Internal insulation of a log house. How to insulate a house from a log outside How to insulate a log house yourself

A unique feature of log houses is that they are able to maintain heat in the interior and regulate air humidity within certain limits. But sometimes owners with the onset of winter find flaws in the level of thermal insulation.

This often happens if the log house was recently purchased and itself is not in the best condition. Then there is a need to carry out high-quality insulation of such a building.

Does a log house need to be insulated?

The owners of log houses sometimes notice that a draft appears in the premises, and the floor and walls cool quickly after the heating is turned off. To prevent this from happening, high-quality thermal insulation of the building should be carried out. Many building elements need to be insulated. Especially serious heat loss is characteristic of the attic, because up to 70% of the heat lost by the house can go through it.

In addition to the attic or attic, walls and all those elements through which heat leaks can be observed need thermal insulation. The latter include slopes, window sills, windows, entrance doors. Log walls should also be well drilled if noticeable cracks appear in them. An excellent addition to a conventional heating system will be a "warm floor", which is easy to install even on your own.

The main reason for the rapid cooling of air in the interior is the insufficient thickness of the outer walls. But one interesting specificity is observed here: the lower the natural humidity of the air, the thinner the walls can be. For those regions where the humidity is at a low level, it is enough to use logs about 20 cm thick. But for most regions of the country, "wet" winters are still characteristic, therefore, in order to obtain decent thermal insulation, it is necessary to erect buildings from logs with a diameter of 40 cm or more. When such a moment is not immediately taken into account, subsequently there are problems with the level of insulation. How can I increase it? This will be discussed further.

Materials for insulating a log house

To maintain a favorable microclimate in a log house, it is best to use natural materials. The so-called "old-fashioned" methods of insulation allow you to obtain excellent thermal insulation, and are much cheaper. You can insulate the attic if you pour a mixture of earth and clay in it. For the implementation of such a process, including expanded clay and ecowool are suitable. You can dig walls with materials such as hemp, moss, jute, tow, and so on. The surface of the floor can be protected by using expanded clay or slab mineral wool.

But even such events are sometimes still not enough to make the thermal insulation of a house from logs high. Then you will have to use additional methods of providing thermal insulation. For wall insulation, it is necessary to use materials with high vapor permeability. At the same time, the insulation should not accumulate moisture. It is good if it is fireproof, environmentally friendly and uninteresting for insects and other pests.

Based on such requirements, it will turn out to be called such as suitable heaters for log buildings. It is better to insulate the walls with mineral wool or ecowool. The attic will be reliably insulated with sawdust or expanded clay. At the same time, polystyrene, polystyrene foam and other materials based on polystyrene should not be used. Their low vapor permeability will lead to the fact that the walls of wood will rot very quickly, as they become covered with moisture.

Stages of insulating a house from a log outside

The most correct method is considered to be thermal insulation of log walls from the outside. The reason is that wood has a unique ability to let air through itself. When arranging a ventilated facade, all the conditions will remain for achieving a good weathering effect. But here you have to take into account that it is possible to move on to insulation measures only after the log frame shrinks. This takes about a year.

1. Caulking a log house

Regardless of the chosen method of insulation, the first action of the owner should be caulking. To begin with, the walls must be inspected for cracks. All identified problem areas are covered with hemp or tow. In order to qualitatively pierce all the gaps, you will need to push the material used with a special spatula. This must be done until the moment when he hits the "obstacle".

2. Arrangement of a ventilated facade

The best method of external insulation of the house is the installation of a ventilated facade. The work is carried out in a specific order. They look like this.

1. Wooden walls are covered with an antiseptic.
2. A crate is installed, the distance between the elements of which is almost the same as the width of the insulation plates. It should be about 1.5 cm less.
3. Laying of heat-insulating materials. Plates should fit tightly between the frame elements.
4. Decking of windbreak or waterproofing.
5. Installation of the second lathing with the subsequent installation of siding.

For waterproofing purposes, it is best to choose a super diffuse membrane. It allows you to protect the insulation from contact with moisture. But on the reverse side, that is, from the wall, moisture will be effectively removed. Therefore, the walls will be able to breathe. But it is important that the superdiffuse membrane fits with some siding clearance. Also, air vents are left in the upper and lower parts, allowing air to circulate normally.

How to insulate a log house from the inside

Experts advise to resort to internal insulation only in exceptional situations. When placing insulation on the inside, there is a risk that the logs will stop breathing. Subsequently, this will cause the development of mold. During interior work, it is better to lay the heat insulator in the attic and the floor, as well as additionally insulate the doors and windows.

1. Insulation of the attic in a log house

In a one-story log house, waterproofing is laid on the attic floor, which is then covered with heat-insulating material so that the insulation layer is about 25 cm.In buildings with an attic floor, insulation on the inner side of the roof with insulation between floors will be more effective. Interfloor ceilings are insulated so that the protective layer is 5-10 cm thick. Roof insulation presupposes waterproofing flooring with the subsequent laying of a 20 cm layer of mineral wool. The thermal insulation is covered with a vapor barrier membrane and sutured with plasterboard.

2. Insulation of walls inside a log house

The walls themselves should be left uninsulated. But you need to get rid of all the cracks and gaps. For these purposes, jute, moss, tow, special mezhventsovy heaters are used. It will be possible to increase the thermal insulation if you carry out the inner lining with wooden clapboard.

