STYROFOAM™ XPS ensures efficient and safe thermal insulation in the floor structure of buildings. Non-insulated floors to the soil or unheated rooms can be responsible for a significant heat loss. Besides reducing the heat loss, proper insulation of floors helps to increase the overall comfort significantly. Additionally, the heat storage capacity of an insulated floor is utilized more effectively.
STYROFOAM™ XPS offer several advantages for insulation of floor structures:
- High load-bearing capacity due to high compressive strength and E-modulus,
- Low compression,
- Reduced thickness of load-distributing layer (screed),
- Long-term high insulation value,
- Simple floor build-up,
- Easy and fast installation,
- Safe floor structure long-term.
Description
SAFE AND EFFICIENT FLOOR INSULATION
The advantages of the extruded polystyrene foam can be utilized especially at ground-bearing floor structures. Besides a traditional insulated floor build-up – where STYROFOAM™ insulation is placed above the waterproofing membrane laid on concrete slab – the negligible water absorption and the zero capillarity of extruded polystyrene foam enable inverted floor insulation method.Floor insulation materials are often subject to increased long-term static and dynamic loads. High compressive strength and minimum deformation are basic requirements.
For more than 40 years XPS insulation products have been successfully used in applications being exposed to extreme stresses:
• insulation of cold-store floors,
• airfield hangar floors,
• parking decks
• and as frost heave protection of railway substructures.
These successful applications provide a duly reliable basis for putting the XPS products to the first place in respect to thermal insulation of floor structures.The STYROFOAM™ XPS extruded polystyrene foam plates are suitable for ensuring thermal insulation of floors laid on the soil, in case of:
• floor plates placed between strip foundation and pier foundation
• residential and office buildings
when they are laid directly onto compacted gravel or sand bed or on a blinding layer of concrete.Irrespective of whether the floor plates are laid on the soil or floor slabs, properly stable and flat backing surface must be prepared in order to ensure that the XPS plates become faultless components of the entire structure.
STYROFOAM™ XPS boards are placed directly on 10-15 cm compacted and levelled hardcore, under the reinforced concrete floor slab. Between the insulation and the concrete slab PE-foil separation layer is placed, which plays also a role as basic protection of moisture transport. However, in case of damp soil, waterproofing membrane should be installed on the top of the concrete slab.
STYROFOAM™ XPS boards offer efficient and longterm solution also for insulation of intermediate floors:
• floors above unheated spaces,
• in floors established above archway ceilings
• heated floors,
• attic floors.