The roof protects the entire structure of the house from the negative effects of the external environment. Today there is no limit to the fantasy of country house design. In the event that a roof is built according to the type of attic and the arrangement of a residential area is supposed to be in it, it must be insulated. In our article we will talk about the fact that insulating the roof with your own hands will not be particularly difficult.
Recall that the design of any type of roof consists of two parts: external and internal. The outer part includes the roof, and the inner part includes the truss structure and floor slabs.
Regardless of whether you will insulate a wooden or stone house, the roof should be insulated according to a single scheme.Depending on which part of the attic space of the house will be used, heat-insulating material is selected and a scheme for work is drawn up.
In the case when the attic on the house does not serve as a living space, it is not necessary to insulate the roof from the inside. In this case, you can limit yourself to arranging high-quality thermal insulation on the basis of the attic.
In the case when the attic in the house is used as a living area or an attic is equipped here, then you should think about attic roof insulation.
If you decide to insulate the roof with your own hands, then initially carefully examine all the structural parts of the roof.
In case of defects, do not leave their repair for later - repair in time. Do not forget to check the quality and strength of the rafters, if necessary, then replace the elements affected by dampness and rot.
Important: treat the entire truss structure with an antiseptic. On the roof there are elements of plumbing and electrical wiring, then they also need to be treated with an antiseptic.
Typical mistakes when laying roof insulation
Often they start work, not knowing at all how to insulate the roof with their own hands, making typical mistakes. The most common mistake: incorrectly selected material and its width.
If the width of the heat-insulating material is taken narrower than required, then this is fraught with the formation of cracks, respectively, the thermal insulation performed will not fulfill its main function and, therefore roof insulation from the inside won't be effective.
To prevent such trouble from happening to you, we recommend that you carefully consider and think over all the structural elements of the roof.
Important: when laying the insulation must be dry. Otherwise, the entire wooden structure of the rafters and bulkheads will rot, all metal parts will rust.
Moreover, an unpleasant smell will be present in the under-roof space. Well, the worst thing: if any insulation for the roof is too wet, water may leak into the house.
The main reasons for the poor condition of the roof
The main reasons that negatively affect the general condition of the roof include:
- There is no waterproofing on top of the roof insulation.
- Waterproofing is present, but it was “forgotten” to fix it, so the insulation has shifted, and “cold” cracks have formed.
- Not arranged for ventilation gap. As a result: condensate is formed and the wooden truss structures of the roof and the insulating material itself are moistened.
- There is no vapor barrier.
The main types of thermal insulation materials
In order to find out how best to insulate the roof, we recommend that you seek advice from specialists. They will prompt and tell you what material is suitable for the insulation of a particular roof.
The most common thermal insulation materials today are:
- Fiberglass.
- Mineral wool (its varieties).
- Other heaters.
Mineral wool today is produced on different bases.
Modern manufacturers offer the following types of mineral wool:
- based on fiberglass;
- based on basalt;
- foam glass;
- cellulosic materials;
- expanded polystyrene.
Which roof insulation is better is up to you, but we do not recommend neglecting the advice of specialists in such an important matter.
Expert advice
In order to insulate the ceiling or roof, we recommend using insulation based on fiberglass or basalt. However, it should be noted that fiberglass has a small moisture-absorbing quality.
Basalt-based thermal insulation material and mineral wool will have to be protected with waterproofing materials on the outside and vapor barrier materials on the inside. And this is an additional waste of money.
Recently, isover roof insulation has been especially popular. Thanks to a special technology, the structure of the glass fibers of this material contains air.
Air bubbles provide extremely low thermal conductivity of fiberglass - no more than 0.044 W / mK. Another indisputable advantage of this heat-insulating material is its high acoustic properties, due to which the level of noise penetration into the living space is significantly reduced.
Another important property of glass wool is its durability (50 years or more). Perhaps no other material can be compared with it in this indicator.
Well, what is especially important in the construction of wooden houses, glass wool does not burn and provides high vapor permeability.
Methods for laying insulation
You have already decided which insulation for the roof is better, now we proceed to laying it.Regardless of what material you use, it must be laid in the under-roof space between the rafters.
Important: Lay the thermal insulation material so that there are no gaps.
How thick should the insulation material be? We recommend that you opt for such a thickness of the material that it is one third less than the thickness of the rafters.
If the thermal insulation material is too thin, we recommend laying it in at least two layers. In this case, lay the material in such a way that the joints on the material in the first row must be covered with a second layer of insulation.
Important: carefully lay the heat-insulating material, securing it with fasteners made of non-metal. Do not neglect the arrangement of steam and waterproofing. Otherwise, an unpleasant smell in the under-roof space cannot be avoided after the operation of the house.
Protection of thermal insulation from moisture
After you have already decided, the better to insulate the roof of the house, the arrangement of vapor and waterproofing is also important.
Otherwise, all the funds spent on the purchase of thermal insulation material and the time spent on its installation will be reduced to a negative result.
The main purpose of vapor and waterproofing is to protect the insulating material of the roof from moisture, and, most importantly, to prevent the penetration and accumulation of water in the thermal insulation layer. Otherwise, the thermal insulation properties of the insulation will deteriorate sharply.
Therefore, we recommend that the under-roof space and the heat-insulating layer be protected from the outside with moisture-proof materials.Their perforation qualities will ensure ventilation of the entire roof structure.
If the insulation from the side of the living area is protected with a vapor barrier, then, in this way, you will protect the heat-insulating layer from the effects of water vapor. Depending on what functions roofing insulation materials perform and what composition they have, they are divided into several types.
The main types of insulating materials for roofing:
- polyethylene films.
- Mesh reinforced films.
- Films reinforced with fabric.
- perforated films.
So, we recommend using perforated films for arranging roof waterproofing. All other insulation materials are suitable for waterproofing.
They are usually one-sided, so it is very important not to confuse their sides, so as not to get the opposite effect.
Important: for more humid attic rooms, reinforced films should be used, on one side of which foil is applied.
We hope that our article will also help those homeowners who are still thinking about how to insulate the roof in the country. Since the performance of work on the insulation of the roof must be carried out according to the technology described above.
Pay special attention to those places where the ceiling adjoins the outer walls. In these places, the insulation should be tightly adjacent to the wall. If there are cornices, do not forget to insulate them too, otherwise cold air will penetrate into the under-roof space.
A little advice: in these metas, it is very convenient to attach the film with a construction stapler. You can also use wooden slats for fastening.
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