Tips for insulating a bath. What insulation is best for a bathhouse? Video - Insulation of walls and ceilings from the inside

External or internal insulation of the bathhouse is mandatory. This reduces fuel consumption and slows down the cooling process of indoor air. If the structure is not insulated, then it will take several times longer to heat the steam room to the desired temperature.

We insulate the bathhouse with our own hands

Before constructing a building, it is necessary to calculate the means and forces for thermal insulation. It is best if the insulation process begins during construction, more precisely, from laying the foundation.

Basic requirements for materials for bath insulation

Cheap solutions (impregnations, septic tanks) will not fulfill the role of good thermal insulation. Of course, protection from moisture is necessary in any case, but this is a separate task. It is necessary to insulate the bathhouse premises separately, using materials specially created for this purpose. Most attention is usually paid to the inside of the washroom and steam room. The selection of insulation and thermal insulation is done taking into account the rough construction material.

One of the most important requirements for insulation materials is non-toxicity. Because in a bathhouse under the influence of temperatures, toxic materials can easily cause poisoning. Non-hygroscopicity is also important; insulation should under no circumstances absorb moisture.

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When choosing a specific material, you need to rely on the following characteristics:

resistance to steam and high temperatures;
good fire-fighting properties;
environmental friendliness;
low hygroscopicity;
ability to maintain shape for a long period.

Types of insulation for baths

All insulation materials presented on the construction markets are divided into three conditional groups:

Of course, 50–60 years ago they used only natural materials that were brought from nearby forests. This is foam, tow or moss. Today these are already partly elite types of insulation; they cost serious money due to the need to collect them manually. Many fans of natural materials insulate their buildings with rolled jute felt or tow. This material can be purchased at construction stores. When it comes to moss, there are conflicting opinions regarding its use. They say that moss is not an ideal material for insulation because it encourages the growth of mold or fungi. However, the moss itself does not have such properties; most likely, the fungus is formed due to improper cutting of a wooden structure or poor ventilation.

How to work with different types of buildings

The installation procedure and the required amount of work depend on the material from which the bathhouse is built.

Insulation of log houses

When working with timber or logs, you need to take into account the drying time, which can be 10 cm or more. Plus, cracks form between the crowns of such buildings, and cold air blows into them. It is best to insulate a log house made of round timber or an assembly of timber with jute fiber.

This material does not rot and has excellent thermal conductivity. Jute itself is a very fragile material, so manufacturers try to add flax fibers to it. But if you already have crumbly material, you can perform classic caulking. This way there will be less work, and the building will probably retain more heat.

If you decide to create a bathhouse from wood, then the insulation is laid during construction. It is better to isolate all problematic parts of the log house in the process.

The work is performed in the following sequence:

Insulation of buildings made of brick or foam blocks

If log houses are insulated using a primitive method, then you will have to work hard with the masonry. And there are more financial investments specifically for working with insulation. Additional thermal insulation is necessary, otherwise a well-heated room will cool down within hours. It’s better to work and invest in materials than to stock up on fuel the rest of the time.

A common and proven method is a suspended ventilated façade. The work process does not take place from the inside, but from the outside of the bathhouse. It is necessary to attach layers of insulation to the walls, and cover the top with siding or clapboard. In the gap between the layers, a space is formed filled with air, thanks to which condensation will not form on the walls and rotting and dampness will not follow.

The width of the frame for the ventilated facade is made larger than the thickness of the insulation, so an air gap is formed inside, preventing the formation of condensation

For a brick building, the following trick is often practiced: a steam room is made of wood inside the room. Brick absorbs heat for a very long time, so it is easier to warm a small steam room naturally if you use a small frame.

A 10x10 beam and sheathing are enough. The process of insulating such an improvised steam room inside a large bathhouse is simple:

You can make it even simpler: do not use timber, but instead immediately attach the insulation to the frame. In this case, an additional layer of waterproofing will be required.

Calculation and selection of materials and tools

We insulate all surfaces of the steam room, wash room and dressing room. And for this you will need:

Roll paper (for ceiling and walls).
Beam-rail (5x5, for installing insulation on the ceiling and walls).
Foil.
Insulating tape.
Self-tapping screws.
Aluminum adhesive tape.
Insulation calculated according to the area of walls, ceilings and floors.

Tools you will need:

screwdriver;
level and plumb.

Do-it-yourself insulation of a bathhouse

Any stages of insulation are always carried out according to the golden rule - start from the ceiling and end with the floors.

Ceiling insulation

Before you start working with the ceiling, you need to understand that in the steam room you need 2 times more material. After all, we are not working on a sauna, but on a Russian bathhouse, where the steam should linger as long as possible.

The technology is like this:

We cover the entire surface of the ceiling with overlapping roll paper.
We fix the bars on top of the paper, the insulation will already lie between them.
Cover it all with foil. It will become a normal, safe insulator. But it is necessary to install foil without saving. It is important that all connections are closed.
The foil layer reflects heat, so the use of such material for a bath is necessary
We seal all joints on the foil with aluminum tape. Typically, foil for insulation is included with the material.
We secure the edges and joints with several layers of adhesive tape. We check our work for leaks. If there is not enough money for such insulation, then the foil is sometimes replaced with cardboard or thick paper without paint.
Next, we install layers of insulation on the foil between the closed bars.
On the ceiling, it is better to lay insulation in two or three layers, overlapping the joints
We cover the front part of the ceiling with wood paneling. This material is resistant to elevated temperatures and will not resin.

For a frame bathhouse, it is necessary to put insulation on the ceiling and walls, but for timber and log baths you can do without it. For example, if a bathhouse is made of logs, it is enough to first sew up its ceiling with thick boards - at least 6 cm. Mineral wool is most suitable as insulation for the ceiling - you just need to lay it in a layer of at least 15 cm.

Video: insulation and finishing of the ceiling from the inside

Wall insulation

The best solution for wall insulation is a constructor made from materials that can be easily repaired or replaced.

The structure of the bathhouse wall insulation resembles the structure of a roofing pie

Video: insulation and foil upholstery of a steam room

Bathroom floor insulation

And finally, let's work on the floor. After all, a large amount of heated air usually leaves the room through it. Expanded clay is most often used as insulation for floors - it is an inexpensive and reliable insulation that prevents the formation of mold and condensation.

It’s cheaper, of course, to spill everything with slag, but expanded clay is more environmentally friendly and weighs less. When installing wooden floors, the material is placed between the joists. If a concrete floor is poured, then expanded clay is laid between each concrete layer.

Let's look at the usual cycle of work on insulating a concrete floor.

Video: features of installing a concrete floor in a bathhouse

In addition to walls, floors and ceilings, attention is also paid to the insulation of doors, windows and window openings. They are treated with silicone sealants. External doors are usually insulated with natural materials. And it’s not customary to save on them, otherwise in a few years, or even next season, you’ll have to redo everything.

