Roof insulation is one of the critical stages in the thermal insulation of a house since heat loss through the roof accounts for a significant portion of the heat costs of the entire building.
The primary problem homeowners face when using roll and slab insulation is the gradual deterioration of the thermal protection properties in the places where this insulation is installed.
Often, homeowners follow the lead of market “professionals” who recommend outdated mineral wool thermal insulation and do not want to delve into the issue’s essence. However, some studies indicate that after just a few years of operation, the thermal insulation properties of mineral wool become significantly less.
Another myth associated with mineral wool is its cheapness. Indeed, if you buy several packages of mineral wool and calculate the cost of 1 m3, you will get an amount of only about 2 thousand rubles. However, the prices are just beginning; then, you must pay to transport a large volume of mineral wool to the site to ensure its storage in a dry place before directly installing it in the house’s structural elements.
Installing mineral wool will cost about 300 rubles per m 2 or 1.5 thousand per 1 m 3. It is also necessary to consider that when installing mineral wool, about 10% will be scrap.
Mineral wool
Mineral wool requires special operating conditions, so install the roof structure uniquely: you will need two ventilation gaps, a vapor barrier film, and aerators. All this increases the cost of the design and creates many opportunities for errors during installation which can negate the efforts to install this thermal insulation.
Thus, if you collect all the costs for the purchase and installation of mineral wool, you will get an amount comparable to the cost of spraying polyurethane foam.
The estimate illustrates that the cost of insulation and work with polyurethane foam would be 2,207 rubles, including materials and labor, instead of 3,758 rubles with mineral wool.
In addition, operating costs for heating a house when using mineral wool will be, on average, 30-70% higher than when using polyurethane foam. This difference will increase over the years as mineral wool’s efficiency decreases yearly.
Materials used for roof insulation
Let’s start with what is already a thing of the past and is used only in extreme cases when the contractor strives for austerity, no matter what. First of all, this applies to foam plastic. Firstly, this material is dangerous because it is flammable and burns with the release of toxic substances in house insulation Central Coast. The harmful substances released by the foam plastic used to insulate the club’s roof caused mass deaths.
Another big drawback of foam plastic, like any other sheet material, is the presence of seams. Over time, as a result of thermal contractions and expansions, the seams come apart, significantly reducing the insulation’s effectiveness. Therefore, as a result, the customer loses.
Mineral basalt wool, glass wool
Owners of houses insulated with mineral wool often complain that it is difficult to heat their homes, heating equipment operates at the limit of its capabilities, and heating costs are growing yearly.
Let’s use a thermal imager to see what mineral wool houses look like.
Thermal imaging photos show areas of intense condensation in the roofing elements. This insulation defect leads to moisture condensation, wetting of the wooden roof elements, and damage to the interior finishing. The excessive heat consumption in this design will be significant. Solving the problem is only possible by dismantling the wet insulation and carefully checking and reworking the structure. The homeowner faces substantial expenses.
The diagram shows a critical deterioration in thermal conductivity due to moistening mineral wool. The indicator drops many times, negating the ability of mineral wool to retain heat.
Disadvantages of any roll and plate insulation
The general disadvantages of roll and slab insulation include the inevitable presence of seams and cracks during their installation. This feature leads to significant heat loss in the building. Their value ranges from 10 – 40% of the total heating costs and depends on the design of the building. Among experts, this factor is called the coefficient of thermal technical heterogeneity of the structure.
Advantages of using polyurethane foam insulation for roofing
- Polyurethane foam insulation ensures complete tightness of the roof – this can be achieved thanks to a unique application method by spraying. Polyurethane foam is applied to any surface using special equipment, which allows it to cover every square millimeter of any structure, even the most intricate shapes. During operation, increasing in volume up to 100 times, polyurethane foam foams allow you to seal any joints and cracks completely.
- Minimal loads on the roof and supporting structures – a cubic meter of polyurethane foam weighs less than ten kilograms. This ensures the highest efficiency of thermal protection, as well as sound insulation.
- The material does not burn or support combustion, significantly increasing fire safety. Even with prolonged exposure to open fire, polyurethane foam does not emit any toxic substances.
- Durability – the service life of polyurethane foam is at least 50 years without loss of properties.
- Resistance to mechanical stress – the material is quite elastic and responds well to thermal expansion and deformation of the base.
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Why is the entire world switching to polyurethane?
Everyone knows that energy resources in the European Union are expensive and becoming more expensive yearly. Therefore, building owners need to have the opportunity to use ineffective insulation.
In addition, standards for thermal protection of buildings are several times higher than in the Russian Federation. Therefore, it is not possible to use mineral wool since, to meet the standard, it would be necessary to build up frame boards and roof beams, which would lead to additional costs and increase the load on the house’s structure.
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Polyurethane foam at your home
Polyurethane foam provides thermal insulation for your refrigerator and washing machine. Roof insulation is one of the critical stages in the thermal insulation of a house. Heat loss through the roof accounts for a significant portion of the heat costs of the entire building. Used elastic polyurethane foam for making Armchairs and sofas.
The advantages include the speed of application of the material to any base and maximum adhesion to them. Therefore, roof insulation with polyurethane foam is the optimal solution today, the most effective and completely safe.
We guarantee impeccable quality results and are ready to participate in implementing projects of any scale. We will be happy to answer any questions related to the specifics of the technology for spraying PPU on the roofs of your buildings.