Do-it-yourself floor insulation on the balcony, choice of material, installation technology, finishing. Insulating the floor on the balcony is an important task if it is decided to attach this room to the apartment. To avoid mistakes, you need to decide which material to choose and how to properly lay it.
The choice of insulation for the balcony floor
Balcony - outboard construction. It is connected to the house only by the plate on which it is located. This is how it differs from the loggia, which additionally has 3 main walls and can be insulated with any materials. You cannot additionally load the balcony. Since the work is planned to be carried out by hand, the insulation must meet the following requirements: have a low weight, it is easy to cut out, it is easy to install. Expanded polystyrene and mineral wool meet these requirements.
Expanded polystyrene for thermal insulation of the balcony floor
Do-it-yourself floor insulation on the balcony can be done with foam and foam. Both materials belong to expanded polystyrene, but differ in technical characteristics.
Polyfoam consists of many bubbles isolated from each other. The ratio of polystyrene and air in the insulation is 2 to 98. The size of the bubbles is from 5 to 15 mm.
Polyfoam is most often used in floor insulation on the balcony due to its low cost. Its other positive characteristics should also be noted:
- Low thermal conductivity - 0, 028-0, 034 W / m * K;
- Small water absorption - 4%;
- Low vapor permeability - 0.23 Mg / (m * h * Pa);
- Density - 15-35 kg / m3;
- Compressive strength - not less than 5-20 kPa;
- Temperature range - -50 + 75 ° С;
- The service life is up to 15 years.
Penoplex is produced by extrusion. It differs from ordinary polystyrene foam not only in technical characteristics, but also in appearance. Penoplex has a structure homogeneous throughout the thickness of the slab, therefore it is easy to cut: a fine-toothed hacksaw is enough to cut the insulation without waste. Consists of balls loosely connected to each other. When cutting with any tool, it crumbles, cracks, breaks.
The technical characteristics of penoplex are more attractive than those of polystyrene:
- Thermal conductivity is lower - not higher than 0, 028;
- Water absorption - no more than 0, 4%;
- Water vapor permeability - 0.015;
- Density - 27-47;
- Compressive strength - 50 kPa;
- Temperature range - -50 + 75 ° С;
- The service life is up to 50 years.
Penoplex is more expensive than polystyrene, but its technical characteristics are more attractive. Both materials are combustible (G3 and G4), so it is not recommended to use them unprotected (under a concrete screed or plaster is allowed).
Important! If the balcony is on the south side, play it safe and insulate the balcony with mineral wool. The operating temperature range of polystyrene foam is small.
Mineral wool for insulation of the balcony floor
There are several varieties of this insulation. These are stone wool, slag wool and glass wool made from quartz. The technical characteristics of the material are diverse. Mineral wool does not burn. The basalt variety has an upper operating temperature limit of 1000 ° C. In this case, it will only melt.
Basalt wool comes in different densities. The higher this indicator, the stronger the material conducts heat. Forms of release - rolls, mats, plates, as well as a foil variety.
Basalt wool characteristics:
- Thermal conductivity - 0, 034-0, 043;
- Water absorption - 1-2%;
- Water vapor permeability - 0, 3;
- Density - 10-159;
- Compressive strength - up to 80 kPa;
- Operating temperature range - 200-1000;
- The service life is up to 50 years.
Basalt wool is an ideal insulation for the balcony floor. The only thing is that it weighs significantly more than expanded polystyrene.
Foil insulation for thermal insulation of the floor on the balcony
There are several types of such materials - based on expanded polystyrene, polyethylene foam and mineral wool. The thickness of such heaters is less than their non-foil counterparts. They work on a double principle:
- The insulation itself does not let the cold into the room.
- The foil layer repels heat back into the room, working like a thermos.
The price of foil insulation depends on the quality of the foil. The thicker and stronger it is, the more expensive the material is. To insulate the floor on the balcony, a combined insulation would be an excellent option: polystyrene / foam / mineral wool plus foil insulation based on polyethylene foam (penofol). This material has the smallest thickness. Placed on top of the main insulation, it will perfectly cope with the task of repelling heat back into the room.
Important! Choose materials for floor insulation on the balcony from trusted manufacturers. Do not buy in markets where storage conditions may be compromised.
The technology of thermal insulation of the floor on the balcony with expanded polystyrene
Despite the flammability, polystyrene and polystyrene foam remain priority materials. The technology for laying them on the floor is the same and has some subtleties. For rigid installation, purchase only polyurethane compounds or cement-based dry mixes. If the glue contains organic substances, the expanded polystyrene will dissolve. To minimize cold bridges, lay the insulation in two layers, and seal the seams with metallized tape or silicone sealant. The optimal combination: expanded polystyrene + foamed polyethylene foam. An electric floor heating is often laid on top of such a "pie".
Tools and materials for thermal insulation of the balcony floor
For work, you will need a heat-insulating material (polystyrene or penoplex), foil insulation (penofol, foilgoizolon), glue (if hard installation is assumed), a wooden bar to create a base for the future floor and a set of tools, additional materials and useful items:
- A broom for cleaning the balcony slab from debris and dust.
- Vacuum cleaner for final dust removal of the surface.