Insulating the inside of the steam room allows you to improve the quality of bathing and health procedures and save on paying for fuel for the stove. Therefore, every bathhouse owner should plan such work. And in this article we will look at step-by-step instructions that allow you to equip internal insulation with your own hands.

What needs to be insulated in a bathhouse

First of all, the seams between logs or beams. Even a rounded log allows air to pass through at the joints, which will cool the room and prevent the steam room from heating up to a high temperature. But this work is performed during the construction of the log house.

After assembling the log house, it is necessary to insulate the window and door openings by installing reliable and heat-resistant enclosing structures based on double-glazed windows and heat-resistant panels. Well, in the end, the steam room is insulated from the inside. Moreover, this work can be divided into three stages:

Insulation of the floor, because the bathhouse is located on freezing ground, and the base alone will not be enough to protect the room from frost.
Increasing the heat resistance of the ceiling. All the heat accumulates in this zone, so low heat resistance will destroy the entire microclimate of the bathhouse.
Insulation of walls. During construction, only the seams between the logs are insulated. And this is quite enough for comfortable living indoors, but not at all enough for a bathhouse. In this case, you will have to add an additional layer of insulation to the walls.

As you can see, this is far from an easy job, but there is nothing particularly difficult in this matter. You just need to study the technology of arrangement and choose the right insulation.

Before insulating the steam room, the owner of the bathhouse must select the correct thermal insulation material, focusing on the following recommendations:

First, the insulator must demonstrate high stopping power. The heat transfer coefficient should not rise above 0.2 W/(m K). And that's just for flooring. And for better use a material with a coefficient of 0.2 W/(m K).

Secondly, the insulator should not react to moisture. Especially the flooring material. For walls and ceilings, we can use a membrane or reflector that cuts off moisture, but in the case of the floor, this material will not work.

Thirdly, the open (floor) insulator must have high mechanical strength. There are no special requirements for walls and attic floors. Here the characteristics of the material can be improved through external finishing.

Fourthly, insulating a steam room requires constant contact of the material with an area of high temperatures. Some amateurs manage to heat the room up to 100-120 degrees Celsius, and 75-80 °C is considered a normal temperature. Therefore, the insulation should not melt or catch fire even after a long, many-hour stay in this temperature range.

Fifthly, the material must be absolutely neutral to the human body. The release of harmful substances and the provocation of allergic reactions is excluded in principle. People go to the bathhouse for health, not for new illnesses.

As a result, granulated expanded clay should be considered the optimal insulation option for the field. It is not afraid of mechanical stress or moisture. It is better to use regular or foil-clad mineral (basalt) wool on the walls and ceiling. It will withstand heat, and a layer of finishing will protect it from moisture and possible mechanical stress.

Polystyrene foam, expanded polystyrene, foil polyethylene are not suitable for insulating a steam room - they cannot withstand heating even up to 70 degrees Celsius.

Well, now that we have selected the materials, you can begin to directly insulate the steam room from the inside, having first studied the step-by-step instructions for the floor, ceiling and walls.

How to insulate a floor - layer by layer overview

To do this, we will have to form a multilayer structure in the direction from the ground, consisting of waterproofing, thermal insulation and finishing. The first layer is waterproofing. It is made in the form of a plastic film, which is laid on the prepared soil. Moreover, the preparation consists of adding a layer of sand, at least 15 centimeters thick.

The second layer is thermal insulation. It is formed on the basis of expanded clay bedding. The thickness of this layer is usually equal to double the thickness of the walls and ranges from 30 to 40 centimeters. Moreover, upon completion of the formation of the bedding layer, we must reach the level of the first crown of the bathhouse frame.

Next, a reinforcing mesh with 20-centimeter cells is laid on the expanded clay and the screed is poured using sand-cement mortar with filler. The optimal thickness of the screed is from 5 to 8 centimeters. At the same time, along the perimeter of the floor, at the level of the future baseboard, it is necessary to fill a waterproofing skirt made of foil, which protects the logs from contact with concrete.

To finish a heat-resistant floor, use tiles or boards laid on the sheathing.

Insulating the ceiling - step-by-step instructions

To insulate the ceiling in the steam room, you need a completely different heat insulator - foil-clad mineral wool. It can withstand heating up to 700 degrees Celsius and can easily withstand the usual temperature in this steam room zone, which does not rise above 160-180 °C.

The finishing process itself begins with covering the ceiling with an antiseptic primer, which protects the boards from fungus and mold. The second step is to lay sheathing boards on the ceiling, the depth of which should be equal to the thickness of the insulation (usually 10 centimeters). The pitch of laying the boards is equal to the width of a standard strip of mineral wool.

The third step is laying insulation. After completing the assembly of the sheathing, the space between the boards is filled with mineral wool, laid with foil outward (towards the floor). And all joints are carefully taped with foil tape. After completion of the work, there should be no gaps left on the ceiling.

The final step is installation of finishing boards (lining) or plywood panels on top of the sheathing. Moreover, in this case, it is necessary to read the description of the specification for the lining - options made of pine and spruce and other resinous trees are not suitable in this case. The ideal lining for a bathhouse is made from hard deciduous trees.

How to insulate walls in a steam room - an overview of the process

Installing vertical thermal insulation on the walls of a bathhouse does not require the use of expensive foil-coated mineral wool. In this case, it is enough to take ordinary mineral wool and aluminum foil, which will serve as a good vapor barrier and shield from high temperatures.

The installation process itself is as follows:

We saturate the walls with an antiseptic - it will protect the log house from rot and fungus.
We fill the walls with boards 3-4 centimeters thick and 2-3 cm wider than the depth of the insulation. The spacing of the boards should match the width of the mineral wool roll. At the end, all boards must be soaked with an antiseptic.
We lay mineral wool on dry logs (the antiseptic must dry), filling the spaces between the boards.
We stuff aluminum foil over the sheathing, rolling it out in horizontal stripes from bottom to top. In this case, the upper strip should overlap the lower one (2-3 centimeters will be enough). It’s better to use staples (from a stapler) as fasteners. Moreover, it is better to seal the joints with foil tape.
We stuff 2 centimeter thick planks onto the boards, pre-impregnated with an antiseptic. This will create a counter-lattice. And at the end, on top of these planks, we install hardwood paneling.

This scheme makes it possible to assemble very effective thermal insulation, protected from mechanical stress by a clapboard finish. Therefore, almost all steam rooms are finished according to this scheme.

The bathhouse is a cure for almost all diseases: it helps to cope with colds and arthritis, is indicated for depression and insomnia, has a restorative effect on the entire body as a whole, stimulates metabolic processes and helps to lose weight. But you shouldn’t expect miracles if the steam room is not insulated correctly or is not insulated at all. This deficiency requires immediate correction. IN It is important to choose insulation that is suitable for price and quality, prepare tools and arm yourself with theoretical knowledge. How to insulate a steam room from the inside - step-by-step instruction is given below.

