Proper insulation of the walls of the house from the outside with your own hands. The better to insulate the house from the outside How to insulate the house from the outside with your own hands

As soon as we decide to insulate the house, a huge pile of questions appears in our head:

• How to insulate walls?
• How to insulate walls?
• What is the best way to insulate, outside or inside?
• But will the house become warmer, and will I not throw money away?

In this article I will try to answer all these questions in as much detail as possible, as well as talk about the currently popular materials for insulation.

How to properly insulate the walls of the house, outside or inside

Try to ask any builder how best to insulate the walls of the house, outside or inside? The answer will be obvious. Everyone knows that it is necessary to insulate walls from the outside, and to resort to thermal insulation of walls from the inside only in extreme cases. But at the same time, not everyone knows why the thermal insulation of the walls from the inside of the house is so undesirable.

Let's try to figure it out. The diagram shows three states of the wall of the house, with insulation from the outside, from the inside and no insulation at all:

Speaking in ordinary human language, the dew point is the place where water vapor turns into water, thereby creating condensate.

If you look at the diagram, you can see that to the left of the dew point is a positive temperature, and to the right - negative.

When insulating from the inside:

1. The wall remains unprotected by domestic heat, since the heat barrier from the insulation will not let it into the wall. Thus, in winter, it will be largely subject to frost, constant moisture, and will not have time to dry out, since we blocked the way from the inside with a heater to the heat that protected the wall earlier.
2. In the place of the dew point, condensate collects (air water vapor is converted into water droplets), this point will be as close as possible to the room, which means that the formation of moisture in this place will be maximum. As already mentioned, the insulation from the inside will interfere with the natural drying of the wall.
3. The constant formation of condensate, without natural drying, can lead to the appearance of various kinds of fungi and mold on the wall. Do not console yourself with the fact that the fungus is behind the insulation and nothing terrible will happen. Mold and various kinds of green-black formations on the wall adversely affect not only the appearance, but also the health of the residents of such a house.
4. If you look at the diagram, it shows that even without insulation, there will be less moisture on the wall from the inside than with insulation from the inside.

When insulating from the outside:

1. From the side of the street, the wall is protected by insulation from the cold, and given the technology of insulation, and from moisture, and from the side of the room - with domestic heat, which warms up the wall sufficiently and even in cases of various kinds of condensate and moisture absorption by the wall, will contribute to its rapid drying.
2. We take the dew point away from the room towards the street, which means that we also take the condensate away from the room.
3. Insulation from the outside will greatly preserve the warmth and comfort in your home.

I think now it has become clear to everyone why everyone refuses to warm the walls of the house from the inside, and more and more often resort to warming from the outside. And it is necessary to insulate the walls from the side of the room only if there is no other way out.

How to properly insulate walls with expanded polystyrene and extruded polystyrene foam (EPS) from the outside

I described in detail about the insulation of walls with polystyrene foam in one of my previous articles. Here I will mention some of the main points.

Preparing the wall for the installation of insulation

The first thing to do before insulating the walls with polystyrene foam or EPS is to clean the walls of the house from the outside of dirt, dust and, which is not unimportant, trim them. After that, they must be primed if you use glue to install the insulation.

If there are significant holes on the wall that you cannot level with glue, then after installing the insulation, a void may remain between the expanded polystyrene plate and the wall. And this is highly undesirable, because even a light blow or push on the insulation to the place where the hole is, can deform or break it.
If a small tubercle comes across during the insulation process, it will be difficult for you to glue the expanded polystyrene sheet in that place tightly to the wall.

Installation of expanded polystyrene and EPS on the wall

Styrofoam, as a rule, is glued to the wall with a special glue for polystyrene foam boards, and sometimes with special "fungi".

In the case of insulation of extruded polystyrene foam (EPS), it is necessary to make the surface on which the adhesive will be applied rough. There are no such problems with foam plastic, the glue sticks it well without additional processing, and XPS has a smoother surface, so it needs to be processed.

Very often, for reinforcement, polystyrene foam is attached simultaneously to both glue and “fungi”, which is the most reliable and correct solution.

After installing the insulation, as a rule, the walls are plastered from the outside, or lined with facing bricks.

Styrofoam insulation with wooden slats

There is another type of installation of polystyrene foam boards - using a frame made of rails or other suitable material.

Rails are mounted to the wall, the thickness of which should not be less than the thickness of the insulation, and even better, that it be larger to create a ventilated space between the polystyrene foam and the cladding. The distance between the slats is chosen so that the polystyrene boards are tightly inserted between them without falling out.

This type of installation is acceptable if you do not plaster or brick the walls, but sheathe them with siding, for example. In this case, the slats will also become the basis for fixing facing materials.

How to properly insulate walls from the outside with mineral wool

Another popular insulation for the walls of the house are mineral wool insulation.

Wall insulation with mineral wool differs from wall insulation with polystyrene foam boards, primarily because of the characteristics of the heaters themselves.