3. Insulation of the floor in a log house

At this stage, the space between the lags is filled with insulation, after which a rough floor is formed. Expanded clay or mineral wool is suitable as a heater.

Thermal insulation of a log house - a complex procedure

Only with an integrated approach to warming a house from logs will it be possible to obtain decent thermal insulation. If the procedures described above still did not give decent protection from the cold, an extension in the form of a veranda must be made on the north side of the building and additionally insulated. Then the heat loss will decrease, an additional air gap will appear between the external environment and internal rooms.

September 6, 2016
Specialization: a professional in the field of construction and repair (a full cycle of finishing works, both internal and external, from sewerage to electrics and finishing works), installation of window structures. Hobby: see the column "SPECIALIZATION AND SKILLS"

At first glance, figuring out how to insulate a log house is quite simple. Such structures in themselves are distinguished by good energy-saving potential, therefore they will be quite warm in them without additional finishing.

On the other hand, if you do everything right, then the savings on heating will be colossal. Walls with high-quality thermal insulation retain heat very well, and in the summer heat they do not allow the room to heat up. So we can cut costs not only for the purchase of fuel, but also for air conditioning.

In this article, I will share my experience with comprehensive thermal insulation of a house made of rounded logs. In addition, as additional information, I will give a few tips from other masters - I was able to evaluate their effectiveness, as they say, "live", but I have not yet applied them.

Outdoor decoration

Step 1. Cleaning and caulking

Thermal insulation of a log building can be divided into two processes: interior and exterior decoration. If finances allow, then it is worth hiring two teams that will work in parallel. But if you plan to insulate yourself with your own hands, then you should start with the outer sheathing.

Before proceeding with the actual insulation, it is worth tidying up the log walls themselves to the maximum. The better you perform this stage of work, the more durable the structure will be. In addition, by sealing the joints between the crowns and repairing cracks in the logs, we will insure against drafts caused by blowing.

I work like this:

1. Using a sander with a wire brush attachment, I clean the outside of the logs. I do this in order to remove all loose pieces of wood, pieces of bark, etc. - in general, everything that sooner or later will fall off anyway.
2. Then, in calm weather, I walk inside the house with a candle, and by the deflection of the flame I find the areas where the blowing will be strongest. Of course, you need to caulk all the seams, but it's better to know where you will have to put more sealing material.

If an already inhabited house is being insulated, then it is best to look for blowing places in winter. As a rule, frost stripes form on the outer walls opposite such points - their appearance is caused by streams of warm air leaving the heated room.

1. For caulking, I choose a dry, warm day. I use jute and tow to fill the seams, but moss can also be used. The latter option, by the way, is highly hygroscopic, so it can be used to normalize the humidity regime.
2. The process of sealing the joints between the joints is quite simple: using a wooden spatula and a heavy hammer, I hammer the fibrous material into all the cracks, applying efforts until the laid fibers begin to spring actively.
3. I put a polymer cord in the cracks of the logs, which I fix with a sealant. This technology allows you to stop crack expansion and reduce heat loss through the crack formed in the wood.

After finishing caulking and repairing cracks, I carefully cut off excess fibers protruding beyond the plane of the wall. Then I treat the logs with antiseptic impregnation, applying it in several layers. After sheathing, the wood will be in a warm and rather humid environment, which can provoke its rotting under the influence of bacteria or the development of fungal colonies.

In addition to an antiseptic, I would also advise using a fire retardant - a composition that reduces the flammability of wood. The cost of processing will not increase much, but we will increase the level of fire safety several times.

At the final stage, I apply a special sealant to the ends of the logs to close the pores. Let this part of the wall be hidden under the cladding, but still the additional protection against cracking will definitely not be superfluous.

Step 2. Arrangement of a ventilated facade

Insulation of a log house from the outside can be carried out according to several schemes, but from my point of view, the best solution would be to equip a ventilated facade. So we will not only reduce the heat loss of the building, but we will also be able to normalize the microclimate by providing natural ventilation of the walls, which means unhindered removal of excess moisture.

The ventilated facade is a multi-layer structure that is fixed directly to the load-bearing walls. I do it according to the following algorithm:

1. I start work with the installation of a frame made of beams with a section of 50x50 mm. I attach the bars either to the walls themselves, or to support blocks made of wood, or to steel brackets. The choice of the fastening method depends on what thickness of insulation will be used: we need the distance between the outer plane of the lathing and the wall to be equal to or slightly greater than the thickness of the thermal insulation board.
2. The spacing of the battens of the sheathing also depends on the dimensions of the thermal insulation: I usually make it equal to about 57-58 cm: then mineral wool of a standard width of 60 cm enters the frame cell practically without deformation, but at the same time it adheres perfectly due to natural elasticity.

1. I insert the insulation, trimmed to size if necessary, into the cells of the frame, additionally fixing each panel with several dowels with a disc neck. For external thermal insulation, it is best to take just mineral wool, since foam and polystyrene foam almost do not allow air to pass through, which can lead to an increase in the level of humidity in the room.
2. Very often I am asked whether it is necessary to cover the heat-insulating layer with something. The answer is simple: be sure! To protect against moisture and blowing, I use a special membrane with a vapor permeability index of at least 1400mg, attaching it with staples directly to the crate.