Insulating a steam room is a procedure that was performed hundreds of years ago. Then, to make this room warm, they used natural materials: moss, flax, hemp, hay, oat scraps. This is definitely super eco-friendly, but too impractical for insulation nowadays. Such materials rot too quickly, become thin and attract insects. Therefore, they need to be updated almost every season, which is too energy-consuming.

You should not choose natural materials for insulating a steam room in a bathhouse - they are short-lived and susceptible to rotting and insect attacks. Although they have no equal in environmental friendliness

In the 21st century, innovative materials are used for insulation in the steam room. They cannot be called super environmentally friendly, but:

they are safe for people;
do not emit harmful and dangerous substances;
They last a really long time - about 20-30 years without annual renewal.

The pros and cons of insulation materials and prices for insulation materials are presented in the table. It will help you decide which substance to choose to update your bathhouse (specifically, for insulation).

Insulation	pros	Minuses	Price
Basalt wool	Does not burn, does not deform, is not afraid of moisture, absorbs noise, does not release heat for a long time	High price	300-600 per sheet with sides 100×50×5 millimeters (this is exactly what is needed for the steam room)
	Very light, cheap, does not deform, can fill any spaces and voids, is not afraid of high temperatures and temperature changes	Absorbs moisture and therefore requires increased waterproofing; Doesn't retain heat very well	25-35 per liter
Foil mineral wool	Perfectly retains heat in the room, has the ability to reflect infrared rays; does not absorb moisture, lasts a long time	Relatively expensive	500-600 per sheet with sides 1000×600×30 mm
Styrofoam	It is cheap, weighs little, does not absorb liquid, does not form condensation	Retains heat poorly, does not allow air to circulate, is afraid of exposure to high degrees - it can melt	100-150 rubles per sheet with dimensions 1000×500×30 mm
Expanded polystyrene	Lightweight, not afraid of elevated temperatures temperature conditions, moisture	Cannot be used near open fire, does not allow air to pass through	150-200 rubles per sheet 1000×600×30 mm
Foil polyethylene	It is inexpensive, retains heat well, is not afraid of water and steam, and reflects infrared radiation	Does not breathe, melts under increased load, can release corrosive substances at very high temperatures (150-200 degrees Celsius)	1,500 rubles for a 25-meter roll one meter high (this is more than enough for insulation measures)
Foil cardboard	Costs little, light weight, small sheet thickness, it is not afraid of water, steam, high loads, reflects infrared rays	Does not allow air to circulate freely, does not retain heat well	200-250 rubles per sheet 100×50×5 millimeters

Important: experts advise not to skimp and purchase basalt insulation for insulation measures. It is considered the most durable and reliable for insulation. No analogues have yet been invented. If your budget does not allow, opt for expanded clay or foil mineral wool.

If you want to enjoy the time spent in the steam room in the bathhouse, insulate the walls, floor and ceiling with basalt - nothing better has been invented yet

If basalt, expanded clay or foiled mineral wool are unavailable, use any other insulation presented above for its intended purpose.

The video will show you how to choose an insulating material.

Additional equipment: preparing tools

To properly insulate a steam room from the inside, prepare in advance everything you need for work:

Wooden bars for sheathing 10-15 centimeters thick. The footage depends on the area of the room. The lathing is constructed in such a way that there should be no more than 45-50 centimeters between adjacent slats.
Waterproofing material is best self-adhesive roll material.

This one costs about 2000 thousand. Products from the companies TechnoNikol, DELTA-THENE, and Vikar have proven themselves well.
Self-tapping screws at least 4 centimeters long.
Internal cladding - OSB boards or wooden boards, depending on the owner's preferences. Please note that the thickness of the skin must be at least 3 centimeters, otherwise under the influence of high temperatures and steam it will quickly become unusable.
Antifungal mixture. It is used to cover the cladding to prevent the appearance of mold on the walls and ceiling. Choose only one that is specifically designed for baths and saunas. Information about this is available on the packaging.

A liter of solution costs about 300-500 rubles. (manufacturers: “Akvablok”, “Thermos”).
Metallized tape. It is necessary for gluing insulation joints. Costs about 100-150 rubles.

Important: do not varnish the interior lining. This is not environmentally friendly and not safe for health. Plus - additional costs, which are not only possible, but must be abandoned.

Do not coat the interior lining of the steam room with varnish - this is unsafe for health.

How to insulate a steam room in a bathhouse: step-by-step instructions

The process of insulating a steam room from the inside can be divided into 3 stages:

wall treatment;
floor treatment;
ceiling treatment.

In general, they do not differ from each other, but they are carried out sequentially, starting from the floor of the steam room, ending, naturally, with the ceiling covering.

It is necessary to insulate not just some part of the steam room in the bathhouse, but the whole of it - from floor to ceiling along with the walls

Instructions for laying floor insulation in a steam room look like this:

In the steam room and washing room, provide for the outflow of water, which will not accumulate under the floor, but will be discharged to a strictly designated place.

There should be no water under the floor in the steam room; it is important to consider a proper drainage system

The following video instructions will tell you how to insulate the floor in a steam room.

The walls of the steam room in the bathhouse are treated according to the following principle:

How to make the walls of a steam room in a bathhouse very warm is in the video.

The ceiling of the steam room is insulated with the latest. Typically, remnants of the insulation coating are used for these purposes. Insulation of the ceiling in a steam room must be carried out without fail, otherwise all the heat will escape through the top. You are unlikely to get pleasure from staying in such a steam room.

Subtleties of the procedure: from A to Z

It doesn’t matter exactly when you decided to insulate the steam room - at the stage of building the bathhouse itself or after completion of construction. The main thing is to strictly follow the sequence of insulation measures and do not forget about the basic rules of insulation:

Waterproofing is an essential part of the insulation process. Even if the material does not absorb moisture or form condensation, take full care of the waterproofing layer. Over time, pores may form in the insulation, and water risks “reaching” the outer coating of the bathhouse and accelerating its destruction.
It is better not to skimp on material for insulating the steam room. The service life depends on this. Basalt will last 30 years, and foam plastic will last only 5-7.
It is better to secure the insulation with screws or nails. Today there is a large selection of special adhesives, some of them are designed for very high temperatures, but, as practice shows, nothing more reliable and cheaper than a simple nail has yet been invented.
It is imperative to insulate the floor. If there is no concrete screed, one is made. Top filling with cement or concrete will help extend the service life of the entire steam room and its base, in particular.
The materials used for working in the bath should be marked that they can be used at elevated temperatures. When heated, some products emit substances that are caustic and dangerous to people. To avoid putting yourself and your loved ones at risk, always read the information on the packaging of the products you purchase.
The interior lining of the steam room is not painted or varnished. Heating will contribute to the release of toxic fumes, and constant changes in temperature inside the room will lead to the layer becoming externally unattractive and will have to be renewed regularly.

