Do-it-yourself high-quality insulation of the attic room allows you to expand the usable area of the bath and operate the attic all year round. The process requires a competent approach, and therefore we recommend that you strictly adhere to the instructions. Content:
- The choice of thermal insulation material
- Preparatory work
- Floor insulation
- Roof insulation
- Insulation of walls and pediment
Arrangement of the attic space allows you to effectively use the attic space above the bath. It can be equipped with a rest room or a guest room. In any case, for the operation of the attic in the winter, it must be insulated. You can carry out this process yourself. The main thing is to competently approach the choice of material and take a responsible attitude to the technological process.
The choice of thermal insulation material for the attic in the bath
Materials for warming the attic of a bath should be chosen in accordance with the climatic characteristics of the region and taking into account the complexity of their installation on inclined surfaces.
The most common heat insulators are:
- Styrofoam … It features low cost, light weight and easy installation. Among the disadvantages are poor vapor permeability and toxicity under the influence of high temperatures, and rodents are often found in the foam, therefore it is not the best solution for a bath. Price - from 65 rubles per stove.
- Minvata … Inexpensive material has excellent performance characteristics. Easy to assemble. Usually used for attic walls. It is not recommended to insulate the ceiling and floor of the room with mineral wool because of increased moisture absorption. Price - from 300 rubles per roll.
- Glass wool … Cheap insulation with high performance characteristics. The disadvantages include inconvenient installation due to the content of small glass particles. Cost - from 200 rubles per package.
- Expanded polystyrene … It is used for external insulation of rafters and gables. In this case, a counter lattice is packed between the heat insulator and the roofing material to form a ventilation gap. The price is about 1200 rubles per bag.
- Extruded polystyrene foam … Penoplex is a very effective environmentally friendly heat insulator of a new generation. It practically does not absorb water and has a low level of thermal conductivity. Penoplex plates are easy to install. The price is about 4 thousand rubles per cubic meter.
- Polyurethane foam … Insulation is applied to the wall by spraying. This method allows you to insulate the attic of the bath without gaps. For thermal insulation with polyurethane foam, it is not necessary to use a vapor barrier. However, you will need a special portable sprayer to apply it. Cost - from 400 rubles per cylinder per 1 square meter.
- Ecowool … The sprayed material is applied to a false ceiling with a vapor barrier lathing. The performance properties of ecowool are similar to those of wood. The spray contains an antiseptic. About 30 rubles per kilogram.
- Foil insulation … Serves as a heat insulator and heat reflector. The polished aluminum surface should be turned inside the attic, and there should be at least 5 cm to the vapor barrier. Price - from 1400 rubles per package.
The shape of the attic space is far from the classic cube, therefore, the insulation will have to be installed on the surface at an angle. In this case, it is better to abandon flexible and soft roll heat-insulating materials, and use a tile material, since it is easier to install.
To insulate the attic in the bathhouse, you can use fiberboard - an easy-to-install and inexpensive material that does not deform with temperature changes and has high sound insulation properties. From 200 rubles per sheet.
Preparatory work before insulating the attic of the bath
It is necessary to insulate the attic at the stage of construction, overlap or overhaul. Before laying the heat insulator, wooden rafters must be cleaned of dust and carefully treated with antiseptic compounds. If the dimensions allow, then, if desired, a standard rectangular room can be equipped in the attic room. For this, floor beams and horizontal partitions are installed.
To make the insulation of the attic space as efficient and safe as possible, we need a waterproofing film, insulation (for floors, walls, ceilings), a vapor barrier membrane, a windproof vapor barrier film, and a finishing coating (for floors, walls, ceilings). You can choose materials based on your budget and your own preferences.
Keep in mind that the attic floor has not only the roof surface, but also the valley, as well as a couple of gables (at least). If you leave them without insulation or take the process inattentively, you can reduce all efforts to zero.
Technology of warming the floor of the attic bath
In some cases, a mixture of wood sawdust and clay is used as a heat-insulating material, however, the most popular is the insulation of the floor between the bath and the attic with penoplex, mineral wool or other modern heat insulators.
We carry out the work in the following sequence:
- We lay a waterproofing layer on wooden beams. If the floor is reinforced concrete, then we fix a layer of additional sound insulation and make ventilation holes in the corners.
- We make a rough flooring. To do this, we fill logs with a height of 15 cm.
- We put a heat insulator between the bars. For reinforced concrete floors with an assumed wooden floor, it is recommended to use basalt or mineral wool. We use expanded polystyrene for the self-leveling floor.
- We mount the finished floor from a grooved floorboard or lay tiles.
Please note that if the insulation boards are laid in several layers, then the seams of the boards that are laid above and below should not match. Joint gaps should be within 1 mm.
Specificity of thermal insulation of the attic roof in the bath
It is also worth paying special attention to the insulation of the roof of the bathhouse with the attic and its vapor barrier. If the heat insulator layer is thicker than the rafters, then they must be leveled by stuffing wooden slats. Otherwise, double laying of insulation boards is carried out between the rafters.
We carry out the work in the following order:
- We lay a waterproofing layer from the bottom to the ridge along the rafters.
- We attach the windproof vapor barrier with the help of rails to the ventilation gap above the rafter legs.
- We cut the insulation into separate parts. Their width should be 2-3 cm more than the distance between the rafters.
- We lightly squeeze each part of the heat insulator and insert it into the space between the boards. Thus, we fill in all the free niches. Please note that the insulation should be fixed evenly and smoothly.
- We close the joints between the wall and the extreme rafter with a sealant gun.
- We attach a vapor barrier membrane with a construction stapler on top. The overlap must be at least 10 cm.
- We glue the joints with metallized tape (it is not recommended to use the usual one).
- We fill wooden slats with a step of 40-60 cm.
- We mount the finishing material. The wooden lining is fixed in the opposite direction of the lathing.
When laying the insulation, do not forget to leave a distance from the roof covering, which should be from 2.5 to 5 cm. Such an air gap will provide high-quality ventilation, preventing rotting of the heat-insulating layer.
Rules for insulating walls and gable of the attic for a bath
If the roof of the attic does not reach the floor, then it is necessary to separately insulate the walls, adhering to the following algorithm of actions:
- We attach a waterproofing film to the walls.
- We mount a wooden frame made of bars with a step of 0, 4-0, 6 cm around the window niches.
- At the bottom we install the base beam.
- We put a heat insulator in the space between the battens of the sheathing.
- We fix the vapor barrier membrane with an overlap and carefully glue the joints.
- We fill the crate of thin slats. It not only fixes the vapor and heat insulation layers, but also creates an air ventilation gap.
- We install the finishing material. Sheets of fiberboard or drywall are often used.
Watch the video on how to insulate an attic in a bathhouse:
The durability of the building elements, heating costs and the microclimate of the room depend on the quality of the equipped thermal insulation. Do-it-yourself warming of the attic of a bathhouse can be done quickly and efficiently if you choose the right materials and take into account the features of the process. In this case, you can ensure yourself a comfortable stay on the second floor of the bath at any time of the year.