Mineral wool, unlike expanded polystyrene, is not a sufficiently rigid insulation, therefore, the installation of mineral wool is carried out, as a rule, by the frame method. But if the cotton insulation is of sufficient density, then the builders also do not disdain mounting on glue.

A frame is constructed from slats or small bars, and mineral wool is laid or rolled between them.

If the wall is concrete or brick, the bars are attached to the wall with dowel-nails. Well, if the wall of the house is wooden, then with self-tapping screws.
Additionally, you can fix the mineral wool with “fungi” so that it does not roll down.

Since wool insulation absorbs moisture very well, it will be necessary to provide waterproofing on top of the insulation. Without this, mineral wool will absorb moisture from the street and you can forget about the effect of warming.

It is also desirable to build a more or less reliable protection against various rodents by installing metal strips along the edges of the wall.

When facing the walls from the outside with brick, the insulation is laid between the main wall and the cladding, while these two walls are connected with special bundles that pierce the mineral wool and at the same time hold it inside the wall, preventing it from rolling down in the future.

Wall insulation from the outside with polyurethane foam (PPU)

This is the most modern type of insulation, but also one of the most expensive. The advantages of wall insulation with polyurethane foam are many:

• after application, it expands, filling all the depressions, cracks, etc.
• at a certain density, the vapor permeability is very low, which excludes additional vapor barrier
• has good adhesion, i.e. sticks well to the wall
• after hardening has good mechanical strength
• good heat and sound insulating properties

Of course, any coin has two sides, so here, too, there are enough shortcomings:

• polyurethane foam with low density, has good vapor permeability, which must be taken into account when insulating.
• low fire resistance
• expensive material
• spraying is recommended to be applied by professionals, which practically excludes do-it-yourself warming
• aging of polyurethane foam over time, with deterioration of heat-insulating properties

It is better to entrust the insulation of the walls of the house from the outside with polyurethane foam to professional workers using personal protective equipment, since dangerous toxic substances are released during the spraying process.

Heat leaves a private house not only through cracks in windows and doors - most of the heat energy flows through the surfaces of the floor, ceiling and walls, even if they are finished with materials that prevent the flow of cold air relatively well. To ensure the effective preservation of a constant temperature inside the room, it is recommended to insulate its walls from the outside with your own hands - and not only in the basement area, but also the surface of the entire facade.

Wall insulation options

It is possible to insulate a house not only outside, but also inside, but external insulation has a number of advantages. So, when choosing this method, insulation will not only protect the house from the cold, but the walls will also become less susceptible to aggressive environmental factors - primarily humidity and fluctuations in air temperature.
There is a wide range of materials for insulating the walls of a private house with your own hands, each of which is better suited for a particular situation and for certain operating conditions. You can use foam or more practical extruded polystyrene foam, mineral wool or polyurethane foam.

Consider the basic technologies of insulation

As for insulation technologies, there are three of them:

• the simplest method is to glue the insulation to the surface of the facade or plinth, after which the heat-insulating material is covered with a layer of plaster for subsequent decorative wall decoration;
• three-layer walls without ventilation - an adhesive solution is applied to the base, insulation is fixed on it, then, observing the gap, a brick front finish one stone thick is erected;
• ventilated facade - a frame made of a galvanized profile or a wooden crate is installed on the wall, then the surface is covered with a layer of waterproofing, on which the insulation is fixed, after which the whole structure is covered with decorative plates of various materials.

The methods differ in their reliability, total cost and complexity of doing it yourself. In order for any of them to be carried out with high quality, you need to carefully study the nuances of insulation - in any case, the procedure for thermal insulation of a basement or facade is more complicated than finishing a floor or ceiling.

In addition, the method should be chosen based on the conditions in which the work is carried out. In winter, the only option is to design a ventilated wall, since this does not use adhesive solutions that cannot be diluted in the cold.

The nuances of choosing a warming material

Each of the thermal insulation materials on the market fully performs its functions, differing only in price and additional parameters, such as resistance to moisture and ignition. Unlike the floor or ceiling, which can be insulated with your own hands with almost anything, the exterior decoration of the walls of the building should be carried out using one of the following materials:

• plates of dense foam or extruded polystyrene foam, characterized by a small mass;
• mineral wool;
• polyurethane foam;
• slabs of volcanic stone;
• cellulose wadding (ecowool).

To the differences in materials, one can also add such a parameter as vapor permeability, which is very important when finishing the outer walls and the basement. Steam should penetrate as freely as possible through the insulation so that the main wall does not begin to collapse ahead of time, and moisture does not condense inside the room. Because of this, when using XPS or foam, it is necessary to ensure good ventilation of the wall, since these materials do not pass steam well.

Although any of the materials provides a sufficient degree of thermal insulation of the house, their thermal conductivity indicators are different. This is due to the physical characteristics of the substances that make up the insulation. Depending on the value of these indicators, the thickness of the heat-insulating layer is selected: the lower the thermal conductivity, the better the material retains heat and the thinner the insulation layer can be.