Finally

There is nothing complicated in the process of insulating a steam room in a bathhouse. All instructions are simple and easy to follow alone. Working in a steam room with flammable substances and technically complex tools is excluded. All presented insulating surfaces are cut with a simple knife, the main thing is that it is well sharpened.

Do not ignore personal safety precautions when carrying out insulation activities in the steam room. You need to be extremely careful and preferably work during daylight hours.

Insulation in the steam room must have quality certificates. The buyer has the legal right to review these documents when purchasing goods.

In what cases does a steam room need insulation? Of course, when its walls, ceiling, floor, windows and doors become conductors of heat, transferring it to the street or neighboring rooms, or the basement. In this case you need to put let– a heat insulator that will retain heat inside the steam room.

However, insulation can also be taken care of under construction, without waiting until there is discomfort from a quickly cooling steam room or the high consumption of firewood will lead to the idea that the heat is wasted.

On our website you will find several sections devoted to the insulation of the bathhouse as a whole, its floor, ceiling and walls. Here we will simultaneously explain the basic principles of insulating a steam room in a bathhouse, and provide links to relevant articles.

Construction material

First of all, let's look at steam rooms, the walls of which are made of different materials, with different heat capacity And thermal conductivity.

Made of brick

Brick- not the most suitable material for bathhouse construction, but it does not burn, so such bathhouses last longer.

IMPORTANT! Insulation of the walls in the steam room of a brick bath is mandatory.

In essence, a brick is fake diamond with the correct geometry. Therefore, treat the bath from it as stone building, and just estimate how much firewood is needed to heat such a “cave”.

BY THE WAY! It is in order not to waste energy on heating the “stone” that the insulation is placed from the inside of the room. In this case, the heat is spent only on heating the air and objects inside the heat-insulating “coat”.

The principle of the pie is the same, with minor nuances depending on the materials. Since we are talking about thermal insulation for a bath in a steam room, we will assume that the final cladding will be clapboard.

If so, then you need to briefly do the following:

The first step is to take care of waterproofing the walls - films, membranes, roofing felt, and mastics are suitable for this.
Next, the lathing is made on the wall - these are 5x5 cm bars, usually nailed to the wall vertically, from floor to ceiling, in increments of the width of the insulation (after all, they often make mineral wool, so its width is minus 1 cm so that it does not fall out).
It is between the beams of the sheathing that the insulation is laid, and where the winters are cold, it should be laid in two layers and so that the joints do not coincide and do not form “cold bridges”.
Everything is covered with a vapor barrier - either film or foil.
A counter-lattice is placed on top of the vapor barrier - these are again beams, but it can be thinner, 2.5 cm is enough for ventilation.
The lining is already attached to the counter-lattice. Moreover: if it is mounted vertically, then the counter-lattice should be horizontal, and vice versa. (Which is better, horizontally or vertically, see).

In a wooden bath

Wooden baths are built either from a cylindrical logs, or from a square section timber. Such bathhouses have been built for centuries, when there were no traces of thermal insulators. And they managed just fine without them. However, this is still an art, partly lost.

Therefore, we should not be surprised when, in a log house or timber structure, we suddenly encounter clapboard, under which the pie is insulated. And the conditions in Russia are different everywhere, in some places additional protection is very necessary, in others not so much.

Insulation of a steam room in a log bath

Well, a common problem with such buildings is cracks, which arise constantly, especially in the first years of the bathhouse’s life. Therefore, regular work is needed to seal these cracks or folk remedies, such as moss, or jute. The seams between the logs are also filled modern wood sealants, which have increased elasticity. This alone can reduce heat loss.

From timber

timber(If profiled) has a variety of tongues and grooves, which increases adhesion during fastening, therefore, when laying insulation during construction (for example, jute), cracks will not appear or will not be the same as in a solid log. However, it can also dry out and form cracks and crevices over time. Therefore, it will have to be repaired in the same way as a log house.

If the thickness of the timber is not enough(it happens that they are built from 150x150, not taking into account the climate of their region), then they will have to be insulated from the inside. The scheme is still the same, nothing new. Only the thickness of the insulation, its material (below about possible options), and the type of hydro- and vapor barrier can vary. But the principle of the pie is the same everywhere, and with its help you can properly insulate a steam room in a wooden bathhouse.

Types of surfaces

Above we talked about the material of the walls, so the floors and ceilings were left without attention. Let's correct this omission.

How to properly insulate a floor

We have a large, interesting, very detailed one about what kind of floors there are in general and how to insulate the floor in a steam room of a bathhouse - dry/non-spill, wet/spill, concrete, wooden, in general, all the options that are available.

Here we will say that principle of floor insulation boils down to putting a layer of insulation (mineral wool, polystyrene foam, penoplex, expanded clay, etc.) between layers of other materials, for example, between waterproofing placed on a sand cushion and a layer of concrete screed, you can put a thermal insulator. Or you can make a flooring from boards, put a heat insulator on it and cover it with a rough and white floor.

In fact, everything is determined by the design of the bathhouse and the choice of how the steam room will get rid of excess water on the floor. If you have pouring floor, which means gaps between the boards and water escaping into the space underneath them, then below there is either a concrete screed (which is insulated during the construction stage), or drainage, or a clay lock and drain (this is an analogue of a concrete screed). In the case of concrete and clay, you divert the water either to the sewer or to a drain outside the bathhouse, otherwise the water goes under the structure.

Insulate pourable floor with water drainage under the building is not possible, but this option is exclusively for summer baths.

In other cases, the insulation is placed below the level of the screed or clay. (Details in the specified article.)

If the floor is dry, then it has a drain through the ladder and into the sewer/drainage outside the bathhouse. In this case, insulation can be done between the beams on a flooring made of boards (instructions are there, in the chapter on screw foundation, but this is a general case for insulating the floor in a steam room of a bathhouse on beams).

Insulation of the ceiling from the inside

Of course, it is easier to insulate the ceiling in a steam room from the inside during the construction stage. However, there are nuances associated with the type of ceiling - you can make a ceiling in the steam room of a bathhouse either flat, or hemmed.

In the first case, you are separated from the cold attic only by a layer of flooring fixed to the walls (sometimes even without intermediate beams, if the distance between the walls is not too large). You shouldn't walk in an attic with a slab ceiling.

ADVICE! Do not use heavy insulation for a floor ceiling, but keep in mind that lightweight foam is not recommended for use over a steam room, because it has low heat resistance.

false ceiling usually insulated immediately. This installation method is used in cases where a warm attic or attic is expected.

