Insulation on the floor makes the room not only more cozy, but also allows you to save energy that would be spent on heating the room with cold floors. Especially the actual insulation becomes, if the house has small children who like to run around the apartment barefoot.
Basic types of thermal insulation
Depending on the materials used in the repair, there are several types of insulation, the most popular and widely applicable.
Cork heat insulation is the most environmentally friendly and safe option. Natural cork does not emit harmful substances into the air, it does not deform with increasing or decreasing temperature, it stores heat much better than other types of insulators. It can be used both for floor insulation in a wooden house , and for apartments with concrete floors. Cork also effectively acts as a noise isolator. The only drawback of this material is its rather high cost, in comparison with artificial analogues. Therefore, cork insulation is not used too often.
Another type of insulator, widely known to everyone who enjoys the repair - polystyrene. It has a sufficiently strong, dense structure, water resistant, practically does not conduct heat. This material does not develop fungi and mold, but it is not suitable for warming the floor in a wooden house, as it does not allow air to pass through. Another and its main disadvantage is that during combustion, polystyrene releases toxic substances. However, it is widely used for insulation of concrete floors in bathrooms and toilets.
Insulation with foamed polyethylene foam is another common option for floor insulation in the house. It is safe to burn, so they can do the insulation of the floor, even in the bath. This material is a kind of sandwich of several layers: top and bottom - a layer of foil, in the middle - foam (polystyrene with air bubbles enclosed inside). This material is highly technological and cheap, because many masters choose it when working with cold floors, but remember that a special laminating layer must be applied over the foil, which will protect the foil from contact with the cement floor of the floor.
How to make a floor insulation?
After you have decided on the material that will serve as an insulator and will reliably protect your feet from freezing, and also to keep a large amount of heat in the room, you need to get acquainted with the technique of arranging warm floors.
Since the thermal insulation should be as effective as possible, but not striking, it must be placed after the primary treatment of the floor and up to the top layer of the finish. To do this, first, the floor surface must be carefully leveled with a screed, especially when working through all corners of the room.