The construction industry does not stand still, so today houses are built using new multi-layer building materials. They retain heat indoors much better than buildings made of brick or concrete, which is especially noticeable when cold weather sets in. However, many of us live in apartments of old housing stock and are faced with the problem of the need to insulate the walls.
This question is also relevant for those who own a corner apartment, as well as for owners of a private house. If your apartment is cold and drafty in winter, or you receive huge sums of money for heating a private house, your home needs to be insulated. Proper thermal insulation of walls will make your apartment warmer and allow you to save on heating your home.
Experts unanimously say that insulating walls from the outside is much more effective. However, there are situations when it is necessary to insulate a wall that is connected to staircase or adjacent to the elevator shaft. In addition, external wall insulation is unacceptable for those who live in architectural monument houses or buildings built in a certain architectural style. How to warm up in this case?
Experts believe that insulating an apartment from the inside can lead to such unexpected results that all the effort and money spent will be wasted. This process must be taken with full responsibility: choose the right material and install it correctly.
Residents of apartments in which internal wall insulation work was carried out several years ago often find that the room does not become warmer. Moreover, the wall begins to freeze even more! This situation is explained by the accumulation of condensed moisture in the room, which leads to dampness and mold fungi, damage to the external wall and peeling interior decoration, as a result of which thermal insulation only becomes worse and heat loss increases.
Therefore, builders do not recommend using ordinary sheets of plasterboard for wall insulation. Its installation can be the final stage insulation work, but not the main method of wall finishing. Insulating an apartment from the inside is an extremely important task, because this work is carried out with the expectation of a long service life, so it is important to take into account all the nuances and features of this type of insulation.
Before deciding to insulate your apartment from the inside, analyze negative points, which may accompany such insulation.
Thermal insulation of indoor walls should be entrusted to professionals!
This material is most often used when working on internal insulation of a room. When working with mineral wool, metal racks should be installed, between which layers of wool are placed. Then the structure is covered with plasterboard panels, plastered and finished with a decorative coating. This is one of the most economical ways insulate the walls. 
However, mineral wool has a very high moisture absorption capacity and is not durable material. So such insulation is rather a temporary measure, since in a few years the room will become damp and will require more capital investments. Experts are especially negative about mineral wool in rolls, since it is characterized by a very low coefficient of thermal resistance.
Today, the construction market offers new types of this material, the properties of which are more reminiscent of foam plastic. It is worth noting that it will not be possible to ensure 100% dryness of the room, since the vapor permeability of mineral wool is always higher than that of any material used to construct an external wall.
This material is becoming increasingly popular: it is characterized by good resistance to moisture absorption, has low vapor permeability, poor thermal conductivity, and also has a small thickness, which makes it possible to save space and do without mounting frames.
Expanded polystyrene can withstand significant loads, compression and tearing forces. The polystyrene foam is very light and can be easily divided into the required pieces using with a simple knife. Expanded polystyrene is easy to install and is attached with dowels or glue, but the place where the material comes into contact with the wall must be insulated with polyurethane foam for greater tightness. 
The modern market offers two types of this material - foamed and extruded, so you may be wondering which one is more suitable for interior work. The main difference between them is the manufacturing method:
However, polystyrene foam is not ideal for insulation, since there will still be joints between its sheets, which will facilitate the penetration of moisture. During the installation process, you need to fit the sheets to each other as tightly as possible, coating the seams with sealant. Now on the building materials market you can find polystyrene foam with a cut edge - when installed, the joints are more airtight. The disadvantages include poor sound insulation of such material.
This material consists of many sealed cells filled with air or inert gas. Construction experts consider this material the most reliable in wall insulation. Polyurethane foam is very easy to use and extremely convenient to install, as it does not require additional fasteners. It is moisture resistant, has excellent thermal insulation and fills all the cracks and holes. it is also characterized by high “tenacity”, forming a single whole with the wall. This material does not get wet and does not allow moisture to pass through.
Polyurethane foam is one of the most reliable insulation materials
To install polyurethane foam, you should prepare metal carcass or formwork so that the final surface is as smooth as possible and has a given thickness. The material is applied in the form of a layer or spray directly onto the surface - it immediately foams and hardens almost instantly. Next, construction industry experts advise securing the layer of plastic film with glue.
Before execution decorative finishing indoors, it should be covered with sheets of plasterboard, since the material itself is fragile and does not have a sufficient degree of density to withstand Finishing work. Alas, installing drywall will somewhat reduce the area of the room.