BY THE WAY! Ceiling insulation in a sauna steam room usually involves the use of foil or foil-coated materials. If you are against the “thermos”, you can replace it with any other vapor barrier.

Read on for a comprehensive breakdown of the types of insulation suitable for ceilings and the differences in thermal insulation pie designs for suspended and decked ceilings.

Wall insulation

Above, we talked about walls, when we described the variations associated with one or another wall material. So, in principle, the task is completed, but we can advise you to look at this one.

Types of insulation for bath walls from the inside

Since we are talking in this article exclusively about the steam room, it is worth saying that the choice of thermal insulators for it is not so great, which is associated with the high temperature in the steam room and the low heat resistance of some types of thermal insulators.

In particular, as already mentioned, Styrofoam It’s better not to use it at all (or only for the floor, which, as you know, never overheats). Although he has two useful properties– lightness and waterproofness.

Extruded polystyrene foam It is also only suitable for the floor of a steam room.

Expanded clay good for floors and ceilings.

IMPORTANT! Glass wool Should not be used anywhere in a steam room!

Suitable insulation for a steam room - foam glass, it is non-flammable and combines the properties of mineral wool and polystyrene foam.

And here mineral wool, although it is used most often, a specific one is needed - one that does not contain phenolic and formaldehyde binders, which are released when heated. This is only available in mineral wool marked “for saunas and baths.”

She also has an incorrigible flaw - she tends to absorb moisture and at the same time lose its thermal insulation properties. It can only be protected by properly organized ventilation and layers of hydro- and vapor barrier. Over time, mineral wool turns into mineral dust :)

Ecowool- another suitable insulation material, does not burn, is not afraid of mold, moisture resistant and vapor permeable.

In general, it would probably be worth citing the selection criteria:

must not support combustion;
should not emit harmful chemical compounds when heated;
must be resistant to mold, insects, rodents;
should not deteriorate from water.

If new insulation materials are offered, check them against these criteria. The first two are the most important. And most importantly, always ask for certificates.

Vapor barrier: which is better?

Let's start with the fact that you can use it as a vapor barrier membranes, foil and foil materials, films. In principle, if there was no need to protect the thermal insulation layer, then the need for vapor barrier would disappear - the matter would be limited to ventilation and that’s all.

The main battles, of course, are over foil. We recommend reading ours, which provides arguments regarding which vapor barrier is best for a steam room in a bathhouse.

In general, the need for foil, as well as the harm from it, cannot be considered as unambiguous statements. Because a lot depends on what bath regime a person prefers. And it turns out that what is good for one is detrimental for another.

If we talk exclusively about vapor barrier, without reflecting infrared radiation, then foil is an excellent insulator; it does not allow steam to pass through completely. True, condensation falls on its surface and rolls down, but that’s why we leave the ventilation gap in order to ventilate the lining and prevent it from rotting from this moisture.

Membranes They are different: single- and multi-layer, single- and double-sided, multifunctional... The essence of their action is not to allow steam to pass to the thermal insulator, but to pass in the opposite direction, allowing it to release absorbed water vapor from somewhere else.

Multifunctional membranes They also act as both a heat and water insulator, so they are expensive. In multi-layered ones, moisture accumulates between the layers and then gradually evaporates.

Films They are also different, so it is best to ask the sellers what temperature they are designed for. You need ones that can withstand 100 degrees and above.

Thermal insulation of baths and steam rooms: video

Finally, we invite you to watch a video about the new insulation for bath walls from inside the steam room, which does not have the disadvantages of mineral wool and saves space in the steam room:

We asked the all-seeing Google if they were telling the truth in this video, and it seems like yes. See the properties for yourself polyisocyanurate.

For those who would like more specific instructions on the thermal insulation of baths and steam rooms, here is a video with the following instructions:

Feel free to search for the necessary materials on the site yourself - this one will help you!

In contact with

Any sauna uses a boiler, stove or other powerful heat source for heating. But even these means will be ineffective if you do not take care of proper insulation of the building.

Peculiarities

It is necessary to insulate the premises of a wooden bathhouse. Even the relatively low thermal conductivity of wood itself does not guarantee acceptable thermal protection. Ancient log structures could simply be laid with something between the crowns. But the advent of more advanced and practical rounded logs made this approach impossible. Meanwhile, any bathhouse should be designed as a kind of thermos, stably maintaining internal heating regardless of the outside temperature.

If the building is built from expanded clay concrete blocks, the approach should be slightly different. The main role in this case is played by thermal protection from the inside. Heat should be saved only at the moment when the bath is warmed up.

The outer protective layer does not help much in solving this problem. Moreover, systematic temperature changes can destroy any insulating substance.

Stone blocks warm up faster and more significantly than wood, so wood cladding is usually installed on the outside, and insulation is placed underneath it. Despite the importance of thermal protection inside, the quality of its external contour cannot be ignored. It determines how resistant the walls will be to severe freezing. In addition to wall planes, additional insulation is required:

ceiling;
foundation underneath.

Quite a lot of bathhouses are built on the basis of cinder blocks, and here you also need to decide which thermal protection option will be the best. As with other stone pieces, it is recommended to use both an outer and an inner layer. A layer of thermal insulation is created on the floor, which is twice as thick as the main walls. Only then is the screed installed and the finishing done. A sheathing is formed along the walls using slats. The thickness of each slats is at least 5 cm; The thermal protection is covered with foil materials that hold back water.

Savings on waterproofing or external finishing of cinder blocks often result in serious material losses and the inability to retain heat. Maximum attention should be paid to preparing air gaps. But besides slag concrete, private developers also use other economical construction materials.

Thus, you can find dozens and hundreds of bathhouses built from sleepers. These are reliable and proven structures that can withstand strong mechanical loads, but they will also need to be insulated.

The gaps from one part to another are filled with polyurethane foam. The insulation is laid out over the first crown, and later over the subsequent ones, as soon as a certain tier is completed and mechanically fastened. Much more often, however, than the “railroad” bathhouse, you can find structures made of boards. You can insulate a frame structure:

mineral wool;
fiberglass;
expanded polystyrene;
the maximum available penoizol.

If you want to use an old chopped sauna, there is no reason to refuse it for technical reasons. Modern technologies even make it possible to raise the characteristics of such buildings to a new level. It is logical to use the most natural insulation materials for a log house that do not impair its environmental characteristics. The vast majority of professional teams prefer basalt wool in this case. Tow, which has been used for many centuries, does a good job of holding back drafts and preventing heat from escaping, but it serves too little.

Among the various varieties of moss, the best is cuckoo flax, which is impervious to moisture. But any mosses are easily damaged by moths. Special treatment prevents such a development of events, but there is no need to talk about the complete naturalness of the coating after it. The combination of flax and jute has an increased service life; The disadvantage of this combination is the increased cost. But the convenience of insulation and the impossibility of rotting will please any consumer.