1. The next stage is the construction of a counter-lattice. Here, it seems to me, there will be enough beams with a section of 30x30 mm. We stuff the beams onto the frame on top of the windproof membrane so that they form a perfectly flat plane. It is the counter-lattice that will make our facade ventilated, providing a gap between the insulation with waterproofing and the outer cladding.

1. The final stage is the installation of the cladding. To optimize costs, it is possible to sheathe the log house with vinyl siding, but I would still recommend using either a false bead or a blockhouse. In the second case, by the way, the appearance of the building will practically not change, but the energy-saving characteristics will increase by an order of magnitude.

After finishing the cladding, you can devote time to the finishing "debugging":

• treat wood sheathing with antiseptics and fire retardants;
• finish window and door openings by installing platbands;
• close the plinth with a special one on a foam polyurethane backing, etc.

And when all this work is completed, you can go inside, or rather, climb to the roof: it is from there that we will begin the next stage of thermal insulation.

Interior decoration

Step 3. Insulation of the roof and ceilings

Insulation of a log house from the inside (however, like many other finishing work) should be carried out moving from top to bottom: so already finished areas will be subjected to much less stress. It is these considerations that I am guided by when starting the thermal insulation of a building from the attic.

In a one-story house with an unexploited attic (more precisely, if the attic is used only as a warehouse), you can only limit yourself to insulation of the floor. But still, I would advise you to insulate the roof slopes. As a rule, this operation allows to reduce the overall heat loss of the building by about 10-15%, which, in terms of the money saved on heating, will be very noticeable.

We work like this:

1. Even at the stage of installing the roofing material, we lay a waterproofing film on the rafters. This layer is necessary, because when wet, the effectiveness of almost any insulation is significantly reduced.
2. Further, from the inside, in the gaps between the rafters, we lay slabs of mineral wool. The optimal choice is Rockwool Roof batts or similar products, focused specifically on roofing.

1. Further, in order to avoid condensation, we cover the insulation with a vapor barrier membrane - it will protect the mineral fiber from getting wet.
2. On top of the vapor barrier, we stuff a counter-lattice made of slats, onto which we attach the cladding. An unexploited attic can be sheathed with plywood or OSB-plates, but it is still worth spending money and ennobling the room with lining.

Now I will tell you how to insulate the floor from the inside:

1. With the first layer on the rough ceiling, hemmed from below to the floor beams, we lay a vapor barrier membrane. It will become a barrier in the way of moisture vapors rising up from the living space.

1. Further, in the intervals between the floor beams, we lay thermal insulation plates. We try to place them with a minimum number of gaps, and blow out all the cracks with self-expanding polymer foam (polyurethane or liquid foam).
2. Instead of plates based on mineral fibers, you can use ecowool - cellulose insulation, which is sprayed onto structures using a special compressor.

1. On top of the floor beams, we lay the flooring of boards, forming the floor of the attic or attic room. At the same time, we make sure that there is a gap of at least 15 - 20 mm between the flooring and the heat-insulating material for effective air exchange.

Step 4. Thermal insulation of walls

The question of whether it is necessary to insulate the walls of a log house from the inside should be decided even at the planning stage. It is quite possible that there will be enough external thermal insulation - then it will be enough for us to put in order the internal joints between the crowns and treat the logs themselves with a protective and decorative compound.

The cladding with one layer of lining can also help - wooden boards by themselves “keep” heat well, so additional energy saving is guaranteed to us.

If it is necessary to radically reduce heat loss, then we cannot do without high-quality thermal insulation:

1. We caulk the walls (if this has not been done earlier), and then we treat them with fire and bioprotective compounds.
2. On all bearing surfaces we fill a crate made of a wooden bar (by the way, we also treat it with antiseptics and fire retardants).
3. Then we mount the cladding made of board materials or lining. We assemble the sheathing in parts, starting from the bottom up.
4. As the frame is sheathed, we fill the gap between the wall and the material fixed to the crate with ecowool. Loose cellulose insulation is blown into the cavity under pressure, making sure that no large voids remain behind the casing.

1. After the completion of the insulation, we finally sheathe the walls, and then we carry out the finishing - the walls made of plate materials are putty and painted or pasted over with wallpaper, the lining is sanded and either varnished or impregnated with stains / oils for natural wood.

Instructions for internal insulation, it also allows the use of plates based on mineral fibers. They are mounted in the cells of the lathing, followed by overlapping with a vapor barrier membrane and lining with clapboard or similar materials.

Step 5. Floor insulation

Finally, we still have one more step - floor insulation. This is where the best place to start is with the subgrade itself:

1. We carefully ram the soil inside the foundation, after which we fill it with a sand or sand-gravel cushion with a thickness of 20 to 40 cm. We thoroughly compact the backfill.
2. Lay a waterproofing membrane on top of a sand and gravel pillow. You can also make a foundation by filling the surface of the poured layer with a liquid mortar based on M150 - M200 cement.

1. The next layer is expanded clay or perlite. We fill the granular material with a layer of 40 cm in such a way that the upper edge of the bedding is just below the upper edge of the log.
2. We cover the expanded clay layer with a waterproofing material - glassine, polyethylene or a special membrane. When installing this layer, be sure to leave the edges of the lag free (about 10-15 cm on each side) - it is in these areas that excess moisture will come out of the wood.
3. Next, we mount a rough floor covering from planks or thick plywood.

Naturally, the technology I have described for insulating a floor in a log house is not the only one possible. In some cases, it will be more expedient to first hem the rough flooring to the logs from below, fixing it with cranial bars, and lay a slab insulation with waterproofing on top of the flooring.

