The law of "three barriers" for the insulation of the sauna
The careful warming of the sauna is required not only because of the excessive expenditure of energy resources, with poor insulation, it will be impossible to achieve the desired level of heat in the therma. Money will go into the pipe, and health clearly does not increase. What to do? Let's remember the school physics course!
Heat moves in space in three ways:
- From hot to cold. A heated object, by touching a cooler one, quickly shares energy with it. The phenomenon is called conduction, and to block this "route" of heat, it is necessary to protect the hot spring from the ice "embraces".
- By air. Such a method of heat movement is called convection. This is the fastest way "fugitive", and if on the way he finds the slightest gap in the box of the room, then without a twinge of conscience will run away. It can only be detained by carefully covering up all the technical cracks, holes in the walls, ceiling and floor of the room.
- Radiation. In this case, heat passes through any surface, of course, the thicker the "fence", the less loss. The only way to get the heat wave back is to put a reflecting mirror in its path.
Sauna insulation is based on the simultaneous construction of three barriers in the way of heat spread in space. This is the only way to achieve optimal protection of the unique microclimate of the steam room.
What can I use to heat the sauna?
No matter how robust in terms of its technical characteristics, there is a building box, you will have to do the internal warming of the sauna steam room. Since the insulation material will be used in such extreme conditions, the requirements for its quality are quite high.
Insulation must be:
- natural;
- heat-resistant.
In addition, under the influence of high temperature, it should not ignite and give off "fragrances" or harmful gases. An important condition for selection is also convenient work with the material: it should be easily attached to all structural details of the room box.
Basalt mineral wool is ideally suited to all these strict standards, which operates quietly in the widest temperature range( -100 ° C to + 1000 ° C), has a low coefficient of thermal conductivity( 0.038-0.085 W / K × m) and belongs to the group of fire-resistantmaterials. But with all its professionalism, it has two significant drawbacks:
- "fear" of moisture and water;
- high cost.
If the first minus is excluded by protecting the mineral wool with barrier hydro and vapor insulation, then with the second "but" things are worse. Or you will have to spend a lot of money, or use other more affordable materials for insulation.
It is allowed to use claydite, wood shavings and other recipes of backfill, left from the time of our ancestors. True they are suitable only for the arrangement of floor and ceiling, but the warming of the walls of the sauna is still better organized with the help of modern technology.
There are newest insulating materials specifically designed for the bath. According to the price category, they are 25-30% more expensive than even the same mineral wool, but they win their client due to easy and trouble-free installation.
Finished bath "fur coats" are multilayered and immediately equipped with a mirror film and a necessary layer of cotton insulation, protected by waterproofing membrane. They are installed close to the walls without equipping ventilation gaps.
Classical technology of internal insulation of sauna
- Warming of the floor. It is carried out by means of additional arrangement of rough flooring from the second-rate boards, which is beaten to the bottom base of the log. This is the standard scheme for warming the floor in a wooden house, where mineral wool is placed in the formed technological gap, protected on both sides by corresponding membranes. Only for a sauna the layer of an insulator is thicker, and as a vapor barrier use a foil or parchment paper.
- Wall insulation. For vertical surfaces a "cake" is constructed, consisting of waterproofing, mineral wool and vapor barrier. It is important to choose a cotton insulator of the desired density( semi-rigid, with an index of 120-150 kg / m3), carefully match the mats to each other, hanging them on the wall with the help of special mounting hooks. The system of air cracks is arranged by means of the crate, the finishing stage is the cladding of the walls with wooden lining.
- Insulation of the ceiling .Since heated air accumulates here, the protection of this part of the sauna box should be particularly careful. Standard material ply: sheet pile + vapor barrier + mineral wool + waterproofing, only parchment paper or foil is lapped( 15-20 cm) and in two layers. The thickness of mineral wool in comparison with the warming of the walls and the floor of the sauna is increased by 20%, if claydite is used, then its layer must be at least 30-35 cm.
The finishing touch of the optimum warming of walls, ceiling and other structural parts of the sauna is a high-threshold devicefor the entrance door to the steam room, which prevents penetration from the outside of the "lower" cold. In addition, the floor level is raised by 15 cm with respect to the adjacent washing unit.