Innovations in the field of construction almost every year make it possible to launch new materials on the market that manufacturers recommend using for internal insulation of apartments. Among such materials the following types can be distinguished:
Once you have decided on the insulation method, you can begin to purchase the materials necessary for the work. At the same time, it is worth taking into account such important aspects, as the time and conditions under which it is best to carry out insulation work. Savings in this case are inappropriate: strictly adhere to all points required technological process, since an attempt to save 10-15% of the cost of repairs will subsequently turn into significant problems.
It is better to carry out work in the warm period of the year - from late spring to early autumn, when there is no frequent rainfall, dampness and high humidity. Before starting work, you need to dismantle everything decorative coating- remove wallpaper or peel off paint, and also remove a layer of plaster, because you have to work with a base, that is, brick or concrete surface. Finished wall it is necessary to remove dust using a vacuum cleaner (or carefully walking with a hard broom), paying attention Special attention damp places.
After this, the surface of the wall must be treated with antifungal agents and primed. It is best to choose a primer that has a high penetration rate. After each stage, the surface should dry well. To speed up the process a little and dry the wall to its full depth, use a heat gun - this way you will reduce the humidity levels as much as possible.
If you plan to insulate brick wall polystyrene foam, it must first be plastered, and it is advisable to use mixtures intended for bathrooms and swimming pools. If the surface of the walls is uneven, use beacons. The plaster should be allowed to dry without using heat guns, naturally- then its strength will be higher.
The next step should be priming the plaster layer. If you are insulating concrete walls, make sure that all joints between the slabs are sealed with sealant, or use mastic. Only after the specified preparatory work You can begin to directly insulate the walls with the selected materials.
Frosts are rapidly approaching, and the temperature in many apartments is far from the most comfortable. We are forced to wear warm clothes, buy heaters, and sleep under several blankets, which causes discomfort. What to do if it’s cold in the apartment? It is quite possible to solve this problem yourself.
High-quality radiators are the key to warmth and comfort in the house. If the radiators are many years old and the apartment is cold in winter, it may be worth replacing them. But before you run out for an expensive purchase, do a survey: sometimes the batteries do not heat up due to air jams or due to the negligence of utility companies. We told you where to complain if it’s cold in your apartment.
Many modern models radiators are made with , so you can set the appropriate temperature. High-quality heating appliances can last faithfully for decades, so after spending just once, you will forget about cold radiators in the house for a long time.
There are several types of radiators:
The choice of radiator depends not only on your tastes and financial condition, but also on compatibility with your heating system. Therefore, before purchasing, you should determine whether the characteristics match heating device(pressure, permissible temperature, heat transfer, etc.) indicators of the heating system.
One of the most important conditions living in an apartment - good heating supply, for which the or centralized system heating, or autonomous equipment installed by residents. However, the efficiency of heating directly depends on the correct thermal insulation of the premises.
Let's look at how to insulate a wall in an apartment to increase the air temperature and at the same time reduce energy costs for heating. Why do we give two detailed instructions on thermal insulation with popular types of insulation, in which each step is illustrated with photographs.
Also in this material we will consider less popular methods that can be used to insulate walls from the inside.
The preferred method of insulating the walls of apartments and houses is, however, one that does not affect the shift of the dew point and heats the entire wall.
If the insulation layer is installed with inside, the wall freezes through its entire thickness and moves closer to the living space.
A negative consequence of internal insulation is condensation, which over time destroys the insulating and decorative materials, sharply reduces the effectiveness of thermal insulation and provokes the appearance of mold
However, the external method is not always suitable. Difficulties arise with installing insulation on panel high-rise buildings, as well as on walls adjacent to technical spaces, for example, an elevator shaft. If the building is a historical object, the appearance of the facade cannot be changed.
However, in some cases you simply cannot do without thermal insulation:
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If you plan to build a partition in an insulated room, then it can also be made using mineral wool, but OSB boards It is better to replace with sheets of drywall.
Isover is placed between two walls made of LGK, with each wall made of 2 layers of plasterboard. Such a partition will protect from cold and noise no worse full wall made of reinforced concrete.
Both presented methods also have disadvantages that must be taken into account when planning work.
First, they take away some usable area and reduce the living space around the perimeter; secondly, they require significant investments family budget, thirdly, when using them, all the nuances of the technology must be observed.
They also use other technologies, among which there are both outdated, but cheaper, and modern, requiring considerable investments.
With the advent of EPS, it became impractical to use conventional non-pressed polystyrene foam (PSB), since it has deteriorated characteristics.
Namely:
In terms of parameters it is inferior extruded polystyrene foam, and this can be seen from the table of physical and technical properties of polystyrene foam boards.
