How to properly insulate walls with your own hands

It makes sense to insulate your walls in order to reduce energy costs and increase comfort. Adequate insulation maintains a comfortable temperature in your home during both hot and cold seasons. The favorable tidings? To get it right, you don’t have to be an expert. You can do this yourself if you have patience and a few basic tools.

We’ll walk you through the process of properly insulating your walls in this guide. Everything will be covered, including selecting the appropriate materials and carrying out the installation. By the time it’s all through, you’ll know just enough to take on your wall insulation project with assurance and raise the energy efficiency of your house.

Are you prepared to begin? Let’s explore how a little work and knowledge can result in well-insulated walls.

Step Description
1 Assess the walls and choose the right insulation material based on your needs (e.g., fiberglass, foam board).
2 Clean the walls thoroughly to remove any dust or debris.
3 Measure and cut the insulation material to fit the wall sections.
4 Install the insulation between wall studs or in the wall cavity. Secure it as needed.
5 Cover the insulation with drywall or another finishing material to complete the installation.

What materials are used to insulate walls

You must become familiar with the properties of the insulating materials before you can properly insulate an apartment’s walls (see. Let’s examine carefully which type of insulation is better for walls and select the appropriate one for a given space. Thermal conductivity, or the amount of heat that can pass through a material, is a heat insulator’s primary characteristic.

There are two varieties of thermal insulation:

  • Reflective type, designed to reduce heat consumption by reducing infrared radiation. Ideal for insulating saunas and baths.
  • Thermal insulation of the preventing type, is used most often, and insulators with low thermal conductivity are used. Such materials can be: inorganic, organic, mixed.

Among the inorganic thermal insulators are:

  • Mineral wool. It can be slag and stone (see. How to insulate walls from the outside with mineral wool).
  • Glass wool.
  • Ceramic wool.

Thermal insulators naturally include the following insulation materials:

  • Arbolite.
  • Polyvinyl chloride foam.
  • From chipboard (chipboard).
  • From fiberboard (wood fiber).
  • Polyurethane foam.
  • Mipora or penoizol.
  • Polystyrene foam.
  • From foamed polyethylene.
  • Fibrolite.
  • Honeycomb.
  • Ecowool.

Asbestos mixtures are combined with the following ingredients to create mixed-type thermal insulators:

  • Mica.
  • Dolomite.
  • Perlite.
  • Diatomite.

The introduction of mineral components binds the base.

Features of insulating a house from the outside and from the inside

Advice: It is essential to insulate a building’s exterior walls; only in severe circumstances should interior walls be thermally insulated.

The figure depicts three different states of an insulated building wall: insulated from the outside, insulated from the inside, and uninsulated.

The dew point is the temperature at which water vapor condenses to form water.

  • To the left of the dew point is a positive temperature.
  • To the right is a negative temperature.

Internal wall insulation has the following characteristics:

  • The wall remains unprotected from home heat. In this case, the heat barrier made of insulation does not let it into the wall, which will lead to significant exposure to frost and constant moisture in winter (see. The walls are getting wet: what could be the reason), which will not have time to dry.
  • At the dew point, condensation will collect. This point is as close as possible to the room, which will lead to maximum moisture formation in this place.
  • Permanent condensation, without natural drying will cause fungi and mold to appear on the wall.
  • The diagram shows that without insulation, there will be less moisture on the inside of the wall than after insulation from the inside.

Characteristics of insulation on external walls:

  • From the street, the wall is protected from the cold by insulation, and taking into account the insulation technology, the wall is warmed from the inside by home heat, and even if condensation appears and moisture is absorbed, the wall will soon begin to dry out.
  • The dew point is moved away from the room closer to the street, which means that the condensation will be further from the room.
  • External insulation will significantly retain heat in the house.

If insulation of the arbolite walls is required, it is first important to remember that this work has to be done outside the home.

It uses the following materials for insulation:

  • Mineral wool.
  • Expanded polystyrene.
  • Polyurethane foam.

How to properly use polystyrene foam for external insulation of a house

You must ascertain the properties of foamed polystyrene before deciding if it can be used to insulate walls.

Among them are:

  • Poor heat conduction.
  • Very low vapor permeability and moisture absorption.
  • Easily withstands fairly large loads.
  • Does not respond to strong compression and large tensile loads.
  • Has little weight.
  • Easy to process and install, easy to cut with a knife yourself.

Use of foamed or extruded polystyrene foam will ensure that the entire structure is adequately insulated. Here, using a material with a modest thickness is sufficient without the need for a vapor barrier layer.

The installation instructions for the material suggest:

  • Insulate “cold bridges” or joints between slabs and their junctions with walls. For this, polyurethane foam is used, applied to the entire plane of the sheet.
  • To obtain even and sealed butt joints, it is better to purchase foam boards, which have a special edge with stepped edges.
  • When using the material indoors, plate-type dowels are used or the slabs are simply glued, as seen in the photo.

