When building a bath, it is imperative to organize thermal insulation. Costly heat must be kept inside and not heated outside. You can insulate a wooden bath from the inside with your own hands. For this, a number of thermal insulators are used. Unlike a residential building, there are some nuances associated with high humidity and temperature conditions in the room. They must be taken into account when choosing a high-quality insulation.
Technical characteristics of heaters for a wooden bath
The bathhouse is a place with constant contrasting temperature changes and high humidity. In such conditions, finishing materials and structural elements made of synthetics heat up intensively and emit harmful substances. Contact with them is fraught with burns.
In order for the bath to become a place for improving health, and not for losing it, materials are selected for specific operating conditions. The market of domestic products offers a wide selection for thermal insulation of a steam room. It must have the following characteristics:
- low thermal conductivity;
- resistance to humid environment;
- heat resistance;
- naturalness of materials;
- environmental friendliness.
The log house is assembled from cedar, pine, larch. The clapboard is made of pine, aspen, cedar, linden. Insulation for a bath should prevent the formation of mold, retain its original shape, and have a low moisture absorption rate. At the same time, do not have a harmful effect on the other structural elements. The bathhouse is built for tens of years, therefore, the insulation must serve the entire service life.
Water repellency is important for use in washrooms, steam rooms, and saunas.
Thermal insulation is also required for the oven. Materials for use near the stove and chimney must have heat resistance, absolute fire safety, do not lose properties from cycle to cycle of the furnace.
Thermal insulation of external walls is carried out if the thickness of the timber is insufficient for effective heat preservation:
- lathing is performed using a bar or metal guides in the vertical and horizontal direction;
- mount heat protection from expanded polystyrene or mineral wool;
- arrange moisture and wind protection;
- equip a counter-lattice for ventilation of the facade - a distance of at least 2-3 cm should remain between the protective film and the finish;
- carry out finishing.
Such insulation will significantly reduce heat losses and is suitable for decorating baths made of bricks and blocks. Also, thanks to the additional layer, the building is protected from precipitation, ultraviolet radiation, which significantly extends its service life.
Synthetic insulation
The best contenders for insulation of our time are synthetic. Natural heat and moisture insulating materials are inferior to them in terms of parameters and are more expensive. Correct use of synthetic materials allows the frame to remain a "thermos" and not release heat outside.
Expanded polystyrene
Expanded polystyrene and polystyrene are the best in terms of price-quality characteristics. The lightness and cheapness of the material allow the material to be used in decoration. It is easily molded, cut, installed, attached to any surface with glue, nails and other fasteners, does not absorb moisture. However, there are several restrictions that prevent widespread use of baths in insulation:
- deformation at high temperature;
- release of phenol when heated;
- flammability.
All disadvantages are associated with the use in heated rooms. The material can be used to decorate dressing rooms or exterior walls. The joints between the sheets are glued together with polyurethane foam or special silicone.
Mineral wool
Mineral wool is widely used in construction. This is a universal heater for a bath - low price, fire safety, biological resistance. Given the lightness of the material, installation is very simple. It should be borne in mind that it loses its thermal insulation properties when wet. Therefore, mineral wool for a bath should be used in conjunction with steam-waterproofing. Such insulation is classic for a bath, dressing room, washing inside and out. It is not suitable only for a steam room.
Glass wool
Insulation is similar to mineral wool, only made of glass melt. Available in slabs and rolls. Insensitive to temperature changes. Over time and during installation, the glass melt crumbles, therefore the heat insulator is not suitable for cladding interior rooms without some kind of separating layer. It is widely used in the insulation of bath walls inside the frame, along with mineral wool.
Glass wool, when used even with a vapor barrier film, is not suitable for ceiling covering. Wet material instantly loses its thermal insulation properties and can damage the ceiling beams.
Basalt fiber
Basalt insulation is considered the safest. The material is made from rocks. Therefore, it can withstand high temperatures, does not burn, does not emit harmful substances, and is resistant to moisture.
Service life of 30 years, excellent sound insulation, simple installation put this material in priority over other heat insulators. Temperature fluctuations and high humidity do not affect thermal insulation. She is not interested in rodents, insects do not start.
The material has not many drawbacks - a high price and a lot of weight. Suitable for insulation of horizontal surfaces - floor and ceiling.
Waterproofing materials for insulation
Popular materials are bituminous mastic, euroruberoid, steklohydrozole, thick polyethylene with a density of 140 microns.
Waterproofing with films has proven itself well in construction. It is a material made of combined low and high pressure polyethylene with oxidizing agents. This material is very thin - 0.3-3 mm. Thick membranes are sometimes used with greater reliability but reduced flexibility.
