;
2. not aesthetic appearance;
3. it is necessary to protect some materials from exposure to ultraviolet radiation, otherwise they disintegrate very quickly;
4. zero vapor permeability.

A separate group, for example, foam glass insulation, can be characterized by extremely high cost with excellent durability and strength; others, on the contrary, have a very low cost, but it is advisable to use secondary finishing.
The leader in application is industrial polyurethane foam. It shows good results because it can provide the following benefits:

• good insulation;
• ease of application;
• low cost of coverage.

The formed layer looks unaesthetic, but when using secondary finishing in the form of lining, plastering or coating adhesive composition for tiles - this disadvantage is completely neutralized.

Masonry materials

In fact, it is difficult to consider insulation using masonry materials only as thermal protection. Rather, it is a modification of the wall to obtain new properties, carried out using a separate layer of building material.

Some masonry insulation materials, such as aerated concrete, require UV protection using a secondary finish. If you combine all the characteristics of masonry insulation into one list, it will look like this:

• extremely unreasonable coating thickness, unacceptable, for example, for the facade of a country house;
• very high cost;
• average thermal protection indicators.

However, masonry materials can be useful due to interesting advantages:

• insulation has its own integrity and technological strength;
• Wide range of secondary finishes available;
• zero flammability and excellent vapor permeability.

As a result, if it is necessary to carry out insulation and at the same time - structural transformation of the building, masonry materials for facades can be considered as a reasonable option.

Conclusion

As we see, modern market offers many options for materials that can be used to insulate any building, residential multi-story building or a small country house. Ultimately, each owner chooses an option that is characterized by an acceptable balance of price, insulation quality, speed and ease of operation.

Building the walls and roof of a house is only half the battle. It is necessary to make the built space comfortable for life. To do this, most often the house is insulated from the outside or from the inside, and sometimes both options are used simultaneously.

Do you want to insulate your home, but don’t know what technologies exist and where to start? We will help you deal with this problem - the article discusses the main options used for external thermal insulation. The procedure for performing the work is also considered, thematic photos and useful video recommendations on the nuances of insulation are selected.

The materials from which the walls of permanent structures are erected can be different: brick, concrete, slag or aerated concrete blocks, wood, sandwich panels - these are just their main types.

For some of them, insulation is not required at all: for example, for sandwich panels. But other options need it to varying degrees.

Why do you need to insulate from the outside? Many people attribute this to the fact that if an insulating layer is installed inside a building, useful spatial volume is stolen from the interior.

This is partly true, but main reason That’s not what it’s all about. The critical parameter is .

A dew point forms on a surface where there is a temperature difference when pressure changes.

And if you install thermal insulation inside the room, it means that the walls of the building themselves will be cold, since the insulation will save heat inside the space and prevent it from reaching the enclosing structures.

Insulation from the inside is fraught with the fact that the dew point will form inside the building, most likely on the inner surface of the main wall, which is insulated with insulation

Methods and procedures for wall insulation

It turns out that a change in the weather outside will provoke a change in the humidity inside. Moreover, the changes will be significant - condensation will form on the walls, which will not have the opportunity to dry. Hence the series negative aspects, including development.

This is why it is so important to insulate walls from the outside. In total, there are 3 different technologies that are used to insulate capital structures. It seems reasonable to dwell on each of them in more detail.

Method No. 1 - well

This is one of the most ancient ways to insulate the walls of your home from the outside. Indeed, everything is logical: capital investments are being built load-bearing walls, and after that, retreating a little, they are lined with another row of bricks - for example, half a brick thick.

Between the main and external, let's call it decorative, walls, a void is formed - a “well”, which creates the effect of a thermos.

The distance from the decorative wall to the main one is adjusted using special connecting steel anchors, or a reinforcing mesh is laid. It covers the section of the well and simultaneously serves as reinforcement to strengthen the outer wall.

Conclusions and useful video on the topic

Analysis of the most common mistakes when externally insulating the facades of private houses:

Thermal insulation of permanent buildings ceases to be a separate issue that is resolved after the house is built. Now it is decisive when choosing the construction technology itself.

