How can I simply and quickly insulate a wall if it is cold?

In the construction of panel and brick houses of previous times, facade insulation was not provided.

Meanwhile, brick and concrete have rather low thermal insulation properties and high density. This leaves the walls cold and can result in an uncomfortable temperature.

Cold walls are the main sources of heat loss. They are trying to cover them with carpets and stuff them with furniture, but this is not a solution to the problem.

So, if you have a cold wall in your apartment, what should you do? Why this happens, where to go and how to insulate it yourself - this will be discussed further.

Reasons for the appearance of cold walls

Cold walls can appear in both old houses and new buildings. The most common causes of this unpleasant everyday phenomenon include the following:

• thin external walls;
• north side in the corner room;
• presence of defects due to the fault of the developer;
• the outer end wall has a lot of free space;
• the seams between the panels are made with irregularities or are destroyed during operation;
• lack of heat in the room - the radiators heat poorly, which is why the humidity turns into mold on the walls;
• poor ventilation performance - excess moisture is removed due to the good performance of the ventilation ducts;
• crack formation;
• getting the wall wet.

The reasons may be different, and their nature can only be determined by a qualified specialist with practical experience in the field of construction or housing and communal services.

Large heat losses

Checking heat losses in the heating system is easily carried out using a special high-precision measuring device - a thermal imager. Such a device makes visible the infrared radiation emitted by surrounding objects and helps to measure temperature in a non-contact way with an accuracy of 0.1 ° C or better. The device display reflects the data of the measurements performed in the form of a color image, in which each shade corresponds to a strictly defined temperature range.

One of the time-tested and effective options for increasing the thermal output of the battery and reducing heat loss is to install a special reflector or screen made of aluminum foil behind the radiator. This very simple and cheap device will ensure that thermal energy is directed from the wall of the house directly into the room. As practice shows, the use of such a reflective screen can increase the thermal efficiency of the heating system by 12-15%. Among other things, it is strictly not recommended to cover the radiator with several layers of paint. In this case, heat loss often reaches the same 10-12% and with hot radiators you feel cold in the apartment.

The windows are “phoning”

Even the most modern and expensive plastic windows can cause heat loss as a result of improper glazing. Particular attention is required to improperly sealed joints that form between the window sill or wall and the window frame. All problem areas must be treated with silicone sealants or special polyurethane foam.

Problems with new windows are rather an exception to the rule. Most often, drafts occur when there are old windows with wooden frames in the room. And no matter how hot you make the radiators, it will still be cold in the apartment. In this case, the only way to get rid of heat loss through window openings once and for all is to install new multi-chamber plastic windows produced by well-established manufacturers.

Uninsulated walls, floors and ceilings

Residents of corner apartments and owners of residential premises with insufficiently insulated walls, floors and ceilings most often experience major problems with heating. As a rule, the simplest inspection reveals in such apartments the presence of cracks and gaps in the walls, ceilings and floors that easily let cold air masses in and heated air out of the room.

To seal cracks in walls, floors and ceilings, special primers and putty compounds are used. If necessary, reinforcement is performed. Good results are achieved by using special insulation materials. When choosing heat-insulating materials, you need to pay attention to the following parameters:

• thermal conductivity indicators;
• level of vapor permeability;
• ease of installation work;
• total volume of shrinkage;
• mass and density;
• hygroscopicity;
• durability;
• flammability;
• thickness.

The products that have proven themselves best are ROCKWOOL, HOTROCK SMART, TECHNIKOL XPS TECHNOPLEX, PENOPLEX COMFORT, KNAUF THERM HOUSE, ISOVER WARM HOUSE and URSA GEO.

How to insulate a cold wall

If the management company or homeowners association delays repairs or refuses to do them, you can take some measures yourself. If there is a need for this, you can use the services of specialists in this field of repair.

In order not to risk your own health, not to change the interior and not to pay for heating the street, you need to insulate cold walls.

There are several ways to insulate a wall in an apartment so that it is not cold:

1. Insulate with mineral wool or expanded polystyrene - these are the materials most suitable for insulating insulation. They are covered with plasterboard, primed and painted, preferably in the color of the house, so as not to stand out against the general background. But there is no need to use these materials inside a panel house. They, of course, will become warm, but will condense all the time due to the accumulation of warm vapors between the insulation and the outer wall. Mold and mildew may even appear. The insulation must have a low level of heat conductivity, a minimum rate of water absorption, sound insulation properties, strength and durability.
2. Additional heating in the form of an infrared film device can be mounted on the wall. However, serious renovation and finishing will be required.
3. Installing a warm baseboard on the wall - this heating method affects not only the wall, but the entire room. The plinth is installed along the outer wall, runs on water and electricity, is safe for health, and also prevents the appearance of mold and mildew.
4. Additional placement of heaters is a wasteful way, since the electricity bills will be rather large.