In any case, at the final stage, we need to treat the wooden floor parts with an antiseptic and a fire retardant - only after this treatment can the room be operated without risk.

The cost of finishing materials

Performing home-wide thermal insulation is a costly project. Accordingly, in order for us not to be left without money in the middle of the journey, the budget needs to be planned in advance.

The volume of the purchase depends primarily on the area of ​​your house and the list of planned works, but nevertheless, preliminary calculations can be made right now. To do this, you can use the table in which I have entered the current prices for some thermal insulation and finishing materials:

Material	unit of measurement	Average cost, rubles
Mineral wool ISOVER plaster Facade, 1200x600x100 mm	packing 4 pcs.	1400 — 1700
Insulation ROCKWOOL 800x600x50 mm	packing 4 pcs.	650 — 800
Jute sealant 10 cm	m.	8 — 10
Caulking moss	bag 10 kg	300 — 450
Bituminous mastic	20 Kg	350 — 500
Dali universal antiseptic	5 l	450 — 600
Woodmaster Ksd, fire retardant composition	10 l	550 — 600
Pinotex Impra impregnation	10 l	4800 -5200
Polyfoam front PSB-S 25, 1000x1000x50 mm	sheet	170 – 220
Expanded polystyrene sheet, 1250x600x50 mm	sheet	180 – 220
Wooden beam for the frame, 6 m	PCS.	90 – 180
Dowel disc 100x10 mm	100 pieces.	250 – 350
Windproof membrane for walls ROCKWOOL	70 m2	1500 — 1700
Vapor barrier film Technohaut B-70	70 m2	670 — 750
Sliding bracket for ventilated facade	PCS.	25 -35
Vinyl siding, 3500x205 mm	PCS.	120 – 450
Larch block house, 22x90 mm	1 m2	650 — 1200
Ecowool	1 m2	From 1700 to 3000 depending on the blowing technology

Naturally, only the basic materials necessary for complex thermal insulation are indicated here: the prices for auxiliary elements and fasteners should be clarified additionally.

Conclusion

Having understood how to insulate a house from a log from the outside and from the inside as efficiently as possible, and having successfully implemented such a project, we will be able to significantly reduce the cost of housing maintenance.

And since fuel is not getting cheaper, everyone should think about modernizing the building. To do this, you should carefully read the explanations in the text part of the material, study the proposed video, and also ask all your questions in the comments to the article. And only armed with all the necessary information, you need to get to work!

September 6, 2016

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Log houses are the warmest and most environmentally friendly. Wooden walls perfectly retain and accumulate heat and regulate the level of humidity. At every corner, we hear that a wooden wall with a thickness of only 240 mm has the same thermal conductivity as a brick wall with a thickness of 1 m. Impressive, right? But there are situations when they built or bought a new log house, lived in it, and with the onset of the first severe cold weather, they realized that the house was cool and there were drafts. Then we seriously think about building insulation, even to the detriment of beauty. But there may be more banal situations: they bought an old wooden house, which has already been "worn out" and requires serious measures for insulation. So a serious question arises, how to insulate a log house, what materials can be used, and what absolutely cannot be done.

Why is it cold in a log house - a little theory

What are the most common problems faced by log home owners who complain that they are cold in winter? First, there are drafts in the premises. Secondly, it blows on the legs. Thirdly, the house cools down quickly if the heating is turned off. Fourth, the walls are too cold. And many accompanying nuances, from which it is concluded that the house needs to be urgently insulated, and it is imperative to start from the floor, since it is the coldest. Let's see what happens in the room when it is heated.

Imagine that we have a log house that we heat with some kind of heat source. What is involved in heat exchange with us: heat source, air, ceiling, walls and floor. How does this happen? Let's remember the school physics course. As the air heats up from a heat source, it rushes up to the ceiling. Resting on the surface of the ceiling, it spreads over it, giving off heat and cooling. As a result, we get a ceiling - the warmest surface in the room. Further, the air stream reaches the walls and goes down along them. Since our walls are much colder than the ceiling, the air cools down much faster, and its speed increases. The air has already reached the floor, having fairly accelerated, and rushes along it with such a speed that an illusion of such a strong cold draft is created, as if there is no floor, and you are standing right on the snow.

If you place a heat source near the inner walls, as is usually done by heating with a fireplace or a portable radiator, then the rate of heat transfer increases significantly. There is a constant draft in the room, it turns out that we ourselves are to blame for the cold in the house.

It is not for nothing that there are norms that heating radiators should be under windows. The outer walls are initially the coldest, in contrast to the inner ones, which are quite inert. If the heat source is located near the outer wall, then the air will rise up, then again fall on the walls, but now it will not cool down at such a speed and not so quickly. After all, the inner walls are quite warm, so passing them, the air will not cool too much. And going down the outer walls, it will again rest against the heat source, where it will heat up and rise up. As a result: the room warms up faster, the structures keep heat better, as it accumulates, rather than wasted.

