Thermal insulation is one of the most important elements of a roofing pie. This article will talk about what roofing insulation is, what materials are used for this and how thermal insulation is installed.
The roof is the protection of houses from negative atmospheric influences, and the attic premises are usually not used for living and do not require the creation of a positive temperature in winter during operation, not counting buildings with attics, in which the entire attic space is insulated, using it as residential.
In those houses where cold roofs are equipped, the roof insulation device is made only for the attic floor, which is the floor of the attic and the ceiling of the internal living quarters.
In the event that the attic or attic is used for living or for performing any work, the roof slopes are covered with a warm roof on all its slopes.
For houses with flat roofs without attic spaces and houses with pitched roofs using combined coatings, when service or residential premises are located immediately under the roof, insulated roofs are necessarily erected.
This avoids excessively large heat losses, since heat losses from the room through the ceilings can reach 50%.
For attic floors or ceilings, insulation is carried out from the inside of the attic; with the insulation of slopes, the situation is much more complicated. During the construction of a new house, thermal insulation materials for the roof can be laid both along the crate and between the legs of the rafters from the side of the attic.
At the same time, the first method is considered more reliable, and the second method allows you to quickly warm up the building and keep it warm for a longer time.
In an operating house, the first option is discarded using internal insulation, and when insulation of a flat roof is performed, both methods can be used.
Important: external roofing thermal insulation requires more qualification during installation, since even a person who is unfamiliar with roofing is able to perform internal thermal insulation when the insulation layer is glued to the ceiling.
In some cases, when performing thermal insulation, it may be necessary to insulate water pipes or water collectors that can be installed or pass through the attic.
Roof insulation materials
When the roof is erected and thermal insulation can begin, you should choose the right insulation material. Laying materials for thermal insulation, such as rolls, slabs or loose insulation, is a fairly simple procedure that does not require special skills.
Mineral wool slabs, having the shape of a wedge or a rectangle, are laid quite easily, after which they are conveniently joined together.
When installing thermal insulation from bulk and rolled materials, one should keep in mind some nuances that can significantly simplify and speed up work with them.
So, materials for roof insulation are classified in accordance with the rules of GOST-16381-77 according to the following parameters:
- Form roof material and its appearance;
- Material structure;
- The raw material from which the material is made;
- The average density of the material;
- Thermal conductivity of the material;
- Rigidity;
- Burning resistance.
For heat-insulating materials, unlike many other materials used in construction, the brand is set not on the basis of its strength index, but on the basis of an average density expressed in kg / m3. In accordance with this indicator, there are a number of brands of thermal insulation materials (15, 25, 35, 50, ... 450, 500).
Useful: the grade of the material shows not just its average density, but its upper limit, for example, the density of grade 175 materials can take values from 150 to 175 kg/m3.
It is also necessary to check the various design parameters of the roof - the thermal insulation must be laid with a layer of sufficient thickness, therefore, in the case when the thickness of the insulation layer declared in the project is less than required, it should be increased.
If an old roof is insulated, the height of which is usually about 15 cm, then the following situation may arise: the roof remains in its original place; clearance required for ventilation roof insulation and roofing, which is at least 5 cm, cannot be increased upwards, and the margin for insulation in the gap with the beams is less than 10 cm.
In this case, insulation is laid on the lower sides of the beams. In addition, one should take into account the low height of attic spaces, which requires as little as possible the thickness of the lower layer of additional insulation.
Layer thickness insulation for the roof should be at least 25 mm, and the most effective thermal insulation requires the use of materials whose thickness is at least 10 cm.
When performing a thermal insulation device, it is also necessary to correctly equip the roof vapor barrier, this is especially true for roof slopes.
Due to the significant difference in air temperature inside and outside the building, the absence of a vapor barrier and a layer of special holes in the roof for ventilation can cause dampness both from the roof carpet itself and under it, which, in turn, leads to premature destruction of the building, consisting in rotting of its supporting structures, condensation in the thermal insulation layer, leaks on the ceiling, etc.
To ensure effective vapor barrier, a gap between the roof covering and the thermal insulation layer and the presence of a layer of special vapor barrier material, such as foil or polyethylene film, are required.
Some of the modern vapor barrier materials are ready-made with a foil base, which allows vapor barrier to be performed simultaneously with the thermal insulation of the roof.
Internal and external insulation of flat roofs
Before proceeding with the insulation of the roof and the attic, you should carefully inspect the supporting structures of the roof, revealing the presence of the following defects:
- Mold;
- Rot;
- Moss;
- Various parasites;
- Damp beams.
If they are found, before starting work on the installation of thermal insulation, it is necessary to repair the truss structure, which avoids a complete repair of the roof, associated with the appearance in the future of new signs of leakage and destruction, but already requiring additional disassembly of recently laid layers of vapor and thermal insulation.
1.Ceiling;
2. Bar constituting the supporting structure;
3.Panel made of wood;
4. Waterproofing layer;
5. Layer of thermal insulation material;
6. Concrete slab.
Next, you should check the condition of the electrical wiring laid in the attic and, without fail, eliminate all detected defects and malfunctions.
In the case of a building in operation, it is possible to insulate a flat roof from the outside with the help of rigid slabs of heat-insulating material.
A solid base made of panels (3) is laid on top of the beams that make up the supporting structure (2). Thermal insulation slabs (5) are laid on top of the base, on top of which paving slabs are laid.
Important: when performing external thermal insulation, you should carefully check whether the supporting structures can withstand the additional load and whether there will be leaks in the roofing itself.
Insulation of the roof from the inside is most advisable to perform from the side of the ceiling, as shown in the diagram.
1. Roof covering;
2. Bearing structure;
3.Available ceiling;
4. Planck;
5.Slab of thermal insulation material;
6. Polyethylene film;
7.Decorative panel.
The installation process of such thermal insulation is quite simple, but in the case of installing various lighting fixtures, it may be necessary to remake the thermal insulation, for which fire-resistant polystyrene foam boards can be used.
Internal thermal insulation is carried out as follows: planks of soft wood (4) are screwed to the ceiling in increments of 40 cm, with the first plank screwed along the wall perpendicular to the beams that make up the supporting structure (2), and the second is fixed along the opposite wall.
Next, using mastic or special glue, glue the expanded polystyrene plate (5) close to the first plank, screw the next plank and glue the next plate, etc.
After the laying of the thermal insulation layer is completed by alternating planks and plates, a polyethylene film (6) is attached to the entire surface of the ceiling, and special decorative panels (7) are nailed to the planks (4). Planks and panels can be fastened with galvanized nails.
The roof of the building should provide not only reliable protection, but also serve to keep the heat in the interior in winter and prevent them from heating up in summer.
To do this, when erecting a roof, it is imperative to perform its thermal insulation, which was discussed in this article.
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