Over time, with the rise in price of electricity and energy resources, for example, gas, the issues that will come to the fore when constructing a building heat saving.

Tell us what insulation method you used to insulate your own home and which ones you used for this. Are you satisfied with the result? Please leave your comments in the communication block located under the article.

Owners of private houses often ask themselves the question of what kind of external wall insulation is the most effective. What is the best insulation to choose so that load-bearing wall structures do not conduct cold in winter and repel heat in hot summer. Many modern thermal insulation materials not only prevent heat loss during the cold season, but also protect the room in summer from the penetration of thermal radiation. The issue of thermal insulation of your home must be approached with all seriousness. How comfortable and cozy home will be for its residents.

External wall insulation

Thermal insulation materials, types and characteristics

Previously, organic insulation materials in the form of sawdust, peat, etc. were used to insulate the building structure. Significant disadvantage These materials were flammable, had a high rate of moisture absorption, and were susceptible to rotting and mold.

At the moment, organic insulation materials are practically not used for thermal insulation of houses. Now the construction market offers a wide range of synthetic thermal insulation materials with the best technical characteristics.

Expanded polystyrene, its advantages and disadvantages

Most people, when deciding how to insulate a house outside, give preference to expanded polystyrene. The popularity of this insulation is due to its low cost and excellent performance.

It is especially worth noting the following advantages of polystyrene foam:

• lower thermal conductivity in comparison with mineral wool insulation (this allows the thickness of the insulation layer to be made smaller);
• affordable cost (expanded polystyrene is cheaper than mineral wool);
• ease of installation (this material is easy to process).

The disadvantages of expanded polystyrene include: lower vapor permeability, in comparison with mineral wool insulation, and higher flammability.

Expanded polystyrene, despite some of its disadvantages, is widely used for insulating facades. The use of this material for thermal insulation of a building is three to four times cheaper than the use of other insulation, in particular mineral wool.

Important! Due to low vapor permeability, polystyrene foam is not recommended for insulation of wooden houses. Its only area of ​​application is the insulation of stone facades.

Expanded polystyrene is very effective for insulating brick houses. Expanded polystyrene thermal insulation with a thickness of only 80 mm makes it possible to reduce fuel consumption four times during the cold season.

Pno-foil insulating material

Quite interesting modern insulation is polyfoil insulation. It consists of a layer of polyethylene foam, which is sandwiched on both sides aluminum foil. The features of this material are its low weight and low thermal conductivity (the thermal conductivity of this insulation is 1.5 times less than that of basalt insulation).

The advantages of this material include ease of installation; the insulation is attached to the walls with a construction stapler. Among the disadvantages, it is worth noting the absolute vapor and gas impermeability.

Insulation: pressed cork

This rather exotic insulation material, like pressed cork, is made from the bark of the cork oak tree growing in the Mediterranean. This insulation is available in rolls and slabs, has a very attractive appearance, and is environmentally friendly. pure material. Pressed cork is used for internal insulation walls, this material, thanks to its excellent appearance performs functions decorative finishing. Cork slabs can also be used for external insulation of facades.

Rock-based mineral wool

A distinctive feature of mineral wool fibers is its ability to withstand temperatures of more than 1000° without melting. Thanks to this, mineral wool prevents the spread of fire and protects the structures of houses built from flammable materials (for example, wooden houses) from fire. Insulation materials with high water absorption rates lose their thermal insulation properties, since water entering the heat insulating material, fills air pores and increases the thermal conductivity of the insulation. Mineral wool practically does not absorb moisture, so it remains dry and retains its low thermal conductivity properties, even if moisture gets on its surface.

The many advantages of mineral wool also include high resistance to mechanical stress.

Fiberglass thermal insulation materials

To insulate the outside of a house, fiberglass materials can be used. The main components used to make fiberglass are cullet, sand, dolomite, limestone, soda, etibor, etc. The raw material for fiberglass is melted into melting furnace at 1400° and fed into the front furnace, where it undergoes the fiberization stage. In centrifuges, molten glass breaks down into fibers 6 microns thick. After this, the resulting products are impregnated with polymer resin and fed to a conveyor, where they are formed into mats. The remaining water is evaporated from the mats and high-quality insulation is obtained.

