A home with cold floors is not only about discomfort and eternal dampness. This problem is typical for residents of private houses and apartments on the ground floor with unheated basements. It is fraught with colds, mold growth and increased heating costs. The way out of this situation is to insulate the floors with penoplex. This is a new innovative material that is popular in industrial and private construction due to its high performance characteristics. The insulation has a wide range of applications. Having even the initial repair skills, you can do the thermal insulation procedure yourself. First you need to familiarize yourself with the features of the material and the technology of its use in various conditions.
Penoplex features
When deciding to insulate the floor with penoplex, you should study the properties of this substance. Like any coating, it has its pros and cons, which must be taken into account when planning and during installation.
Material advantages:
- Ecological cleanliness. Despite the use of polymers, they are firmly bound in the mass and do not release into the air. Plates can be laid out without fear from inside the premises.
- Low thermal conductivity. This indicator is one of the best among analogs on the market. This makes it possible to produce products of small thickness without loss of performance.
- Strength and resilience. This makes the slabs easy to carry and install. They do not crumble or break under load.
- Resistant to temperature changes. This allows you to use penoplex for underfloor heating in loggias and balconies.
- Convenience of styling. The edges are made in the form of a step. The joint is seamless, neat and does not require additional sealing.
- Waterproof. Fungus and mold do not develop in the polymer, animals and insects avoid it.
- Smooth surface. It does not need to be further leveled. It is allowed to lay the finished floor directly on the insulation.
Insulating the floor with penoplex is an expensive undertaking, the estimate can be impressive, but the investment is worth it. It should be noted that the material supports combustion while emitting toxic fumes.
Laying methods
Since the products have universal performance characteristics, they can be used both inside and outside buildings. The choice of technology is determined by the types, sizes and architectural features of the buildings. It is advisable to carry out insulation of floors with penoplex in a private house at the stage of its construction. It is advisable to insulate floors in apartments during major repairs or after purchasing real estate without finishing in a new building.
On the ground
This solution is used when the structure is erected on a strip foundation without a basement. In such cases, cold and dampness goes from the ground to the dwelling. The solution to the problem is to install the foam layer directly on the ground.
Process technology:
- Leveling the soil, removing plant roots and large stones. After that, it is carefully compacted. If the soil is damp, you need to wait until it dries.
- Filling the foundation with fine crushed stone up to 40 cm thick. After leveling, sand or granite screening is poured onto it with a layer of 10 cm. The pillow is laid out using a level.To protect the insulation from dampness, you should put plastic wrap on the ground.
- Laying foam boards. For bearing surfaces, products with a thickness of 45-50 mm should be chosen. It is advisable to start the process from the wall opposite the door. The elements are combined in locks, after which the joints are glued with aluminum tape. Each subsequent row must be placed offset by half the width of the slab.
- Conducting vapor barrier. A membrane sheet must be laid on top of the coating. The strips are laid with an overlap of 15 cm, after which the joints are sealed with tape.
- Wall-mounted damper tape to ensure thermal expansion of the coating.
- Fabrication of the frame from steel reinforcement or finished lattice. The metal rises 2-2.5 cm above the base using plastic supports. Then beacons are installed.
- Filling the screed. It is better to use light plaster or alabaster based solutions.
After the screed has dried, the topcoat is laid on it. It can be parquet, laminate, solid board or linoleum.
By lags
This technology is used for houses installed on slab or pile foundations without a sub-floor or at the stage of building construction.
Floor insulation with penoplex in a wooden house is carried out in the following sequence:
- Removing the floor covering. Dismantling the finished floor. This must be done carefully so that the products can be used again. They should be marked before removal.
- Checking supporting structures for decay. If such facts are available, the wood must be cleaned, dried and treated with an antiseptic.
- Rough boards are nailed onto the logs. It is better to do this from below, but it is also possible from above, if the ceiling height allows.
