Important Points You Need to Learn About Your Floor Insulation
Floor insulation can help you keep your home warm, cut back on draughts, and cut your energy bills. This article can help you choose the best floor insulation for your floor and find the right floor insulation service provider.
Floors at ground level can feel pretty cold and should be insulated if possible. The upstairs rooms’ floors do not usually need to be insulated if the room or space underneath is heated. But if your room is above an unheated space, such as a garage, you could benefit from floor insulation.
Hiring Professional Floor Insulation Service
If a floor is being excavated and replaced, this is a perfect opportunity to hire professional floor insulation New Orleans, LA to improve the standard of your floor insulation. A U-value of 0.2W/m2K can be achieved for a typical semi-detached dwelling using around 100mm of air-based insulation and careful detailing. Better U-values could be achieved with the same thickness of higher performance materials or a deeper thickness of the same material. Insulation can be added over the existing concrete slab or under a new one.
Above the concrete slab
Suppose the insulation is placed above the slab. In that case, the room will warm up more quickly when the heating is switched on but cool down more quickly, too – this applies to all internal insulation. It will also affect the floor level, which impacts door openings, stairs, and other fixtures. This is why phenolic foam is the most common solution because it can achieve greater insulation for less depth.
In this case, the damp-proof membrane goes above the concrete. Moisture resistant chipboard goes on top, beneath the flooring surface. Leave room for expansion around the edges.
Below the concrete slab
Insulation below the slab is generally better, especially in a warm south-facing room, since the concrete helps absorb heat and limits overheating. The damp proof membrane is placed over a layer of sand to prevent it from being punctured by sharp stones. As it also serves as an airtightness membrane, it laps up the sides of the walls to link to the plaster or plasterboard.
Insulation goes on top of this and around the edges, and concrete is poured on top of that. If underfloor heating is being used, which is fixed to the top of the concrete mix, then a small amount of concrete poured on top of that. The floor covering can be either tiles or floorboards, but any timber should be left in the room for some weeks with the heating on before being laid to prevent it from warping.
Why not install underfloor heating along with solid floor insulation?
It is highly recommended to install underfloor heating while tackling underfloor insulation, especially with solid floors. You get better value for money. Underfloor heating is far more efficient than conventional central heating and gives a greater feeling of comfort. It will pay for the cost of installing it with fuel savings, as less energy is required to achieve the same feeling of warmth.
If it is a suspended floor, always leave the floorboards in the room for a few weeks with the heating on before laying them to avoid the wood warping when in place.