The nuances of selecting the required thickness

The thickness of the plates of heat-insulating material, when finishing the walls of the facade and the basement outside the house, should be selected not only based on the parameters of the material, but also based on the relevant building codes and regulations. It is best to carry out calculations with a special design organization, but if the construction of the house is carried out completely with your own hands, it is quite possible to choose the thickness of the insulation yourself.

When calculating the amount of material in order to insulate the walls from the outside, it is necessary to take into account not only the heat loss of the facade or basement itself, but also heat leakage through windows, doors, floor and ceiling surfaces, especially if there is an unheated basement. Based on all the data, a decision is made on the thickness of the layer of a particular material.

It may turn out that a more expensive material becomes preferable due to its efficiency and, accordingly, a smaller amount required. So, you should not opt ​​for polystyrene foam, if you have to lay it in several layers in order to provide the necessary thermal insulation performance - it is better to buy several times less polyurethane foam.

Preparatory work

Before you start insulating the walls outside the house with your own hands, the base on which the heat-insulating material will be applied must be prepared so that the whole structure is reliable, efficient and durable.

If the insulation is not done during the construction of the house, the old wall finish on the outside must be cleaned, except when a ventilated facade is being installed. The decorative material that reinforces the layer of plaster and everything else is completely removed down to the base - as a result, a clean brick, wooden or foam concrete wall of the house should remain.

The following steps in the initial surface preparation are:

• The surface of the facade or plinth is leveled. If the height differences are insignificant, you can simply cover the facade with two layers of a strong primer with deep penetration. If the irregularities exceed 20 mm, the surface will have to be leveled with cement mortar, which then also needs to be primed to protect it from destruction. When constructing a ventilated facade, the wall can be leveled using brackets.
• The beacon system is being installed. It is needed in order to lay the insulation in an even layer. Due to this, the heat-insulating layer will not interfere with the application of plaster and the installation of a decorative coating. Lighthouses are installed on plumb lines and checked by level. Their upper plane will become the boundary of the insulation layer outside the walls. Beacons are made of wooden battens or aluminum profiles and fixed to the base with long self-tapping screws or anchors.

After the preparation is completed, it will be possible to start laying the insulation with your own hands.

Installation of thermal insulation material

In general terms, finishing with one material or another is standard, but each of the heaters has its own characteristic installation nuances.

Mineral wool installation

When finishing the ceiling or floor inside the room, special fastening of rolls of cotton wool is not required - often it is simply glued to double-sided tape, and it holds perfectly. However, when insulating walls - a facade or a basement - outside the house, a more reliable installation method is needed. In addition, the wool must be weatherproof.

In order for the mineral wool to hold, a frame of wooden slats is mounted on the base with their own hands. It is desirable to make the dimensions of the crate sectors such that the wool fits tightly into the space between the slats - that is, the frame elements should be installed in increments of a couple of centimeters smaller than the width of the insulation roll. Optionally, anchors can be screwed into the wall to provide a more secure hold of the material.

If the wall is uneven on the outside, it is best to use special mineral wool, which consists of two layers of different densities. Such cotton wool is laid with your own hands in a less dense layer against the wall, fits all the irregularities and provides the tightest fit of the insulation to the base. Thus, better insulation is provided.

In most situations, further finishing can be done in any convenient way. For example, a layer of mineral wool can be covered with a special membrane that will protect the thermal insulation from moisture, then covered with a reinforcing mesh made of metal or fiberglass. After that, the wall is plastered and covered with a finishing finishing material - siding, stone tiles or facing bricks.

This method of insulation can be used not only with mineral wool, but also with some other heat-insulating materials - basalt or cellulose wool.

Anchoring Styrofoam or Extruded Styrofoam

The sequence of actions when installing polymer insulation boards with your own hands is as follows:

1. A metal profile is installed along the lower edge of the facade or plinth, which is needed to level the first layer of material.
2. Styrofoam or EPS boards are applied closely to the wall. A guideline for leveling the upper plane of the insulation are plumb lines lowered from the roof or tied to anchors screwed into the walls at ceiling level.
3. The gluing of the plates is carried out using special solutions - both dry adhesive mixtures and polyurethane adhesive can be used.
4. Subsequent layers are mounted after the previous one is firmly attached to the base. Each layer should move horizontally by a third or half of the slab. In addition, it is desirable to stack the plates as closely as possible to each other - for this, an angle can be cut on the side faces.
5. In addition to the glue, you need to use plastic dowels, which are fixed in the corners and in the center of each element of the heat-insulating layer. To save fasteners, you can fix two corners of adjacent foam plates with one dowel at once.
6. The joints are covered with putty and glued with mounting reinforcing tape or filled with polystyrene foam or special foam (but not ordinary mounting foam, its use is not recommended).
7. Before finishing, the insulation layer is covered with a reinforcing mesh and a layer of plaster.

Most often, polymeric materials are used for insulation outside a concrete or brick wall, basement, since such a finish adheres best to these surfaces. It is better to insulate wooden houses with cotton wool, since polystyrene foam and similar materials will lead to wood decay and mold due to low vapor permeability.