Working with different types of buildings

Wood has the best balance in terms of thermal conductivity, environmental friendliness, hygroscopicity, and sanitary safety.

But even the relatively low (compared to other construction materials) heat loss to the outside often turns out to be unreasonably large for specific people. Each log or piece of coal in the stove, each revolution of the gas (electric) meter significantly increases operating costs. Insulate wooden walls it is not worth it from the inside, because the dew point is inside, the temperatures on the surface will change sharply, in addition, useful space is wasted.

To protect wood and insulation from the effects of extreme heat, it is recommended to install metal sheets, lay brick or use heat-resistant drywall. The insulation is applied to the boards in a continuous layer, and the frame is first mounted on the logs.

When building a bathhouse using frame technology, thermal protection is performed using slabs or mats. Rolled coating options are acceptable, but laying them out inside the frame is very difficult. Until recently, basalt wool was considered an absolutely safe coating, but since 2014 it has become clear that this is not so. When heated, the adhesive mixtures used to join the fibers may begin to release formaldehyde.

Chemists cannot say how great the danger is - research is still ongoing, but at least for the steam room it is better to use other options.

A frame bathhouse is perfectly insulated using linen mats, which are made by simple pressing and do not contain the slightest artificial inclusions. At the same time, strong compression allows you to retain heat and stably maintain the originally created structure. Creating a classic type of wall cake, insulation material is exposed from the external boards to the interior finishing of the premises.

The outside of a bathhouse built using frame technology can only be insulated as an auxiliary technique. Typical thickness of materials layout is 5 and 10 cm; for buildings that will be used year-round, you need to take the largest number and fold it in half.

From foam blocks

Insulating foam concrete walls is a fairly simple matter, and even beginners in the field of construction can cope with it. There is no need to level the plane; it is ideal already at the moment when the blocks come off the conveyor. Outdoor thermal insulation of foam blocks is made using almost all existing materials; an exception is made for frankly inconvenient or impractical solutions. Most experts recommend placing decorative plaster on the insulation - it will not only improve appearance, but will also help enhance thermal protection. If the front finishing is done using siding, you still should not rely on the air gap, but use full-fledged insulation under the finishing strips.

Work on insulating a foam concrete wall is carried out simultaneously with its installation, and the first steps should be taken already during the construction of the foundation. It is permissible at this stage to use only those materials that tolerate excess moisture, temperature changes and the action of soil animals, rodents and insects.

Foam plastic turns out to be the ideal solution; moreover, it is easy to install and is relatively inexpensive. Cold, leaky floors in foam concrete baths are not insulated at all. Mineral wool is most often placed on top. There, evaporation will least leak inside, and at the same time the level of thermal protection will be higher than that of an identical loose layer. Considering the properties of foam blocks, all walls must be equipped with vapor barriers.

Brick

Brick baths are good quality and durable; for many decades they were practically the standard, and are still valued. But a decrease in fire danger and an increase in strength in comparison with wood results in significant heat consumption. Internal thermal protection in a brick bath is formed mainly with the help of an auxiliary wall along the main body. Alternatively, you can put two layers of roll or slab insulation. Smart builders combine these two options, especially in areas with harsh winters and strong winds.

In a brick bathhouse, the thermal protection of the floor is done using expanded clay or polystyrene foam; other means are rarely used. Vertical insulation of foundations using penoplex or polyurethane foam is not available for amateur builders; this must be done by specialists. A vapor barrier and thermal insulation are applied to the subfloor, then a reinforcing mesh is installed. It will be easy to form a cement screed using the mesh. When the tightening solution has dried, it is treated with waterproofing and laid out with ceramic tiles.

Floor installation and selection of tools

The work of arranging the floor in a bathhouse requires the use of a variety of tools. Since in most cases they are made of wood (this is especially true for steam rooms), you need to use a regular carpentry kit. The floor can be made with water passing through cracks or into one separate drain. This drain is directed in one direction, otherwise the stability of the water flow cannot be guaranteed. If the floor is formed without ducts, there is a permanent flooring underneath it, which must be replaced only at the end of its working life.

To make the surface warmer, the gutter and the drain leading into it are placed in the lowest place. The design of removable floors implies the possibility of periodic disassembly when the bathhouse is not in use. When forming the screed, you will need a cement trowel and special rakes, trowels and spatulas of various sizes. The evenness of structures is ensured using a level (hydraulic or laser).

Wood floors are created using a hammer, bench saw, electric plane, screwdriver and drill.

Types of insulation and requirements for them

The essential requirements for any insulation will be:

minimal hygroscopicity;
no release of harmful substances;
optimal reflection of heat inside.

Among the high-tech developments, noteworthy "Penotherm". It can hardly be called a new option, but this is even a plus - there is already a relatively long experience of using it. As practice has shown, neither mineral coatings nor polyurethane foam can compare with this method of thermal protection. In baths and saunas it is used only in the form of sheets covered with foil on the outside. The “NPP LF” marking shows that the basis of the material is low-density polyethylene; A layer of aluminum helps to withstand stable heating up to 170 degrees.

“LP” – series, which is made from polypropylene foam in sheet format. This coating is not able to withstand temperatures above 60 degrees. Therefore, it can only be used for floors and walls in dressing rooms, rest rooms and dressing rooms, vestibules.

It is unacceptable to use “Penotherm”, labeled as “LE”, in sauna houses for technical reasons. Thermal protection functions stably when heated to 1500 degrees, without even losing its mechanical characteristics.

Any aluminum-based foil material has the following advantages:

rapid heating of the internal volume;
excellent thermal inertia;
stable retention of steam flow.

According to statistics, up to 4/5 of the total heat volume is transferred indoors in the form of infrared rays. The aluminum screen becomes an impenetrable bastion for them and does not release precious thermal energy. Thanks to modern technologies, foil can be single, double or even triple in composition. The common belief that the aluminum layer must be completely open for normal operation is completely erroneous. On the contrary, if finishing materials are placed outside - the same lining, their thermal qualities are noticeably increased.

What is important is that the air inside the bath is heated more evenly. But the foil must be glued directly to the base insulation layer, because otherwise the air gap will increase heat transfer. On top of stone walls, it is better to use a metal reflector with an overlap stone wool or slab material.

It is important to remember that not every roll of special cotton wool sold in construction markets and stores is suitable for use in a bathhouse. Some manufacturers resort to cunning and, in order to increase resistance to water, use additives that are cheap but dangerous to human health.

Minvata in general, it is not afraid of fire and is considered one of the relatively safe materials. Covering it with foil on top further reduces even the small risk of toxins that still remain after finishing. The coating consistently withstands up to 200 heating and freezing cycles, and even after this there is no need to replace it. The total service life can reach 30 years, and the high mechanical strength will greatly please those who like to drill into bath walls and hang additional objects on them.

