The insulation procedure and the choice of materials must be approached very, very responsibly. Heat loss depends on this, which means the comfort and coziness of people living in this building. Insulation of a frame house with high-quality mineral wool is the most affordable and reliable method. This is confirmed by the reviews of those who used it, it is recommended to choose by experienced developers. 80% of all existing insulation methods are allocated specifically to mineral wool or other insulation based on it.
Functions performed by insulation
The thermal protection of the frame with mineral wool, in contact with cold air currents, performs several functions at once, preventing:
- Falling out of condensate from the inner space of the room;
- Dampness, mold or mildew formation;
- Temperature imbalance, which reduces comfortable living and coziness in the home.
That is why the correct insulation of a frame house from the inside with mineral wool is a mandatory procedure. In addition to thermal protection, it also extends the service life of the frame.
Safety engineering
In order for the house insulation work to go without injury, be sure to follow the safety rules:
- use the power tool only in dry weather;
- working at height, use safety belts;
- when installing mineral wool, put on goggles, gloves, respirator;
- do not use open fire;
- do not eat in the installation area;
- for a hand tool, the reliability of attachment to the handles is checked.
It is not so difficult to insulate a house from a bar with your own hands. It is important to follow the correct sequence of actions, and then the house will be warm and dry even on rainy and frosty days.
What features should the insulation have and why
All materials that can be used for thermal protection must meet the following requirements:
- Have a low coefficient of thermal conductivity;
- Possess good indicators of fire safety;
- Have low water absorption;
- Have no shrinkage or shrink as low as possible;
- Have a good environmental friendliness.
- Why these properties are needed, we will figure it out in more detail.
Thermal conductivity
This indicator is responsible for the ability of the insulation to transfer heat. The lower this coefficient, the less the material allows heat to pass through. This means that in winter, the insulation does not allow the building to cool down quickly, and in the summer, accordingly, it warms up.
Advice! Based on, when choosing, it is from this indicator, the user must take into account the coefficient of thermal conductivity when used in specific climatic conditions.
Fire safety
This indicator is responsible for the ability of the insulation to withstand high temperatures, without losing its functions, without deforming, without changing its structure. Insulation of frame houses with mineral wool is considered reasonable and correct because this indicator is regulated by GOST standards. Mineral wool has them and fully meets them.
Water absorption
The next important parameter after the previous one is responsible for the material's ability to absorb moisture and retain it. If the material strongly absorbs water, then it gives off heat faster and stronger. This is because the pores in the insulation are clogged with water, and, according to the laws of physics, it has a higher thermal conductivity than air.
And then, with too much moisture absorption, the material, at too low a temperature, can simply freeze, and when it turns into ice, it finally loses its properties.
Therefore, the smaller its parameters, the better the material.
Shrinkage
Choosing insulation of a frame house with high-quality mineral wool, this parameter is also worth paying attention to. This factor should be as small as possible. Otherwise, over time, after shrinkage, subsidence will appear in the places where the heat insulator is laid. And this means that cold bridges will appear there necessarily, and this is very bad. The cold bridge is an ideal zone for dissipating heat from the inside of the room.
Environmental friendliness
The basis of thermal protection is made by insulation, which is located along the entire perimeter of the building. It is very important that no harmful radiation and vapors emanate from it in the form of compounds and substances hazardous to health.
Myth number 3. Mineral wool - harm to human health
It is difficult to deny that a substance produced using chemical reactions will not be completely passive. In the technological process, there is a moment of introduction of formaldehyde resins, which evaporate after molding and packaging. Their vapors are indeed carcinogenic and harmful. The particles of stone raw materials themselves are also harmful. But the evaporation rate and actual particle concentration are so negligible that they are simply overlooked in product descriptions.
Modern mineral wool is called environmentally friendly because the amount of carcinogens (and any other harmful substances) is ten times less than the maximum permissible concentration (MPC) threshold, not only in the working ("cold") state, but also under strong heating (wool itself is not lit). These and many other harmful resins are found in chipboard (furniture), OSB (bases and surfaces), in all types of plastics, including window plastics.
Frightening articles that mention Greenpeace, environmentalists and phrases like “... they abandoned in Europe for a long time ...”, “... all over the world switched to harmless heaters ...”, etc. - unscrupulous marketing designed to draw attention to an alternative product ( PPR, liquid polyurethane foam, insulating plaster, etc.). When choosing a heater, remember that absolutely passive substances do not exist in nature and industry.
- Choose mineral wool from manufacturers available in your area. Pay attention to the proximity of the factories - if the production is far away, you risk overpaying up to 15% for transport (included in the price).
- Layer thickness and grade can be selected from experience. It all comes down to the number of layers of factory thickness of 50 or 100 mm.