External thermal insulation of a residential building includes insulation of walls, roofs, door and window openings, as well as foundation and sewer pipes. If the insulation is partially performed, this will not give the expected effect and significant savings. Only a full range of works will allow you to create maximum comfort in your home, even in the most severe frosts. Thanks to modern technology, it is becoming easier to insulate a house from the outside with your own hands.

External thermal insulation of the roof is performed at the construction stage. If the house is already in operation, then it is more advisable to insulate the attic and the inside of the rafters. For outdoor work, very little is required: insulation, waterproofing film and lumber for the crate. Styrofoam, polystyrene foam boards or mineral wool can be used as insulation.

Step 1. Attaching the waterproofing

A film for waterproofing is laid on top of the rafter system. They begin work from the eaves: along the roof, the film is fixed with a horizontal strip, fixing its edges with stapler staples to the tree. The second strip is overlapped, and construction tape is glued along the seam. The film is laid freely, with sagging up to 2 cm between the rafters.

Step 2. Installing a wooden crate

From a 10x10 cm beam and transverse rails, a crate is knocked down over the film. The bars are nailed at a distance of 30-50 cm, depending on the type of roofing. The vertical rows should line up with and be attached to the rafter beams. All wooden elements must first be treated with a deep penetration primer.

Step 3. Laying thermal insulation

Insulation is tightly laid in the cells of the crate. For cold regions, laying in 2 layers is recommended, while the insulation should not protrude above the bars. All gaps that were formed during installation must be carefully foamed, otherwise warm air will escape through them.

Step 4. Installation of roofing

Lathing boards are nailed onto the bars protruding from the heat-insulating layer. Then, if polystyrene foam boards are chosen as a heater, they proceed to the installation of the roof. If the insulation was carried out with mineral wool, it is first covered with a protective film, and then the top coat is laid.

Wall insulation procedure

The process of wall insulation is the longest, because the working area is quite large. The whole process is divided into three stages - surface preparation, laying insulation and finishing. The facade can be tiled, decorative plaster or ventilated.

For insulation you will need:

• thermal insulation material;
• bars or aluminum profiles;
• building level;
• drill;
• self-tapping screws;
• primer;
• vapor barrier membrane;
• cement mortar;
• finishing material.

Step 1. Preparatory work

The walls are cleaned of peeling paint, plaster, whitewash, wires, external switches, lighting fixtures are removed - everything that can interfere with work. Brick and concrete surfaces are checked with a level, irregularities and cracks are sealed with mortar. Before insulating the walls, it is desirable to replace or insulate windows, seal the joints along the perimeter of the openings. Wooden walls must be cleaned of dust and moss, and then covered with 1-2 layers of antiseptic primer.

Step 2. Mounting the crate

The next step is performed if the insulation is mineral wool. For polystyrene foam, polyurethane foam plates and polystyrene foam, the crate is not mounted. Assemble the frame of the crate from a bar 60x80 mm or special aluminum profiles. The beam must be well dried, without dents, distortions, mold traces. Before installation, it is impregnated with an antiseptic primer mixture.

The bars are nailed to the wooden walls, they are fixed to the concrete or brick walls with the help of anchor dowels. The distance between the racks of the crate should be less than the width of the insulation by a couple of centimeters. This will allow you to insert the material as tightly as possible and avoid the formation of cracks.

Step 3. Fastening the thermal insulation layer

Mineral wool slabs are inserted between the bars, trying not to deform the corners. The thickness of the thermal insulation layer should not exceed the thickness of the beams. In cold regions, it is recommended to mount a double layer of insulation, choosing the appropriate thickness of the timber.

Polyurethane foam boards and polystyrene are fixed differently. First, along the wall, stepping back from the ground 10-15 cm, screw the thrust bar. Between themselves, the planks are overlapped, at the corners they are connected by a special profile. Styrofoam plates are applied to the wall, resting the lower edge against the bar. Each plate is fixed to the wall with fasteners with caps. In the second row of insulation, the plates must be shifted so that the seam falls in the middle of the bottom sheet.

Step 4. Finishing work

A reinforcing fiberglass mesh is glued onto the foam and polyurethane foam sheets. After that, decorative plaster is kneaded and the walls are finished. Instead of plaster, you can tile the walls. The use of mineral wool implies the arrangement of a ventilated facade, although certain types of mineral wool can also be plastered.

A polyethylene film or a special windproof membrane is fixed on top of the mineral wool. Fix it to the surface of the walls with a stapler. Then a horizontal crate of boards is nailed onto the crate of timber. Leave a small gap between the boards. After that, an end plate is installed along the outer perimeter of the house and the walls are sheathed with siding.

Insulation of the outer part of the foundation prevents heat leakage in the basement, reduces the formation of condensate on the basement walls, protects against dampness and mold development. As a heater, perlite-bitumen slabs, sheets of polyurethane foam and expanded polystyrene, foam glass, as well as sand and expanded clay are used.

