ground floor insulation

[bice]

I am in the middle of having a side-return extension and have most of the floor boards up.

I intend to lay hardboard and either a wooden plank floor - such as old floor boards - or parquet on top.

This is also an opportunity to insulate the floor and ceiling.

I am thinking of doing both with loft insulation fibre glass wool, with garden netting for the floor to keep it all in place. (The plasterboard ceiling will keep everything in place above.)

Is this the best method? it seems to me as though the floor will be pretty well insulated anyway with the hardboard and wooden floor on top, and most draughts will be excluded.

Any thoughts?

 

[mointainwalker]

it seems to me as though the floor will be pretty well insulated anyway with the hardboard and wooden floor on top, an

So if you thinkk a floorboard plus hardboard is prettty good insulation, give us your estimate of how much better than 100 mm of fibre-wool it is .

 

[bice]

I am not sure what purpose fibre wool insulation serves on a ground floor. The wood floor and hard wood base will exclude drafts.

Is it a good idea to isulated a ground floor with fibre wool? That's why I asked the question.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Of course adding any insulation to a ground floor will have a benefit. Do you think ground floors in new buildings or extensions are insulated for a laugh?

A few layers of Rockwool or similar or alternatively say 100mm of rigid insulation such as Kingspan will keep the floor warmer.

 

[ajrobb]

If you have the floorboards up you have already gone through 95% of the pain to insulate the floor. My local building control recommended mineral wool on netting tight against the floorboards. They talked about spills being able to drain away. You should also look at joist ends in the wall to see if they need sealing against draughts coming in under the skirting boards. Finally, with less heat to keep things dry, you must ensure good ventilation through air bricks, even adding extra. I suggest a few photos so experienced builders can advise.

It is common to put hardboard above floorboards before carpeting.

Be careful not to insulate non-lighting cables.

 

[Mezcalsoakedboy]

I've just completed installing 200mm off glass mineral wool under floor insulation. I've got a fair amount of headroom in the crawlspace....so installed from beneath.

I would recommend using the follow netting from Tenax:

http://www.tenax.co.uk/showcategory.asp?category=166&menu=3

It takes quite a bit of abuse, and maintains a reasonable shape/form when handling.


It's a fairly unpleasant job, but I've noticed the difference already.