Cold air coming up from uninsulated suspended timber floor

[dhirenm]

Hi guys, It's my first post so I do apologise if I go on a bit or dont say enough. but here goes...

I have a 1930's 4 bed detached property, which we have just moved in to and are finding that the living rooms do not heat up sufficiently and can feel a draught from the edges of the rooms. When the heating is on the temp is ok, however when it's off the house becomes cold very quickly. The windows are fine as they have been replaced very recently and the draught does not appear to be coming from them. Currently the living rooms have a suspended timber floor with tongue and groove floor boards which are not insulated. I have currently got the old carpet back down without the underlay (it was very old brittle stuff which broke when we removed the carpet for plastering) which might explain some of the draught. Before I put the new carpet and underlay down I want some advice on insulating the floor for better heat retention. The options I have as I see it is to put proper insulation material down between the joists which may mean lifting some of the floorboards. This sounds expensive. The second option is to do nothing and lay the carpet down with good quality underlay and see how we get on. The third option is to seal up any gaps between the skirting and floorboards and lay down a DPM (as suggested by a colleague) which I will attach with staples and then lay the new underlay and carpet. I'm eering towards option 3 but would like some opinions on the best option.

Thanks in advance for you replys.

D.

[BillyGoat]

I've got a 1930's.....same thing - if you sit on the carpet, you can feel the cold coming up.

Spend the cash and get a DECENT underlay - shouldn't feel it at all then. Cloud 9 (sounds like crisp packets, I'm told) or the other stuff....not your carpet right crap.

Can you get under?

My next weekends project is to use the MOUNTAIN of loft insulation I got from B&Q (3p a roll.... :lol). I'm going to squeeze my fat arse in the trap door and use the fiberglass between the joists.....then, when I get a new carpet later, I'll get underlay too - belt and braces. You can do it with ridgid insulation, but means lots of cutting in a cramped space.

Look on the brightside.....there is obviously a good airflow under the house.......no rotten floors!!!

BG

[dhirenm]

Thanks BillyGoat, I've got the Cloud 9 11mm undelay in the upstairs bedrooms and it's pretty good. I could get under the timber frame but it's very cramped. I was looking for an easier option. A bit of google'ing has led me to Springvale Floorshield EPS70 sheet 25mm 2400x1200mm which I could put on top of the existing floorboards and then put a layer of ply on before carpeting with good underlay. I would lose 5cm of height or so but maybe worth it if it makes the rooms a lot warmer. Have any of you used this FloorShield stuff or similar on a suspended timber floor and did it improve heat retension?

Are B&Q still doing the subsidised loft insulation? I need to top up the loft but cannot find it cheap anywhere unless you get a comp in to do it, which i'd rather not do based on reviews of some of these companies. Cheapest I can see is in B&Q and Wickes for £10 a roll. Might wait for one of them to drop in price before purchasing. Last year I got some from my local build centre for £3 a roll but they've now closed there branch in my town. If you do know of other nationwide sheds that are doing cheap loft insulation rolls then do let me know.

[pug205]

I was thinking about a layer of "Thinsulex" on top of the floorboards prior to underlay and carpets going down. Any thoughts please?

[CPM]

Hi guys, It's my first post so I do apologise if I go on a bit or dont say enough. but here goes...

I have a 1930's 4 bed detached property, which we have just moved in to and are finding that the living rooms do not heat up sufficiently and can feel a draught from the edges of the rooms. When the heating is on the temp is ok, however when it's off the house becomes cold very quickly. The windows are fine as they have been replaced very recently and the draught does not appear to be coming from them. Currently the living rooms have a suspended timber floor with tongue and groove floor boards which are not insulated. I have currently got the old carpet back down without the underlay (it was very old brittle stuff which broke when we removed the carpet for plastering) which might explain some of the draught. Before I put the new carpet and underlay down I want some advice on insulating the floor for better heat retention. The options I have as I see it is to put proper insulation material down between the joists which may mean lifting some of the floorboards. This sounds expensive. The second option is to do nothing and lay the carpet down with good quality underlay and see how we get on. The third option is to seal up any gaps between the skirting and floorboards and lay down a DPM (as suggested by a colleague) which I will attach with staples and then lay the new underlay and carpet. I'm eering towards option 3 but would like some opinions on the best option.

Thanks in advance for you replys.

D.

Hello mate I wouldn't go with option 3 as the floorboards need to be able to breath, a mix of the first 2 options would be best, the insulation wouldn't be that expensive but is very time consuming job. Matt

[dhirenm]

Thanks for the replys. An update: I ended up putting down 6mm ply on to the existing floorboards. The verdict is that we are already noticing the benefits; no noticable draughts, rooms heating up to required temp which was not happening before, and better renetion of heat. Hopefully when the underlay with new carpet goes down it will be even better. Thanks again.