What needs to be checked to exclude unnecessary heat loss:

1. Ceiling... The very first outpost to check for leaks, as it can drain up to 70% of the heat. Be sure to insulate the attic or attic floor in order to retain the heat inside the room.
2. Walls... The second outpost is the outer walls and everything that is in them: windows, doors, etc. Incorrectly installed windows and doors are the scourge of log houses. Through them the lion's share of heat can go away, without even having time to heat the room. Directly from the radiator and into the slots under / above the window. Plus, do not forget to check if the walls have been thoroughly bored, maybe there have already been cracks somewhere.
3. Floor... The last thing that can be a source of cold is the floor. It should be checked for serviceability and insulated in a standard way. Also for the winter, it is worth reducing the ventilation of the subfloor, blocking off most of the air vents.

I would also like to note that in order to make the heating of a log house better, it is possible to equip the house with "warm floors", in addition to the existing heating system. Then the warm air will be distributed more evenly throughout the room, due to which drafts near the floor will disappear and the house will cool down more slowly.

By the way, too thin walls can also cause cold in the house. For example, for a climate with cold, severe winters, but low humidity, walls with a thickness of 200 - 240 mm are sufficient. But for regions with humid winters, even with a temperature that does not drop below -20 ° C, it is advisable to use logs with a diameter of at least 400 mm, and preferably 480 mm. Such regions, for example, include Moscow and the Moscow region, St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region. Be sure to take this into account when developing a project for a log house, so that later it will not be excruciatingly painful.

What materials can be used to insulate a log house

The standard procedure for insulating a log house includes insulating the ceiling or attic, caulking the walls and insulating window and door frames, as well as insulating the floor. If everything is done correctly, then no additional measures are needed.

Taking into account the fact that log houses are being built in order to create a dwelling from natural, environmentally friendly materials, it would be foolish to use polystyrene for insulation. Then the whole point is lost.

For insulation of the attic log house can be used sawdust, ecowool(cellulose wool), seaweed, straw... As a last resort, you can insulate mineral wool.

Caulking the walls produced only with natural materials: moss, tow, hemp, jute, linen-based tape insulation and jute... The main requirement for the material is that it must have properties similar to wood.

For insulation of a wooden floor on logs you can use natural backfill materials, or you can mineral wool in rolls. And here concrete floor will require a denser material, fit expanded polystyrene, extruded polystyrene foam, Cork and basalt wool in slabs with a density of more than 160 kg / m3.

If, after all the standard procedures, the house is cold, maybe because the thickness of the logs was incorrectly selected, maybe the house is already very old, or maybe the heating was incorrectly calculated, and you decided that without such a procedure as insulating the walls of a log house , not to do, then you should know some of the nuances.

The material that can be used to insulate log walls must have the following properties:

• Be vapor permeable on par with wood, or to a greater extent if it will be installed outside the building.
• Be moisture resistant so as not to accumulate moisture, which can lead to decay of the tree.
• Be fireproof and resistant to the appearance of pathogenic fungi.
• Easy to breathe.
• Have a structure that is loose enough to fit snugly against a rounded log wall and leave no gaps.

Considering all of the above, to insulate a log house from the outside, you can use:

• Ecowool.

• Mineral wool (although it is unnatural, it is easy to install and generally available).
• Sawdust or sawdust-granules (filling material).
• Expanded clay (backfill material).

Wood is an unusual building material. It not only "breathes", but is also a kind of air recuperator. And if someone assures you that the vapor permeability of wood across the fibers is slightly higher than that of reinforced concrete, you should know that you can object. Entering the thickness of the wood across the fibers, then air is distributed along the fibers and exits through the end. In other words, the tree "breathes" with its ends.

Due to the fact that wooden walls are "living", such materials cannot be used:

• Styrofoam.
• Extruded polystyrene foam.
• Polyurethane foam.
• Polyurethane foam for sealing cracks.
• Sealants.

The use of vapor-proof materials will cause the wood to rot or, if you protect it from the inside with a vapor-proof film, you will turn a wooden house into a thermos. In this case, the whole point of building a house from a log will be lost. But you still have to choose.

How to insulate a log house outside

As we have already found out, it is necessary to insulate the walls of a log house only when all other insulation measures have not brought the desired result.

If you are interested in the question of how to properly insulate a log house from the outside or from the inside, then here is an unequivocal answer for you - outside... This is due to the properties of wood to breathe, accumulate moisture and give it away. In the case of an external location of the insulation, air and moisture will freely come out of the tree and erode.

It is possible to start insulation only after a year or a year and a half after the completion of the construction, when the blockhouse sits down.

Caulking log walls

Even if you have already made the final decision to insulate the house, the first step is to thoroughly bore it. We examine all the walls for visible cracks. Then, in calm weather, we walk through the house with a candle, holding it close to the walls. If the flame leans towards the wall, it means that there is a gap in this place, from which it blows in winter.

One of the most effective ways to find cracks in logs is to walk around and inspect all walls in winter when the house is heated. If you notice frost, it is also sometimes called a "bunny", which means that in this place there is a leak of heat from the room.

Caulking should be done in dry warm weather, using tow, jute, hemp or roll insulation. We put the material in the gaps between the crowns and push it with a special tool - caulking.

Ventilated facade construction

Insulation of a log house from the outside is carried out by installing a ventilated facade. This design allows the wooden wall to "breathe" and release moisture.

First, we treat the walls with an antiseptic and a fire retardant to protect the tree from fire and mold. On top of the walls we stuff a crate that will hold the insulation. For this we use a bar with a cross section of 50 mm. We fill it vertically with a step equal to the width of the insulation plates minus 2 - 3 cm.

As a heater, we will use mineral wool in slabs with a density of 35 - 50 kg / m3 and a thickness of 50 mm.

