Insulation between ground and first floor. What would be the most cost effective option

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As I have all the ceiling void exposed. before closing down i would like to stick some insulation between the joist. What would be the most cost effective option? Not looking for crazy expensive stuff considering the large quantity but something that still will work at considerable price.

Thanks
 
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they all work ...youve gone to the bother of exposing it. i’d be looking at sound proofing / insulation .
 
As I have all the ceiling void exposed. before closing down i would like to stick some insulation between the joist. What would be the most cost effective option? Not looking for crazy expensive stuff considering the large quantity but something that still will work at considerable price.

Thanks
As Benny touches on, what is the insulation for? Generally your upstairs and downstairs will be the same temperature so the insulation won't be doing much temperature control.

Sound insulation is a different matter. It should help reduce noise transfer and imo is well worth the time and effort. There you probably want to go for the specialist acoustic insulation slabs, but they're pricey and bog standard loft roll will do something at least.
 
Could cause issues with the electrics as you could be derating cables.
 
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when cables are surrounded by insulation, the heat generated by the current they carry cannot escape, and they can overheat which (at least) shortens the life of the PVC insulation. This is particularly important with the cables to electric showers and immersion heaters which will be carrying sustained heavy loads. Lighting cables in a house have very low loads.

However:

If the cable is exposed on one side (e.g. it lies on top of the insulation), or if it is in contact with an uninsulated surface (e.g. it is lying on the ceiling) the heat can escape so this is not a problem.

If you have any downlighter/spots in the ceiling, they are a particular risk and you should protect them with fire hoods or other non-flammable covers so the insulation can't flop onto them.

Loft insulation is cheap and gives good heat insulation. Because it is very light it muffles sound a little, but heavier insulation is better. You can get slabs of mineral wool as used in cavity walls fairly cheaply, or purpose-made sound insulation quilt which will be dearer. mineral fibre teated with Ecose does not shed irritant dust and fibre like the old yellow fibreglass (it is brown, and widely sold as an own-brand or as Knauf, you will see the "Ecose" name on the packaging).

If you squash loft fibre tightly around the perimeter of the room, it will block draughts which usually come from gappy brickwork and the holes that joists are built into, and rise up under the shorting and though gaps in floorboards.

mineral fibre does not damage cables as plastic foam can, and does not burn or create poisonous fumes in a fire, as plastic foam does. Since Grenfell I would not have plastic foam in my house.

here's one I did earlier:

20180108_172001.jpg
 
the heating or overheating of cables surely points to an electrical problem or the unsuitability of said cable. every loft in the country has cables buried under insulation .or buried in chased walls. ?
 
Any insulation derates cables, probably won't be an issue but worth considering.

I`m aware about that and was taking into account to buy fire rated downlight and if possible use the cover cap or push. insulation away from the floor board above

Got 175mm joist and cable usually run in the middle. Using 100mm insulation these will cover up or stay below cable.
 
the heating or overheating of cables surely points to an electrical problem or the unsuitability of said cable. every loft in the country has cables buried under insulation .or buried in chased walls. ?

The way my house had cable buried into the walls was to find out the electrician and jail him for 50 years at minimum. Crazy lazy people just buried cable below the skim
 
AIUI you only need to chase cables in 10mm or so, enough to give the plaster enough thickness to be stable. That's assuming a modern RCB box. There's a maximum depth of 1/3 of the brick, which works out to around 30-30mm.

On the cables, as long as they're not surrounded by the insulation you'll be ok. lf you use 100mm slabs it'd be best to move the wires a bit higher on the joists if needed so they're visible and clear. Both for derating and so you can find them in two years.
 

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