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Insulation of Wooden House Walls
Wood is one of the most widely used construction materials due to its excellent performance characteristics, availability, and low cost. At the same time, wooden houses have a number of specific features and nuances, including in terms of insulation. Before moving on to a detailed description of methods and technologies for insulating walls and other structures in wooden houses, let's first examine these buildings:
They can be divided into two groups.
The first group includes older wooden houses, built between ten and fifty years ago. Most of these are dilapidated structures, and insulating their walls involves overall structural reinforcement and increased load-bearing capacity. In such cases, it is most reasonable to use semi-rigid panels within a new wooden frame of studs and joists.
The second group consists of modern framed wooden houses built according to Finnish or Canadian designs. These are typically new buildings constructed within the last ten years. Insulating framed wooden houses is a separate topic for a comprehensive article. Here, we will only briefly cover it.
Insulating Walls in Older Wooden Houses
During renovation of older wooden structures, the primary focus is on increasing the load-bearing capacity of key wooden elements. For example, wall studs and foundation sections are reinforced in cross-section. Additional vertical and horizontal elements, as well as rafters, are added to improve overall structural rigidity. There is no universal solution for insulating such buildings—each case must be evaluated individually.
Typically, the insulation pattern corresponds to the number of added guide elements. Insulation is mostly applied in rigid panels, less often in mats. The insulating material is usually installed snugly in place, though in some cases, additional fastening of mineral wool using flat-topped anchors (so-called 'mushrooms' or 'umbrellas') may be required.
Particular attention must be paid to correct installation in older buildings, specifically:
- The insulation layer must be located on the exterior side of the wall, not the interior;
- A vapor barrier layer must be placed between the inner surface of the mineral wool and the warm interior space.
If even one of these simple rules is ignored, condensation will inevitably form in the wooden structural elements, leading to wood decay and loss of structural strength.
Insulating Framed Wooden Houses
Modern framed wooden houses built to Finnish or Canadian standards are insulated directly during on-site assembly. German prefabs are insulated even earlier, during panel assembly in the factory. This difference in technology leads to different types of insulation materials used in such constructions.
When assembling a wooden house directly on-site, insulation is most convenient when used in panels. The most practical panel size is 610 x 1170–1200 mm, which allows for efficient placement between wall studs, typically spaced 600 mm apart, with minimal waste and full compliance with the main principle: installing the material snugly in place.
