How you can insulate wooden houses from the inside with your own hands

Insulation of a wooden house from the inside is carried out quite rarely, usually when its owners want to preserve the beauty and originality of the facade made of polished timber, rounded or wild logs. Despite the fact that such a solution has a number of negative aspects, with the right approach, you can insulate a wooden house from the inside so that a comfortable and healthy microclimate will be preserved in it without much damage to the interior. This event can be done with your own hands, without resorting to the services of hired craftsmen. In order to ensure that the desired result is achieved, you should familiarize yourself with the varieties of heaters on sale, the technology of their installation, and make a rational decision.

Preparing the wall of a wooden house for insulation

It is better to insulate a residential building at the stage of its construction, when there is still no furniture in it and no finishing has been applied. In such conditions, it is much more convenient and safer to work. In addition, you will not have to subsequently take out the interior items from the premises, look for a place for temporary residence and carry out general cleaning throughout the house.

Carrying out thermal insulation followed by a finishing coating is a kind of preservation of load-bearing structures. After the completion of the installation, access to them for inspection, maintenance and repair will be closed. Based on this, it is necessary to carefully prepare the wood for insulation.

The event consists of the following stages:

1. Inspecting the surface, identifying rot, mold, cracks and places where insects can nest. Attention is also drawn to the possibility of damage to wood by parasites.
2. Mechanical restoration. The holes are expanded, the surface is cleaned from the material affected by decay and fungus.
3. Filling holes and crevices with a facade sealant that retains the ability to deform for decades.
4. Treatment of walls with an antiseptic, fire retardant and hydrophobic agent. This will protect the wood from rot, insects, mold and fire.

Each solution should be applied at least twice, repeating the process after the liquid is completely absorbed and the walls dry.

Do-it-yourself installation of insulation

When choosing materials and technology for insulating a wooden structure, factors such as the average annual temperature, the intensity of precipitation and the internal dimensions of the structure should be taken into account. When the rooms are cramped, it is worth taking an integrated approach by installing thermal insulation inside and out. With the right choice of materials, even an old log house will be dry, warm and cozy, no matter what the weather is outside.

Cotton-based

Mineral wool is a substance consisting of thin fibers bonded together. Glass, basalt and steelmaking slag are used as raw materials. The material is very popular in private and industrial construction due to its many advantages. On the market you can find mats and rolls that are characterized by low density, excellent insulating properties and a long service life. In addition, the products are distinguished by an affordable price and ease of installation. The insulation is able to breathe, letting in the steam that collects in the rooms.The most popular brands are URSA, Rokfall, Termolife, Izover, Technonikol, Knauf.

The disadvantage of mineral wool is its hygroscopicity. This minus is compensated by installing a vapor-permeable membrane fabric.

For work you will need:

• roulette, level;
• long sharp knife;
• screwdriver, hammer, spatula;
• ladder;
• membrane film, drywall;
• construction tape, sandpaper, serpyanka mounting tape;
• steel profile or edged board;
• vertical suspensions;
• putty, primer;
• stapler with staples 6 mm.

Installation is carried out in the following sequence:

1. Carrying out a markup in accordance with a previously drawn up project.
2. Attaching a vapor-permeable film. This is done in strips from bottom to top using staples. An overlap of 10-15 cm is closed with tape.
3. Frame fabrication. First, the suspensions are screwed, then vertical and horizontal profiles are attached to them. If boards are used, they are fixed to the wall with long screws, nails or corners.
4. Installation of plates. They are inserted into the frame with slight compression to ensure a tight, seamless connection. If gaps remain, they are blown out with polyurethane foam. You need to blow in a measured dose so that the foam does not squeeze the cotton wool too much.
5. Closing the frame with a vapor-permeable film. It is necessary to make slack up to 10 mm, so that when the canvas cools, it does not break from temperature shrinkage.
6. Sheathing of the structure with a hard surface. Outdoors, it is better to use wood-styled siding or clinker panels. For interior decoration, you can use lining, drywall or plastic panels.

When working with mineral wool, many tiny fibers are separated from it, which hang in the air for a long time. It is not recommended to mount the material with bare hands, without a respirator and sealed glasses.

Expanded polystyrene insulation

Polyfoam is a good outdoor insulation, characterized by low thermal conductivity and lightness. It is produced in the form of square meter plates with a thickness of 5 cm and 10 cm. The choice is made based on the climatic conditions and the place of installation. The downside is that the plates are fragile and must be handled with extreme caution. You also need to take into account the instability of penoplex to ultraviolet light. For its finishing, you need to choose a lining that is resistant to solar radiation.