Step 1. Foundation waterproofing device

It is most convenient to waterproof the foundation at the stage of building a house, otherwise you will have to dig a trench around the perimeter of the building. The foundation area is cleaned of soil, a primer with high adhesion is applied, and the surface is allowed to dry. Next, the foundation must be covered with two layers of liquid waterproofing. To do this, either a polymer mastic or a two-component cement mortar with a rapid hardening effect is used. Layers should be uniform, without gaps.

Video - Foundation waterproofing

Step 2. Fixing the insulation

The next stage is performed 5-7 days after applying waterproofing. To fix the heat-insulating layer, glue, bituminous mastic or fungal dowels are used. Insulation plates are lubricated with an adhesive solution and applied to the surface of the foundation. The seams are made as tight as possible, excess glue is immediately removed. After sheathing the entire area, a reinforcing mesh is glued over the insulation.

Step 3. Backfilling the foundation

Cement plaster is applied to the reinforcing mesh and the surface is leveled. On the protruding part of the foundation, you can make a decorative finish, for example, a “fur coat” from the same solution. After that, the trench is covered with sand, expanded clay or fine slag, sprinkled with earth on top and rammed. To avoid erosion, it is recommended to make a blind area with a width of 1 to 1.2 m. In areas where the groundwater level is too high, it is additionally required to equip a drainage system.

With the capital insulation of a residential building, one cannot ignore the veranda and other outbuildings. The wall with adjacent structures is unprotected, so a significant part of the heat escapes to the outside. Many verandas are built on columnar foundations, leaving space between the base of the extension and the ground, which also increases heat loss.

The thermal insulation of a closed veranda is in many ways similar to the insulation of a balcony or loggia. First, the outer walls of the extension are cleaned and leveled. A trench 40-50 cm deep is dug along the perimeter, the space between the supporting pillars is covered with brickwork or slate sheets. Styrofoam is glued to the slate, covered with a reinforcing mesh and plastered with cement mortar. After the plaster has dried, the trench is backfilled and rammed.

Then the surface of the walls is primed and the insulating material is attached with glue or dish-shaped dowels. Areas of contact with door and window openings are coated with sealant. From above, the thermal insulation is covered either with a crate of boards or a reinforcing mesh, and then the walls of the veranda are finished.

Thermal insulation of pipelines

Each house has pipes for water supply, sewerage, heating. Many of them are located outside the house and require mandatory insulation. The following materials are used for their thermal insulation:

• foil mineral wool;
• foamed polyethylene;
• basalt cylinders;
• penoizol;
• polyurethane foam.

It is especially important to properly insulate pipe sections at the exit from the soil and the entrance to the wall of the house.

This can be done in two ways.

1. Option one: mount a protective box around the pipeline and fill it with insulation.
2. Option two: cover the pipes with heat-insulating material, and wrap them with plastic wrap on top. At the joints, the film should be fixed with construction tape.

When insulating the walls and the pipelines included in them, it is necessary to ensure a tight and secure fit of the surfaces, it is best to foam the tie-in.

If all surfaces are insulated according to the rules, the effect will be noticeable almost immediately. Usually, external thermal insulation is enough to keep the house warm and comfortable. Internal insulation is performed only when, for some reason, it is not possible to perform it from the outside.

Video - How to insulate a house with foam

It can be confidently stated that every owner wants his home to be warm, not to have problems with freezing walls, condensation, mold spreading, he wants the house not to cause any problems. In addition, well-insulated walls mean savings on heating and, in part, an improvement in the indoor climate in summer, which has a positive effect on air conditioning costs. There are several options for how to insulate the house from the outside with your own hands. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages, differences in cost, and some require a special approach to the design of the external facade.

A brief overview of the advantages of external insulation and ways to protect the thermal insulation layer from moisture

Warming the house from the outside is quite popular because it has clear benefits for the user. A short list can be formulated as follows:

• there is no need to spoil the interior decoration;
• external insulation, for example, of a small country house, will not affect the usable area of ​​​​the rooms in any way;
• carrying out work outside allows you to vary the thickness of the layer, as well as apply various design solutions.

In addition to the improved characteristics of walls in terms of heat preservation, external insulation has several other advantages. The main and most noticeable of these is the displacement of the dew point to the outside of the building, which means solving problems with damp walls, excess condensation, freezing and the spread of mold.

Depending on the material used for exterior decoration, the question may arise of isolating the thermal insulator layer from direct or indirect (in the form of condensate) exposure to moisture. The most common protection methods (divided according to the complexity of the work and the level of financial investments) are as follows:

• surface finishing of the insulation layer with plaster, tile adhesives and other types of finishes, called "wet facade technology"
• facade cladding with materials that do not require large investments of funds and do not put forward special requirements for the qualifications of the performers of the work (plastic lining, wooden). At the same time, before starting work on the insulation of the facade, it is necessary to provide for the construction of a frame for fastening parts, which is, most often, planks made of wood.
• construction of a ventilated facade. In this case, a film is often used as a surface for the formation of condensate. A ventilated facade requires both the qualifications of the contractor and tangible financial investments. According to the level of complexity of the design, it can be considered as a separate complex means of insulation with various methods of forming the outer surface.