Incorrect battery selection

Full heating of the apartment is achieved only with proper selection of the size and number of sections of the mounted radiator. The number of sections is determined by the total area of ​​the room, as well as the material from which the battery is made. In accordance with the current SNiP standards, each radiator section heats a certain area:

• bimetallic radiator – 1.8 m2;
• aluminum radiator – 1.9-2.0 m2;
• cast iron radiator – 1.4-1.5 m2.

It is important to understand that the characteristics are indicated taking into account the high coolant temperature of 85-90 degrees. On average, estimate 1 section per 1.5 square meters. meters.

It is of no small importance to comply with installation rules, according to which the minimum distance of the battery from the window sill and floor surface should be 10 cm, and from the wall surface - 30 mm. It is strictly forbidden to block the heating device with pieces of furniture or interior design. Violation of this requirement significantly reduces the heat output of the radiator. Perhaps for this reason, when there are hot radiators in the apartment, you may feel cold.

Prevention of wall freezing

To prevent the wall from freezing in the future, you must do the following:

• insulate and glaze the balcony if the problem wall is located nearby;
• check and repair, if necessary, the ventilation system;
• patch cracks and defects with silicone sealant.

All these recommendations taken together are the answer to the question of what to do if the wallpaper peels off on a cold wall. This is due to increased dampness that needs to be dealt with.

Battery clogged

Natural corrosive changes that occur during long-term operation of the heating system, as well as deposits actively deposited on the internal walls of radiators, are the main causes of blockages of varying degrees of complexity. As a rule, battery clogging is provoked by the use of ordinary tap water as a heat carrier, which has not undergone preliminary purification and has an insufficiently high level of purity.

A clogged internal part of the battery causes a disruption in the movement of the coolant, as a result of which some part of the heating system does not warm up well enough. Modern radiator models are characterized by increased resistance to corrosion. These include bimetallic radiators, which ensure 100% passability and uninterrupted heating operation even in dirty residential heating systems.

What to do if the wall is frozen

You can understand this situation and take effective measures only after finding out the reason for the freezing of the wall. To do this, you need to contact the company responsible for maintaining your home. This could be a management company or a homeowners association.

A written application will need to be submitted . It will be reviewed within the framework of current legislation, after which a specialist will be sent to you to inspect the condition of the wall.

After the procedure, the owner will be given a corresponding certificate. This document is confirmation of an inspection to identify the cause of freezing.

You can immediately contact a company specializing in thermal imaging surveys . This is a paid type of service that allows you to get complete information about the problem.

A written opinion from a specialist from this company will allow you to contact directly the management of the management company or HOA and more quickly resolve the issue of correcting the deficiency.

Why do you need to insulate your apartment?

Very often, complaints about poor heating come from owners of apartments on the lower floors of panel buildings. The small thickness of the walls does not allow heat to be retained at the proper level. Drafts arise and the walls begin to become damp. As a result, fungus appears on wet surfaces, which is already dangerous to health. Mold not only deteriorates the appearance, it is also impossible to even hang wallpaper over it.

On a note!

Taking into account the fact that utility prices are regularly rising, additional heating sources that consume a lot of electricity are impractical because they are prohibitively expensive.

Features of drawing up and filing a complaint

If the problem of a cold wall is not solved, then where to complain in this case? In private houses, the problem is solved by the owners themselves. In apartment buildings, management companies should deal with this issue.

If it is established that the culprit of freezing is the developer who built the house and made mistakes during construction, then the complaint will need to be addressed to him.

If a response does not come within 1-1.5 months or the developer refuses to correct the defect, you will have to contact higher authorities:

• local administration;
• the prosecutor's office;
• Maintenance of housing inspection;
• court.

According to current legislation, it is not prohibited to apply to several authorities at the same time . This rule is also valid in 2021.

How to write a complaint

The complaint must contain the text of the appeal, in which it is important to indicate the name of the organization to which you are applying. You must indicate your full name. applicant, that is, yours, residential address, feedback method (phone number).

The complaint must describe the essence of the problem, the reasons for its occurrence, and the need for elimination . The written application should be supported by evidence, for example, an inspection report from a third-party specialist.

Also, the claim must be dated and signed.

Was the house built recently?

If your house has just been handed over, then it is likely that it is simply not “dry” yet. Walls, ceilings, screed, plaster - all this contains a lot of moisture immediately after installation. And all this can “pull” a large amount of heat onto itself.

Therefore, if the house has not been left standing for at least 1-2 months, this may be your option.

Plus, if the house was rented out already in the cold season, it may not have warmed up yet.

