Underfloor Insulation – Necessary Work

Underfloor insulation is another one of the big three places (the attic and the walls are the other two) you need to insulate in your house to make your place comfortable. The other big reason is that insulating your floors will help cut down your energy bills. Among other things, the floors are sometimes one of the neglected areas to insulate.

If your house has suspended wooden floors or a concrete one, you certainly can save much on the energy bills if you insulate them properly. Getting it properly done should be the work of professionals even if you need to spend more than you can afford.

You can get financial help if you don’t have budget for it at present. The one-time expense will be paid off compared to the never-ending yearly energy bills you have to pay to keep your place warm.

Type

Like any undertaking, you need to find out the type of floor before starting anything. You can get to know it two ways. Check the basement and find out if there are wooden joists and other parts of the floor’s underside.

It is most likely that you have this floor type if there are ventilation bricks on the outside of your house below the floor level. You can lift the corner of your carpet and the underlay in case you cannot access the space underneath your floor.

 Regulations

You also need to follow building regulations in your locality. One is that if you’re adding extra insulation to your existing floor, you need to consider some issues.

You have to first ensure that the ground floor rooms meet the minimum room heights. Secondly, you have to achieve the minimum u-value (standard thermal performance measure). Finally, you need to minimize the risk of fire.

It is important to solicit advice from building control officers of your local council before doing anything.

Wood

If you floor is damaged by rot, damp or infestation, you need to repair them first before you can do any work. If your floor is above an unheated cellar, you need to construct the insulation rightly between the joists and secure the netting.

You need to fix the plasterboard to the basement’s ceiling to allow fire resistance. You need to take up the floorboard to fit the underfloor insulation if the floor is not accessible.

Concrete

If you are insulating over the slabs, the room will warm up faster when the heating is switched on. You also need to keep the thickness of your insulation to a minimum to reduce having costly alterations on doors, stairs and other parts because the floor’s height is raised.

When the floor underneath the concrete is insulated, it can help regulate the temperature and prevent overheating because of the thermal mass of the concrete. (These are for rooms facing south or occupied for long.)

If a damp-proof membrane is placed above the slabs, an additional one might be needed to protect the insulation from ground contaminants. Underfloor insulation is needed as well as on the other neglected parts of the house.