How to Insulate a Country House: 4 Tips from a Professional

According to statistics, more than 70 percent of heat losses in buildings occur through external walls and roofs (so-called enclosing structures). Therefore, it is extremely important to use modern thermal insulation systems when building country houses. Our expert lists the mistakes that cause a house to lose heat, and the owner to lose money on heating.

Bogdan Fedorchenko is an expert and director of construction at the company "Master," which specializes in building private houses.

1. Poor Insulation of Joints

Frequently, during house construction, the insulation of joints is overlooked, which results in "thermal bridges" – areas of structures where heat leaks out.

Pay attention to window sills, floor slabs at the contact point with the street, balconies in cantilever design, external walls of the foundation, first-floor floors, window and door openings, attic floor slabs. All these joints should be insulated according to the project. 

Heat losses often occur due to heat leakage through gaps and holes at the exit points of various pipes, at joints where windows and doors are installed, at the transition from external wall to roof plane, and at the junction of basement floor slab and external wall. Review areas where materials meet in the project and supervise completion of works in these zones.

Moisture on walls, especially in room corners and window sills – a frequent issue in modern homes. Walls become damp due to condensation of moisture from the air when surface temperature drops below the dew point. The dew point depends on air humidity – the higher the humidity, the higher the temperature at which condensation occurs.

For example, if indoor temperature is 20 degrees Celsius and relative humidity is 60 percent, condensation will appear at wall temperature of 12 degrees Celsius. To prevent mold formation, first strengthen thermal insulation in areas where condensation occurs, and secondly, use ventilation systems with automatic humidity control.

This phenomenon occurs when moisture from indoor air seeps through building elements. This can cause insulation to become wet and change in size, and over time, cracks may appear. Due to the same reason, plaster on facades may peel off or even walls may collapse.

To prevent damage to structures caused by moisture penetration, internal surfaces of external walls should be provided with vapor barriers, and external surfaces should be insulated using vapor-permeable materials.

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