What is the best insulation to the attic

Roof superstructure requires a special approach when it insulation and careful selection of materials.If the main walls themselves are in some measure the insulation, any roof does not have the sufficient thickness to become reliable barrier to the cold.

is therefore necessary to know exactly what is best for the attic insulation to choose and how to use it to make the room habitable in it at any time of the year.

Insulation materials for attic

Due to the design features of the attic space, the heat loss in it always increased in comparison with rooms that are for the main walls.In addition, the top attic is not heat "cushion", a role which carries out the attic of each house.Thus, we can conclude that the walls and roof of the attic are most susceptible to freezing in the winter, so you must choose the right insulation and calculate the thickness.

most popular heaters that are fixed directly under the roof, are: polystyrene (conventional foamed or extruded), polyurethane foam, ecowool , made from cellulose, as well as all kinds of mineral wool.

These insulation materials are well fixed between crate or adhere to the inner surface of the roofing material, and made of cold attic warm room, suitable for use.

The houses, which are located in cold regions, requires laying the material in two or even three layers.Sometimes in combination with one of the heaters use infrared film , which is fixed to the walls of the attic and include this additional heating as required.

Criteria for selecting a heater

In choosing the material necessary to consider the set of characteristics that underpin and efficiency, and safety thermoinsulator :

• Insulation must have a minimum flammability and low thermal conductivity.
• material density should not be too high, otherwise it increases thermal conductivity and heavier design of the attic, which is highly undesirable, as it increases the load on the load-bearing structure of the wall.
• installation of insulation should be simple, and lifetime - comparable with the long duration the entire roof structure.
• ecological purity of the material is one of the main criteria when choosing - it should not release odors and decompose into any hazardous to human health.

Some physical properties common insulating materials for ease of comparison are summarized in the following table:

properties of insulation material	Thickness in mm.
	50	60	80	100	120	150	200	250
Density kg / m3	Mineral wool	100 - 120
styrofoam (polystyrene)	25 - 35
Polyurethane foam (sprayed)	54 - 55
Ecowool (cellulose)	40 - 45
Thermal resistance m ² × ° C / W	Mineral wool	1.19	1.43	1.90	2.38	2.86	3.57	4.76	5.95
styrofoam (polystyrene)	1.35	1.62	2.16	2.70	3.24	4.05	5.41	6.76
Polyurethane foam (sprayed)	1.85	2.22	2.96	3.70	4.44	5.56	7.41	9.26
Ecowool (cellulose)	1.75	2.08	2.74	3.50	4.20	5.26	7.20	9.01
Thermal conductivity W / m × ° C	Mineral wool	0.042
styrofoam (polystyrene)	0.037
Polyurethane foam (sprayed)	0.028
Ecowool (cellulose)	0.038
Weight kg / m2	Mineral wool	15.2	15.8	17.6	20.9	23.2	26.7	32.4	38.2
styrofoam (polystyrene)	9.8	10.0	10.5	11.0	11.5	12.3	13.5	14.8
Polyurethane foam (sprayed)	11.2	11.7	12.8	13.9	15.0	16.6	19.3	22.0
Ecowool (cellulose)	12.1	12.5	13.7	14.4	16.4	17.9	20.5	24.5

Features thermal insulation materials for attic

to find out more, the properties of each of the heaters should be considered more carefully.

Styrofoam (polystyrene)

• Styrofoam has enough rigid structure consisting of separate pieces of foam, tightly connected to each other.But if you look at the volume content, this material contains only 2.5% of polystyrene and 97,5% - air. Therefore, if it is applied cold not gives penetrate inside room is air gap created by this heater.

• Expanded polystyrene is produced in slabs of various sizes, thickness and density.Plates may have a size of 1000 × 2000, 1000 × 1000, 1000 × 500 mm, and a thickness of 20 to 1000 mm.
• material not only has excellent thermal insulation properties, but also good sound insulation , and would be enough to sheathe wall slabs having a thickness of 30 ÷ 50 mm to ensure high sound insulation effect.
• In the attic insulation, given the small thickness of the walls, the foam will require the greatest thickness, but in this case it is possible to create the necessary heat - and soundproofing.It should be borne compliance mounting technology.
• Expanded polystyrene has a low index of water absorption, that is, it almost does not absorb moisture.

• Properly installed EPS is not deformed for a long time, maintaining a high load.
• Styrofoam shows good resistance to corrosion and will last for a long time, if it is closed finishing materials.
• However, this insulation is destroyed when exposed to ultraviolet rays of different solvents and other aggressive chemistries.
• Inside this insulation does not appear harmful microorganisms, such as the material is not a favorable environment for their development.However, with considerable contamination of its surface, it may be formed on the fungal colony.
• Easy by weight Foam Article Ave east to install.He will not give problems in cleaning after the completion of its installation.Material easily cut with a sharp knife, and sometimes cutting tool is heated to a greater evenness of the cut.
• Foam is safe under normal conditions, but with time and with frequent heating it starts to produce harmful substances to humans.

