Roof insulation is necessary to prevent heat loss from the premises in the winter and overheating in the summer heat. Therefore, it is important to know how to properly insulate the roof so that heat loss is minimal and the structures serve as long as possible.
The roof is an indispensable element of every house, regardless of its size and functional purpose. This design is necessary to protect the interior from atmospheric influences - precipitation, wind, dust penetration.
In order for the rooms of the house to be warm and cozy, the roof must be properly built and insulated.
Why insulate the roof?
Let's try to figure out whether it is really necessary to insulate the roof, whether it is possible to do without this operation.
Competent do-it-yourself roof insulation necessary not only from the point of view of saving resources for heating, but also to maintain the roof structures in working condition.
The point is that without quality roof insulation from the inside and waterproofing, moisture penetrates into the roof space and the rafters and beams begin to rot, becoming unusable in 3-4 years of operation of the house.
Naturally, few people like to do such an expensive repair as a complete replacement of the roof structure every few years. Therefore, even during the assembly of the roof structure, it is important to carry out competent insulation and waterproofing.
Particularly stringent requirements for roof insulation are imposed if it is planned to build an attic floor.
Materials used for roof insulation
The primary issue, if we insulate the roof, is the selection of insulation.
Today, for these purposes, the following materials are most often used:
- Mineral wool;
- Styrofoam;
- Sawdust;
- Expanded clay.
Each of these materials has its own merits and good qualities. But, since there is nothing perfect in the world, the disadvantages of the listed types of insulation are also present.
Therefore, it is worth getting acquainted with the roof insulation technologies used in construction in order to choose the most suitable option.
Roof insulation with mineral wool
Quite often, when deciding how to insulate the roof of a wooden house, developers choose mineral wool as a heater.
Indeed, this material has a lot of advantages, it:
- Fireproof;
- Does not emit harmful substances;
- Possesses excellent heat-insulating properties;
- It is light in weight and therefore easy to install.
The disadvantages of this material include a high degree of hygroscopicity, therefore, when choosing this option, you need to make good hydro and vapor barrier. Consider the procedure for roof insulation using mineral wool.
Stage one. After the rafter system is ready, battens are stuffed onto the rafters from the inside to attach the insulation. The step of fastening the lathing slats is 20-30 cm.
On the outside of the rafters, mineral wool is laid in one or two layers. At the same time, it is necessary to ensure that there are no through holes in the insulation layer, and the joints of the plates are tightly pressed to the rafters.
After all the insulation has been laid, proceed to laying the waterproofing. It is nailed to the rafters not in tightness, but with a slight sag.
Advice! When laying waterproofing material, it is extremely important not to confuse the sides of its membrane. The top layer should not let moisture through, and the bottom one (directed towards the insulation) should not prevent the passage of vapors and moisture.
Laying sheets of waterproofing is carried out with a slight overlap. At the same time, it is important to ensure that an air gap of at least 5 cm remains between the membrane and the insulation layer. A ventilation hole is made along the entire length of the roof ridge (about 10 cm of the membrane does not connect to the rafters), this will create additional traction.
Stage two.After laying the waterproofing membrane, proceed to the arrangement of additional ventilation. To do this, bars with a section of 25 × 50 or 50 × 50 are stuffed along the rafters.
Advice! For these purposes, you can use small pieces and trimming bars 1-2 meters long.
On top of the installed beams, a crate of boards laid across the rafters is stuffed. It is advisable to treat both the bars and the crate using antiseptic solutions.
The arrangement of such a gap will effectively dry the condensate and moisture that collects on the membrane. Roofing material can be laid on top of the crate.
Stage three. The insulation of the roof with mineral wool is completed with a vapor barrier device to prevent water vapor from entering the insulation from the room.
From the inside of the room, a vapor barrier material is pulled onto the truss system, over which a crate of slats is stuffed. Then it will be possible to attach the inner lining to the rails - plywood, lining, etc.
You can study the process in more detail by downloading the video - roof insulation using mineral wool.
Roof insulation using expanded polystyrene
Quite often, expanded polystyrene is also used as a heater for the roof. This material, in its essence, is a ball of a polymer substance filled with air.
Therefore, it has excellent thermal insulation properties and, in addition, it is easy to work with it, since expanded polystyrene is lightweight and can be cut with an ordinary knife.
Also, the positive properties of this material include:
- Low vapor permeability;
- Excellent thermal insulation properties even in high humidity conditions;
- Hydrophobicity, that is, the inability to absorb moisture;
- Resistance to physical wear;
- Resistance to damage by bioparasites - fungi, insects, bacteria;
- Lack of ability to sustain combustion.
No special tools are required for cutting and processing EPS boards. Everything can be done using a knife or hand saw.
The edges of the cut plates can be easily cleaned with sandpaper. At the same time, dust is not formed when working with this material, it has no smell, therefore it does not cause irritation of the respiratory tract.
Thus, insulating your roof with styrofoam will be efficient.
As a rule, roof insulation with polystyrene foam occurs in the same way as described for mineral wool. Joints between individual slabs of material can be sealed with mounting foam.
Roof insulation using expanded clay
This option can be safely classified as traditional, as it has been successfully used for more than half a century.
The main advantages of this material are:
- Low cost;
- High thermal insulation characteristics;
- Lack of combustibility;
- Resistance to low temperatures;
- Not able to absorb moisture.
Expanded clay sand, gravel or crushed stone is used as a heat-insulating material. As a rule, the roof is insulated with expanded clay using the simplest technology: the material is simply poured into the cavity, creating a heat-insulating layer.
Another advantage of this method is complete safety from the point of view of ecology, since expanded clay is made from clay without the use of any synthetic additives.
Roof insulation with sawdust
If the construction budget is small, then it is possible to insulate the roof with sawdust. This material is perhaps the cheapest of all possible heaters. However, when using sawdust in its pure form, the risk that mice settle on the roof is too great.
Therefore, they are usually used in a mixture with lime. It is even better if it is possible to purchase not sawdust, but wood shavings, which are formed during the jointing of timber.
It is quite simple to insulate the roof with sawdust, you just need to fill the insulation in the roof cavity. As a result, a layer of material is formed that prevents heat from escaping.
This method is rarely used today, since from the point of view of protection against ignition and the spread of fire, it does not stand up to criticism.
conclusions
If you plan to do the work yourself, then it is advisable to study this issue in detail. For example, to see clearly how the roof is insulated - a video on this topic is easy to find on the net.
The quality of the work performed will be easy to assess in the very first winter, if icicles form on the eaves of the house, it means that the work was carried out in violation of technology.
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