Why would you need floor insulation when you have already insulated the roof and the walls of your home? Basically, the roof and the floor account for 60% of a building’s exposure, the remaining 40% is for the walls. It is therefore important to consider floor insulation when it comes to heat loss concerns. A few decades back when energy issues are not a real worry, heat loss from floors that are not insulated were given a back seat. Aesthetic values are given key importance in building designs. Presently however, energy buying countries pass legislations that mandate an organized system of designing energy efficient buildings. This includes floor insulation.

Insulation (including floor insulation) is carried out to minimize the flow of heat. In winter, proper room insulation is what traps the heat. There is no question about the ability of a fire place, a furnace and other heaters to keep the home warm but thermal insulation would mean less electricity costs as the heat will be confined or trapped in the room. Insulation simply means keeping the heat in and the cold out. Along with roof and wall insulation, floor insulation would mean less energy will be needed to heat the room thus resulting in a significant reduction on electricity consumption.Floor insulation is very important.

Floor insulation will lessen cold air drafts and increase your savings on energy costs. This can be a fairly easy do it yourself job if the house is still under construction and you are about to put in a new floor. Insulation can be installed from above before the sub floor is laid in place.

However, floor insulation of older homes can be a grueling task as insulation can only be done through the basement or through the crawl space. There are many kinds of insulation but fiberglass insulation would be easier to handle as these are available in pre-cut sizes. Insulation from the basement would need metal supports to hold the insulation in place. Fiberglass can cause severe itching and if you will do the insulation yourself you need to be protected with long sleeves, a heavy duty gloves and a face mask. Goggles would protect the eyes from fiberglass too.

For the cost of the insulation you will enjoy much lower utility bills, you can be assured that your wood floor will be free from moisture infiltration and most of all you will be able to feel the smoothness of the wood floor as you walk barefoot even during bitterly cold winter days and nights.

Insulating a wood floor will be easy if the building is still under construction. The insulation material will be installed before the wooden floor is put together. But as in most cases, homeowners paying huge heating bills would choose to have their home insulated. In this case, insulation will be done through a crawlspace underneath the floor. Insulation will be difficult if there is very little crawlspace as the space to access the area to be insulated is limited. Apart from this, the space to install the insulation can also be restricted. A three or four inches available area for insulation would need a more expensive insulation material to achieve maximum insulation efficiency.

A vapor barrier must be created in insulating any kind of floor. A vapor barrier is doubly important in wood floors as it is highly susceptible to moisture and water damage. Unfaced batts are the most feasible option. Although faced batts can also be used, it would be harder to keep up as it does not have rigid ends. If the faced batts’ firmness is lost, the vapor barrier will be broken making the wood floor insulation as well as the wood floor exposed to moisture.

Lattice boards or 5/8 inch plywood would hold the batting in place. However, this is a bit expensive for a relatively the same performance. Netting can also be used although this would necessitate a lot of work. The most feasible option is to use thin metal rods to hold the batting in place. These lightening rods when spaced every 18 inches will effectively hold the insulation in place.

These guidelines would give you run of the mill insulation procedures. If your budget permits it would be better to hire a contractor as you will be able to get the best efficiency from your insulation project. 

Have you noticed that garages are the most unutilized part of the house? Aside from being used as the storage room for tools, garages are also the repository and catch-all for all the family’s odds and ends. And as such, garages would mean a jumble of many assorted unused things. During the winter months, garages are left cold and unheated. No wonder, family members would only enter the garage when they are parking the car or getting the car out as this part of the house would be a very uncomfortable place to be.

Due to the escalating price of real estate, garages are now being converted into additional living space. Garages that are once thought to be dusty and gas smelling places have dramatically evolved into fully heated and comfortable places. Door, walls and floor are insulated to provide comfort as garages are now used as recreation rooms that will house the pool or tennis tables. Homeowners these days won’t think twice in investing to make a garage livable as here, the father can comfortably tinker with his hobbies and the stay at home mom will now have a comfortable space to exercise.

Garages would normally have sloping concrete slab floors. It is therefore necessary to make the floor warm and hard wearing. Floor insulation is needed to achieve warmth. This can be accomplished by furring the floor using lumber and a 5/8 inch plywood. Most garages are built lower than the house. If this is the case, there is a need to raise the floor to the level of the house. To let water to runoff, garage floors are sloped down to the door. This should also be considered and by raising the joists, a level floor will be achieved.

Before you install the insulation material you need to remember to use pressure treated lumber or use a layer of felt paper between the lumber and the concrete to avoid moisture build up. Carefully insulate the cavities to trap the heat inside for no matter how efficient the insulation material used there will still be heat lost if the floor has cracks and crevices.

These days, crops and food items of this kind are easily available from the grocer and super marts but basements still exist in most homes. It seems people can not let go of traditions. Basements that used to store potatoes are now rooms with a wall to wall carpet, a corner bar, a big screen TV and a comfortable sofa where a potato of the two legged kind is sprawled with eyes glued to the TV.

New home owners will be very lucky if they find that their basement is a warm and comfy place. This would mean that the builders have taken extra effort in making the place not only charming but most importantly habitable.

Most basements however, are damp and chilly places. Like a sponge, concrete absorbs moisture, this would account for the uncomfortable moldy smell. Apart from this, the all too important heat is lost through the basement floor. The myth that heat rises is nothing but a myth! Heat will usually seek cooler places and as such, heat from your furnace or fireplace will move in the direction of the basement and escape through the window or in any cracks on the wall and of course through the concrete floor.

This situation can be easily remedied by making some easy to do improvements on the basement floor to make it utility budget friendly. The solution is to insulate the floor. The idea is to create an insulation layer between the ground and the concrete floor. This insulation barrier will trap the warm air inside and at the same time keep the moisture out.

You can start by covering the entire floor area with polystyrene foam. It would be best to use a builder’s tape to join the polystyrene foam together to create a tight insulation layer. Next, completely cover the foam with 5/8 inch plywood. Once the plywood is screwed to the concrete floor, you are ready to roll out the carpet and have a fully insulated and comfortable basement. 

Aside from providing a healthier and more comfortable environment for the occupants, a well insulated home would also mean lesser electricity bills to be paid for heating the home. Everybody is concerned about energy conservation. While old mansions would need a king’s ransom to heat, new homes and buildings these days follow the Building Code as far as insulation and the consumption of energy is concerned.

Fundamentally, insulation is done to trap the air in cavities, thus, effective insulation will be achieved if the cavities of trapped air is smaller. Heat in an un-insulated home will escape through the ceiling. This would account for about 42% of heat loss. Floors lose only about 10% of heat. Nevertheless, floor insulation is needed to achieve an overall home comfort.

Insulation materials no matter how expensive and touted to be effective will be inefficient if installed unskillfully and poorly as heat can still escape though unsealed gaps. Concrete floors need to be insulated at the time of construction. Pumice and polystyrene are the most suitable insulation materials for concrete floors. Polystyrene products would emit toxic fumes in a fire but this is highly unlikely as this insulation material will be sealed with concrete. Polystyrene have excellent R-values and have superior insulation properties.

Pumice is another excellent concrete floor insulation material. As this is locally available, this is a more economical option. Apart from its outstanding insulation capabilities, pumice can also be used as filler under the concrete slab.

Ideally, concrete floor insulation should be done before the concrete is poured. Insulation material should be strong enough to be able to support the concrete. And since the insulation material will be “buried” under the concrete slab it should be chemical and moisture resistant.

Insulating an existing concrete floor is also possible but this time, the most suitable insulation materials are mineral wool and timber based flooring such as chipboards.