Important! When installing insulation on a log wall, we are faced with some inconvenience. The fact is that the wall is uneven, laying the insulation close to each other without gaps is almost impossible. Therefore, we put insulation in the gaps (openings) between the wall and the battens of the sheathing. To do this, you can use "Basaltin" in rolls or mezhventsovy insulation - jute, flax.

We insert slabs of mineral wool between the crate, pushing them tightly into the opening. We do this from the bottom up.

On top of the insulation, we mount a windproof waterproofing superdiffusion membrane. It must have a vapor permeability of at least 1400 g / m2 per day or higher.

Important! Correctly selected wind protection for the ventilated facade of a log wall is almost the most important thing in insulation. This membrane will not let moisture and wind from the outside into the thickness of the insulation and walls, but at the same time it will release moisture and air from the inside to the outside, thus giving the walls the opportunity to "breathe".

On top of the windscreen, we fill a crate of 50 mm beams. We mount siding on the crate. It can be vinyl siding that imitates wood, or you can use a house block, then the wall will have the same log profile as the real one.

For the entire thickness of the lathing (50 mm), a ventilation gap is formed between the membrane and the façade. Above and below, it is necessary to equip air vents so that the air can circulate freely.

How to insulate a log house from the inside

The option of insulating the house inside must be considered before performing a ventilated facade. Perhaps standard insulation measures will be sufficient, and you will not have to spoil the appearance of the walls.

The following procedures can be attributed to the insulation of a log house from the inside: insulation of the floor, ceiling, roof and walls. Moreover, experts are categorically against the installation of insulation inside the walls, since in this case the tree will damp and rot.

Insulation of the ceiling, roof

The first thing to do, as soon as we found out that the house is cold, we insulate the ceiling and roof.

If the house is one-story with an attic, then we lay a waterproofing film on the attic floor, pour insulation on top with a layer of 150 to 250 mm. It can be ecowool, sawdust, seaweed or ordinary mineral or glass wool in rolls. You do not need to cover the insulation. Boards can be laid on top for ease of movement in the attic, but you do not need to equip the floor.

If the house has an attic floor instead of an attic, then it is necessary to insulate both the overlap between the floors and the roof slope. It is enough to put 50 - 100 mm of insulation (any) into the ceiling. If the floor of the attic is wooden, then we fill in the insulation between the logs. If the floor is concrete, then we use basalt wool in slabs or, in extreme cases, polystyrene. To insulate the roof slope, we lay a waterproofing film directly under the roof, then we lay the insulation (mineral wool) with a layer of 150 - 200 mm. On top of the insulation, we lay a vapor-tight membrane so that the material is not saturated with moisture from the room. We mount the lathing and finishing for the attic.

The above procedures should be enough to keep the house warmer.

Insulation of the walls of a log house

We pass to the walls. Since it is impossible to mount insulation inside the log walls, what we can do is to dig thoroughly from the inside, insulate all window and door openings.

To insulate the openings, we use roll-up insulation or, in extreme cases, mineral wool, but in no case blow out the cracks with polyurethane foam, it will quickly become unusable, since the walls of the log house are constantly in motion, and the foam is a non-plastic material.

To decorate the walls of a log house from the inside, you can upholster them with wooden clapboard. In this case, the insulation between the wall and the finish cannot be mounted. The house will become a little warmer due to the fact that the wall will have a slightly greater thickness, as well as air gaps on the side of the heated room between the flat clapboard and the curved surface of the log walls.

Insulation of the floor of a log house

In order for the floor in a wooden house to be warm, it must be equipped, observing all the technology of laying the floor on the ground. Backfilling, waterproofing and insulation are mandatory. If the floor is wooden, we put insulation between the logs with a layer of 100 - 150 mm. Above is the rough and final floor.

If the floor is concrete, then between the layer of "skinny" concrete and the main layer we put foam or extruded polystyrene foam in slabs 50 - 80 mm thick.

Before insulating a log house with a ventilated facade, equip the house with a "warm floor" system. Perhaps this will be more than enough to ensure a comfortable stay. Then you will not have to sew up beautiful log walls, because such houses are being built because of their primeval beauty. What's the use if the walls are covered with siding?

Thermal insulation of a log house is a whole range of measures. If everything is done correctly, start with the ceiling and roof, then thoroughly dig in the walls, insulate the windows and doors, the floor, there will be no need to sheathe the house from the outside. If that doesn't work, there is another way to keep warm in a log house, which is not described here, is to build a glazed veranda on the coldest side of the house, thereby expanding the area and creating an air barrier.

Log houses are warm and environmentally friendly. Walls made of wood are able to retain heat well by regulating the level of humidity. It is worth knowing that a surface made of wood 2.4 m thick has the same thermal conductivity as a brick wall 1 m thick. But a situation is also possible when it is cool in winter and there are drafts. At this stage, people most often seriously think about how to insulate the structure. It also happens that an old log house was bought, which needs to be insulated.

First of all, you need to understand what elements of the house need to be checked in order to eliminate heat losses:

1. The ceiling is the first element to be checked for leaks. About 60% of the heat can escape through the ceiling. The first step is to insulate the attic or attic so that the heat is retained inside the room.
2. Outside walls, doors, windows and so on. It often happens that windows and doors are installed incorrectly. A large amount of heat can escape through these elements. Small walls can also cause cold.
3. The floor is also a source of cold. It will also need to be insulated. For this purpose, the "warm floor" system is well suited.

