Facade insulation of a house allows you to reduce heat loss, reduce heating and cooling costs, and helps to create a comfortable indoor climate. This event is carried out at any stage of the building's operation, both during its construction and several years after the end of the shrinkage process. The procedure for insulating and finishing the facade is not particularly difficult, it can be done by hand, saving money on the services of a team of specialists. In order for the final result of the work to meet the intended criteria, you should familiarize yourself with the range of heaters on the market and the technology for their application. The choice of foam is the best solution for thermal insulation of the facade of the house from the outside. The material has a number of positive characteristics that are appreciated by private and professional developers.
Characteristic of expanded polystyrene
In retail outlets, you can find expanded polystyrene of the press and extrusion type. In the first case, the slabs consist of closed porous granules. The second type is a foamed mass that has solidified after passing through a mold.
Polyfoam has the following technical characteristics:
- density - 25-35 kg / m³;
- compressive strength - 0.18 MPa;
- bending strength - 0.25 MPa;
- water absorption —0.4% of the volume;
- fire resistance category - G4;
- thermal conductivity coefficient - 0.030 W / (m × ° s);
- sound insulation - 41 dB;
- dimensions - 100 × 100 cm, 60 × 120 cm;
- thickness - 20, 50, 100, 150, 200 mm.
Polyfoam is versatile. It is used to insulate garages, private and apartment buildings made of bricks, reinforced concrete panels and gas silicate blocks.
Advantages of facade insulation with expanded polystyrene
The material has the following advantages:
- Low specific gravity. The finishing does not put additional stress on the supporting structures of the building.
- Waterproof. Plates reliably protect walls from moisture penetration, which could cause their premature destruction and negatively affect the appearance.
- Long service life. Depending on the type of expanded polystyrene, it is 50-80 years old.
- Low thermal conductivity. For a slab 10 cm thick, the degree of insulation is equivalent to a meter of brickwork
- Moisture resistance. The polymer practically does not absorb water. Even in a humid environment, it retains its characteristics.
- Biological inertness. Fungus and mold do not grow on the surface and in the array of slabs.
- Frost resistance. The material is designed for 50 freeze-thaw cycles.
- Environmental Safety. The insulation does not emit substances harmful to people, animals and plants into the environment.
- Ease of installation. Plates are light, they are easy to cut and saw with ordinary household tools.
- Affordable cost. The price of mineral wool for facade insulation will be an order of magnitude higher, with the same insulating effect.
When deciding in favor of foam, one should also take into account its negative aspects. The material is destroyed by ultraviolet radiation. Insects, birds and rodents like to nest in it.
The choice of expanded polystyrene for the facade
When choosing insulation for a ventilated facade, one should focus on a number of factors, without giving priority to the price side. The construction is being built for decades, the use of low-quality material can save its service life at times.
Recommendations for choosing a heater:
- Selected edges around the edges. This option makes installation easier and faster. There are no cracks and cold bridges on the surface.
- Verified manufacturer. The leader in this direction is the products of the Technonikol company. The plates of her production are colored orange, which makes it easy to detect a fake.
- Material type. Plain white foam is well suited for insulating flat concrete walls over a large area. It is chosen for finishing buildings, the facade of which does not conduct air. Extruded polystyrene foam is characterized by vapor permeability, it can be used to insulate buildings made of wood and porous blocks.
- Strength. If you plan to make a facade of clinker tiles with insulation, you need to choose a material with maximum compression rates.
- Thickness. It determines how well the building will be insulated from high and low temperatures. For regions with a temperate climate, the best option would be 5 cm.In regions where the thermometer rises or falls to 40 degrees, it is better to insulate the facade of the house with expanded polystyrene 10 cm thick.
When purchasing a product, you should pay attention to the integrity of the packaging, the presence of marking and a quality certificate.
Equipment and materials used
When planning external insulation, you should initially decide on the method of getting to the height. If you have the appropriate skills, you can use climbing equipment. It is easier to rent scaffolding, which is more convenient and safer to work on.
To insulate the facade with foam with your own hands, you will need the following tools and materials:
- puncher, screwdriver;
- roulette;
- a hammer;
- hacksaw for metal;
- level, rule;
- scissors, stationery knife with additional blades;
- notched and even trowel;
- paint brush;
- concrete primer, plaster, frost-resistant glue, acrylic paint;
- siding (if provided by the project);
- steel profile;
- mushroom dowels, metal screws;
- plastic corners with mesh;
- polyurethane foam;
- mineral wool.
Decorative insulation of facades emits a large amount of dust during processing. Handle the foam with goggles, gloves and a gauze bandage. A fence or a signal tape must be installed along the wall.
Insulation technology
Correctly organized work is a step-by-step process of successively performed actions that correspond to the technology of building insulation. With an external version of foam insulation, it is necessary to consider its protection from ultraviolet radiation. Mineral wool for a wet facade is used in areas where the destruction of the bearing surfaces is possible. In multi-storey buildings, these are the joints between vertical reinforced concrete panels.
You should start with drawing up a project. Measurements are taken, the results of which are transferred to paper. Then a diagram of the location of the frame and slabs is drawn up, the calculation and purchase of building materials are made.
The next phase is preparatory work. They are performed in the following sequence:
- remove nails, dowels, wiring, plates, lighting fixtures;
- knock down fragments that have peeled off or are not firmly adhered to the surface;
- grind off protruding fragments;
- close up holes, cracks, recesses.
The result of the work is checked by a level or rule.
After the leveling mortar has dried, the wall must be coated twice with a deep penetration primer.This procedure is necessary to strengthen the base and increase its adhesion to the adhesive. Then steel hangers are installed. With their help, a spatial scheme is drawn up, thanks to which the alignment of the slabs is carried out vertically, horizontally, as well as position relative to the wall. If provided by the project, suspensions are used as the basis for the installation of siding.
The installation of expanded polystyrene begins with the installation of a starting profile on the bottom of the future masonry. The profile forms the basis for the first row of foam and also protects it from insects and rodents.
- you need to start laying from the corner in order to join the products into the lock;
- knead the glue in an amount that can be used until it thickens;
- apply the mixture pointwise or over the entire surface with a notched trowel;
- each subsequent row fits with an offset to the floor of the figure;
- it is allowed to seal the cracks only with polyurethane foam, and not with glue, so that cold bridges do not form.
After laying out the top row, you should perform the following manipulations:
- Drill 5 holes in each plate. Drive plate dowels into them so that their caps are recessed by 1 mm in the foam.
- Seal the recesses remaining from the dowels with cement mortar.
- Carry out reinforcement. First you need to reinforce the corner with a plastic profile, and then stick a plastic mesh on the insulation. Each subsequent strip of the net should be superimposed on the previous one by at least 10 cm.
In conclusion, a surface finish is carried out. The best option is to use polymer-based facade plaster. It is applied in a layer up to 3 mm thick with a wide trowel. After hardening, the plaster is sanded and polished. It must then be reinforced with a liquid primer to give strength and prepare for the next finishing phase. The last stage of facade insulation is painting it. You should choose paints that are resistant to temperature extremes and high humidity. Alternatively, you can lay out the wall with ceramic or clinker tiles.
