Cold walls and chilling drafts are constant companions of residents in apartments located on the top floor. The situation concerns both new buildings and houses commissioned decades ago. In such conditions it is difficult to create a comfortable environment. To carry out repairs yourself at minimal cost, you need to purchase affordable, but high-quality material, and perform work efficiently.
Warming Methods
Currently, property owners have to independently maintain the proper temperature in the apartments. In this case, it is important to insulate the facade of the building, attic and basement. It is advisable for the owners to first contact the HOA to carry out work on the insulation of the floor on the ground floor and the roof. But such an approach is not always possible to implement. In many cases, the necessary work has to be done on its own.
Efficient use of central heating
Experts advise in time to replace low-efficiency radiators with modern models with high efficiency, which are better able to provide heat transfer. Residents of apartments in cold houses should definitely consider this item. Over time, the inner surfaces of the radiators are covered with a dense layer of deposits of all kinds of impurities and salts, which is why heat is transferred much worse.
On the wall behind the heating radiator, you need to fix a special foil material with heat-insulating and heat-reflecting properties. Foil isolon is used by many craftsmen. It will help to direct heat to the room, which previously heated a fragment of the wall. You should not hide batteries and pipes with the help of decorative boxes - this will interfere with their normal operation.
Integrated insulation of windows, loggias and balconies
If the apartment has wooden windows, it is recommended to replace them with modern options with energy-efficient double-glazed windows that meet specific climatic conditions. This also applies to balconies. Almost a quarter of heat loss occurs precisely in window structures. A lot of cold is allowed through slopes without high-quality insulation. If it was not possible to replace the windows on time, they must be reliably insulated.
Glass edges are carefully coated with a special sealant, and a rubber-based insulation is placed between the window frame and the sash. The window sill also needs upholstery. In critical situations, the glass itself can also be insulated, preferably from the outside, in order to avoid abundant condensation and large heat losses. The same procedure will need to be done on the slopes.
Eliminating the formation of drafts, and reducing heat loss, can significantly improve the internal situation.
Entrance door
If it is wooden, it can be personally upholstered with dermantine. As a heater, a synthetic winterizer, felt or ubiquitous foam rubber is used. If the air temperature is kept at the entrance, the wall between it and the apartment must also be treated with heat-insulating material.
The metal entrance doors of many manufacturers, already initially have good protection against heat loss. If it comes to cheap and old models, then they will need to be additionally insulated. If there are gaps between the jamb and the installed door frame, they will need to be filled with mounting foam. When it hardens, you need to cut off excess fragments and carefully putty the treated surface.
How to increase the thermal insulation of walls
For these purposes, penoplex is used, many prefer mineral wool, fixing the material in a frame made of a special aluminum profile, and then upholstering the structure with panels of fiberboard, OSB, polyvinyl chloride or ordinary drywall. To fix the profile to the wall, suitable dowels are used.
If mineral wool is used, it should be insulated with a plastic film that prevents wetting. Raw mineral wool will be poor thermal insulation material, so it must be protected from the effects of condensation by vapor barrier.
It is equally important to leave a gap between the wall and the plastic film to ensure adequate ventilation.
Ceiling and floor insulation
The ceiling is treated in the same way as the walls, using a frame made of aluminum profile, filler, vapor barrier, panels made of drywall, fiberboard or other material. In order to save money, many apartment owners paste over the ceiling with foam tiles.
On the floor you can build a frame of timber, and then fill it with a filler with thermal insulation properties. The minimum option is laying insulated linoleum. If there is a laminate on the floor, a foil isolon is often laid under it, which helps to prevent the cooling of the room.
Once having warmed the apartment on the top floor, the owners will save a lot of money on heating the room, because the suitable temperature will be kept there.