- Mineral wool is a modern, harmless material. To say the opposite is tantamount to saying that the car itself is obsolete, citing the 1921 Ford-T as an example.
- Mineral wool is not a panacea and not an ideal material. All other heaters have their own merits.
Reasons for the popularity of mineral wool
Insulation of a frame house is chosen very often with mineral wool. The popularity of the material can be explained by several reasons:
- Mineral wool is endowed with high levels of noise and vapor barrier;
- Has excellent thermal conductivity;
- It is considered a non-flammable and environmentally friendly material;
- Has an ideal water absorption rate;
- Eliminates condensation formation.
The material cannot be called cheap. But by choosing it, the user has the opportunity to save on the purchase of a vapor barrier film or specially designed membrane materials.
Mineral wool analogues, their use, the best manufacturers
Fiber heat insulator, referred to as mineral wool, is used in 80% of all available cases. Other materials based on it are often used for thermal protection.
Basalt
The best mineral wool for insulating frame houses of the following brands:
- Isolight;
- Izorok;
- Isolight-L.
- And:
- Nobasil;
- Rockwall;
- "Paroc".
It is also called stone, it is made from raw materials of rocks, namely from:
- Basalt;
- Diarita;
- Porphyrite;
- Basalite.
Basalt is the leader in the list of raw materials. Cotton-stone slabs are used for insulation:
- Insulation of pipelines;
- Wall structures of frame frames;
- Heat and vapor barrier of technological equipment.
Basalt wool is a non-combustible material with:
- High rates of thermal conductivity. Refers to the list of durable heaters. Average service life is 50 years;
- For the entire time of use, it does not change its structure, valuable properties;
- Has a good indicator of resistance to chemical compounds;
- Non-hygoscopic;
- Has a high biological resistance;
- Resistant to deformation from high temperatures. It can withstand temperatures of 1000 0C.
In addition to all the listed advantages, stone slabs are endowed with negligible shrinkage. Cold bridges are not formed in the interplate joints.
Has a pronounced water-repellent effect.
Glass wool
Much like the previous material. It differs only in that completely different raw materials are used in its production. The raw material base here is fiberglass, glass and its waste. It goes on sale not in the form of slabs, but in rolls, which are often called mats.
Standard parameters of one roll (in mm):
- Length - 1000;
- Width - 1200;
- Thickness - 100.
When choosing to insulate the walls of a frame house with mineral (glass-based) wool, use an insulation with a density of 15-20 kg / m3. It is with its help that you can achieve the expected result. It is used for thermal protection of horizontal surfaces of the frame, for example, floors.
The second difference between glass wool and mineral wool is the lack of environmental friendliness. That is why the mineral is preferred to her. It is unsafe to work with glass wool, therefore, before starting installation, the master should wear gloves and a respirator.
The best manufacturers of glass wool are the following brands:
- Ursa;
- Isover;
- Knauf (Knauf insulation).
Advice! When choosing glass wool, remember - it tends to shrink. Another disadvantage is the high coefficient of water absorption.
Slag
Slag heat insulator is rarely used. It is produced from metallurgy branches. It is characterized by low thermal conductivity, low cost. But they are not used in the production of thermal protection due to the fact that the material does not meet environmental requirements. The service life is short. Insulation of a frame house with slag wool is considered to be of poor quality also because the material has high fragility and fragility.
In case of accidental mechanical damage it does not restore its shape. Its hydrophobic properties are also very weak, which means that the material can be safely attributed to the category of heat insulators with a high coefficient of water absorption. Phenyl-formaldehyde compounds, which are part of the slag, are very harmful to human health.
Ecowool
Modern insulation made from cellulose. It differs from mineral wool:
- By appearance and styling technology;
- Flammability - very low. When burning, it does not emit harmful toxins;
- The increased rates of sound insulation. In comparison with mineral wool, they are 2 times more.
- Ecowool is used in heat protection:
- Office buildings;
- Shopping centers and shops;
- Residential home ownership;
- Manufacturing institutions;
- Children's, medical and educational institutions;
- Warehouses.
The use of ecowool is allowed in buildings with high levels of humidity or condensation. Ecowool has one drawback - the high cost of the material.
Raw materials for manufacturing:
- By-products of the paper industry (waste);
- Clippings and defective material from printing houses;
- Waste paper.
The latter refers to secondary raw materials due to severe pollution and obvious heterogeneity. 80% of the composition of ecowool is cellulose fibers, 12% is boric acid (to protect against bacteria and the formation of fungus), 8% is tetraborate (acting as a fire retardant). The latter serves not only as a component that increases fire resistance, but also as a substance that affects insecticidal properties, namely, it enhances them.
Types of mineral wool
Mineral wool, as the name suggests, is made from minerals. Natural substances are placed in a melting furnace and exposed to high temperatures. The melted mass is placed in a centrifuge, where, with non-stop rotation, it is drawn into thin threads. Then the resulting mineral wool is cut and packaged.