- Self-tapping screws, drill screwdriver.
- Building level - the balcony slab must be checked for evenness. If the deviations are large, you will have to do alignment.
- Dry mix for self-leveling cement screed if the balcony floor is uneven.
- Fine-toothed hacksaw for cutting expanded polystyrene.
- Spatulas - wide and serrated.
- Needle roller for leveling cement screed and for rolling insulation boards.
The order of work is divided into 3 stages: preparatory, installation of insulation and installation of the topcoat.
Preparatory work before floor insulation
This stage includes removing debris and dust, checking the level of the base and pouring a concrete screed, if required:
- Free the balcony from foreign objects, remove debris and dust.
- Check the base for evenness. Knock down obvious hillocks, cement the hollows with mortar. If there is a large difference in height, it is better to fill in a thin cement screed. To do this, set the boundaries of the future floor around the perimeter of the balcony slab - lay the border in one brick on the cement mortar (use hollow bricks, place them with the spoon side on the base).
- Prepare a water container and dry screed bag. Pour the mixture into the water and stir with the mixer attachment attached to the drill. Let stand 5 minutes and stir again.
- Pour the mixture onto the prepared substrate and smooth with a needle roller to avoid bubbles. Screed thickness - flush with the curb.
- Let the mixture harden and gain working strength.
After that, you can start warming. Immediately before installation, you need to cut the foam / polystyrene foam. Place the insulation on a flat, solid surface, mark the pieces to be cut. Further work can continue in two scenarios - glueless (floating) styling and glue (hard).
Floating styrofoam laying on the floor
Such an installation of expanded polystyrene is much easier, and the process itself is cleaner, since work with adhesive mixtures is not required.
The procedure for floating laying:
- Lay a beam with a section of 15 x 15 cm around the perimeter of the balcony. Before laying, treat the tree with any composition that protects against decay (antiseptic) and dry it.
- Place a waterproofing film on the floor. Dense polyethylene is suitable. This is especially important if the floor on the balcony is insulated with polystyrene foam. For penoplex, waterproofing is not needed, since its water absorption is minimal.
- Secure the film to the timber with a construction stapler. The waterproofing must completely cover the tree.
- Install the first layer of insulation. Place the sheets according to the type of brick binding, the vertical seams should not coincide.
- Glue the seams with metallized tape.
- Install a second layer of insulation. There should be a full foam / polystyrene board above each seam.
- Glue the seams with metallized tape.
- Cover the material with foil insulation - penofol, foil insulation. Insulate the joints with construction tape.
- Install the topcoat. The distance between the foil and the finished floor must be at least 3 cm.
Glue installation of polystyrene foam on the floor
The order of work with rigid installation is somewhat different. You will need to prepare a cement-based foam / foam adhesive in accordance with the instructions. You can use polyurethane, but it will cost much more.
The procedure for glue laying:
- Install the base for the future floor (frame made of wooden beams 15 x 15 cm around the perimeter of the balcony).
- Roll the foam / foam boards with a needle roller.
- Cover the adhesive mixture with water.
- Using a wide spatula, apply the glue to the entire surface of the board, remove the excess with a notched one.
- Place the first slab in the corner of the balcony and press firmly.
- Continue with the rest of the insulation, observing the principle of brick dressing.
- Use silicone sealant to seal the joints between boards and beams.
- Lay the foil insulation on top, glue the joints with metallized tape.
- Make a finished floor with tongue and groove planks and open with varnish. The insulation of the floor on the balcony with penoplex / polystyrene is finished.
Important! If the balcony is not heated, insulation is unlikely to help achieve a comfortable temperature on it. The best option would be to install an electric underfloor heating on top of such thermal insulation. But this will require the help of professionals.
Thermal insulation of the floor on the balcony with mineral wool
Such thermal insulation does not require perfect evenness of the base, therefore the preparatory stage is reduced only to cleaning the balcony slab from debris and dust. You will also need to align the obvious pits and bumps. Additionally, you can impregnate the concrete base with waterproofing mastic or use the classic version - dense polyethylene, which is much cheaper.
The procedure for insulating the floor on the balcony with mineral wool:
- Install a timber around the perimeter on the prepared base.
- Put the lags. Take a step along the width of the insulation plates. The material should fit tightly between the lags, with some spacing. This will help to avoid cold bridges.
- Lay the waterproofing film on the logs and secure it with a stapler.
- Insert insulation between the joists. Use a roll type of basalt wool, cut exactly to size (to the width of the balcony).
- Lay on top of the vapor barrier membrane, secure it, glue the joints with construction tape. You can replace the vapor barrier membrane with a thin foil insulation.
- Glue the joints of the foil insulation with metallized tape.
- Place the crate over the top. The thickness of the bar is at least 3 cm.
- Lay the topcoat from the tongue-and-groove board. Varnish the finished floor.
Important! Use basalt wool to insulate the floor on the balcony. It has the lowest water absorption coefficient. Watch a video on thermal insulation of the balcony floor:
Knowing how to insulate the floor on the balcony, you can easily turn this room into a cozy office, a winter garden or a small greenhouse. Be sure to pre-calculate the required thickness of insulation for your region, consult with experts about the additional load on the balcony slab and its maximum value.