Millions of people living in apartments on own experience know how cold it can be in winter. Job central heating is far from ideal, and an autonomous one is not cheap (both installation and the increasing costs of utilities in this case).
In order to improve the microclimate in the room, as well as to avoid the appearance of mold (which is also a common problem), it is important to insulate the apartment.
Moreover, first of all, a person most often decides to do it from the inside, and insulating only the walls is both simpler and cheaper, and you can do it yourself, without resorting to the help (paid, of course) of specialists.
Initially, you should consider the overall efficiency of the work from the inside. It should be immediately noted that such (internal) insulation is always and everywhere (at home, in an apartment, in a garage, in a bathhouse, and so on) will be less effective than external insulation. The point is that the cold will still penetrate into the room - since concrete (or brick) is not a significant barrier to it.
If the insulation is located only inside the apartment, it can even become harmful to the house: the dew point will shift and condensation will form on the surface of the walls. As a result, the walls under the insulation will become overgrown with mold, which a person will not even see.
Thus, we can draw the following conclusion: if it is not possible to insulate the wall of a house from the outside, doing work from the inside is not always safe for the structure itself. Moreover exterior decoration does not have to be extremely effective - even a small layer of thermal and waterproofing will already be useful and can prevent the dew point from shifting.
Internal wall insulation will allow you to create a kind of “thermos” inside the apartment: the heat will be “locked” in the room and will not be able to escape outside. This, by the way, is relevant not only for external walls - if the apartment next door is cold, the partition adjacent to it can also be insulated. It’s easy to understand the need for work: just put your hand on this wall. If you feel a noticeable cold, it means that insulation is important.
It is recommended to especially worry about wall insulation for those who live in a corner apartment - the rooms located on the corner of the house are the coldest, and the humidity in them is often high. Moreover, insulation from the inside should be carried out only after insulation from the outside has been carried out - otherwise mold and mildew will appear on the surface very, very quickly.
In addition to protecting apartments from cold and moisture, installing insulation is also good because the sound insulation of the room is significantly improved. This is very important for residents of large cities, especially for those who live near:
In such cases, sound insulation is at least topical issue than insulation. Moreover, modern insulation usually combines these qualities - finishing the wall of a house both insulates the structure and reduces the noise level in the room.
Most often, in apartments, only one “side” of the structure is insulated - the walls. In most cases, this is quite enough to significantly improve the microclimate in the room.
Residents of the extreme (first and last) floors can think about insulating the floor and ceiling. If your floor and ceiling border on the neighboring apartment, their thermal insulation is not a mandatory issue, unless you want to achieve the best possible result.
It is not very important to insulate these surfaces inside apartments for the following reasons:
Work on insulating the ceiling inside apartments is more important than insulating the floor - due to the fact that heated air always rises. In the absence of an effective “barrier” (which is the insulation), it will freely leave the room, “warming up” the floor for your neighbors above. So if your walls are already insulated, but the temperature at home is still not comfortable enough, you can think about finishing the ceiling with.
Compared to outside, work inside panel house have a number of differences – both positive and negative. Let's look at the advantages of this method:
The disadvantages of insulating apartments from the inside have already been mentioned above, but just in case, we will make a specific list of them:
Internal heat and sound insulation can be performed using several technologies. What distinguishes them from each other is the selected insulation (or rather, its type). It can be:
However, each insulation from the list above has a number of features - so we will consider them separately.
These materials can be combined into one category, since the differences between them are insignificant and consist only in a number of characteristics that have virtually no effect on the efficiency of the work. Let's give brief description these insulators: lightweight slabs of white (foam) or orange (EPS) granules that contain air.
They are supplied in the form of slabs various sizes(most often in the range of about 1 x 2 m) and with different thicknesses - the efficiency actually depends on it: the thicker the layer, the warmer the room will be.
Among the disadvantages of insulation with Penoplex (EPS brand) or polystyrene foam, the following points can be highlighted:
Separately, it should be said about such a disadvantage as a significant reduction in space in the room. The insulation layer can be at least 5 cm (and this is only the insulation itself), the loss of which will be noticeable, especially considering that most apartments do not have a very large area.
Now let’s look at what exactly needs to be done to insulate the surface with Penoplex (foam plastic) with your own hands:
In this case, be careful: the dowels should not damage the wiring and should not be too long - if the partition is too thin.
