Hello!
The question has surely been addressed on this forum before, but I'm asking it anyway.
I am renovating a 2-story timber house and have put up 45x45 studs before
the timber and then insulated with mineral wool. Between the timber and mineral wool, there is old wallpaper on some form of thicker paper and in some places windproof paper.
According to the building code, I should put a vapor barrier on walls and ceilings, but as we will be using the house as a holiday home and during the winter season will have a base temperature of about 8 degrees, I am more uncertain about whether it should be plastic or not. During the winter season, we will also heat the house to 20 degrees when we are there, and heating will mostly be done through burning wood.
To encase everything and make it diffusion-tight seems impossible to me, as we have several chimneys, etc., against which it is not possible to seal 100%.
The upstairs will remain unfinished for now to be decorated later.
Today, I have put up plastic on the walls but haven't had time to put up any boards.
Grateful for tips.
The question has surely been addressed on this forum before, but I'm asking it anyway.
I am renovating a 2-story timber house and have put up 45x45 studs before
the timber and then insulated with mineral wool. Between the timber and mineral wool, there is old wallpaper on some form of thicker paper and in some places windproof paper.
According to the building code, I should put a vapor barrier on walls and ceilings, but as we will be using the house as a holiday home and during the winter season will have a base temperature of about 8 degrees, I am more uncertain about whether it should be plastic or not. During the winter season, we will also heat the house to 20 degrees when we are there, and heating will mostly be done through burning wood.
To encase everything and make it diffusion-tight seems impossible to me, as we have several chimneys, etc., against which it is not possible to seal 100%.
The upstairs will remain unfinished for now to be decorated later.
Today, I have put up plastic on the walls but haven't had time to put up any boards.
Grateful for tips.
Hi, search the forum, there are probably 100 threads on it.
Some are for and some are against it. Personally, I am for new construction with today’s thick insulation, and then it’s also possible to make it completely airtight. In renovations of older houses, I am against it, as it is impossible to make it airtight, and the ventilation is often incorrect in one or more ways.
People often add insulation to timber houses on the inside when they should actually do it on the outside; in your case, the insulation layer is so thin that the timber will probably still warm up, which helps with heating economy and keeps the timber fresh. You want a timber wall on the warm side to best utilize and maintain it.
However, I don't think you need to remove the plastic, but I wouldn't have put it there. If you still plan to put plastic, the best way would be to place it on the ceiling, especially if you intend to lay a lot of insulation in the attic. This way, you avoid the warm air cooling down and releasing moisture on the attic floor structure. In theory, the moisture barrier only works if it’s completely airtight; how it works in practice often relates to ventilation, humidity load, etc. Vague answer, right?
Some are for and some are against it. Personally, I am for new construction with today’s thick insulation, and then it’s also possible to make it completely airtight. In renovations of older houses, I am against it, as it is impossible to make it airtight, and the ventilation is often incorrect in one or more ways.
People often add insulation to timber houses on the inside when they should actually do it on the outside; in your case, the insulation layer is so thin that the timber will probably still warm up, which helps with heating economy and keeps the timber fresh. You want a timber wall on the warm side to best utilize and maintain it.
However, I don't think you need to remove the plastic, but I wouldn't have put it there. If you still plan to put plastic, the best way would be to place it on the ceiling, especially if you intend to lay a lot of insulation in the attic. This way, you avoid the warm air cooling down and releasing moisture on the attic floor structure. In theory, the moisture barrier only works if it’s completely airtight; how it works in practice often relates to ventilation, humidity load, etc. Vague answer, right?
Thank you for the response, found quite a bit under the area "Isolering."
There don't seem to be any "right or wrong" in this area; it all seems to depend on the type of house you have, how you use it, type of heating source, ventilation, etc.
But as you write for my part, it is best to lay plastic in the ceiling to prevent condensation/moisture formation in the insulation in the intermediate floor since the upper floor will not initially be heated.
There don't seem to be any "right or wrong" in this area; it all seems to depend on the type of house you have, how you use it, type of heating source, ventilation, etc.
But as you write for my part, it is best to lay plastic in the ceiling to prevent condensation/moisture formation in the insulation in the intermediate floor since the upper floor will not initially be heated.
To insulate a house, you should have 150 mm insulation or equivalent. This way, moisture cannot travel through the walls, so if the walls are thin, plastic is not necessary. Similarly, if it is an older house, you should avoid plastic as it can negatively affect the construction.
I don't think you should put plastic. But if you are going to put plastic and later finish the upper floor, you should place the plastic under the insulation on the intermediate floor. So not on the first floor.
if the upper floor is to be furnished, the plastic must be on the ceiling and not in the intermediate joist
Yes, of course. But not if you're going to wait a long time to furnish the upper floor, then you'll have to pay extra for heating the upstairs too. Anyway, I think you should skip the plastic...