Depending on the type of mineral used for the production of insulation, the following types are distinguished:
Glass wool is made up of glass fibers. It is obtained from sand by melting it under the influence of temperatures in excess of a thousand degrees Celsius. Slag wool is made in a similar way. Only metal slag is used instead of sand. These two types of material are extremely inconvenient to use, as they contain small particles of glass or slag. They, getting on open areas of the body, irritate the skin and mucous membranes. If the choice fell on one of these heaters, you will have to work in thick overalls, protect your hands and face.
It is much more comfortable to do insulation with stone wool or basalt, which is its variety. Stone wool is made from volcanic stone and has a high level of fire safety.
So which mineral wool is better? Of course, stone. It is one hundred percent made from natural raw materials without the addition of synthetics. To work with it, you do not need to protect your hands and face, since the material is a homogeneous fiber without inclusions of stone prickly particles. This insulation allows air vapor to pass through, does not burn; has high soundproofing performance.
But even better is its derivative - basalt mineral wool. It has the lowest level of thermal conductivity of all types of mineral wool (0.039), completely insulates neighboring living quarters from sounds, including deaf mechanical shocks.
The characteristics of mineral wool are as follows:
- Does not burn when exposed to open fire. On the contrary, it prevents the spread of the flame further.
- Resistant to biological effects. In other words, it does not rot, it is not covered with mold, fungus; not interesting to insects and rodents.
- Possesses a low threshold of moisture resistance. Virtually no liquid absorption.
- Has a high level of vapor permeability.
- Has a long service life. Retains its properties for 70 years.
Basalt mineral wool is very lightweight, which is convenient when used as insulation inside a residential building. It does not create additional pressure on the floors. At the same time, the density of mineral wool is very high (up to 100 kg / m2). One layer of insulation replaces double brickwork.
The thickness of the mineral wool varies. The thinnest layer is 5 cm, the thickest - up to 60 cm. To increase the degree of insulation, they usually take plates of medium thickness and line them in two, and sometimes in three layers. It is also possible to combine thin and thick plates.
Basalt wool is produced and sold in rolls and slabs. The most convenient way to insulate a house is to use mineral wool slabs.
Which wool is better, what methods of thermal insulation exist
It is important to know how to properly insulate a frame residential building with mineral wool, because each of the modifications presented above (except for stone wool), when wet, loses its thermal insulation properties.To prevent such embarrassing situations, most developers insulate the frame strictly with mineral wool in a protective (polyethylene) sheath.
There are three methods for producing thermal protection:
- Sticky;
- Wet;
- Dry.
To carry out blowing using dry technology, the use of special equipment will be required. The material is fed through a hose to all planes and slots, completely filling them.
It is recommended to use the wet technique in cases where the frame is covered after thermal protection. Here the composition is diluted with water and also sprayed on surfaces. Drying, the wet composition transforms into a dense coating. The key advantage of this technique is the absence of shrinkage.
Glue is used when it is necessary to insulate a reinforced concrete or metal structure: walls or ceilings. The adhesive composition, if selected correctly, ensures the highest adhesion of the insulation to the base.
Important clarification! Due to the high strength and hygroscopic properties of the coating, additional cladding is not required on the outside.
Self-production of thermal protection
Insulation of a frame house with mineral wool, namely its step-by-step scheme, will definitely require the installation of a protective layer against moisture - waterproofing. This is to prevent moisture trapping on both sides. Due to its removal to the outside, the walls will get wet and deteriorate.
Waterproofing
The first step will be to measure the dimensions of the surface, cutting the waterproofing material. The material is fastened with a construction stapler to the racks. In this case, you need to ensure that the strength of the fastening is maximum, the frame is completely sheathed around the perimeter. The material should be overlapped, the layers should overlap each other by about 10 cm.
Vapor barrier
This front of work is mandatory if hydrophobic materials are used for thermal protection or those that tolerate any contact with moisture neutrally. In addition to them, the so-called cake can also consist of other materials that are more sensitive to getting wet. It will be right to choose (for internal and external thermal protection) foamed polyethylene or a special film. They are also attached to the racks, this will provide a good fit to the insulation.
Important note! Wrapping heat insulator blocks in a film is a gross violation of the standard method of arranging thermal protection. Until all areas of the frame, without exception, are covered from getting wet, the work cannot be considered complete.
Only after that it will be possible to safely begin work on laying the filler, strictly observing the safety rules.
Stitching
This is the final stage in the production of thermal protection. For internal surfaces, drywall sheets and particle boards remain out of competition. GKL is best used in cases where the frame is perfectly flat. OSB, due to the stiffness indicators, can be used in the presence of small irregularities. Then you can carry out the finishing.