Sealing seams

One of the most pressing reasons for low temperatures in a living room is insufficient insulation of interpanel seams. As a rule, the interpanel seams of many houses are filled with cement mortar, which, under the influence of moisture and negative temperatures, begins to crumble after just a few years of operation. In addition, the cement itself perfectly allows moisture to pass through and is not particularly resistant to mechanical stress. Therefore, even a small crack causes complete destruction of the seam. Even if your home is “luckier” and rubber was used to fill the interpanel space, then under the influence of ultraviolet radiation and temperature changes it also cracks and begins to let moisture through. That is why hiring experienced specialists to seal interpanel seams will help solve problems of dampness in the apartment and create a comfortable microclimate.

Our specialists will repair interpanel seams[/anchor], and will also help carry out all work related to eliminating any other sources of cold in the apartment.

Comments: 31

Tatyana Tatyana

Year(s)/Years ago: 5
You might think about a warm electric baseboard.

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Tatyana Tatyana

Year(s)/Years ago: 5
Or make panels on the walls from parquet boards for the floor

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Related discussions

Need help in planning (zoning) an apartment. Treshka, 75 m. Need ideas.

Comments (26) Good evening. A decision has been made))). Time will show how correct it is. The decision is to make 2 children's bedrooms, a parent's bedroom without a bathroom, a kitchen (a kitchen-living room of 16-19 meters would be ideal), a wardrobe for parents, a sewing area for the wife and a place for household items .locker.My wife's arguments - it is better now to think about the layout and, unfortunately, refuse a more spacious kitchen-living room, than later, when the children grow up (and time flies quickly), separate them when they cannot share one room and bite their elbows. I sketched out this option (see picture). Pros, as it seems to me: the presence of 2 children's rooms, a separate bathroom (even if small), a parent's bedroom, a place for the wife's hobbies and a small kitchen-living room, no need to transfer communications. Disadvantages - the second children's room looks like a "carriage", the placement of the utility closet is not the best, the bathroom is small, and somehow not very functional. Please point your nose in which direction to move. I really want to squeeze out of these 75 meters something practical and convenient for everyone. Thanks in advance.)))

Need some advice. One-room apartment on two sides.

Comments (18) Olga, these are the requests. One-room apartment for three (for now)). The apartment is not the main one, in St. Petersburg, renovations have not yet begun, while everything is in progress. There was an apartment with exactly the same layout, but a two-room apartment. There was a full bedroom for a child, but it was empty all the time because... the child is small. The apartment was changed, now it’s a one-room apartment, and there’s no room for a nursery. Because the layout is familiar, I want something new, not like it was before. I didn’t like the kitchen-living room there, because... there was no demarcation of space, and the middle of the room was empty. Everything was done according to the walls. That’s why we planned a bar counter here. I wanted space and at the same time functionality.

Need design advice or a design project itself?

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Wardrobe and work area on the loggia

Comments (41) Hello! With a bar counter that goes into the work area, it’s an interesting option, only my desk is too high for a desk then, for the bed in the second option, a retractable door will be needed, then there will be noise above the headboard. The first one turns out to be an ordinary door that opens to the side of the cabinet. I also wanted to clarify about the radiator (the vertical one is said to be worse in terms of heat distribution than conventional ones, since the cold air is closer to the floor, so I’m wondering if it makes sense to pay 20 rubles for it, plus the work, that’s why I wanted some extra rooms where the bar counter should be moved, purely externally, yes, the vertical one has a different look. I initially planned this option with a bed, like the second one, but everyone immediately began to write that this cannot be done at the entrance, which is why this option also came out as the first one, a lot I tried to do it in the program, these are the most optimal ones

Olesya B

Year(s)/Years ago: 5
Thanks, but we already installed Pedross - I wouldn’t want to dismantle it.

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Olesya B

Year(s)/Years ago: 5 Last changes: Year(s)/Years ago: 5 There
is a cork board on the floor.. We thought about it - but still this is a large-scale decision, again we need to somehow arrange it in a “designer way” "

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Elena

Year(s)/Years ago: 5 Last changes: Year(s)/Years ago: 5
For example, here. You can figure this out yourself if your husband is handy.

Or in special The company can order a separate sheet of plywood, quilted with fabric, the length of the bed, with neat ends, and simply attach it to the wall.

By color you can make them like a sofa. If yours is really bright blue.

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Olga

Year(s)/Years ago: 5
The simplest thing is a patchwork rug, you can buy it ready-made or sew it yourself, from natural fabrics or knit it. Searching on the Internet, there are a lot of different ideas, with pockets and voluminous ones. And the child will be warmer and more fun, and the walls will be clean. The main thing is that it can be easily changed later. Have you ever thought about buying a bed with a high side back, like a couch?

