How to insulate a concrete floor in an apartment on the first floor

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

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

There are various options for insulation and a variety of heaters, the choice of which depends on the characteristics of the apartment and financial capabilities. What heat-insulating materials can be used to insulate the concrete floor of the first floor with your own hands?

First of all, such materials should be:

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

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

Lungs. Do not create additional load on the floors. In addition, lightweight material is more porous, which means it retains heat better.
Moisture resistant. The insulation should not lose its properties when wet or moistened, or should be protected by reliable waterproofing.
durable. It is advisable to carry out such a procedure as warming a concrete floor only once during the entire stay in the apartment. It takes too much time, effort and money, even if everything is done by hand.

Note! Floor insulation in an apartment almost always has a side effect in the form of a decrease in the height of the room due to the thickness of the thermal insulation.

How to insulate the floor in the apartment?

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

Expanded clay. Some time ago, this material was quite often used for floor insulation. Its main disadvantages are low moisture resistance and a rather large thickness of the heat-insulating layer.
Perlite. In terms of thermal insulation properties, it surpasses expanded clay, but is heavier than it.
Expanded polystyrene or polystyrene. Very handy for do-it-yourself floor insulation. They are not afraid of water, rodents and microorganisms, they are absolutely harmless. However, Styrofoam is quite brittle and less durable than Styrofoam boards.
Mineral wool. Do-it-yourself insulation of a concrete floor is most often carried out using this particular material. In addition to heat-insulating properties, it also has good sound insulation, has a small weight and a relatively low price.

HELPFUL INFORMATION: Redecoration of an apartment: what is it and what does it include

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

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

Floor insulation methods

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

using sheets of plywood or chipboard;
concrete screed over a layer of insulation;
using a lag structure.

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

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

Insulation with chipboard or plywood

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

The old foundation is cleaned of dirt and dust.
To ensure waterproofing, a layer of polyethylene film is laid on the base, the joints of which are glued with adhesive tape.
Before laying sheets of chipboard or plywood, it is necessary to form a thermal gap of 1.5–2 cm between them and the walls. This will avoid warping of the coating caused by the expansion of the sheets with temperature changes.
Coating slabs are laid in two layers offset from each other. Thus, the sheets of the upper layer must overlap the seams formed between the plates of the lower one. Dowels are used to fasten the sheets.
The seams are treated with a solution of putty and oil paint. You can use reinforced mesh.
On the resulting substrate lay the finish coating in the form of carpet or linoleum. It can be simply pressed with skirting boards. Another way is to glue the carpet to the heat-insulating substrate using bustilat.

HELPFUL INFORMATION: How to waterproof the floor and walls in the bathroom with your own hands

Insulation under the screed

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

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

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

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

Implementation of thermal insulation along the lags

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

After cleaning the surface of debris, it is waterproofed. To do this, using a brush, you need to apply a layer of bituminous mastic, also capturing the walls to a height of 5 cm.
Logs are laid from a bar, the first and last logs should be located close to the wall.

HELPFUL INFORMATION: How to glue linoleum end-to-end at home

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

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

Self-insulation of the floor on the ground floor is not particularly difficult, and a variety of materials and technologies allows you to choose one of several methods that is most suitable in terms of labor costs and financial investments. Let your apartment always be warm and cozy!

Victor

Yes, there are many opportunities now and everyone chooses for himself what suits him. When I insulated my floor on the loggia, I also put two layers of vapor barrier, without fail treated the tree (beams, logs) with an antiseptic solution. But on one side of the loggia, where there is a small window sill, I retreated approximately to its width. Still, I will stand with my feet in this place, and not where I will have a bar.

Answer