During the construction of country houses and cottages, special preference is given to wooden floors. Natural material holds heat well and resists temperature changes, but without additional insulation, walking on such a floor will be uncomfortable.
Dense boards dry out over time, and drafts begin to blow from the crevices, which threatens with heat loss and an increase in heating costs. Due to the properties of wood, the gaps between the boards will expand, the temperature difference will lead to condensation, and mold will grow on the beams of the first floor. Timely insulation of the floor in a wooden house will help get rid of these problems and make the home really cozy.
Material selection and installation preparation
The right choice of insulation directly affects the result of work carried out with the floor. In modern construction, this is used for:
- pressed mineral wool (refractory material with high thermal insulation properties);
- foam boards (have a large margin of safety and are resistant to moisture);
- sawdust granules (a practical version of a heater, additionally treated with an antiseptic);
- expanded clay (natural porous aggregate used to create a thick insulating layer);
- foam panels (despite the ease of installation, they require protection from rodents and exposure to flame).
In the process of insulation, the floor covering is dismantled, and the space between the elements that carry the main load is independently filled with insulation from the list presented.
Choosing the right technological algorithm allows you to carry out work on the arrangement quickly and with the proper degree of efficiency.
The scheme of such insulation is quite laborious and requires a special technological solution.
The small size of the subfloor will not allow you to go from below and attach the insulation to the joists, and therefore, for a successful repair, it is necessary to remove the baseboards and floorboards of the first floor, after signing them in order to facilitate reverse installation.
Preliminary work
Getting started, you need to check the wooden elements of the coating by sawing out the damaged sections of the log and replacing them with fragments of a similar size. If the size of the bars is insufficient, they must be increased with the help of boards and self-tapping screws. The support for the flooring is created by attaching the bars to the lower edges of the log.
The distance between them is measured, and pre-prepared lumber is used for further work. For ease of installation, each piece of the board should be a couple of centimeters less than the lag installation step. By laying the prepared segments, a draft floor is being constructed. To avoid wood movements, the joining of the elements must be free.
Insulation and warming
The further sequence depends on the nature of the rocks under the foundation and the amount of groundwater at the construction site. If groundwater is close to the surface, waterproofing with roofing material or glassine will be the best solution.
The wooden base is covered with insulating material with a capture of 10-15 centimeters of wall space. Rolls of material overlap and are connected with adhesive tape, and, if necessary, are attached to the walls with a construction stapler.
After that, the voids between the lags are filled with the selected insulation, and a gap of a couple of centimeters is made between the edge of the lag and its surface for ventilation. Another layer of insulating material is applied on top to protect the coating from liquid flowing down.
When the insulation is firmly fixed, it is necessary to mount the floorboards in reverse order according to the numbers indicated on them at the beginning of work, correctly attach the skirting boards and cut the insulation along their edge.
High basement insulation
The guide below will help you understand how to insulate the floor in a wooden house with minimal labor and time. Mineral wool is well suited as a heater - it is an inexpensive and common material for home construction.
The operation algorithm is opposite to the insulation of low subfloors and does not require the dismantling of the floorboards. Starting the arrangement, it is necessary to go down to the cellar and check the beams of the first floor for strength, if necessary, replacing the old parts.
Basement preparation
The thermal properties of mineral wool are reduced under the influence of moisture, therefore, for high-quality installation, a waterproofing layer is required. It is attached from the side of the underground with a stapler, and prevents the liquid from soaking into the insulation.
In the process of work, you need to prepare the support bars and nail them from below to the side faces of each beam. If the basement is damp, the best solution would be to use galvanized profiles.
Mineral wool installation
Mineral wool is cut into large pieces. The width of each fragment should be several centimeters larger than the step between the lags. Properly cut material will be firmly fixed in the hole and will not interfere with the fastening of subfloors.
A second layer of insulation must be applied to the finished material, securing it with a stapler from below. After that, you need to lay the boards of the wooden base, attaching them across the direction of the supporting beams. In order to protect against rodents, a fine-mesh metal mesh is located between the wooden base and the insulation layer.
double floor
This method of modernizing the floor is correctly used in wooden houses with high ceilings.
The standard scheme of insulation of the first or second floor reduces the usable space by 15-20 centimeters.
For a minimal reduction in size, you can purchase ready-made raised floor kits.
Pre-installation
When arranging with your own hands, you will need to remove the baseboards and dismantle the floorboards. All cracks are filled with mounting foam or specially prepared sawdust with glue.
After that, lags are mounted with a half-meter step between them. The maximum distance should not exceed 90 centimeters. Next, you need to measure the height of the upper plane of each lag, cutting off the excess with a planer. If the height is not enough, a pre-prepared roofing material is placed under the bars.
Insulation installation
After completing the preliminary installation, it is necessary to lay a layer of insulation, applying it with a continuous sheet and capturing the space of the walls from below. A pre-prepared insulation fills the gaps between the lags. At the same time, it is necessary to remember about ventilation, leaving two-centimeter gaps above the surface of the material.
The insulated surface is covered with another layer of insulating material. Above the insulation, you need to mount and fix the top layer of the floor, which may consist of boards, plywood or moisture-resistant gypsum-fiber sheets. After laying the flooring, fixing the skirting boards and trimming the remaining insulation, the installation of double floors is considered complete.
Warm floor
Modern construction technologies involve the use of alternative methods of insulation that can be used even in old houses.
One of these schemes is the heating of a wooden floor due to the water circulating through the pipes. The pipe system is installed on logs or attached to the subfloor, and its safety for wood makes it impossible to accidentally ignite.
Preparing for installation
When installing a warm floor with your own hands, you need to disassemble the old coating and remove the subfloors. After that, thick bars need to be nailed around the perimeter of the room. This will serve as a support for further installation. After installing the lags with a half-meter step width, you can proceed to the direct installation of the underfloor heating system.
System installation
The wooden base that holds the water pipes and plates is used as a subfloor, reducing the cost of buying boards. To protect against steam and liquid, this base is covered with a layer of polyethylene. After laying the polyethylene, it is necessary to lay boards or mount a floor covering made of parquet or laminate.
Additionally, you can cover the wooden base with ceramic or stone tiles, lay linoleum or carpet. When performing these works on the first or second floor, gypsum fiber boards can be used. Such an overlap will protect the warm floor from deformation and heating, evenly distribute the load that has arisen, and also effectively conduct heat from the heater to the floor covering.