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Tatyana Tatyana

Year(s)/Years ago: 5
Why dismantle something? Google warm baseboard. As for wall panels made of parquet boards - here is the link

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MebXLine

Year(s)/Years ago: 5
I would suggest almost the same option as Elena. I’ll just call it a false wall by the bed. We made similar ones in our products as a mandatory element. Just a wider drawer (to the height of the back). Functionally, it had another semantic load. Usually in children's rooms this wall wore out very quickly))) Children, however.

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viktoriya77

Year(s)/Years ago: 5 Eh, it doesn’t look very good, I mean it’s understandable, I guess. We made a soft headboard the length of the bed. It turned out something a la a sofa and not a bed. And it’s warmer for the child, and when he spins around at night, he hits the wall with his feet, hands, and head.

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HOUZZ-NL/UA

Year(s)/Years ago: 5 Last changes: Year(s)/Years ago: 5
To make the look aesthetic and the operation practical, you need to modify the bed itself. The asking price is $10-15.

Along the left side of the bed (i.e. on the wall side) screw a sheet of laminated chipboard 20mm thick using confirmatory screws. Length - to attach the sheet to the backs. Height - up to the headboard transom.

They will do it in front of you in any large construction supermarket. Don't forget the edge or painted trim on the top and sides.

2. insulates from the wall

3. does not change the style/design of the room and is not noticeable at all

4. easy to install/dismantle

5. very cheap

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Natalya Maximenko Design

Year(s)/Years ago: 5
It seems to me that you can use cork in a bleached color. Make a strip up to the lowering of the wall shelves; make this decorative strip just up to the height of the wall cabinets.

The cork near the bed will protect against the cold, and after the bed it will serve as an “exhibition” stand where the child can “pin” his “works”

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Dasha Sidikhmenova

Year(s)/Years ago: 5
patchwork rugs, pillows)))) a little funny))))grandmothers hung carpet all their lives))))

• Like | 1
• Save

Summary

The steps suggested above are a basic package of activities. You may have already done some of them. Or maybe you are just about to conduct an energy audit; by the way, it always makes sense to start with this.

The research results will tell you which direction to start moving in and will save you from unnecessary costs. When organizing thermal insulation of a house, an integrated approach is desirable; if you insulate the facade, then do it over the entire area, and not apartment by apartment.

Many of the typical mistakes in home insulation are easily eliminated. After which the energy efficiency of the building improves. As for the apartment, here, for example, it is easy to eliminate the flow of cold air through the installation ducts of the air conditioner, cracks in windows and doors. You will immediately notice that the room immediately becomes warmer.

Exterior works

If simple internal insulation of an apartment can be done by anyone who has encountered cosmetic repairs, the same cannot be said about external insulation. External insulation is carried out by experienced specialists with the involvement of highly qualified industrial climbers. The main materials when performing this type of work are polystyrene foam and mesh for plaster mortar. Upon completion of the insulation process, the facade can be painted in any desired color.

If heat leaks occur through the balcony, only experienced specialists can help cope with this problem. To eliminate heat loss through the balcony, the balcony is insulated inside and out with foam plastic or other materials with high heat-saving properties (mineral wool, expanded polystyrene, etc.).

On the balcony, special attention is paid to the windows, ceiling, walls, and, if necessary, double-glazed windows. Remember that high-quality plastic balcony blocks will help retain heat and protect your apartment from drafts.

Zoning the bedside space

The protection of the wall covering near the bed will be fully ensured if this space is originally decorated using natural materials:

• silk-screen printing is expensive, but for the area near the bed you won’t need much;
• cork - soft elastic material that allows air to pass through;
• bamboo covering;
• wooden - a varnished product will emphasize the structure of the wood, protect it from moisture, drying and cracking. Laminate is also used instead of wood. If desired, you can finish the entire wall up to the ceiling or just its lower part.

Bright light

Large bright bedroom with a bed located near an unusually shaped window

Even if the room has blinds or blackout curtains, light from the window may shine through cracks or along the edges of the curtains.

You can get up at dawn, which is not bad, for example, on weekdays. On weekends, it will be difficult to fall back to sleep.

Spacious, large and bright bedroom with glass doors and narrow windows with roller blinds for a restful night's sleep

Light can influence the internal clock through the retina of the eyes. Light exposure can delay the body clock, which affects the sleep-wake cycle. Although getting up early is a good habit, bright lights at night will make it difficult to fall asleep. Closing your eyes is not enough; light can penetrate through your eyelids. If there are bright lights on the street. Bright light in the morning will help create a good habit of waking up early, but at the same time you may find it difficult to fall asleep at night. The consequence is fatigue and insomnia. It is advisable to wear a blindfold that is thick enough and comfortable to wear.

Beautiful blindfold for a restful and sound sleep