Which insulation to use?

[ptaylor]

I live in a flat with someone living below and above me. I am going to replace some of the floor boards in the hall and thought that while i had the floor up i might as well put some lagging in between the joists to keep out a bit of noise but mainly to keep the heat in. Because it is a flat does anyone know if there are any special requirements for insulation in flats?
If so can anyone recommend some good insulation?


Any advice would be really appreciated

Thanks

Phil

 

[Bahco]

B and Q are doing a deal at the moment. 200 mm will do you.

 

[JohnD]

for sound insulation, the heavier mineral wool batts are better than the lightweight stuff used in lofts. You will find it in bales of slabs in builders merchants and larger DIY sheds. It is usually brownish or sometimes grey. It will be marked as for insulating cavity walls, under floors and general builders use. It is available in various sizes, try to get a width that will fit closely between your joists to save having to cut it so much. A saw or breadknife will trim it.

If you come across those horrible downlights poked through holes in ceilings, you should not pack insulation around them or they will overheat. But you can make a hood up by making a box out of double-thickness plasterboard and rest that on the ceiling round the light. The thick plaster will suppress noise. Or you can buy purpose-made smoke-hoods if you prefer. One of the things they do is prevent spread of smoke and fire through the ceiling (plaster ceilings are fire-resistant) between your home and the next flat and will also cut down cooking smells etc.

Unless the flat benath you is unheated and draughty, you will not lose heat through your floor. If you lived in a house or a ground-floor flat, then yes, there would be heat loss through the floor.

 

[^woody^]

For sound insulation use Rockwool or a dense fibreboard.

But If you insulate the floor, you may actually make your flat colder as you wont get any adventitious heat from the flat below.

Generally in a flat, you don't own/lease the space in the floor void, so be careful what you do as you don't want to be responsible for causing problems - like John has mentioned with the lights or suchlike to the flat below