Fiberglass materials have best quality for thermal insulation of building facades, which include:

• Fire safety.
• Economical during transportation.
• Easy to install.
• Low thermal conductivity coefficient (from 0.035 to 0.044 W/mK), due to the ability of fiberglass to firmly retain air, and, as a result, excellent thermal insulation properties. Fiberglass insulation can reliably protect against cold in winter and heat in summer.
• Moisture resistant. Due to its non-hygroscopicity (glass wool does not absorb water), the thermal insulation properties do not deteriorate when the material gets wet.
• Environmental friendliness. Fiberglass insulation does not emit harmful substances and is safe for health, mold and rot do not form on it.

Glass wool is an effective insulation material

What is better for thermal insulation of external walls: mineral wool or expanded polystyrene

Mineral wool and expanded polystyrene are the most popular insulation materials for thermal insulation of external walls. Installation of mineral wool slabs is similar to the technology of laying polystyrene foam; in addition, these two insulation materials have similar specifications, therefore, when they decide how best to insulate a house from the outside, these two insulation materials are first compared.

When they want to cheaply insulate walls outside, in most cases they choose polystyrene boards. This material is not only cheaper than mineral wool, but its installation does not require special skills or complex tools; installation of thermal insulation can be carried out using foam boards Almost every owner can do it with his own hands. But when installing cheap foam plastic thermal insulation of walls outside, one should not discount the fact that this material has little mechanical strength. In addition, rats and mice love to chew polystyrene foam.

To insulate facades, manufacturers produce special types of vapor-permeable foam with a compacted outer layer. But the cost of such material is no less than the cost of mineral wool.

Insulation such as extruded polystyrene foam is not suitable for insulating walls from the outside, as it has zero vapor permeability. Using it to insulate facades leads to dampening of the material from which the walls are built. Moisture causes mold and mildew to appear on the surface of walls. On the market you can buy vapor-permeable perforated extruded polystyrene foam intended for external insulation of facades. But their price is no less than the cost of mineral wool insulation.

When using expanded polystyrene for external wall insulation, it is better to purchase material with antipyrene compounds; these are special substances that prevent the material from burning. Polystyrene foam with fire retardant acquires fire-fighting properties.

Mineral wool is not flammable, resists mechanical stress well, has sufficient vapor permeability, therefore, for external wall insulation it is more preferable, but correct device thermal insulation system, foam boards will also cope well with their functions.

Nowadays, none of the owners of private houses need to be convinced of how important it is to insulate the walls from the outside. And it is best to insulate the walls of houses during construction, when access to all structures is open from all sides. Then you can arrange thermal insulation by the most the right way- With outside, and from the very foundation and basement to the roof of the building.

But, considering how much it costs to carry out this work, many homeowners insulate their homes themselves in order to save money, because in reality the technology of the process is not so complicated. The purpose of this article is to talk about the best way to sheathe walls and how you can properly do the external insulation of a house with your own hands.

Choice of insulation

The list of thermal insulation materials used as external cladding of enclosing structures of private houses cannot be called large. And if you also take into account the cost of these materials and choose which is cheaper to produce insulation, then the list is completely reduced to several positions:

• mineral wool (stone, basalt) in slabs and rolls;
• fiberglass-based mineral wool in rolls;
• foamed polystyrene boards (foam plastic);
• slabs made of extruded polystyrene foam (penoplex).

Note. Listed here are the most popular and inexpensive materials used for exterior wall insulation. In addition to them, there is also ecowool, made from waste paper, and sprayed polyurethane foam. But these are more expensive insulation materials, and besides, you won’t be able to apply polyurethane foam yourself; this requires special units.

From point of view fire safety and rodent control best option– thermal insulation of walls with mineral wool based on basalt fiber. The material does not burn at all and can easily withstand temperatures up to 600 °C, which is why it is used for insulating various chimneys, both brick and metal. Mice do not like mineral wool, unlike ecowool and polystyrene foam, and therefore the owner country house in rural areas you can be calm about the safety of the insulation.