In view of its advantages, such waterproofing is excellent for baths made of cinder blocks and aerated blocks.
A typical representative of waterproofing films is Ondutis material in several modifications.
Steam isolators for a wooden bath
The vapor barrier of the room should not be equipped with synthetic materials. When exposed to hot steam, they release harmful chemicals. Optimal materials are:
- kraft paper;
- aluminium foil;
- foil laminated foam;
- glassine.
Aluminum foil is ideal. This material does not absorb moisture, is fireproof, durable. The foil reflects infrared waves, which speeds up the heating of the room.
Roofing material and glassine are not used inside the steam room.When heated, they release harmful substances. Sometimes glassine is used as insulation.
Sequence of work
The first stage of thermal insulation takes place during the construction of the walls. When assembling a log house, a jute gasket is placed between the crowns. Sometimes it is replaced with moss, flax or other fibrous material. The process is completed after a few months, filling the falling ends with caulk. For beauty, high-quality sealants are used that do not crack in the cold and when the walls are deformed. Environmental friendliness is important for a bath, therefore natural materials of inter-crown gaskets are a priority.
Ceiling
To protect against the destructive effects of hot steam and condensate, the rafters are coated with a mixture of sawdust and clay or modern technological mixtures. To maintain a constant temperature, high-quality thermal insulation of the bath ceiling is required. The walls and ceiling of the room are insulated after shrinkage from the inside and outside. Step-by-step procedure for ceiling insulation:
- The ceiling of the room is overlapped with roll paper. Strengthened with tape or construction stapler.
- Beams with an excess of the thickness of the insulation are attached across the ceiling. Basalt wool or slag fiber is used as a heat insulator for the steam room. For the insulation of the dressing room and other premises, it is allowed to use expanded clay, a mixture of sawdust and clay.
- Insulation mats are inserted between the bars.
- As a vapor barrier, a foil is placed on top with gluing the seams with vapor barrier tape.
- A crate is attached to the top of the foil for finishing with clapboard.
- When using the ceiling as the floor of the upper room, the insulation scheme looks different. A 3 cm cement screed is laid on top of the insulation. A wooden flooring is laid on it.
Around the furnace pipe passing through the attic, a rafter box is mounted to provide a space of 20 cm between the pipe and the insulation. Inside, it is laid with a non-combustible heat insulator - basalt or glass wool.
Walls
Insulation of the steam room from the inside in a wooden bath depends on the material of the building. A crate of bars is stuffed onto the timber. The size of the bar should be 2-3 mm more than the thickness of the insulation. Heat-insulating material is placed between the beams of the raspor. A vapor barrier is applied from above with a shift. The distance between the insulation and the vapor barrier should not exceed 3 cm. The gap is left for ventilation of the finish and to prevent the formation of condensation. Corners, joints, pipes and other problem areas are glued with vapor barrier tape. This will prevent moisture from penetrating into problem areas.
Work is carried out from top to bottom. Sometimes magnesite plates and gypsum fiber are used as heat insulators. As a vapor barrier, it is permissible to use a foil-clad steam therma that is resistant to high temperatures.
On top of the resulting layer, a finish of low density wood species is sewn. Linden and aspen are considered the best materials.
The walls of panel and frame buildings are insulated only with light materials. Before laying, they are treated with milk of lime to increase their fire resistance. After processing, the material dries well.
Floor
The floor is insulated if it is made of concrete. For this, the soil is leveled, a sand cushion is added. A layer of expanded clay is laid on the pillow. Expanded clay is poured with a base floor.
The second method is suitable for a device in a steam room:
- a 15 cm layer of mineral wool is laid on the base floor;
- euroruberoid is applied with an approach to the plinth;
- lags are treated with an antiseptic solution;
- the sub-floor is being laid;
- the top is covered with a finishing floor made of grooved boards.
Additional insulation of bath windows
Windows are the main enemy of the steam room.They are the main source of heat leakage and are subject to additional insulation. They are built in the lower part of the room, small in size. For the preservation of heat, triple double-glazed windows are needed, provided that the cracks are completely sealed with insulation and a tight insert into the opening. The main slots are located around the perimeter and under the windowsill.
Conditions of tightness of windows:
- cut glass strictly to the size of the frame;
- during installation, use putty on top of glass and directly on it;
- strengthening nails are coated completely;
- the lower the glass, the less heat loss.
Double-glazed windows provide good parameters for insulation, but they are expensive. It is also customary to make the doors to the bathhouse low in order to avoid heat leaks. The door frame is insulated in the same way as the window frame.