Materials that will be needed in order to insulate the house

The process of insulating a house from a log involves insulating the attic or ceiling, walls, window openings, door frames and the floor. If everything is done correctly, then no additional actions will need to be performed.

Since buildings of this type in most cases are built in order to be able to live in a house made of environmentally friendly materials, it will not be possible to use polystyrene to insulate the structure.

To insulate the attic of a house from logs, you can use ecowool, sawdust, straw or algae. If these materials are not available, then insulation can be performed using mineral wool.

The walls are insulated with exclusively environmentally friendly materials: tow, moss, flax, jute and so on. The material must necessarily have properties similar to wood.

To insulate a wooden floor on logs, it is recommended to use rolls of mineral wool or backfill materials. If you have a concrete floor, you will need to use a thicker material, for example, expanded polystyrene, cork or basalt wool.

If, after performing these actions, it will be cold in the house, then this means that the thickness of the tree was incorrectly selected. It may also be that the calculation of the heating system was performed incorrectly.

The material with which a house is insulated from a log must have the following properties:

• have a loose structure in order to tightly contact a rounded wall of logs, while leaving no gaps;
• be able to pass air;
• do not be afraid of moisture, otherwise the tree will start to rot;
• be resistant to the formation of fungus;
• be fireproof.

In no case should the following materials be used for insulation:

• sealant;
• polyurethane foam;
• Styrofoam;
• expanded polystyrene.

Using vapor-proof materials will cause the wood to rot.

For insulation, you can choose the following materials:

• mineral wool, which is an unnatural material but easy to install;
• sawdust (backfill material);
• expanded clay;
• ecowool.

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How to insulate a house from a log from the outside yourself?

It is necessary to insulate the walls of the house from a log only if other measures did not help to make the house warm.

First of all, the house will need to be thoroughly drilled. All walls are inspected for cracks. Next, you need to walk around the house with a candle in your hands, holding it close to the walls. If the flame moves towards the wall, this means that there is a gap in this place, from which the wind is blowing.

It is recommended to inspect the walls during the winter period. Caulking will need to be done in the warm season, when it is dry outside. To do this, you need to use tow, jute or some kind of roll insulation. The material is pushed into the cracks and pushed through with caulking.

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How to arrange a ventilated facade?

It is necessary to insulate the house from the outside using a facade device with ventilation. Such a construction will allow the wall made of wood to “breathe”.

First of all, you will need to treat the walls with an antiseptic so that you can protect the wood from fire and mold. A crate is stuffed on top of the walls, which can hold the insulation. To do this, you need to use a block with a cross section of 5 cm. You need to stuff it vertically, observing a step that is equal to the width of the insulation boards minus 3 cm.

When installing insulation on a wall from a log, you may encounter inconvenience. It has an uneven surface, therefore, it will not work to lay the insulation tightly without gaps. Insulation will need to be inserted into the gaps between the wall and the lathing bars so that thermal insulation is performed. Jute is suitable for this purpose.

The insulation is installed from the bottom up. On top of the insulation material, a windproof superdiffusion membrane is installed for waterproofing. It must be vapor permeable. Such a membrane will be able to keep out moisture and wind from the street, while at the same time it will release wind and air to the street, thereby allowing the walls to “breathe”.

On top of the wind protection, a crate of 5 cm bars is stuffed. Siding is mounted on this structure. For the entire thickness of the lathing, a ventilation gap will be formed between the facade and the membrane. Air vents will need to be made in the lower and upper parts so that the air can circulate.

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How can you insulate a house from logs from the inside?

It is recommended to consider the option of internal insulation of a house of this type before making a facade with ventilation. It so happens that there are enough standard insulation measures, while there will be no need to spoil the appearance of the walls.

Insulation of houses from logs from the inside consists of the following stages: insulation of the floor surface, ceiling, roof and walls. Experts do not recommend installing insulation material inside the walls, because the wood in this case can begin to rot and damp.

Houses made of logs or log cabins are the most comfortable, warm and environmentally friendly. Wooden walls keep heat well. It is often heard from construction experts that a log wall that is at least 24 cm thick has the same thermal conductivity property as brickwork 100 cm thick. And most people calm down on this.

The scheme of the insulated wall from a log.

But often there are such cases when they purchased or built a house of logs, lived in it for a little, and when the first severe frosts came, they saw that the house was far from warm and came through from all the cracks. Then people begin to seriously think about starting to insulate their house, and the question arises: how to insulate a log house? What tools and materials are needed for this, what can be done and what is absolutely forbidden?

Basic requirements for insulation

Insulation of a log house allows you to reduce heating costs and reduce heat loss. As you know, half of all heat loss falls on the outer walls.

Let's remember for a moment how our ancestors insulated a log house. For insulation, our great-grandfathers used a variety of materials: from "hut" (straw mixed in clay) to plastering on wood shingles. This helped to get rid of drafts, and the "breathing" of the walls did not suffer. And the exterior of the house was well-groomed and tidy. However, in the modern world there are many more effective insulation materials for creating a comfortable atmosphere in a log house. Before moving on to the process of insulation, you need to know what properties the materials with which buildings are insulated should have. Here are the main required properties of insulation materials:

• the insulation must have the same vapor permeability as that of a tree;
• the moisture resistance of the material must be high so that condensation does not accumulate and the wood does not rot;
• high-quality insulation is obliged to easily let air through;
• the insulation must be fireproof and protect the wall from the appearance of fungus;
• the heat-insulating material should have a free-flowing structure for a closer fit to the rounded wall and fill all the gaps.