For reference. It is for these reasons that frame houses technology for insulation with mineral wool is provided, since it is part of outer wall, as shown in the diagram:

Thermal insulation performance basalt wool quite high, although slightly worse than those of foamed polymers. But that's not the main problem of this material, its first enemy is humidity. Because of open pores Any mineral wool has high vapor permeability, which means it needs protection from moisture and good ventilation to remove steam.


Rolled glass wool has the same qualities, except fireproof. Its temperature limit is only 200 °C, so glass wool cannot withstand fire. By the way, roll materials are not the most the best choice for external insulation of the house, since it tends to slide down and become confused as it gets wet. Of course, over time, the moisture leaves, but the insulation will not return to its designed position and entire uninsulated clearings will appear under the finishing, invisible to the eye.

About foamed polymers

The cheapest material used to insulate a house outside is polystyrene foam, which is also the most popular. It has a higher thermal resistance than cotton wool and is almost impervious to moisture, while being very lightweight. This is understandable, because the polymer consists of closed pores filled with air. Its serious drawback is flammability, which should be taken into account when starting to insulate walls.

The question often comes up on the Internet: is it even possible to insulate residential buildings, including wooden ones, with polystyrene foam? We will present the answer using the example of panel houses assembled from multilayer elements - thermal timber and SIP panels. In these elements, the insulating layer of foam is part of the outer wall, only on both sides it is protected by cladding made of wood or OSB plywood, as shown in the photo below. That is, to insulate the facade, including panel house, this polymer can be used, especially outside, but it needs to be done wisely.

Regarding the question of which foam plastic is best for sheathing the enclosing structures of a residential building or cottage. The most popular material has a density of 25 kg/m3, it is quite warm and at the same time durable. There is also polystyrene with a density of 15 and 35 kg/m3, but the first is rarely used because of its fragility, and the second because of its high cost. True, greater density is needed when the structure experiences mechanical loads, for example, during thermal insulation of floors.

The “brother” of polystyrene foam - extruded polystyrene foam (penoplex) does not allow moisture to pass through at all, and it resists the penetration of heat more successfully. Therefore, to insulate the same stone house, a layer of penoplex will be required less than the materials listed earlier. Expanded polystyrene, like mineral wool, is not to the taste of rodents, while in an unprotected foam insulation mice love to make nests. Like any polymer, the “extruder” is flammable and therefore needs protection from high temperatures.

Calculation of insulation thickness

Ideally, the thickness should be calculated depending on the materials from which the enclosing structures are constructed and the region of residence. If we take the same region, then the thickness of thermal insulation for concrete or cinder block walls will be more, but for a house made of aerated concrete or foam blocks - less. That is, a lot depends on what thermal insulation properties has the material of a block house.

Advice. To do external insulation correctly, you need to work hard and find the thermal conductivity coefficient of your building materials in reference books or on the Internet and calculate the thickness of the insulation.

A fairly accurate calculation can be made based on table data reflecting regulatory requirements by thermal resistance of walls in different regions RF. For example, knowing that in Kazan this resistance R should be 3.3 m2 °C/W, you need to calculate how much an ordinary 250 mm brick wall will give and then add required thickness thermal insulation. Resistance brick wall equals 0.187 m2 °C/W (following table), subtract this number from the total figure: 3.3 – 0.187 = 3.113 m2 °C/W.

The thermal conductivity coefficient of foam plastic is λ = 0.037 W/m2 °C (reference data), we substitute it into the formula for determining the thickness along with the required heat transfer resistance:
δ = R x λ = 3.113 x 0.037 = 0.115 m

It turns out that in Kazan to regular wall At least 115 mm of polystyrene foam must be added to 1 brick for minimal thermal insulation, and for good insulation - 150 mm. Using this method, the thickness of insulation in any house made of logs, blocks or timber in combination with any thermal insulation material is calculated.

External insulation of walls of a brick house

For permanent residential buildings with brick, stone or concrete walls There are two generally accepted methods of external insulation:

• technology associated with wet processes involves the use of building mixtures and decorative plasters;
• Mechanical fastening of the material to the facade is done under siding, block house or other types of finishing.