A prerequisite for installing cotton insulation is a high-quality sheathing.

The pitch of the supporting structure is determined in such a way that the heat-insulating boards fit inside freely, but are held tightly enough. Waterproofing is carried out using either a special type of foil, or polyethylene with a thickness of 150-200 microns, or using penofol. In frame baths, the waterproofing layer is made strictly of foil, and a lining is placed above it. The layer of basalt wool should be 6 cm. It is permissible to use kraft paper as a replacement for aluminum foil.

Foil can also be presented in foilizolon format- this is the name for polyethylene with a sprayed aluminum layer. The advantage of this coating is that it guarantees excellent noise absorption and is much stronger than its conventional counterpart. In addition, heat is contained not only by reflecting it, but also due to reduced permeability. The cost and environmental characteristics are primarily affected by the insulation that is used as the basis. It also determines resistance to aggressive influences, especially intense in the steam room.

It should be borne in mind that aluminum is an excellent conductor of electricity. Therefore, all wires in the walls will have to be insulated especially carefully. A high-quality lathing will help make the foil surface stronger and prepare the base for finishing. The permissible aluminum layer ranges from 30 to 300 microns. When using a properly calculated surface, it is possible to achieve the same effect as when constructing a thick and heavy log house.

Step-by-step instruction

It is very important to imagine how the thermal insulation from the inside will be formed step by step with your own hands. This is useful even when ordering the services of professional builders. Quite a lot of them, faced with insufficient control or poor competence of the customer, try to choose the easiest and most profitable paths for themselves. The first step in the work, regardless of the choice of traditional or ultra-modern insulation, is thorough preparation of the wall surface.

If mistakes are made at this stage, all subsequent actions have no meaning.

It is unacceptable to place polystyrene foam in the steam room; it releases substances that are extremely hazardous to health. According to the technology, the joints of slab insulation boards of any type are supposed to be glued with foil tape. It will form a sealed layer with a very high level of thermal protection. It is recommended to place slabs or rolls in the cells of the sheathing, which is assembled from wooden beams. The cross-section of this beam is determined by how powerful the thermal insulation should be (minus 10-20 mm from the actual value).

If you have to fill the wall with something loose, the bars are spaced 0.45-0.6 m apart from each other. The sheathing parts are attached to the wooden base using dowels or self-tapping screws; when there is stone, brick, concrete further away, only anchors help. In the first case, deepening the fasteners by 20-25 mm is enough, and they must go into the main walls by at least 40 mm. But it is not worth exceeding the value that is justified for securing a certain type of timber, this is only extra expense.

With the exception of basalt wool glued in production with aluminum foil, all materials require enhanced insulation from moisture.

Insulation over a concrete screed will require a whole range of additional elements. You will definitely need reinforcing meshes, special mixtures (ready-made or made up from primary components), and course-setting beacons. It is also impossible to do without a tape that absorbs thermal contraction and expansion, without polyethylene. Whether the floor is made of wood or concrete does not matter, but a larger amount of expanded clay should be poured under the concrete surface. The minimum excess is 100%, but if the total height of the room and material capabilities allow, you can even exceed this figure - it will be more reliable.

Before insulating the floor on the ground before marking, the following is required:

compact all the soil in the desired area;
impregnate the walls with waterproofing;
pour 0.1 m of sand, fill with water and compact thoroughly;
spread the roofing felt over the walls by 15 cm.

Single sheets of material are also laid with a mutual overlap of 0.15 m. The connection at the joints is ensured with construction tape (necessarily waterproof). The placement of guides on the subfloor is carried out in strict accordance with the prepared markings. These guides can be fastened in any way you choose, as long as it is reliable. Trying to do without guides is downright stupid, because even trained professionals use them.

Insulating the attic is even more important than insulating the facade. You cannot approach this work the same way you would in a regular home. After all, in a bathhouse, the upper part constantly concentrates water vapor. In most cases, they use:

mineral wool;
glass wool;
Styrofoam;
clay;
sawdust;
combination of moss and wood ash(only for walls and floors).

As for polystyrene foam, it should be used only in extreme situations, when there is simply no other way to save money. The cheapest option is to use cut sawdust, which is also more environmentally friendly. Thin slats of timber are laid across the boards, the distance between them is approximately 1 m. The vapor barrier is overlapped, and the sheets are pushed forward by approximately 20 mm. To obtain a suitable solution, 40-50 kg of clay is mixed with 200 liters of water; After adding sawdust, the mixture should become the same consistency.

Apply such a coating with a thickness of 80-100 mm, while compacting it slightly. You will have to be especially careful to lubricate the intersections of walls and ceilings. Gaps will inevitably appear there - and each of them will be filled. In a large bathhouse, sawdust can be easily replaced with expanded clay. You can also use garden soil or a mixture of black soil and peat in equal proportions.

Since the temperature in the washing room and dressing room, as well as in the rest room, is clearly lower than in the steam room, they can be insulated with foam plastic. It's relatively safe there, although it's still worth considering an alternative solution. If the choice is nevertheless made in favor of foam plastic, it is either glued (to brick and concrete) or placed in a padded frame. Considering the immunity of this material to water, it does not need to be covered with special films. All that remains is to do the finishing touches.

It is allowed to surround the furnace or boiler itself, the places where it adjoins other structures, only with basalt wool. The insulation in the basement of the bathhouse has its own characteristics. Ground floor It is necessary to insulate both outside and inside. If everything is done correctly, overall heat loss can be reduced by 10-15%. The most suitable solutions to this problem are traditional polystyrene foam and extruded polystyrene foam. These materials are not only minimally sensitive to water, which invariably circulates in the soil, but also perfectly resist external pressure.

But mineral wool is categorically not justified in this case. There is nothing to burn there, and given the high risk of destruction by moisture, you will have to create a complex waterproofing system that will absorb all the savings. When using polystyrene foam, although it masks deformations of up to 1 cm, it is better to correct such distortions, this will be more reliable. When leveling the base of a sauna with plaster, sometimes it is necessary to apply two or three layers; each should be laid only on a dried substrate.

Walls

Insulation of external walls is extremely rarely carried out separately. After all, it will then lead to improper distribution of heat throughout the material. The walls, floor and ceiling will warm up first, and only then will the air temperature begin to rise. This, of course, is not at all what is expected from a quality bath.

External thermal protection is required if the bathhouse is combined with residential building. It is logical to use it under finishing materials when there is an opportunity to improve the thermal qualities of the building. But in the case of non-residential baths, it’s worth considering whether this is really necessary. After all, even the most affordable thermal insulation greatly affects the personal budget. If the decision is made, layers of steam and wind protection will definitely be needed. The design will include:

lathing;
thermal protection;
wind insulation;
counter-lattice;
final finishing layer.

