Extruded polystyrene foam refers to modern materials for thermal insulation. The name of the material that is most often used among professional and non-professional builders is penoplex. Penoplex insulation allows you to save heat in the house and reduce heating costs. At the same time, a microclimate is created in the home that is comfortable for a person's stay.
Material characteristics
It is important to know what to expect from a particular material for construction work. Currently, penoplex is perhaps the best option for warming your home with your own hands. Its characteristics are most optimal and suggest that the advantages of using extruded polystyrene foam are more often than mineral wool or polystyrene, which are also common in mass and individual construction.
Specifications penoplex can lead to the following:
- low thermal conductivity - thermal conductivity means how well the material conducts heat. The lower this coefficient, the better the enclosure prevents heat loss. In polystyrene it averages 0.031. For comparison, the coefficient of thermal conductivity of ceramic bricks can be from 0.36 to 0.6, and for "warm" ceramic 0.19. The thermal conductivity of wood varies depending on its type; for the most common pine, the coefficient is 0.18. All these characteristics cannot be compared with penoplex, since they differ from it by more than 6 times;
- water absorption coefficient- if water gets into the insulation, its heat-shielding characteristics are reduced, so it is so important to protect the material from moisture. Materials comparable in effectiveness to polystyrene are mineral wool and polystyrene. But in terms of water resistance, they are not competitors to extruded polystyrene foam. Mineral wool is extremely resistant to moisture and easily absorbs it. In the case of polystyrene, manufacturers claim its low water absorption, but there is a trick. Indeed, styrene balls do not absorb moisture, but it can accumulate between them. If we add negative temperatures to these conditions, then the material will scatter into individual particles. With penoplex this does not happen, its characteristics allow it to be used in humid conditions without fear;
- strength characteristics - Penoplex is available in various densities. Values range from 21 to 35 kg per square meter, which allows you to choose the right option for insulation of any structures. The strength of the extruded polystyrene foam is significantly higher than that of the foam, so it can be used with the likelihood of increased loads and mechanical stresses;
- resistance to decay, mold damage and fungi.
TO disadvantages can be attributed to the fact that the material is combustible. When warming a house, it is important to remember that penoplex, when overheated, begins to melt, which can lead to negative consequences.
Areas of use
Due to the positive characteristics listed above, the material has a very wide area of use. It can be laid for thermal protection in almost all structures. It is suitable when it is necessary to provide thermal insulation of the following structures:
- foundations;
- blind area;
- ground flooring;
- floors above the cold basement;
- floor floors for sound insulation;
- exterior walls;
- attic floor in the presence of a cold attic;
- mansard roof.
In all of these designs, the polystyrene foam shows itself well and provides reliable protection from the cold. Each of the options should be considered more similarly.
Warming of foundations and blind areas
It is produced when the sole is laid above the freezing depth with heaving soils. It is necessary to prevent buckling of the foundation in the winter.
The technology is to fix the plates outside the foundation on a vertical surface. Do-it-yourself work is still at the construction stage of the house. When operating a house, such a process will require a large amount of labor and money.
For the same purpose, insulation of the blind area is performed. Do it yourself with insulation, laying a heat-insulating material between the bedding layer and the surface (most often from concrete or paving slabs).
Ground floor insulation
The material is laid according to the following technology:
- the soil of the base is leveled and compacted;
- a bed of sand, gravel or gravel is poured;
- poured rough concrete screed;
- waterproofing is laid;
- thermal insulation layer;
- reinforcement and concrete floor screed.
Overlap
The advantage of Penoplex is that when using it in the ceiling, you can not use vapor barrier or waterproofing. Do-it-yourself laying can be done in two ways: between the logs, under the cement screed.
Laying between the lags is optimal for a house with wooden floors. For concrete, the best option is to pour cement-sand screed over the thermal insulation.
When working with your own hands, it is important to choose the thickness of the layer. If the measures are carried out for waterproofing, then on average it will be necessary to lay 100-150 mm, depending on the climatic region. 30-50 mm is enough for sound insulation.
You can use two options for the location of the insulating layer:
- from the inside (from the side of warm air);
- outside (from the cold side).
Do-it-yourself insulation technology from the outside is a better solution for a home from the point of view of heat engineering. In addition to the thermal protection of the rooms, when fixing the heat insulator outside, in addition to the internal space of the rooms, the supporting structures are also protected, which becomes an important advantage of the method.
Exterior walls
There are also two options for fastening: outside and inside. In most cases, the preferred method will be outside, but insulation from the premises is rational to apply in the following cases:
- an apartment in an apartment building when you can not change the facade and you need to conduct work at high altitude;
- cases when it is not possible to disassemble the design of the facade of the house.
According to the technology, do-it-yourself fixing in both cases is done on glue, and after that an additional fixing is done on the dowels.
In the case of insulation from the outside, further decoration of the house can be done using plaster and hinged facade elements (siding, panels, bolk-house). If fastening is carried out on the side of warm air, the foam can be closed using plaster or drywall 12.5 mm thick.
Roof
This method of insulation is less common than mineral wool. Do-it-yourself penoplex is mounted between the rafters, to which it is attached to special nails. Also, the lower crate does not let him fall down.
You can also use the material when warming low-sloping or flat roofs in the presence of a warm attic space in the house.
When choosing any method of fixing the insulation (outside, inside) and It’s important to protect technology to protect any building structure of your own home., then the insulation will last a long time and provide comfortable conditions in the premises.