"Wet" insulation brick house it is more difficult to perform, as it requires some skills, so not everyone can do it with their own hands. In this case, both polystyrene foam and mineral wool are used, only the adhesive mixture for them also needs a different one. Famous manufacturers, such as CERESIT, sell complete sets of insulation and finishing materials for thermal insulation of facades in one way or another.

The essence of the technique is as follows. A layer of primer is first applied to cleaned and leveled surfaces. deep penetration, and after it dries, the slab insulation is glued; rolled insulation will not work here. Since the slopes plastic windows houses also need to be insulated, then insulating material is glued to them, the thickness of which is half that of the wall layer. After 2 days, the insulation is fixed mechanically using special dowel umbrellas.

Note. For panel apartment buildings and large cottages where there are balconies, the technology is preserved under one condition. The balcony parapet must be solid so that it can be glued to thermal insulation boards. Otherwise, the parapet will have to be built from foam or gas blocks, or this technique will have to be abandoned.

On all surfaces, including window slopes, a reinforcing fiberglass mesh is applied simultaneously with a layer of adhesive mixture up to 5 mm thick. This layer is waterproofing, and after it a decorative plaster layer with texture (bark beetle, shagreen, etc.) is applied. Only before this, the hardened glue is again treated with a primer. And the last step is painting, although you don’t have to do it, just add the required color to the plaster.

Wet thermal insulation does not provide any vapor barrier, leaving the thickness of the house wall permeable to vapor. On the other hand, the outer layer of the adhesive mixture is waterproofing, protecting the insulation from direct contact with water. The technology is applicable to the external walls of the house and basement (only without decorative plaster), it will not be possible to insulate an attic or roof in the same way. Insulation from the inside is more appropriate there.

The second method of insulation is used for both brick and wooden log and timber houses, therefore will be discussed in the next section. More details about “wet” thermal insulation of residential buildings are described in the video:

External insulation of a wooden house made of timber

Before you start covering the log house or timber house, the surface should be carefully prepared. This is especially true for old log walls, which must be caulked in order to close all the cracks. For obvious reasons, perform insulation wooden house it is impossible to do it from the outside using a “wet” method, so timber sheathing is attached to the walls. Its width should be equal to the thickness of the insulation. The interval between the beams is also selected depending on the width of the roll or thermal insulation slab.

For reference. Sometimes it happens that before insulating the external structures of a log house, it is necessary to cut off the protruding crowns of logs at the corners of the house. Bypassing them with a system of slats and finishing is very problematic.

A vapor barrier is laid under the beams over the entire area of ​​the house wall - dense polyethylene film. At the joints, the film is placed with an overlap of at least 100 mm, after which it is taped along the entire length with construction tape. It’s good when the joint falls under the sheathing beam, then it is additionally pressed against the surface.

On next stage Insulation is placed between the slats and fixed in a convenient way, you can use the same dowel umbrellas, only plastic ones. After which the film is stretched over the entire area again, but not the usual one, but one that allows vapors to pass through. She's called diffusion membrane and protects the thermal insulation from wind and direct ingress of water (wind-hydrobarrier). In this case, the water vapor formed in the insulation from the appearance of the dew point has the opportunity to escape through the membrane to the outside.

In order to ensure the removal of moisture from the outer part of the membrane, a vent is installed between it and the lining - a ventilated air layer. To do this, the wind barrier film (membrane) is nailed to the sheathing bars with strips 3-5 cm wide, and siding or block house is attached to them. By the way, the walls of the attic are sheathed in a similar way, only on the inside. What does it look like the right pie insulation, installed with your own hands, is shown in the diagram:

Conclusion

The conclusion that arises from all of the above is this: for external insulation of private houses, you should not use rolled mineral wool insulation and low-density polystyrene foam (below 25 kg/m3). Remains best option- mineral wool and polymers in slabs. As for thermal insulation methods, it is better to insulate permanent stone buildings using technology using plaster, and wooden sheathing leave for wooden houses, including country houses.