Space blanket insulation - is it safe with hot pipes?

[paulo12345]

Hello,

Can anyone help. I am currently in the process of relaying wooden floorboards in my lounge and I want to insulated under them. I plan to use Knauf space blanket (because it is cheaper than insulation board and the joists are uneven in shape and spacing) but there are a number of heating pipes under the floor which will help keep the floor warm but will be between the insulation and the floorboards. I know the usual advice of allowing air circulation to the joists ect but want to check that i am ok to use space blanket with hot pipes running over it (between the insulation and the floorboards) as i have not been able to find this information anywhere else on the net.

Thanks for any help.

 

[gblades]

The space blankets are just fibreglass insulation with a very thin plastic sheet at the bottom and a metalic film on top. It might smell a bit if the plastic melts slightly. You could either cut the top of the blanket away where the pipes are or put some pipe insulation around the pipes.

 

[paulo12345]

Thanks for your reply. It will only be the metalic foil in contact with the pipes so i presume that this will be ok and not melt. There are quite a lot of pipes so i would prefer not to insulate them as well unless absolutely nessecery.

 

[JohnD]

if you fix the blanket from underneath, you can protect the pipes from freezing as well as preventing wasting heat and money in the cold space. It will alsop tend to sag downwards so it will not be pressing against the pipes.

BTW you can buy big loft rolls without the plastic cover for £3 each now, and they are Knauf ones with an additive against dust and fibres, big space blanket was £5 when I looked yesterday in Homebase.

 

[LooPrEvil]

Paulo you will not have any problems using space blanket and covering the pipework, in fact as mentioned it will insulate and protect them during cold snaps. Normal insulation will do, it is cheaper than space blanket. Use a netlon type of product to hold it in place, stapled to the joists.

Lou

 

[paulo12345]

yes i was going to do that - there are that many pipes it will be like a (very) poor mans underfloor heating! The space blank will be between joist where it packs quite tightly so won't sag too much (at least not at first) but as long as its safe i will go ahead and lay it. Thanks for your help.

 

[merlin50]

mod 11 Please do not duplicate your posts