Formally, there is no need for a counter-lattice. But any experienced craftsmen they install it to make it easier and faster to create a ventilation duct. The wood must be impregnated with an antiseptic. If installation is on a brick wall, it is advisable to use dowels; they compensate for the excessive rigidity of the structure and speed up installation. Foamed glass is technically perfect, but it turns out to be too expensive to use.

Facial selection finishing material limited only by considerations of aesthetics and personal taste.

Steam room: ceiling

Baths made of aerated concrete are built precisely because this material has an impressive level of thermal insulation. The design will last a long time and will release only a small amount of heat outside. In this parameter it comes close to the tree. But you still need to insulate the walls in the steam room with insulation in order to radically reduce the loss of expensive energy. Wood paneling turns out to be the most expensive solution for the ceiling of this room and absorbs a fair amount of height.

Foam glass ultimately becomes even more profitable than plank upholstery. In addition, it is superior to polystyrene foam (which it looks similar to) because it does not release toxins when heated significantly. Installation of such a covering is carried out using tile adhesive, and when choosing this adhesive, primary attention should be paid to its safety. The same adhesive composition will act as putty. It is not advisable to apply the mixture in excess; it will still be covered with clapboard.

Thermal protection of the steam room is often carried out with penofol. It is important to remember that it is only an addition to other coatings. High-quality work involves the installation of a package made of penoplex and penofol; the air gap from the foil to the front layer is 1.5 cm. Thanks to this gap, the retention of both heat and steam is improved. Polyurethane foam will help close the seams of the structure, and if you need to seal the intersections of the canvases, use tape for this.

If the sauna is built from logs, its thermal characteristics will be excellent. But this is not a reason to neglect modern technological solutions. A semblance of a “thermos” is necessarily created, and maximum attention is paid to the attic floor. This is precisely the weak link of log structures.

Before starting work, the tree is carefully inspected, problem areas are corrected and removed, and treated with antiseptics.

Floor

When the thermal insulation of the top is ensured, you can take on the base of the room. After all, even if the walls and ceiling are quite warm, but the floors are cold, this devalues all the work done. When using penoplex on joists you need:

lay insulation between the elements on the subfloor;
imitate a base (by laying cladding around the perimeter);
create vents for ventilation (each minimum 0.05 sq. m);
put a blind area on the perimeter to improve the discharge towards various drains and sediments.

Some believe that it is possible to impregnate wooden parts located on stilts with antiseptics. But the usual types of impregnations will evaporate already in the sixth or seventh year of use. Therefore, you should carefully choose the mixture and give preference to compounds that eat deeply into the wood. If the bathhouse is built on screw piles, even the most powerful floor insulation will not help ensure its normal operation. You will have to equip a fence and thereby prevent excessive ventilation of the underground.

Insulating a concrete floor with expanded clay is a real salvation for those who want to guarantee the environmental safety of the building. In addition, this material is relatively inexpensive and can be installed by anyone without expensive equipment. It is advisable to choose the lightest varieties: they are not only more convenient for transportation, but also more effectively block the escape of heat to the outside. There are three key working methods:

wet;
dry;
mixed.

The dry method is practiced mainly in wooden buildings. The substance is poured into the gaps of the joists or beacons, and a subfloor is made on top. The waterproofing is always laid out at the bottom. Working in this way is easy and pleasant, the result is achieved quickly. The wet method involves mixing expanded clay with standard concrete mortar.

The insulation of bathhouse floors with penoplex has become quite widespread. The technology of work does not have any particular difficulties; moreover, it is quite accessible to any novice builder. At the bottom you will have to lay a substrate of sand and gravel or make a concrete floor. However, penoplex is ideal both on top of a rough wooden floor, and as one of the parts of the “pie” of a warm floor. But the material cannot be placed on damp soil; it must dry thoroughly.

The bath floor is always equipped with a water drain, and this circumstance cannot be ignored when working on thermal insulation. Point drains with a square or rectangular configuration are small in size and can be placed anywhere. The slope for directing water into the drain is at least 1%; this is important not to miss when designing the floor pie. The optimal solution is compacted extruded polystyrene foam.

Openings

Even when all the surfaces in the bathhouse hold heat steadily, there is at least one problem area - the doorway. As soon as the first frosts begin or the winds blow, lapses in its insulation will have very serious consequences. Foamed polyethylene with an outer shell of foil will help to insulate the canvas and not overload it. In terms of specific gravity, it is comparable to paint and varnish materials. The jamb is upholstered either with felt or with more modern products, as long as they fit tightly to the surface and are soft to the touch and resistant to water.

Roof

Insulated ceiling, floor, doorway - very good. But there is one more heat release channel left, that is, the roof. It is usually taken out through metal pipe chimney, and steel, as is known, “perfectly” facilitates the “discharge” of funds spent on heating to the outside. In bathhouses with cold attics or in the absence of an attic, roof slopes and planes are not insulated. But if there is a residential attic upstairs, there can be no two opinions - thermal insulation is required.

The ceiling is insulated from the inside (from the steam room) using metallized film materials. When laying fiber thermal insulation, it must be covered with a waterproofing membrane that conducts the steam flow strictly in one direction. Floor insulation (with laying boards and filling them with expanded clay) is carried out only on a wooden ceiling.

In this case, the load should be calculated so that it does not exceed the bearing capacity of the walls and ceilings.

Warm floor system

Insulating the floor in the bathhouse by equipping it with heating circuits is a completely reasonable idea. Moreover, problems with obtaining hot water disappear on their own. This measure is especially attractive when concrete is placed underneath, since it “pulls” heat very quickly. It is preferable to supply water to pipes made of polyethylene, steel alloys or metal-plastic. The spiral option for laying the pipeline is both simple and comfortable (heat will be distributed evenly over the entire surface).

The insulation of a bathhouse follows the same principles as the thermal insulation of a house. But elevated temperatures and significant humidity make it possible to use not all coatings suitable for ordinary rooms. So, among mineral wool it is definitely not harmful to use only the latest modifications, which are connected using biologically neutral acrylic. Peat blocks filled with sawdust or straw do not allow bacteria to grow, but they do absorb water. It is advisable to consider the option of cork mats - they are mechanically strong and do not become saturated with liquid, and they stop heat quite well.

If the bathhouse is insulated with natural materials, then it would be correct to treat them with special compounds that block the effects of insects, rodents and microorganisms. It is advisable to caulk log houses and timber with jute (flax). When a bathhouse with brick walls is insulated, roll and slab products are most often placed in a steel frame with a zinc profile. Layer mineral insulation on logs and beams may be limited to 80 mm (if there is no danger of severe frosts). In order for the insulator to retain its characteristics, it is taken 2-3 mm thinner than the cross-section of the bars.

To learn how and with what to insulate a bathhouse, see the following video.