Underfloor insulation

Sea_Fossil · 8 February 2018 at 3:33PM

Hi Everyone,
I have wooden floors in a small 2B bungalow. There are air bricks below the DPC all around the house. The front of the house faces north I therefore get a cold, and this time of year icy blast coming in through the air bricks. My floors are laminate for reasons of hygiene and I had the best thermal underlay laid beneath the laminate. Its still Baltic! I blocked them all up with the intentions of unblocking in better weather. I wondered whether anyone had any information on underfloor insulation or other ideas that might help?

Norman_Castle · 9 February 2018 at 9:35AM

Fill the gap between the skirting and the floor. Air bricks are there for a reason. Blocking them can cause damp and decay.

Wear thick socks.

ProDave · 9 February 2018 at 10:09AM

Air bricks ventilate the space UNDER a floor to keep it dry and stop rot. Do NOT block them.

The solution you are looking for, is strip the floor bare back to bare joists, lay insulation in between the joists (usually suspended n netting) and put the floor back.

The few mm is "insulation" you put under the laminate is insignificant.

Sea_Fossil · 13 February 2018 at 5:30PM

Many thanks for your replies.
As I am 70yrs thick socks are par for the course at my age ha! Lifting the floor is not an option cos of the cost. Am going to inject foam into the gap between wall and floor, I have newspaper stuffed in there at the moment! so will do it before we put the skirting back on. The airbrick covers were a temp measure to get over the icy spell. For the short period they are in place should not make a difference plus I was more worried about Radon Gas than anything else, but understand in my area it is minimal. The only other cost effective idea I can think of is to install some kind of cowel over the air bricks which would still allow ventilation but reduce the blast that comes through.

matelodave · 13 February 2018 at 6:01PM

As said above, you should not shut off your ventilation under the floor.

You could fit these (or something like them) to deflect the wind blowing directly onto the air bricks http://www.i-sells.co.uk/rytons-9x9-cowl-terracotta?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI46rjoa2j2QIVzL3tCh0qVgAkEAQYASABEgKngvD_BwE

Draught proofing around the gap between the wall and floor with foam or sealer would stop the draughts coming in, likewise filling any gaps between floorboards and even the ceiling and walls.

Be careful though because you'll end up with condensation & mould if you close off all ventilation in the room.

Take care if you've got a boiler, fire or stove that needs ventilation to ensure that you dont cause problems with combustion air

tony541 · 13 February 2018 at 8:23PM

Hi,
An effective solution would be to buy an under rug heating pad. You put the rug and under rug heating pad where your feet ate going to be and it is very effective because the heat rises up and is close to you.
You would only need say 2 sq metres or as big as you want. The electric matting is only 150 or 175 watts per square metre and you can control the one off with a simple thermostat so it is ery cheap to run. All in all would cost about £200 for self install of £300 for an electrician to do it.
Ive done this myself and its very effective but it has to be installed correctly to prevent any fire risk.
Just an idea.

tacpot12 · 13 February 2018 at 9:38PM

I've never heard of anyone doing this, but I don't see why you couldn't buy a positive input ventilation unit (PIV) and use it to pump warm air into the floor void, where it will then leave via the airbricks. By providing some positive pressure under the floor it will stop cold air coming into the void.

The heaters in the units are about 300 watts, so not too expensive to run permanently the winter. The units cost about £300. An electrician will be able to put install it with a thermostat in the void so that it runs permanently when the temperature in the void is, say, less than 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

You could also fit a PIV unit in a conventional position, and seal up some of the vents in the house and create new vents from the house into the floor void, but I think this will result in you loosing more heat. Any thoughts anyone?

tony541 · 13 February 2018 at 10:38PM

1. https://www.livingheat.co.uk/product-category/heating-carpet/

Here is a web site for underfloor electric heating. This company uses an insulator below the pad and then hardboard over the top and then your carpet on top which is not practical for the person raising this thread but something like this could be useful....
2, Other companies use different methods.....http://www.theunderfloorheatingstore.com/electric-underfloor-heating/undercarpet-vinyl-heating/prowarm-under-carpet-under-vinyl-heating-kit.
I have living heat under my laminate and it is very efficient and comfortable. In an previous house I had an under rug system, see 2., which was cheap to run and put the heat exactly where it was needed. One, of course, has to have a main source of heating for the rest of the house. but under floor heating puts the heating where it is needed and one spends most of the time, ie watching telly in the evening.
Also, I find, cheap to buy, halogen heaters are good at heating small chosen areas and would be a lot cheaper than any other heating. IMHO.

tony541 · 13 February 2018 at 10:40PM

tacpot12 wrote: »

I've never heard of anyone doing this, but I don't see why you couldn't buy a positive input ventilation unit (PIV) and use it to pump warm air into the floor void, where it will then leave via the airbricks. By providing some positive pressure under the floor it will stop cold air coming into the void.

The heaters in the units are about 300 watts, so not too expensive to run permanently the winter. The units cost about £300. An electrician will be able to put install it with a thermostat in the void so that it runs permanently when the temperature in the void is, say, less than 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

You could also fit a PIV unit in a conventional position, and seal up some of the vents in the house and create new vents from the house into the floor void, but I think this will result in you loosing more heat. Any thoughts anyone?

Good lateral thinking but in this case a bit complex and probably inaffective.

Nova_Saver · 13 February 2018 at 10:55PM

I find slippers with a thick sole works best for my feet to stop the laminate and tiled floors turning them into ice blocks. My home has these floorings (laminate, with tiles in the kitchen) ontop of a concrete floor so downstairs gets quite cold due to the thermal mass of the concrete taking all the heat out of anything in contact with the floor. Before the slippers I was looking at the heated electric rugs which would empart heat into the laminate floor, but I concluded it would waste a fortune on energy bills for the electric. You might be better off in the long run carpeting the room or putting down more rugs in the winter.

Sea_Fossil · 14 February 2018 at 2:50PM

Many thanks again for your advice and info especially Matelotdave, the cowels are exactly what I was looking for. Had asked a Jewsons and they had no idea! Only the exposed airbricks are taped up and as I said only as a temporary measure.
I bought this bungalow 3 yrs ago in SW Scotland the area is beautiful but the weather is dire. I have a newly installed oil central heating system with the boiler outside. I am going through 100 litres every 2 weeks which equates to approx £100 pm, plus a superser using 15kg of gas every week £30. and my small 800 watt electric heater. Dare not use the tumble drier!!! The fireplace has been bricked up but I cut a hole to install a vent. I intend getting a multi fuel/log fire installed as the superser although expensive has proved to be efficient in keeping the living warm. Also I can get free firewood. As children all we had for heat was a coal fire which heated the whole house. I shall certainly follow up on the PIV
For several years I have spent the winter months in the Far East. Decided this year to stay here and get some work done around the house. The costs of staying warm are more than what it would cost me to fly to the Far East and live for six months. So come the backend I am off. When the time comes to hang up my passport and shall have peace of mind that I am going to pass on through old age and not hyperthermia.
Thank you all.

Underfloor insulation

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