For installation you will need:

• electric drill;
• hacksaw for wood;
• stationery knife;
• a hammer;
• mounting grid;
• notched trowel;
• vapor permeable glue;
• stairs;
• putty;
• finishing;
• steel profile;
• disc dowels.

The work is performed in the following sequence:

1. Screwing to the bottom of the wall or steel profile plinth. The product will serve as a support for the slabs so that they do not slide down under their own weight.
2. Dilution of the adhesive. Applying it to the insulation and applying it to the wall. After that, you need to knock on the plate with your fist to ensure tight contact.
3. Drilling holes for fasteners. You need to make 5 holes - in the center and in the corners.
4. Driving in dowels so that their heads are recessed by 1-2 mm.
5. Plates are laid in rows. Each new level starts with a half-panel offset. The extreme parts are cut to size, the cracks are blown out with foam or sealed with foam foam.
6. The material is covered with a thin layer of glue, into which the mounting mesh is embedded. Each subsequent strip is glued with an overlap of at least 10 cm.
7. Application of a layer of plaster with a thickness of 2-3 mm. After the solution has solidified, the surface is treated with a strengthening primer.
8. Finishing. If external insulation is carried out, it is better to use colored facade plaster. Inside, wallpaper, cork or ceramic tiles can be glued to the wall if the kitchen or bathroom is insulated.

If you need to insulate the second floor, you should use stable trestles.Working on stairs is inconvenient and dangerous.

Ecowool insulation

Ecowool is a shredded cellulose to which a natural adhesive, lignin, has been added. When wet, the material becomes sticky, but does not thicken. After hardening, the substance gains strength, while maintaining porosity and air permeability. In this respect, ecowool resembles mineral analogues. At the same time, the material is absolutely safe for health, does not absorb water and does not emit volatile compounds when applied to surfaces. Due to the presence of natural antiseptics, the development of fungus and mold is excluded.

For work you will need:

• ecowool in the amount corresponding to the calculations;
• a vacuum cleaner with an outlet or a compressor with power control;
• glass jar 3-5 l;
• special lid with a spray for the neck of the vessel;
• two-handed saw;
• frame material (edged board or steel profiles);
• protective goggles and gloves.

Step-by-step instructions for the correct insulation with ecowool:

1. Mark the base for attaching the frame.
2. Make a grid, inside which a sticky wood composition will be applied.
3. Nail the vapor barrier sheet to the wall with staples. The fabric will provide moisture removal from the home, its protection from moisture and insects from outside.
4. Make a frame. It can be a cage made of boards screwed to the wall, or a lattice made of steel profiles, fixed on plumb lines. The recommended layer thickness is 10 cm.
5. Dilute ecowool with water in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. It is advisable to immediately add compatible antiseptics and fire retardants to the solution. This will avoid future problems with mold and fire.
6. Start filling the frame with the prepared substance. The procedure can be performed using a trowel or technical means. Laying should be done so that the substance protrudes 2-3 cm beyond the frame, based on shrinkage upon drying.
7. Cut off excess material with a two-handed saw after it has hardened. Check for sharp edges.
8. Trim the lathing with a vapor-permeable canvas. Pay special attention to the joints of the strips, which are glued with tape.
9. Close the frame with the selected coating. For interior decoration, you can take sheets of plywood, drywall or OSB. Vinyl siding and plastic panels work well for outdoor decoration.

The main criterion for finishing is its breathability. If you close the insulation hermetically, condensation will form in it, which will lead to wetting and a decrease in insulating qualities.

Frequent mistakes when insulating wooden walls from the inside with your own hands

Inexperienced craftsmen, when insulating wooden log cabins, make the following mistakes:

• Work begins when the wood from which the walls are laid is not dry enough. Because of this, the supporting structures are deformed, which leads to the destruction of the insulating layer.
• Using an excessively thick layer of insulation for interior work. The consequence is a decrease in usable space. In some cases, you have to buy new furniture, since the old one is not included in the renovated room.
• Ignoring the use of a vapor permeable membrane. If it is not installed, moisture accumulates in the heat insulator, which leads to the appearance of fungal mold, which soon captures the wood. If cellophane is installed instead of a membrane, a thermos effect appears in the room. Moisture does not come out of it, but condenses on the ceiling and walls.
• Saving on material. Too thin layer freezes in winter and does not retain external heat in summer.

To avoid such mistakes, you need to carefully study the features of the selected materials and technologies, strictly follow the plan and the manufacturer's instructions.

The correct implementation of the insulation of wooden walls does not guarantee that the building will have a comfortable microclimate. Large heat losses occur through the floor, as well as through the ceiling and roof. These constructions need to be given equal attention. For thermal insulation, you can use the materials that were used for wall decoration. At the same time, one should not forget that the tree must be ventilated, the installation of a membrane film is required everywhere.