At the present time, the assortment of various heaters is quite large. At the same time, only some of them are suitable for insulating a wooden building. Here they are:

Insulation schemes for a house from a bar with different types of insulation.

1. The slag has a free-flowing structure, thanks to which it has the ability to fill all irregularities and cracks. The cost of slag or expanded clay is low.
2. They also insulate the house with sawdust. They are popular for their practicality, affordability and low cost.
3. A popular insulation is ecological wool, which, when insulated, seems to merge with the tree, therefore excellent and high-quality insulation is obtained. This cotton wool is made from fibers obtained during the processing of waste paper.
4. Easy to work with mineral wool. It is fire resistant and does not rot. Fungi and mold do not appear on it.
5. Styrofoam is a cheap insulation material. But it is not recommended for them to insulate wooden buildings, since it does not allow air and moisture to pass through, and the tree under it begins to rot.

It is better to insulate a log house in 1.5-2 years after the completion of construction in dry summer. Before starting work, the walls must be well treated with an antibacterial primer, preferably in two layers. The house is insulated from the outside using materials such as:

Installation of the lathing for insulation is carried out in steps of 50-60 cm.

• wooden beams for the frame, which are selected depending on the width of the insulation;
• hydro-barrier and vapor barrier;
• material for facade decoration: plastic, siding, decorative stone, etc.;
• insulation material;
• various fasteners (screws, dowels, staples).

During preparation for insulation, it is important not only to choose a heater, but also the method of lining it. For example, construction professionals do not advise plastering the surface of the insulation because the tree under it will be covered with mold.

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Technique and features of home insulation

At the very beginning, you need to take care of the sealing of the windows. All cracks and gaps that are in the window frame or next to it must be sealed with sealant. The entrance doors are also sealed.

The window sill occupies a special place blown through by a draft.

Before you start insulating a house, you should insulate and seal the windows.

In windy weather, bring your hand to it and slide it slowly from side to side. If you feel cold, then the insulation under the windowsill is broken. Take construction foam and fix the situation. Russian winters are often very frosty, and therefore the foundation of a house can also freeze completely. And if there is a basement or garage under the house, then its walls will begin to become covered with condensation and frost. From the foundation, the cold goes to the walls and to the floor, and from this the house becomes cold. So, to get the most out of it, it is necessary to dig a trench around the house to the base of the foundation. Next, the foundation should be treated with hydro-barrier mastic. And already on top of it, after drying, it is pasted over with ordinary foam. From above, the insulation is covered with a waterproofing film. However, experts do not advise insulating the foundation with ordinary foam in those places where there is a very strong freezing of the soil. Simple foam has a weak structure, and it begins to burst from frost and pressure. In this case, professionals advise to insulate the foundation with extruded foam, which is resistant to frost and soil pressure. And it serves three times longer than ordinary polystyrene foam.

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Further measures to protect the residential building

After the foundation is insulated, the log house is treated with an antifungal soil and an antiseptic for wooden surfaces to protect the house from fire and mold. Then all cracks are sealed with polyurethane foam or silicone with antifungal properties. The next is the vapor barrier. By the way, steam insulation can be roofing material, aluminum foil, glassine, etc. Vapor barrier is necessary for ventilation of the walls of the house. If large logs were used for the felling, then this is very good and you should not worry. But if the walls are smooth, then they are stuffed with a frame made of rails, 1 meter apart, which are covered with a vapor barrier. The insulation material itself is fastened with staples or studs. Further, the lathing for the insulation takes place. To do this, take beams 100 mm wide and 50 mm thick. They are attached vertically to the wall with an edge, at a distance of 100-103 cm from each other. Insulation material is laid between the bars. Moreover, the insulation is placed in two layers of 50 mm. It should be laid from the bottom to the top.

From above, waterproofing is pulled over the insulation. The waterproofing film on the inside allows steam to pass through, and on the outside does not allow moisture to seep through. The water barrier is attached to wooden beams (frame) using staples or small nails. Insulation should be laid with an overlap of up to 10 cm. Joints are connected with adhesive tape or tape. On top of the beams and the hydro-barrier, slats 50 mm wide and 30 mm thick are sewn horizontally. Such a rack frame is necessary for ventilation of the space between the vapor barrier and the outer cladding. If normal ventilation of the air is created, the drying of condensate and moisture occurs much more efficiently. At the bottom of the frame, a fine-mesh metal mesh is applied to prevent the appearance of various bugs and insects inside the insulation system. The next is the exterior cladding. At the moment, the choice of facing materials is quite extensive. You can choose a material for every taste and for every wallet. The main thing to think about is what functions should the outer cladding perform? If just decorating the walls is one moment, if you need to keep the logs of the walls from atmospheric influences and increase the insulating properties, this is another moment. But in both cases, there are two types of wall cladding. Wet, offering to use various types of plasters, such as "bark beetle", "fur coat" and others. But, as stated above, experts do not recommend this method of decorating walls. Another method of cladding is dry, where the facade is sheathed with siding, plastic (clapboard), decorative stone or tiles, which not only adds beauty, but also additionally insulates the house.