The most important thing is to accomplish the desired outcome, regardless of which side the homeowner chooses to insulate the walls from.

Among the material’s drawbacks are:

  • Poor noise protection.
  • It can be destroyed at temperatures exceeding (+80 ° C), but this is not very relevant, as is the fact that EPS slabs dissolve in organic solvents.

How to use polystyrene foam for step-by-step wall insulation:

  • The wall is cleaned of dirt and leveled.
  • When using glue – primed.

Advice: Avoid leaving big holes in the wall that aren’t leveled with glue. If these holes exist after the insulation is installed, there will be spaces between the wall and the foam boards made of polystyrene, which can break or distort the material with even a small blow. The slab won’t cling firmly to the wall at the bulge.

  • Polystyrene foam is glued to the wall with a special glue for polystyrene foam slabs, or is attached with special "mushrooms".
  • When using extruded polystyrene foam, the surface for applying the glue is made rough.
  • To strengthen the structure, polystyrene foam is attached simultaneously with "mushrooms" and glue. This is a more reliable and correct solution.
  • After installing the insulation, the external walls are plastered (see. Plaster on polystyrene foam: features of the material and application technique), they can be lined with facing brick.

Slabs of polystyrene foam can be fastened to a slat-or other material-based frame. Here:

  • Slats of a thickness not less than the thickness of the insulation, and preferably more, are attached to the wall. This will create a ventilated space between the polystyrene foam and the facing material.
  • The pitch between the slats should be such that the slabs between them are inserted tightly enough and do not fall out.
  • This type of installation is chosen when cladding walls with siding. In this case, the slats will be the basis for fixing the facing materials.

How to insulate walls with mineral wool

Mineral wool is another widely used method of insulating a home’s walls.

Since mineral wool is not as rigid as polystyrene foam, it is best to install it using a frame method. However, if you use cotton insulation that is dense enough, you can glue the slabs.

Using the framework approach:

  • Slats or small bars are purchased.
  • A frame structure is constructed on the wall.
  • Insulation is laid or rolled out between the elements.
  • On a concrete or brick wall, the bars are attached with dowel nails, and on a wooden wall – with self-tapping screws.
  • Mineral wool can be additionally fixed with “mushrooms”, which will prevent it from rolling down.
  • Such materials absorb moisture too much; this requires waterproofing on top of the insulation.
  • It is advisable to build reliable protection against various rodents. For this, metal strips are installed along the edges of the wall.

Suggestion: When constructing brick exterior walls, the insulation has to be placed in between the facing and main walls. These two walls also need to be joined with unique ligaments that pierce the mineral wool and retain it within the wall to keep it from rolling down.

How walls are insulated with polyurethane foam

Though it costs the most, this insulation type is the most advanced.

Among the material’s benefits are:

  • After application, polyurethane foam expands, which allows it to fill all cracks and depressions.
  • Low vapor permeability, which does not require additional vapor barrier.
  • Good adhesion or adhesion to the wall.
  • High mechanical strength after hardening.
  • Increased properties of heat and sound insulation.

The following are the material’s drawbacks:

  • Low density polyurethane foam allows steam to pass through well, which must be taken into account when insulating a house.
  • Not very fire resistant.
  • High cost.
  • It is recommended to have professionals apply the spraying, which increases the cost of insulation.
  • As polyurethane foam ages, its thermal insulation properties deteriorate.
  • Spraying is accompanied by the release of hazardous toxic substances, which requires the use of protective clothing.

If you take the proper precautions, insulating your walls on your own is a manageable task. Through comprehension of the components and techniques utilized, you can raise the comfort and energy efficiency of your house. Long-term savings on heating and cooling expenses as well as an improved quality of life are two benefits of this project.

First, make sure your walls are ready. Before applying insulation, make sure they are damage-free, dry, and clean. Whether it’s spray, foam, or fiberglass insulation, pick the best kind for your purposes and install it per the manufacturer’s instructions.

To avoid common mistakes, take your time while performing each task. Ensuring a tight fit and appropriately sealing any gaps will improve the efficiency of your insulation. You can make your home more comfortable and energy-efficient with a little work and attention to detail.

The secret to DIY wall insulation is to select the appropriate materials and adhere to a few simple steps to guarantee a warm, energy-efficient home. To ensure maximum effectiveness and prevent gaps, choose insulation that is appropriate for your climate and wall type. Next, carefully prepare your walls, measure and cut the insulation to size, and secure it in place. You can improve the comfort and energy efficiency of your home and attain professional-quality results with a little perseverance and attention to detail.

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Veronica Gerasimova

Interior designer, author of books on the design of residential premises. I will help you make your home not only functional, but also beautiful.

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