• Styrofoam ignited under the action of an open flame, and burning melts and releases a large amount of smoke containing a very toxic substance, which can be dangerous not only for health, butand to human life.

Attic is just such a place, which primarily falls under the rays of the sun heating the roof is strong enough.This can lead to rapid loss of its insulating qualities of the foam.Therefore, it is best used for insulation of the stone walls, securely locking it from external influences and to the attic to find a more acceptable option.

Mineral wool

Mineral wool - is familiar all material that has been used for many decades and has established itself as a reliable and comfortable insulation.It is produced from various raw materials, so its characteristics are also different.Mineral wool is divided by the manufacture of the material in the slag, stone, basalt and glass.Each of them has its own parameters: thickness and fiber length, stress resistance, heat resistance, thermal conductivity and hygroscopicity.

To learn the properties of all types of material, you need to consider each of them as only averages are presented in the table.

Stone wool

• This type of mineral wool has a fiber length of 16 mm and from 3 to 12 micrometers thick.Characteristics of this type of insulation - best for thermal insulation of residential buildings, so it is most often used for installation in the attic.
• thermal conductivity of rock wool ranges from 0.076 to 0.12 W / m × ° C .
• Maximum heating temperature 550 - 600 degrees.
• Stone wool is the most comfortable to work with, compared to slag - or glassy - its fibers are not biting and do not injure the skin and mucous membranes.

A variety of rock wool can be loose basalt insulation.He has no bonding agents, so is not produced in plates or rolls.Rassypnoi wool mats packed or poured on its horizontal plane and tamped to the desired thickness.Due to the fact that the material contains no melting substances such wool withstands temperatures up to + 900 - 950 degrees.Main same settings - and thickness dlinga fibers, insulation ability - are the same as in a conventional rock wool.Basalt heat insulation material can be described as the most secure in the work of all mineral materials for insulation.

All types of insulation like mineral tend well soundproof room.Especially this peculiar quality Basalt materials.In addition, such a material - the only one that does not contain phenol-formaldehyde resins, so it is completely safe for human health.

Fiberglass

• glass wool fibers have length from 13 to 45 mm and thickness from 4 to 16 microns .They have good strength and elasticity.
• Fiberglass has a sufficiently low thermal conductivity, which is equal to 0,029 - 0,050 W / m × ° C .
• This insulation can withstand the high temperatures of not more than 450, and the low - up - 55 - 60 degrees.

Glass wool is the most affordable, but to to work with this material, you must take security measures as its microscopic fibers can get into the mucousmembranes of the respiratory organs or eyes and cause serious damage.Therefore , by glass wool for insulation is a must-buy respirator, goggles, gloves and suit that will not leave exposed areas of the skin.

Slag

• length and thickness fibers slag wool identical fibers stone heater, but the temperature limit for it is not more than 300 degrees.At temperatures above this limit, the crimping fiber material starts to melt, resulting in a loss features warm - and soundproofed rooms.
• hygroscopic material, so only suitable for interior insulation works and requires very reliable waterproofing.
• disadvantage of this heater is included in it blast furnace slag, a material which when wetted react with metal elements and can lead to a gradual degradation.Therefore, if selected for the warming of slag, it is recommended to give up the metal profile for crates attic.
• With good waterproofing slag wool thermal conductivity varies between 0,046 - 0,048 W / m × ° With , and in principle, the material can be called quite suitable for thermal insulation in the attic superstructure works.
• Do not forget that to work with the slag should have protective equipment, since its fibers can damage the skin and mucous membranes, as well as the components of the glass.

Mineral wool is considered to be non-combustible material, but it's not quite true.Material can sometimes ignite at critical temperatures, but with a tendency to self-damping.This factor largely depends on the quality of the produced material - in particular, on the number of possible organic contaminants and binders.

Despite this, mineral wool considered most optimal option for insulation of the attic because of its pronounced positive qualities and relative cheapness.

Ecowool

• Ecowool made of cellulose and is not in his part of gluing components, so it is 100% eco-friendly material.

• pulp produced from wood, so ecowool has natural insulation properties inherent in natural wood.As is known, such materials at times retain heat better than synthetic types of heaters.Therefore, in the room with the walls, which are made installation of insulation, better retain heat in very cold and cool in the summer heat.
• insulation consists of cellulose by 80%, from retardants , preventing fire, 12% of non-volatile antiseptic agent such as boric acid - 8%.
• Since the material is friable capillary-porous structure, and thanks to its components, in ecowool not survive rodents, insects, and also various microorganisms.