Floor insulation in the apartment on the ground floor

Thermal insulation of apartments, especially in houses of an old construction, often leaves much to be desired. This primarily concerns the floors in apartments located on the ground floor. As a rule, only a concrete slab that does not have good floors separates the room from the unheated basement heat-insulating properties, which is why in the cold season all the inhabitants of the apartment feel uncomfortable. How to insulate the floor in an apartment on your own in order to save the situation and make your home warm and cozy?

What should be the materials for thermal insulation of the floor?

There are various options for insulation and a variety of insulation, the choice of which depends on the characteristics of the apartment and financial capabilities. What heat-insulating materials can I use to do insulation of the concrete floor of the first floor with my own hands?

First of all, such materials should be:

• Durable. Still, this floor is the surface experiencing the greatest load in the apartment. Therefore, the insulation must withstand significant pressure.

If the selected type of thermal insulation does not have high strength, then you should choose a method of installation that would not involve large loads on the thermal insulation material.

• Light. Do not create additional load on the floors. In addition, lightweight material is more porous, which means it retains heat better.
• Moisture resistant. The insulation must not lose its properties when wet or wet, or it must be protected by reliable waterproofing.
• Durable Such a procedure as insulation of the concrete floor, it is advisable to carry out only once during the entire stay in the apartment. It takes too much time, effort and money, even if everything is done with your own hands.

Note! Insulation of the floor in an apartment almost always has a side effect of reducing the height of the room due to the thickness of the insulation.

How to insulate the floor in the apartment?

Consider which materials will be most preferable in the case of insulation of the concrete floor of the first floor.

• Expanded clay. Some time ago, this material was often used to warm floors. Its main disadvantages are low moisture resistance and a rather large thickness of the insulating layer.
• Perlite. It excels expanded clay in thermal insulation properties, but is heavier than it.
• Styrofoam or Styrofoam. They are very convenient for warming the floor with your own hands. Not afraid of water, rodents and microorganisms, absolutely harmless. However, the foam is quite fragile and less durable than polystyrene boards.
• Mineral wool. Do-it-yourself insulation of a concrete floor is most often carried out using this particular material. In addition to heat-insulating properties, it also has good sound insulation, has a small weight and a relatively low price.

The use of mineral wool for floor insulation involves the construction of a lag frame and the mandatory use of waterproofing, since when wet, mineral wool loses its properties.

• Cork-based insulation. It has excellent qualities, but due to the high cost it is rarely used.

Ways of floor insulation

To insulate the concrete floor of the first floor, it is not enough just to put warm linoleum or carpet on a thick substrate on the floor. There are three options with which you can solve the problem of thermal insulation of the floor:

• using sheets of plywood or chipboard;
• concrete screed on top of the insulation layer;
• using lag construction.

Each of these methods has its advantages and disadvantages. But regardless of the choice of option, it is necessary to observe the general principles of laying thermal insulation.

• Remove old flooring. Ideally, you need to get to the concrete slab. If this is difficult, for example, ceramic tiles are laid on the floor, then linoleum or carpet with a thick substrate can be laid on chipboard without removing the tile. The main thing is that the surface is flat. But it is better to dismantle wooden coatings before floor insulation, so as not to encounter problems in the future.
• Floor insulation should include mandatory waterproofing. Concrete is famous for its ability to pass and even attract water. Therefore, it is necessary to reliably protect the room from moisture.
• The surface before laying the insulation must be leveled. This is easier to do at the initial stage than then to level the floor with lags or screed.

Warming with chipboard or plywood

This is the fastest and easiest way to warm the floor in the apartment, not involving the use of special insulation. Using it, you can make a heat-insulating substrate with your own hands for a short time before laying linoleum or carpet. However, it must be borne in mind that this method cannot be called an ideal option for floor insulation apartment located on the ground floor, as it provides a relatively low level thermal insulation. Floor insulation works are carried out in the following sequence:

• The old base is cleared of dirt and dust.
• To provide waterproofing, a layer of plastic film is laid on the base, the joints of which are glued with tape.
• Before laying sheets of chipboard or plywood, it is necessary to form a thermal gap of 1.5–2 cm between them and the walls. This will prevent distortion of the coating caused by the expansion of the sheets with a change in temperature.
• Coating plates are laid in two layers with an offset relative to each other. Thus, the sheets of the upper layer should overlap the seams formed between the plates of the lower. For fastening sheets using dowels.
• Seams are treated with a mortar of putty and oil paint. You can use a reinforced mesh.
• On the resulting substrate lay the finish coating in the form of carpet or linoleum. It can simply be pressed with skirting boards. Another way is to glue the carpet to the thermal insulation substrate using bustilate.

Screed insulation

This method will require much more effort than warming with chipboard sheets. But the thermal insulation that this method provides will be much better. Along with the improvement of thermal insulation properties, it is possible to level the floor surface. How to insulate a concrete floor in an apartment under a screed?

• Initially, the existing coating is removed from the floor, preferably up to the concrete slab. After that, the surface is cleaned of dust and debris.
• A vapor barrier layer is laid, which will prevent the penetration of moisture into the insulation. The vapor barrier film must be placed on the walls about 3-5 cm, and the joints must be glued with tape.
• Tightly lay the insulation, and then lay another layer of vapor barrier.

If foam or polystyrene foam is used as a heater, the second layer of vapor barrier can be omitted.

• A metal mesh is laid over the entire surface of the floor and attached around the perimeter of the room.
• Screed is being filled. The thickness of the concrete layer after drying should be at least 5 cm, otherwise such a substrate may simply not withstand the loads and crumble. The entire screed must be poured at a time using a grade 200 mortar, mixing the cement in the appropriate proportion.
• After the solution dries, the surface is primed. The flooring is laid on top. It can be a laminate, linoleum or carpet.

Performing insulation on lags

If the selected thermal insulation material is not able to withstand significant loads, then it is necessary to carry out insulation on the logs. For the construction, even bars with a cross section of 50 to 100 mm are suitable, which it is very desirable to pre-treat with an antiseptic solution. It will protect the logs from the penetration of the fungus and extend their life.

• Having cleared a surface of garbage, carry out its waterproofing. To do this, using a brush, you need to apply a layer of bitumen mastic, capturing also the walls to a height of 5 cm.
• Logs are laid from the bar, the first and last logs should be located close to the wall.

Tip: in order not to cut the insulation material once again, supplied in the form of rolls or sheets, the distance between the lags can be chosen equal to its width, but not more than 90 cm. In the case of using bulk material, the rule applies: the thinner the logs, the smaller the distance between them.

• Stacked logs are leveled and fixed with anchors. You can not fix it if the bars firmly abut against the wall.
• Having laid insulation between the logs, if necessary, lay a vapor barrier layer and lay plywood or chipboard sheets, fixing them with self-tapping screws on the logs. It is recommended to lay two layers, shifting them relative to each other. A gap of 1.5–2 cm is left between the sheets and the wall.
• On the substrate thus obtained, a finishing coating is laid, which is a laminate, carpet or linoleum.

Independent floor insulation on the ground floor is not particularly difficult, and the variety of materials and technology allows you to choose one of several ways, the most suitable in terms of labor and financial attachments. Let your apartment always be warm and cozy!