The foundation is the basis of construction, the strength and durability of the entire structure depend on the quality of laying. In addition, a huge amount of heat leaves the house through the foundation, which is why its insulation is the main step in the process of thermal insulation of the entire house. The technology of warming the foundation with penoplex is the most common and effective method of warming the house, which this article is dedicated to.
Features of foam - a material for warming the foundation
The most common method of thermal insulation is the insulation of the foundation with foam. This foamed polymeric material is produced by extruding polystyrene foam. During this, cells of a closed structure appear in it that do not pass moisture and are not saturated with it. These cells inside are filled with the best heat insulator - air.
Penoplex is made in the form of plates of different sizes and thicknesses. Each plate is provided with grooves, which allows you to install the material quickly and efficiently (the plates adhere tightly through the grooves, which prevents the appearance of seams and gaps).
Ways of warming the foundation
The method of horizontal insulation is used to base the slab and strip foundation of the house. At the same time, do-it-yourself foam board plates are laid under the foundation foundation. This method protects the basis from freezing well.
The vertical way of warming the foundation involves gluing foam boards on the outer walls of the base and basement. Plates are mounted using polymer glue, and in the basement area are also strengthened with dowels.
Warming with foam-rubber plates blinds around the house. This method is resorted to when the soil on which the building is standing is highly agitated, which leads to deformation. In this case, the foam plate is laid on a previously filled special pillow, and on top of them, a concrete blind area is installed.
Materials and tools
First of all, you need to prepare the following materials:
- foam boards;
- glue in a tube or balloon glue-foam (needed to close the net);
- dowel umbrella;
- mounting foam for sealing the joints (despite the fact that the foam-plastic panels are fastened together by grooves, which seems to exclude the appearance of through joints, if the sheets can not join, seams are formed that must be repaired with your own hands so that cold air does not penetrate through them);
- bituminous mastic;
- reinforcing mesh made of polymer or metal.
In addition, in order to warm the foundation with foam, the following tools will be needed:
- a vessel for diluting glue and a mixer for mixing;
- penoplex knife;
- building level;
- putty knife;
- a brush for lubrication with a waterproofing mixture;
- drill or punch.
Technology of vertical insulation of the foundation
Vertical insulation of the foundation with foam can be carried out both for buildings under construction and for a finished house. If you insulate a completed and long-commissioned building, first you will have to dig out the basis to the depth of its occurrence.
The foundation of the house should be cleaned of dust, dirt and soil residues, as well as leveled with cement mortar. After this, it is necessary to carry out coating waterproofing using water-based bitumen mastic. It is impossible to use solvent-based mastic in any case, because penoplex is destroyed by touching it.
Before gluing the plates, it is necessary to carefully mark out the foundation and mark the lower edge of the laying of the plates. If the base is bumpy, then in this case it is better to warm the foundation with polystyrene foam deeper than the level of the sole.
The foam adhesive is diluted and prepared according to the instructions on the packaging. To glue the plate with your own hands, it is necessary to apply glue on it precisely, press it to the desired place and hold it for a few seconds, pressing it as hard as possible to the surface. When gluing the next plate, the mounting groove must be correctly aligned.
To increase the level of thermal insulation of the house, 2 layers of foam can be glued to the foundation.
In this case, the plates of the second row are staggered relative to the first row, so that the seams of the plates of the first layer are overlapped by the second layer.
The horizontal method of warming the slab foundation
To make horizontal foundation insulation with polystyrene foam, foam tiles from a thickness of 5 centimeters are needed.
As in the first method of warming, the area allotted for the foundation must be marked and the topsoil removed to the depth planned for the initial construction. During excavation, the upper 25-30 cm of soil are removed with their own hands in order to make the bottom more even.
The prepared area is covered with sand and carefully compacted. There is no need to reinforce the base, it is enough to make a temporary formwork and fill it with a small layer of concrete.
After the concrete layer has dried and hardened, you can proceed with the installation of foam boards. To do this, they need to be carefully laid on concrete, combining the grooves and leaving no gaps. To increase the waterproofing, it is necessary to lay a thick polyethylene film on top of the foam plastic and glue the joints with adhesive tape.
After waterproofing works, it is necessary to make a solid formwork with your own hands, perform reinforcement and pour the slab foundation. After it hardens, the formwork can be removed and the side walls additionally covered with foam sheets.
Ground insulation technology
Thermal insulation of the soil significantly reduces the estimated depth of the foundation, and therefore reduces the overall cost of its construction. It is produced by warming the blind area.
Thermal insulation of the soil is carried out most often after vertical thermal insulation of the foundation. To do this, near the lower edge of the slabs, backfilling is done with sand or gravel 15-20 cm below the ground level. Further, at a distance of a meter from the walls, a plank formwork with a height of about 30 cm is placed.
The bottom of the blind area is carefully compacted and leveled, and foam tiles are laid on it along the perimeter of the base. A polyethylene film is covered over the foam and concrete is poured.
After the concrete pillow has dried, the formwork can be removed, and the blind area can be ennobled with decorative stone trim.
So, thermal insulation of the foundation with a penoplex eliminates freezing of the foundation, does not allow temperature drops and, consequently, the formation of condensate. After the penoplex warming procedure, which can be easily done with your own hands, the microclimate in the house improves significantly, which increases the service life of the entire structure.