Despite some complexity and high cost of the latter method, it shows excellent results, preventing water from entering the insulation, as well as improving thermal protection due to its own properties (presence of an air gap, ventilation and evaporation of condensate, compensation for rapid significant temperature changes, which shows good results in autumn period, when the house is not warmed up yet).

What to choose as a layer of insulation

Any wall insulation can be divided into two groups:

1. applied in the form of a composition of various kinds, ideal for processing, for example, a small country house;
2. applied in the form of mats, shields, sheets, in the form of masonry from various materials.

Depending on the qualifications of the landlord, most of the work can be done by hand. In fact, using modern ready-made building mixtures, any operations for warming a country house can be done independently. We will briefly review the materials used for finishing buildings.

Mineral wool

A classic and very common material for insulation. It can be used both for wall decoration and thermal protection of foundations, which reduces the level of humidity inside and has the best effect on comfort, ease of use and other priority characteristics of the building for the owner. This material has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantages of using it include the following:

• mineral wool is available in the form of mats of various thicknesses;
• there are several ways to fix the insulation to the wall surface, some of them are specifically specified (as recommended) in the instructions from the manufacturer;
• mats are easy to cut if you need a covering element of a certain size;
• working with mineral wool is very simple, creating both a continuous layer of insulation on the wall, and laying it in various kinds of frames, or forming a multi-layer protection.

The last undoubted advantage for the consumer is the high prevalence and relatively low price of mineral wool. However, its use is also associated with a list of disadvantages:

• the material is porous, therefore, although the cotton wool fibers do not absorb moisture, the material layer must be protected from the effects of water, both in the form of precipitation and condensate;
• working with classic (created by pulling into the thinnest threads of glass melt) mineral wool should be very careful, because the fibers are strong and brittle, dig into the skin, break off inside and cause severe itching. The use of protective equipment is mandatory.

To improve user performance, manufacturing techniques are constantly being improved. Basalt mineral wool is more durable when exposed to moisture, but significantly more expensive. Slag wool has high thermal insulation performance, but is less common and retains moisture very strongly inside the insulation layer.

Classic plaster and fur coat

The most proven and simplest methods include a thick layer of plaster and spraying a solution with slag on the wall surface. If you describe the advantages and disadvantages of this method of insulation, you can make the following list:

• the method is simple, when using ready-made building mixtures, you can do the work to insulate the facades of a country house on your own;
• with a small volume of operations, the cost is quite acceptable, especially if you use the classic cement-sand mixture;
• You can vary the thickness of the coating layer to achieve your goals. A minimum layer of 50 mm can eliminate internal condensate and freezing, and a thicker layer with a secondary fur coat will provide warmth;
• with the help of steel mesh reinforcement, it is easy to achieve the desired thickness of the plaster when finishing the facades;
• insulation can be formed on any type of wall, which is interesting when finishing a country house;
• plastering can be carried out even on surfaces with large irregularities.

Briefly described, classic plaster has the lowest thermal protection of all possible materials, is quite simple to work with, but will require a significant amount of material when processing the facades of a large building.

It should be noted that the ease of use and versatility of use gave impetus to the development of coating methods and properties. Modern warm plaster has much better performance:

1. the level of thermal insulation approaches that of mineral wool;
2. finishing is light, porous;
3. the application layer is small, the maximum recommended is 50 mm;
4. there are no contraindications for secondary finishing.

In fact, warm stucco can be an excellent complementary method of façade insulation, leveling the wall and reducing heat loss at the same time.

Styrofoam and expanded polystyrene

Two materials obtained with the help of modern technologies are very common - polystyrene foam and extruded polystyrene foam. According to the characteristics, the latter is somewhat better (it retains heat by 30% better, is vapor permeable to a small extent, at least 5 times stronger for fracture), but is significantly more expensive. The undoubted advantages of materials include:

• low weight;
• good indicators of thermal insulation;
• convenience in work;
• can be attached to the wall in several ways;
• complete indifference to the effects of moisture;
• do not serve as a breeding ground for bacteria; with a certain surface treatment, mold formation can be prevented;
• fixed thicknesses of finished sheets, which speeds up design and work.

The availability of these materials has led to their widespread use in facade insulation. There is a list of shortcomings that cannot be considered as decisive in most cases:

• fragility (refers primarily to polystyrene, polystyrene foam is much stronger and more technologically advanced);
• flammability, when ignited, carcinogenic toxic smoke with a large amount of soot is released;
• zero vapor permeability, which puts forward certain requirements for the organization of ventilation inside the building.

However, the listed features are not the dominant restrictions, therefore, polystyrene foam and polystyrene foam are very often used to insulate the facades of various buildings. They can also be used when decorating a country house, it will be especially successful to create a secondary cladding from plastic or wooden lining, which looks quite neat.

Thermal panels

One of the modern composite materials actively promoted on the market for facade finishing is thermal panels. They are a layer of insulation (most often polyurethane foam) with clinker tiles applied to the surface. The result is a durable and good-looking finishing material that guarantees excellent insulation.
Working with thermopanels is quite simple. By applying the methods of fastening to the wall surface recommended by the manufacturer, it is possible to guarantee a long service life, as well as excellent facade characteristics. The main advantage of thermal panels can be considered the choice of appearance options and speed of work, and the disadvantage is the very high cost and the requirement to use a special tool to form parts of the desired size and configuration.

