The owner of the house always faces the need to insulate the basement. After all, this part of the foundation is in contact with both the floors and the soil, which helps to reduce the temperature in the room, the occurrence of dampness and the deterioration of the microclimate. An event to insulate the base with extruded polystyrene foam can be carried out both when laying the foundation, and in the operated room. Thermal insulation will help reduce heat loss, as well as protect the foundation from the effects of temperature extremes and maintain its strength.
Analysis of material for work
The choice of materials for thermal insulation of the foundation of the house is quite narrow. This is due to the fact that the basement of the building is exposed to atmospheric precipitation and the materials used for its insulation must be waterproof and not lose their qualities in a humid environment.
Fibrous heaters have significant moisture absorption, which leads to the loss of heat-insulating properties. Cellular foamed insulation, such as polystyrene foam and expanded polystyrene, perfectly cope with this task.
- Styrofoam. This is the most economical material for thermal insulation of the foundation from the outside. It has low thermal conductivity, is inexpensive and prevents moisture absorption. Among the shortcomings of the material, its attractiveness to rodents and combustibility. Foam base insulation is a good choice to save money.
- Extruded polystyrene foam. When insulating the base with extruded polystyrene foam, structures should be prepared and the surface of the base should be additionally insulated from water penetration. This is a more suitable option for such work, it is non-combustible and has a resistance to mechanical damage.
Types of socles
- Basement level with the wall of the house. This is the most unfortunate type of basement, since the waterproofing layer in this case is not protected from external environmental influences. If the wall panel is not thick enough, condensation may appear on the windows and dampness. In addition, visually such a base is not very beautiful.
- Protruding base. It is very good for a house with a basement. Suitable for structures with thin wall panels and provides better thermal protection from the outside. In order to avoid damage to the upper decorative layer, such a base should be provided with ebbs.
- Falling cap. It is the most advantageous type of basement, it is recommended by specialists in the field of construction. On such a surface it is more convenient to carry out all types of measures for thermal insulation and decoration, and it is also easier to hide waterproofing.
Tools and Supplies
In order to carry out work on thermal insulation of the base with polystyrene foam, the following tools will be needed:
- capacity for solution;
- screwdriver;
- spatula and trowel;
- buckets;
- wheelbarrow and shovel;
- brush or roller;
- metal brush;
- mounting gun;
- hacksaw;
- stationery knife.
Consumables required for insulation outside the house:
- polystyrene foam boards;
- roofing material;
- material for waterproofing;
- reinforcing tape;
- reinforcing mesh;
- dowels;
- adhesive for working with expanded polystyrene;
- bitumen mixture;
- putty.
Basement insulation foam
The technology of insulation of the basement in one plane with the walls of the house:
- Markup. Since insulation boards should be several centimeters above the waterproofing layer, horizontal marking should be made with a pencil over the entire surface of the wall.
- Cleaning the wall outside. The surface of the wall is pre-prepared for gluing with polystyrene foam. To do this, it is thoroughly cleaned from the outside of dust and dirt. After that, the surface is primed. After the primer has dried, you can proceed to the next event.
- Joining plates. Pasting the walls of the house with polystyrene foam is done using special glue, starting from the corner. Marking and cutting of plates with a sharp wallpaper knife is done.
- Glue on the wall and slabs. A special notched trowel applies adhesive to the surface of the base. Pre-prepared fragments of plates are greased with glue and attached to the wall, the joints between the plates and the ends of the outside of the house are carefully sealed.
- Further, with the help of a puncher, drilling and insertion of dowels with further driving of nails are performed. After covering the entire surface of the exterior of the house with plates, a special primer is applied to provide a foundation for all subsequent layers.
- Strengthening the corner of the slope. A metal corner is mounted around the entire perimeter of the wall. For installation, the same adhesive is used as for the plates.
- Installation of reinforcing mesh. The reinforcing mesh is pre-cut to the size of the plates, lubricated with adhesive and glued over polystyrene foam. The technology for reinforcing mesh reinforcement is the same as for mounting the corner.
- Finishing work and installation of ebbs. Materials for outdoor work are puttying the basement area. It is left to dry and primed again with subsequent staining. To prevent the ingress of moisture, ebbs are installed.
The insulation of the base with polystyrene occurs according to the same scheme with polystyrene. According to their characteristics, these materials are very similar, but the foam insulation coefficient is 50% higher.
In the event of defects in the coating, they can easily be eliminated by re-painting with a primer. The technology of thermal insulation with foam is the same as that of foam.
Instructions for observing the rules of thermal insulation
- Sometimes the owners try to insulate only the walls outside the building, losing sight of the basement. This is fundamentally wrong, since an uninsulated base leads to significant heat loss.
- When choosing a heater should be guided by the climatic conditions of the region of residence. For the middle strip of the CIS, insulation is made with expanded polystyrene plates with a thickness of at least 5 cm. At the corners of the plate, they should have a thickness of 6 to 10 cm. Expanded polystyrene plates from 3 to 12 cm thick are on sale.
- When building a house, it is better to plan a sunken basement to hide all layers of heat and waterproofing. The insulation of the base is of great importance, the microclimate inside the room depends on it, as well as the ability of the structure to withstand the destructive factors of atmospheric exposure.
- The insulation process is carried out on the wall outside the house. In this case, you should choose a non-aggressive adhesive without solvents. Adhesive with solvents in the composition can destroy the structure of polystyrene and lead to its premature destruction.
- Construction technology requires that they be carried out at temperatures above 5 degrees Celsius. This will guarantee that with the advent of frost, there will be no cracks on the surface of the wall.
- Thermal insulation boards are overlapped, this significantly reduces heat loss.
- Installation of heat-insulating plates is carried out using a drill with a metal mesh, combining into a single plate, mesh and base.
- Installation of plates occurs with the help of bitumen mastic either pointwise or over the entire surface.
- Most plate models have a special recess for joining in the castle way without the formation of cold bridges.
- Fixing plates in 2 layers to obtain the desired thickness of the insulation is not always considered reasonable. Some experts consider this a mistake, because displacement of the soil can stratify the insulation layer, facilitating the penetration of water into the structure.
- As decoration on top of the insulation, facade paint, brick, tile, wild stone or decorative plaster are used. But practice has shown that silicate brick and tile are inappropriate materials. From exposure to cold, they can form chips.
All these measures will stabilize the temperature in the home, regardless of external fluctuations, protect against drafts and dampness, and the foundation from destruction.