- Fastening the waterproofing film. Its edges should be brought to the walls, raised by 30-40 cm. It is better to fix it with a household stapler and aluminum tape.
- Laying slabs. Depending on the chosen scheme, they are laid between the logs or on top of the rough boards. The remaining slots are filled with polyurethane foam, which does not contain toluene.
Finally, the hard flooring is laid.
If the subfloor was installed from below, the previously removed boards are put back in place. When laying was carried out on the old floor, a substrate is laid on top of the insulation, and then any type of hard coating - parquet, massive or engineered board.
Under the screed
It is possible to lay penoplex on a concrete floor in rooms with high ceilings, since after the completion of the work, the usable space will decrease by 10-12 cm. In addition, you should consider the possibility of installing one of the floor heating systems. In the retail network, for this purpose, you can choose a water, cable, matte or infrared floor. The cost of the systems varies within the range of 100-200 rubles / m². It should be borne in mind that the installation of water systems in multi-storey buildings is strictly prohibited.
Penoplex under a warm floor in a screed is installed according to the following method:
- Removing the old coating. It is removed so that it can be put back if necessary.
- Removing the previously filled screed. This is done to reduce the load on the floor slab.
- The base is cleared of debris and dust. After that, the gaps are sealed and the concrete is treated with a deep penetration primer.
- If the slab sags heavily, it is leveled with cement mortar. After it has dried, the primer is applied again.
- Laying of foam boards is being carried out. It is better to start from the far wall so as not to move the elements while walking. Before joining in the lock, the plates should be greased with glue or planted on double-sided tape in order to achieve reliable fixation.
- Laying waterproofing. Roofing material or dense cellophane is used. The joints are glued with mounting tape.
- Bonding damper tape around the perimeter of the walls.
- Steel frame fabrication. Depending on the area and purpose of the room, reinforcement or steel mesh is used. The metal structure is installed on plastic props 10-20 mm high.
- Filling the screed. Its thickness should be 30-50 mm. After pouring the solution, it is leveled and rolled with a needle roller. It takes up to 28 days for the screed to harden.
- The surface is treated with an antiseptic and a primer. If the liquid is well absorbed the first time, the procedure must be repeated.
- Underfloor heating system installation. Performed in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.
Further actions depend on the selected heating elements.
The water circuits and cables are filled with cement screed up to 3 cm thick. Ceramic tiles are laid on top of the mats. The infrared film can be covered with laminate, linoleum and even tiles.
Floor insulation options
Penoplex is a versatile material that can be used to insulate buildings of any type, regardless of the climatic conditions of the region. To achieve the best effect, you should take into account the nuances that are inherent in rooms of different types and architecture.
The main advantage of a wooden house is ventilation quality. The material allows excess moisture to pass through itself, maintaining an optimal microclimate in the room. When air circulation is impaired, condensation forms, causing mold and decay. If you use penoplex to insulate a wooden floor, you need to make ventilation ducts in it.
The concrete base does not allow moisture and air to pass through. Based on this, the use of penoplex will not create any additional difficulties. Laying can be carried out directly on the board after preliminary leveling. Since after the installation of the insulation, the concrete will be hermetically sealed, it must be carefully treated with an antiseptic before that.
On the ground floor of an apartment building, the main problem is the cold and damp basement. But in such a situation there is also a plus - you can use any materials to make a screed without any weight limit. The optimal solution is to install a warm floor system, laid on top of a layer of insulation, so that energy does not go into the slab. It is imperative that the carrier plate is carefully insulated. For this, mastics, films and roll materials are used.
In a private house, the owner has complete freedom of action. If the structure rests on a concrete slab, it is better to lay the foam directly on the base, followed by pouring a screed over it. In the presence of autonomous heating, it is advisable to install a water circuit connected to a common system on the insulation. The best option is to use continuous plastic pipes with internal reinforcement. The choice of finishing coat is determined by the interior of the building and the aesthetic priorities of its owners.