Insulation of a country house with the help of thermal panels can be highly justified, however, preliminary work on leveling the walls will be necessary - the finishing material is not characterized by flexibility.

Foil penofol

Penofol is an excellent material, thin, easy to use, foil coating protects against moisture penetration and guarantees surface strength. However, such insulation is a rarity, since it literally “flies a pretty penny”. The use of penofol is justified only when creating additional insulation, since its use in “ventilated facade” type structures with a professional approach is simply technically inconvenient, inefficient, and sometimes not recommended.

Spray materials

There are several groups of ready-made products that can simply be sprayed onto a cleaned and primed wall surface. It is worth noting immediately some key characteristics that determine the use of such facade insulation only in rare cases. The list looks like this:

1. extremely low strength;
2. not aesthetic appearance;
3. it is necessary to protect some materials from exposure to ultraviolet radiation, otherwise they decay very quickly;
4. zero vapor permeability.

A separate group, for example, foam glass insulation, can be characterized by an extremely high cost with excellent indicators of durability and strength, others, on the contrary, have a very low cost, but it is desirable to use a secondary finish.
The leader in application is industrial polyurethane foam. It shows good results because it can provide the following benefits:

• good insulation;
• ease of application;
• low cost coverage.

The formed layer looks unaesthetic, but when applying a secondary finish in the form of lining, plastering or coating with adhesive for tiles, this disadvantage is completely neutralized.

Masonry materials

In fact, insulation with masonry materials is difficult to consider only as thermal protection. Rather, it is a modification of the wall to obtain new properties, produced using a separate layer of building material.

Some masonry insulation, such as aerated concrete, require UV protection with a secondary finish. If you bring all the characteristics of masonry insulation into one list, it will look like this:

• extremely unreasonable coating thickness, unacceptable, for example, for the facade of a country house;
• very high cost;
• average thermal protection.

However, masonry materials can be useful due to interesting advantages:

• insulation has its own integrity and technological strength;
• a wide range of secondary finishes available;
• zero flammability and excellent vapor permeability.

As a result, if it is necessary to carry out insulation and at the same time structural transformation of the building, masonry materials for facades can be considered as a reasonable option.

Conclusion

As you can see, the modern market offers many options for materials that can be used to insulate any building, residential multi-storey building or a small country house. In the end, each owner chooses an option that is characterized by acceptable indicators of the balance of price, quality of insulation, speed and convenience of work.

This question is gaining relevance, since many people want to save on heating their homes. The state also warms up the relevance of this topic by raising the payment for fuel resources.

Why insulation outside and not inside?

Initially, we chose to insulate the walls from the outside with our own hands. We will not consider the option of internal insulation, since it will not lead to anything good. To finally dispel your doubts, we will compare these two methods and give convincing arguments for and against.

Insulation from the inside has the following consequences:

• the heat inside does not protect the wall, since the insulation acts as a barrier to its passage;
• the influence of frost and moisture will be significant;
• the dew point at which condensation appears will be closer to the room, which will cause a high level of humidity.

Insulation from the outside has the following consequences:

• the wall is protected on one side with insulation, and on the other - with heat from the room;
• the dew point shifts towards the street, which causes a decrease in the level of humidity;
• the preservation of warmth and comfort is more effective.

Now no one should have any doubts as to why the walls of the house should be insulated from the outside with their own hands, and not from the inside.

Do not rush and immediately learn how to properly insulate the outer wall of the house. First you need to decide on the insulation that will be used in further work.

Penoplex

Penoplex 31 or 35 is most often chosen for warming houses. It attracts with ease of use and high quality. The following will talk about how to properly insulate the outer wall of the house:

• plaster is applied to the cleaned and leveled walls;
• with the help of special glue we glue penoplex onto the plaster;
• align the sheets and press against the wall;
• apply plaster to the insulation;
• we mount a grid of alkali-resistant fiberglass;
• Apply primer and finish.

Styrofoam and XPS

For such materials, an adhesive mixture or cores are usually selected. When working with XPS or extruded polystyrene foam, it is necessary to roughen the wall. Styrofoam does not require such preparation, since its surface is not perfectly smooth. EPS is smooth, which creates additional difficulties with setting.

When working with XPS, you can use both glue and cores at the same time. In this case, the design will be more reliable. There are no special restrictions in the choice of facade finishes, but plaster and facing bricks are more common.

Mineral wool

This material is popular among owners of private households. It does not have such rigidity as the options described above. This feature of mineral wool limits the choice of installation method. Do you want to know how to insulate the walls outside in a private house using such material? Definitely worth considering the wireframe method. Glue can only be used for high-density mineral wool. And now let's look at how best to insulate the walls of the house from the outside:

• we make a frame with the help of rails;
• we lay mineral wool between the slats.

