Roof insulation - choice of material

Before you begin to insulate the roof, you need to thoroughly study all kinds of materials used as a roof insulator, know the advantages, disadvantages, and the scope of their application. To make the right choice the material in this article will help you, after studying which, you will no longer need to enter into the Internet search engines a request for what to insulate the roof.

Today's market provides an opportunity for a huge selection of insulation materials. The most common of them are: polystyrene foam and mineral wool board, foam glass, cellular concrete and rigid fiberglass slab. Let's briefly dwell on each of these varieties.

Mineral wool, more precisely, a mat and a plate from it, is today the most widespread kind. Warming of the roof with mineral wool can rightly be considered the best solution to this issue. Since it has a low coefficient of thermal conductivity (from 0.032 to 0.045 W / m × K), good vapor permeability, sound insulation, durability (about 50 years) and elasticity. Also, it completely lacks water absorption and has a high resistance to mechanical damage. And the most important property of mineral wool is that it has low flammability.

Almost the same characteristics for glass wool, although water absorption is much larger and the vapor permeability is much lower. To obtain the same result as mineral wool, it is possible to insulate the roof with rock wool, because in its properties it is very similar to mineral properties.

Roof insulation with extruded polystyrene foam can also be called a good option. It has a low thermal conductivity (from 0.02 to 0.035 W / m × K), low weight and, importantly, a relatively low cost. Added to its composition of special chemical additives made from it a fire-resistant and self-extinguishing material. There are also drawbacks in this type of insulation, for example, the possession of a very low vapor permeability, that with improperly mounted ventilation can lead to increased humidity of the ceilings of the structure. Also, polystyrene foam has low elasticity and high elasticity, which makes it impossible to use it in the so-called "roofing cake" for installing complex roof configurations.

On the basis of foamed plastic, there is another kind of material, which often produces the insulation of the roof - it is polyurethane foam. Its positive characteristics include the following: increased resistance to aggressive environment, a huge range of operating temperature (from -180 to +250 ° C). Disadvantages are the sensitivity to direct sunlight, which is why it is necessary to build a protective coating. This kind of material allows you to glue, mechanically fix it on the necessary surface, and conduct its spraying. These are only the main types of foamed polymeric material, there are also many others.

Thermal insulation of the roof with the effect of micro-chambers, which are filled with air, perhaps inorganic material, which is called cellular concrete. Yes, of course, this can undoubtedly be attributed to "yesterday's day." But to use organic fiber insulation, the basis of which is cork, this is the nearest perspective of the development of construction technology. But for today it is an incredibly expensive pleasure.