ᐅ Insulating the tank room

Hello everyone

In our detached house (built in 1969), I would like to insulate the basement ceiling in the oil tank room. The dining-living area above, with a panel floor, gets cold feet very quickly in winter. The tank room is enclosed, with an access window from the heating room. As far as I can tell, the basement ceiling is made of reinforced concrete. If possible, I want to glue the insulation material directly to the ceiling.

- Which materials are suitable, and how thick should the insulation be?
- Is a vapor barrier necessary? Could there be moisture issues?
- What else should I consider?

Thanks in advance for the feedback

Hello kingblatter,

For the thermal insulation of the ceiling in an oil storage room, I would recommend non-combustible insulation materials; glass wool, mineral wool, or stone wool are typically used. The thickness of the insulation depends on the available ceiling height (also consider the height of the window lintel); I would recommend making the insulation as thick as possible, around 14cm (5.5 inches).

You do not need a vapor barrier, as there should be no moisture issues; for other important considerations, you can find good information in the two links.

kingblatter schrieb:
Hello everyone

In our single-family house (built in 1969), I would like to insulate the basement ceiling in the oil tank room. In the dining-living area above, which has a tiled floor, your feet get cold very quickly in winter. The tank room is enclosed, with an access window from the boiler room. As far as I can tell, the basement ceiling is made of reinforced concrete. If possible, I want to glue the insulation material directly to the ceiling.

- Which materials are suitable, and how thick should the insulation be?
- Is a vapor barrier necessary? Could there be issues with moisture?
- What else should I keep in mind?

Thanks in advance for your feedback

I glued SWICO glass wool boards (Stutz insulations) to the concrete ceiling using expanding foam. The boards are covered with a white fleece. Advantages: fibers cannot come loose later, good appearance, brightens the room, fire resistant, no moisture problems.
Apply the expanding foam in lines on the backside of the boards with a spacing of 15–20 cm (6–8 inches), then press the boards immediately onto the concrete ceiling.
Tip: Let the expanding foam cure for about 2 hours until the boards are firmly attached.
Use a firm wooden board slightly larger than the glass wool board underneath and wedge it between the floor and the glass wool board. After about 2 hours, fix the next board this way, and so on. This will give you a clean and even surface.

Hello everyone,

gluing with construction foam is not a very good solution. Just the time required: gluing each individual panel, protecting against falling, waiting 2 hours, then gluing the next panel — the panels measure 50 x 150cm (20 x 59 inches)... how long does it take to insulate a tank room ceiling this way?

My advice is always to follow the manufacturer’s installation instructions; gluing with construction foam is not included.
Quote from the Stutz Isolationen AG website:
Installation options for SWISO ceiling insulation on site:
1. Special plastic insulation anchors, which are driven into concrete or hollow core slabs, hold and secure the insulation boards.
2. For specific requirements, concealed installation is possible using special metal brackets.
3. An insulated suspended ceiling can be installed using aluminum profiles and ceiling hangers (especially for insulating storage and workshop halls).
4. In special cases, installation with adhesive or a combination of adhesive and anchors is possible.

However, "adhesive" does not mean construction foam.

Hello

Ideally, a multiporous insulation board that is non-combustible and fiber-free should be used. It can only be glued with the appropriate adhesive.