In the case of concrete / brick structures, you can do without a frame. To fix the insulation, it is necessary to use dowel-nails. Self-tapping screws are suitable for a wooden wall. Fasteners "fungi" are used as additional fastening.

Such materials are not resistant to moisture, but, on the contrary, are able to absorb it. So that the wall is not constantly wet, and inside there is no high humidity, you need to worry about waterproofing. Also, mineral wool is susceptible to damage by rodents, so that this does not happen, it is necessary to install metal strips along the edge of the wall.

If the facade decoration will be carried out by laying bricks, then the old wall should be connected to the new one using metal ties. The rods will pass through the insulation, thereby fixing it in one position.

Sandwich panels

Progress, as you know, is driven by human laziness. This even affected the market for materials for external insulation. Otherwise, you cannot explain the appearance of sandwich panels, which greatly facilitate the process of insulation. This material consists of three layers, two of which are facing, and the middle layer is just the insulation.

Installation of such material does not require additional finishing work. The panels are characterized by durability, high resistance to weather conditions and various types of damage. How to insulate the walls of the house from the outside with your own hands will be described below.

• We prepare sealant, corners, fasteners, flashings.
• We build a wooden or reinforced concrete frame.
• We fasten the panels to the frame using special joints for joining.
• Seams are treated with sealant, mastic, gaskets, tapes or polyurethane foam.
• End seams are treated with building foam or laid with mineral wool.
• In the upper part of the structure, flashings are mounted.
• Panels or profiles are used to insulate windows and doors.

Polyurethane foam or polyurethane foam

This material has recently appeared on the market, is the most expensive and professional type of insulation. No matter how many advantages it has, the installation must be carried out by specialists using professional equipment. Therefore, we will not consider how to insulate the walls from the outside in a private house with polyurethane foam. During the application of this insulation to the wall, hazardous and even toxic substances are released.

Are you wondering how to properly insulate the wall from the outside? It is with this question that we will deal. Many heaters are mounted according to a single scheme with some discrepancies. The installation steps are as follows.

Tool preparation

How to properly insulate the walls of the house from the outside without preparation? The pace of further work depends on the quality of this stage. It's worth starting with the preparation of tools:

• beacons, plumb lines to regulate the position of the insulation;
• tape measure and building type level;
• knife for cutting material;
• wall drilling tool;
• drills and drills
• hammer;
• screwdriver

This list may change in accordance with additional steps, the choice of finishes, insulation and how to mount it.

Surface preparation

To insulate the walls outside with your own hands, you must carefully prepare the surface for further work. This applies to wooden and brick buildings. This work is done as follows:

• remove dust and debris;
• we eliminate the remains of plaster and thermal insulation;
• we remove irregularities that will not only reduce the quality of thermal insulation, but will also cause its short service life;
• we carry out the treatment with a primer with deep penetration;
• we stretch a thick thread along the upper edge of the wall, which will allow you to install a special grid;
• plumb lines are placed on the grid;
• horizontal threads are stretched between the plumb lines.

With such preparation, do-it-yourself wall insulation outside a private house will be easy and quick, and the insulation will last the time allotted for it. I would like to focus your attention on the alignment of the walls. This process is very important. If there are voids that cannot be removed with glue, the insulation may be deformed or broken from a small impact. Even slight bumps will not allow you to lay the sheet evenly.

Insulation installation

So we got to the main issue and now we will figure out how to insulate the wall from the outside. This stage of work is performed in the following way:

• installation of vapor barrier material;
• insulation installation;
• installation of a windproof film, which is responsible for removing moisture and preventing it from entering the wall;
• finishing in the form of plaster, siding, decorative panels or any other material suitable for these purposes.

How to insulate the walls of the house from the outside is an ambiguous question. Not only are there several types of material, but installation can also be done in several ways. You will have to make a choice yourself, we can only consider in detail each of them.

Dowels or metal cores

This method is considered reliable, since protection against negative atmospheric phenomena is high and effective. The design is not particularly heavy, moreover, it allows you to apply any type of finish. But with this method of insulation, it is necessary to make the wall as even as possible and take care of organizing moisture-resistant protection.

Profiles and brackets

In this case, you get a hinged facade, which will be ventilated. Between the wall and the insulation there should be a layer of air with a thickness of at least 6 cm. To fix the cladding, you will have to build a base. A clear advantage of this installation method is the absence of the need to level the wall.

Rail frame

This method can be applied to various types of insulation. If you are interested in how the walls can be insulated from the outside in this way, then you can familiarize yourself with the practical guide below:

• we prepare slats with a thickness that will be greater than the thickness of the insulation;
• we mount the rails to the wall;
• the distance between the rails depends on the dimensions of the boards, which must not fall out during installation.

This method allows you to do without plastering and brick lining. The most convenient is siding, which can be mounted directly on the rails.

That's all we wanted to tell. If you have carefully studied the material, then you know how to choose insulation for the walls of the house from the outside and which installation method to choose. Everyone can make their home warm.

How to properly insulate the wall of the house from the outside with your own hands: video