Hi all,
We have a house with suspended timber ground floors and tons of airbricks. Whilst this gives the timbers good ventilation it leads to very cold floors, especially at this time of year. I'd love to insulate underneath them but that is a bit impractical for a few reasons:
1) I'd need to lift all of the floorboards as there's no access underneath. Not easy to plan around the family!
2) The joists are only 100mm deep and supported by several solid brick dwarf walls. This means I'd need to leave gaps in the insulation above these dwarf walls to allow cross ventilation, or just put a thinner layer (50mm?) in those areas.
So I'm wondering if just doing as much as I can from above will make a worthwhile difference. I know it won't be as effective as a proper insulating regime, but would it help to stop the floors feeling so cold? Cold feet and ankles, plus getting chilly when playing on the floor with my son.
We're planning on replacing all of the carpets soon so I'm thinking about the following:
1) Caulk any noticeable gaps between the floorboards and caulk between them and the skirting.
2) Lay down a thick flooring paper, taping the joints, to seal off any minor gaps / draughts.
3) Use a thick felt underlay with a high insulating value.
4) Carpet.
Is the above likely to make any noticeable difference? Or do you have any other ideas on doing a proper insulating job underneath, bearing in mind the dwarf wall issue?
Thanks,
Andy.
We have a house with suspended timber ground floors and tons of airbricks. Whilst this gives the timbers good ventilation it leads to very cold floors, especially at this time of year. I'd love to insulate underneath them but that is a bit impractical for a few reasons:
1) I'd need to lift all of the floorboards as there's no access underneath. Not easy to plan around the family!
2) The joists are only 100mm deep and supported by several solid brick dwarf walls. This means I'd need to leave gaps in the insulation above these dwarf walls to allow cross ventilation, or just put a thinner layer (50mm?) in those areas.
So I'm wondering if just doing as much as I can from above will make a worthwhile difference. I know it won't be as effective as a proper insulating regime, but would it help to stop the floors feeling so cold? Cold feet and ankles, plus getting chilly when playing on the floor with my son.
We're planning on replacing all of the carpets soon so I'm thinking about the following:
1) Caulk any noticeable gaps between the floorboards and caulk between them and the skirting.
2) Lay down a thick flooring paper, taping the joints, to seal off any minor gaps / draughts.
3) Use a thick felt underlay with a high insulating value.
4) Carpet.
Is the above likely to make any noticeable difference? Or do you have any other ideas on doing a proper insulating job underneath, bearing in mind the dwarf wall issue?
Thanks,
Andy.