Freezing of walls in panel houses in winter is a frequent problem that must be solved with the help of high-quality insulation. This could be due to poor ventilation, heating interruptions, or mistakes made during construction. For thermal insulation of such walls, various types of insulation and methods are used, each of which has its own characteristics, advantages and disadvantages.
Reasons for freezing panel walls
Most often, the freezing of walls occurs due to the accumulation of a large amount of moisture, due to which the cold easily penetrates into the rooms. In addition, the list of the most common reasons includes:
- lack of adequate ventilation, which provokes the formation of moisture;
- heating problems, due to which the walls in the house do not have time to warm up and dry out;
- mistakes made during construction, for example, poor sealing of gaps between panels;
- poor or low-quality waterproofing, most often this problem occurs in rooms located on the last floors;
- the need for major repairs in the house when deep cracks appear between the panels.
Any insulation of the outer wall of a panel house and its facade can be carried out only after the exact source of the problem has been identified. Most often, it is provoked by several factors at once.
Advantages and disadvantages of insulation
High-quality external wall insulation helps to eliminate the main problems with thermal insulation and stabilize the temperature inside the room, where it becomes cool in summer and warm in winter. Outdoor materials reduce the cost of heating and cooling rooms, help eliminate moisture drainage, which provokes wallpaper peeling and paint sprinkling, dampness, mildew and mildew. Insulated walls absorb more extraneous noise and will look more respectable. With external insulation, the area of the space will not decrease, in contrast to the option of insulation from the inside.
The disadvantages of the procedure are primarily related to the peculiarities of the materials used and non-compliance with the rules for performing work. The main disadvantage is the inability to carry out work at any time of the year. Certain conditions must be observed: the outside air temperature should fluctuate within 5-20 degrees Celsius, the humidity should not be lower than 60%. It is better to carry out work in hot weather, the procedure is not suitable for winter. Also, at the time of the event, there should be no strong wind and precipitation outside.
Materials for thermal insulation
A large number of heaters are presented on the market for thermal insulation materials. For panel walls, it is better to choose mineral wool or expanded polystyrene. Each of the heaters has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Mineral wool
Mineral or stone wool is a material based on extruded stone chips. Due to the use of stone, mineral wool slabs have stable walls and are filled with air by 90% inside. For insulation of any panel house outside, basalt, mineral or glass wool is used.Basalt material is considered the most popular due to its ease of installation, low cost and optimal thermal insulation performance. It is rarely used for facade houses, since such an installation requires the creation of an additional frame.
Glass wool is used much less frequently due to low thermal insulation properties and difficulties at all stages of installation. To work with this material, specialists require special protection and adherence to safety precautions. Mineral cellulose wool is an insulation made from foamed paper residues. It is quite fire hazardous, but this material is considered the most environmentally friendly, although it does not fully cope with its main functions.
Expanded polystyrene
Expanded polystyrene is considered the most popular option for insulating facades in Russia. Its main advantage is that it is absolutely not affected by water in comparison with mineral wool slabs, which over time completely lose their properties due to moisture ingress.
Minvata can last no more than 10 years, while the service life of expanded polystyrene is at least 30-50 years.
Sheets of this material are fixed to the facades using special glue or dowels, or a combination of both of these methods for reliability.
Methods for insulating the outer wall of a panel house
It is possible to insulate the outer walls of panel houses using two methods of installation: dry or ventilated and wet. Each of the technologies has its own characteristics and advantages, which should be considered separately.
Dry
With the dry method, you cannot use mixtures with the addition of water. To create a layer of thermal insulation using this technique, a layer of insulation is made, which is closed with shield materials. Finished facades are called ventilated, since an air gap must be left between the insulation and the panel material for the purpose of full ventilation. It is possible to insulate a house in this way with minimal financial costs, especially if you choose the most economical materials, for example, foam.
Wet
The wet method allows you to insulate the surface of the facade using special mixtures with a water base, the composition of which may be different. Most often, a special foamed insulation containing cellulose is used. The main advantage of this method is the ability to fill all holes and crevices. Thanks to the wet method, cold bridges do not appear in the walls, provoking heat leakage from the room.
Sequence of work
Regardless of the technology chosen, the walls must be prepared before starting work. You can start them only after making calculations and purchasing all the necessary materials. During the purchase, they are guided by the dimensional plan of the building and the place for fasteners. In addition to the main insulation, they additionally purchase a sealant and auxiliary elements, including building materials: scaffolding for high-altitude work, spatulas for sealing, a drill and safety cables. At the stage of preparing the walls, the old coating is removed, the joints are coated with putty and all the cracks are sealed. Insulation can only be installed on smooth and clean walls.
Installation of expanded polystyrene sheets is carried out in stages, after applying glue to the walls. After gluing all the boards, they are additionally fixed with dowels. During the preparation phase, it is important to seal the joints between the panels. For this purpose, bayonets are opened, the seams are cleaned of old materials, a substrate is prepared for new ones, then pipes of thermal insulation are installed and covered with foam.
Some materials, for example, expanded polystyrene, need reinforcement and subsequent priming.At the final stage, the surfaces are covered with plaster and paint of the required shade, such a coating helps to hide the joints between the panels and create a cosmetic effect.
The plaster must be coated with waterproof paints, if possible, you can use a special insulating paint. The most difficult areas are windows and corners, which need to be insulated according to special rules. To insulate the corners, a sealant is used, window openings will need to be equipped with high-quality double-glazed windows, the end parts are closed with plates of expanded polystyrene, expanded polystyrene or polystyrene with subsequent reinforcement. The façade should look uniform at the final stage of finishing.
If the walls are uneven, they can be leveled with glue, but by a maximum of 2 cm. If there are large distortions, more expensive methods are chosen.