After that:
This material is not suitable for this type of work. Nowadays they choose it extremely rarely, mainly in pursuit of cheapness. According to its characteristics, it is close to polystyrene foam, but the properties of mineral wool make it less current option. The list of shortcomings is as follows:
It is impossible to highlight any tangible advantages compared to other materials, except, perhaps, low cost and the absence of the need for perfect flat surface. And even then the difference in cost, compared with the same polystyrene foam, will be minimal.
Let's look at the steps that will allow you to insulate a wall using this material yourself:
From existing insulation materials This option is excellent for insulating apartments in panel house from the inside. It is a rigid roll of material, on one side of which there is a foil layer, on the other - foamed polyethylene.
With its help, sound insulation is also carried out - in this regard, the material is superior to the above-mentioned options. Its significant advantage is its thickness: a few millimeters (4-5) of Penofol are equal in effectiveness to several centimeters (3-4) of polystyrene foam. Thus, it will minimize the space in the room.
In addition, the foil side (facing inside the apartments) enhances the “thermos effect”, shielding (reflecting) heat and not letting it out of the room. And in terms of carrying out the work, it is tens of times simpler than both polystyrene foam and mineral wool - you can use it to insulate the wall of a corner (or any other) apartment simply and quickly.
Moreover, its use does not require leveling the surface and creating a multi-layer “pie”.
The stages are as follows:
That's it - this is where the process of insulating apartments in a panel building ends, and you can begin further finishing.
In terms of efficiency, this material ranks first in the list of modern insulators. He has the best quality characteristics and is practically free of flaws. The advantages of PU foam spraying technology include:
Its use is especially relevant for corner room– since the corners themselves very often create a problem with insulation, and even specialists are not always able to insulate them correctly and efficiently. PPU is used to insulate apartments both inside and outside.
The disadvantages of such insulation of apartments include the following factors:
The stages of work when using the technology are as follows:
The material, which is a liquid suspension, hardens upon contact with air in a few seconds, and a dense monolithic crust forms on the surface of the wall, tightly glued to the surface.
Pay increases every year utilities, especially for heating and electricity, and the rooms are still cold, even when the radiators are hot. The best and effective solution The problem of heat preservation is the insulation of the walls of apartments from the outside or from the inside of the room.
Insulation from the outside can be difficult to implement in practice if:
To preserve heat, it is necessary to take care of the tightness of the doorway and. A simple way to create a comfortable microclimate in an apartment: the desired coolness in the summer heat, and warmth in the cold winter - is to insulate the walls of the apartment rooms from the inside. Let's find out how to choose the right insulation from the wide range of products offered.
The work of thermal insulation of apartments from the inside is complex and time-consuming. Experts do not have a common opinion and recommendations on wall insulation, although there are many developments and proposals, but they are united in one thing - for good result It is necessary to purchase high-quality material and properly prepare the wall surface.
When choosing insulation, you must take into account the following properties:
Coming to the market or building materials store, it is difficult to choose the necessary insulation from the huge variety of products. Let's look at a few of the most used thermal insulation materials. Manufacturers: and others.
The materials for the production of this type of heat insulator are mineral substances: sand, glass, asbestos, various rocks.
This method of insulation is used extremely rarely and can easily be called experimental. If the walls freeze very much, this is great option maintain and increase heat in the room, although energy consumption increases.
The work is carried out in several stages:
Modern construction is developing at lightning speed. It is difficult to follow new creative innovations in the technology of insulating rooms from the inside. What was progressive yesterday seems labor-intensive, complex and of lower quality today. This applies to the insulation of apartments using the method warm plaster, relatively recently this method was very popular. It is worth mentioning this option, maybe someone, due to certain circumstances, will be interested in it. The whole point is to apply a 100 mm layer so that it sticks, we do the work in three stages:
The process is labor-intensive; it takes a lot of effort and time to dry each layer; professional skills are required to complete the job.
Proper ventilation is essential for the health of both the home and its occupants. Insulating an apartment often leads to a violation of certain ventilation conditions in the apartment. That is, it is important to ensure temperature, humidity, and air flow speed. If the balance is disturbed, then on the walls, and due to lack of oxygen, residents will suffer from headaches and weakness.
Natural ventilation has a number of disadvantages: heat loss in winter time, in summer it is impossible to carry out normal air conditioning, noise, dust. To create an optimal microclimate it is necessary forced ventilation using duct fans. Their launch can be blocked when the lights are turned on. Everything needs to be opened ventilation grates for better air exchange.
Ventilating the rooms daily won't hurt either.
Insulation of apartments is carried out in combination with insulation of the floor (especially the first floor), ceiling or roof (important if the room is located on top floor), doors, windows.
