Floors insulation and everything you need to know about it
Insulation is the magic word when it comes to saving electricity costs. This is not all, for insulation also helps in sound proofing your house. In order to reduce heat loss, it’s best to insulate the floors which lie directly over unheated basements, or open spaces such as garages and porches. Insulating under the ground floor can help you save up to £40 a year. A proper mechanism of insulation can also go a long way when it comes to reducing the draughts.
Most of the times, old homes have suspended timber floors. Such type of floors can often be insulated by simply lifting the floorboards and laying down some mineral wool which should be supported by netting between the joists.
Newer homes have floors made out of concrete; in such cases, either you can insulate when the floors are being replaced, or simply place the insulation sheet on the top. Either way, it should serve the purpose for you.
In an ideal situation, rooms which are on top of other heated rooms don’t need to be insulated. For example, your bedrooms might be on top of the living room, in which case you would not need to insulate the flooring of your bedrooms. However, in cases where your rooms are above unheated areas, there is an imminent need to insulate the floorings.
Understanding what type of floorings you have
If your house came with a cellar or a basement, then you can safely check what kind of flooring you have. If your house has suspended Engineered wooden flooring, then you would notice wooden joists and the undersides of the floors as well. On the contrary, if you have air bricks on the outside walls, then you would probably have a suspended timber floor.
In case your walls have these bricks, then it’s advisable to not block the flow of air through the walls. The draughts of air will help prevent any kind of rotting below your floorboards. At the same time, if you don’t have access to the basement/cellar, then just pick up the carpet to check what kind of floorings you have. Do note that if you have another flat below your flat, then you don’t need to worry about floor insulations.
Floor insulation installation
You can get your floor installed by a professional, or even do it yourself. DIY enthusiasts can purchase the required materials from a DIY store. During installation procedures, you need to seal any kinds of gaps between and around the floorboards while putting them back.
On the other hand, if you can afford to hire a professional to do your insulation, you can reach out to any reputed insulation company. Although, you might have to spend a little extra money, you will get excellent service and the installation procedures will be adequately placed. This way, you don’t need to get into the hassles of doing everything yourself and spending hours and hours together. Most of the times, a professional would know how to do insulation and which materials to use. Depending on the need of the hour, you can take a decision and act accordingly.
