FLOOR DRAUGHTS

[crabb81]

I am about to sand the floor boards in our living room and want to know if there is anything I can do to stop the draughts coming through the joins in the boards.

The boards are in excellent condition and the gap between each floor board is less than 1mm through out the room. yet still the room is quite draughty and cold.

I have once heard that I could put a dark flexible floor tile grout between the floor boards which would eliminate any draught and remain unnoticeable. Is this a sensible move or will it break up when walked upon.

Alternatively what about getting into the floor void (if possible) and running a bead of silicone along all the joints.

Any thoughts or other suggestions?
Thanks

 

[andy2306]

Do yourself a favour and put a carpet down, if its cold now it will always be cold.

You can fill the joints by mixing the sanding dust with glue and putting it in the gaps, then resand when dry.

If your house is a cold house I really would advise against keeping them exposed, I did it at my previous house and my gas bill was ridiculous, we had to have the central heating on ALL summer, Just moved into my new house with lovely 6 inch oak boards and Im putting the thickest underlay i can find over them and carpeting to keep the place warm!!

 

[topper harley]

If you want to have exposed floorboards, and if you can get into the void, I would suggest you put fibreglass insulation between the joists (150mm should do it), and hold it in place with 'chicken wire'. I used this method in my lounge, and it makes a massive difference to the temperature in the winter, in fact it is the warmest room in my house now. In my case it also has the benefit of of reducing the noise of the passing traffic (its amazing how much noise comes through the floor). Things to remember, dont cover the bottom of the joists with insulation else they will rot with condensation. Dont cover any electrical cables with the insulation as they may overheat. I found the insulation that comes in a silver jacket is a lot less messy than the regular type (remember you will working on your back most of time with the insulation overhead). A staple gun works well at securing the chicken wire in place (buy a decent one, the cheapo ones only last 5 minutes). Dont block any air-bricks when you are down there. Wear gloves and a hat.

WEAR EYE PROTECTION!

 

[WoodYouLike]

You can fill the joints by mixing the sanding dust with glue and putting it in the gaps, then resand when dry.

If you do that with normal old floorboards this is an ongoing annual returning job! The seasonal movement of the wood will at some point drop the filler into the void.
Topper's idea is way better.

 

[mad_as_a_fish]

"I did it at my previous house and my gas bill was ridiculous, we had to have the central heating on ALL summer"

I think you may be exaggerating a little!

 

[Deluks]

"I did it at my previous house and my gas bill was ridiculous, we had to have the central heating on ALL summer"

I think you may be exaggerating a little!

Remember, he's in Yorkshire.

By 'eck, it grim oop north!

 

[crabb81]

Thanks for the advice Topper.
There appears to be enough room to get below & fix insulation to the underside of the floor so think that I will do this in the next couple of days.

Which insulation would you recommend. Would polystrene sheets do the job?
Do I need to be concerned about condensation/damp on the underside of the floor boards where the insulation is placed?

Thanks again for the advice

 

[andy2306]

"I did it at my previous house and my gas bill was ridiculous, we had to have the central heating on ALL summer"

I think you may be exaggerating a little!

Lol I was paying £120 a month for gasand electric, My electric bill worked out around £30 a months, gas £90, When I moved out recently, I was £150 up on my electric, and £498 in debt for my gas, Id only lived there 18 months, that works out at around £118 on average a month for gas............ and that was only heating and hotwater the cooker was electric.

I only lived in a small 2 bed terrace, litterally, I had to have the heating on ALL the time!!!!!

 

[JohnD]

should have bought a vest.

 

[topper harley]

"Which insulation would you recommend. Would polystrene sheets do the job?"

You can use polystyrene sheets, but it will be awkward to get it down into the void, and it is more difficult to fill-in small gaps with. However if you cut it correctly you would not need to use the chicken wire as the polystyrene can be cut so it is a tight fit

I would suggest conventional 'loft' insulation. It is much cheaper, easier to get into the void and you can fill small gaps with it.

"Do I need to be concerned about condensation/damp on the underside of the floor boards where the insulation is placed?"

No, it is sufficent just to have the bottom of the joists exposed. This will allow the air-gap under the floor to do its job. The air-bricks will allow condensation to escape.