Floors allow heat to escape in varying degrees. How much heat your floor gains or loses depends largely on the type of your floor and how old it is. Most times, heat loss from the floor can get pretty uncomfortable and uneconomical. The solution? Floor insulation. The installation of the right kind of insulation has numerous potential benefits. It helps to reduce heat loss, helps you save on energy costs, and make your home feel cosier and more comfortable.
Insulation combined with a layer of vapour control also deals with draught problems in homes. For new construction projects, insulation is important to reduce interior temperature swings, making your home easier to heat. As a means to cut down costs and insulate your home on a budget, you may decide to insulate your floor yourself. However, like every construction project, some amount of preparation is needed to get your floor ready for insulation. You’ll also need to hire tools near you to get the job done effectively. Before you embark on your floor insulation project, here are some preparatory steps you need to take to achieve the best results.
Consider Your Floor Type
The first thing you should consider as you prepare for insulation is your floor type. The type and structure of your floor influence the choice of insulation materials and the best installation techniques for your home. Many aged houses have suspended timber floors with crawl spaces right under the ground floors. Most times, wooden floorboards are fastened to the supporting joists which are held in place by the house foundation or load-bearing walls.
This implies that there is a ventilation space beneath your floor. You can confirm by looking out for air bricks on your exterior walls. This is a better alternative to lifting the floorboards which may potentially cause damage. The presence of the ventilation bricks indicates that your floor is the suspended type. Ground floors of recently constructed houses are more likely to be solid concrete.
Get The Right Equipment
Ideally, you should check out the list of recommended equipment for the type of insulation you want to install as this tends to vary from one project to the other. PPE clothing is generally important for all kinds of insulation. It may consist of full-length overalls, safety goggles, boots, respiratory masks, and protective hand gloves. Carpenter pencils and a tape measure are required to get the right size of insulation material to your floor. You will also need a cutting tool depending on the insulation material which may be a pair of scissors, a knife, or even small-sized circular saws.
To hold the insulation in place, you may require a stapler, hammer, or glue. In some cases, power drills and screws are more appropriate to secure the insulation material in place. Most importantly, get your air sealant, moisture barriers, as well as the right insulation material ready.
Rigid foam boards are the most popular material for concrete floor insulation. On the other hand, mineral wool is a good material for suspended timber insulation because it is breathable and fibrous. The material is also great for roof and loft insulation.
If you’re a DIY enthusiast, you probably have some of these tools in your toolbox already. But for tools you do not have, you can either purchase one or hire tools near you from a tool hire or equipment rental company.
How Much Insulation Do You Need?
Overestimation often causes people to purchase excess material. You don’t want to waste money like this. Ending up with insufficient material isn’t a nice option either. To get an approximate estimation of the right amount of material you need, you have to measure your room first. Get the area of your room by taking the length and width measurements and multiplying them. This gives you the area size of your room so you can easily estimate how much insulating material you’ll be needing for the insulation project.
Clean And Clear Out Your Room
You can start by temporarily getting rid of your furniture and other stuff on your floor. In the case of concrete floors, it is important to clean them properly to ensure an even insulation fitting. Sweep, and vacuum away all the traces of debris, dust, or dirt. If there are any skirtings on the wall, get rid of them too. That’s because the post-insulated floor will be higher than it originally was and the skirtings would just cause unnecessary complications.
For a suspended timber floor, the ventilation has to be right. Make sure there are no obstructions to airflow. Ventilation problems with this kind of floor can cause fungus to grow and the floor may start to rot. Even during the process of the insulation installation, ensure that the air bricks are not blocked. You should also get rid of any loose nails on the floor to prevent potential damage to the fitted insulation.
Prepare To Deal With Moisture Problems
As beneficial as floor insulation is, it increases the chances of moisture problems, especially on timber floors. Necessary steps have to be taken to combat this before you start to install your floor insulation. Some of the weakest points to pay special attention to are the spaces at the rim-joist spaces along the entire floor. Insulation and air sealing of the joists are important procedures to deal with moisture issues. They can be carried out either before or as part of the floor insulation process.
The two-part spray foam approach is the most common air-sealing technique for rim joists. In just one simple step, you can air seal and insulate your floor joists at the same time. For air sealing purposes, polystyrene or polyurethane rigid board insulation is another good method. However, never use fibreglass batts to air-seal rim joists. They are more prone to result in condensation and encourage mould buildup on the rim joists-something you certainly do not want to encounter.
You have to take extra care in areas prone to termites, ants, and other insect infestations. Your air sealing and moisture barrier materials should not create channels for wood floor infestations. If your floor is solid concrete, you should first add a damp-proof material to prevent the buildup of moisture after insulation.
Conclusion
For DIY enthusiasts, remember that preparation is key in the procedure of your floor insulation. Get all your essential tools, materials, and pieces of equipment ready for the project. You’ll also need to empty your space by taking out all your furniture and fixtures so that you can clean your floor more effectively. If all these sound too much of a hassle to you, get a certified professional to carry out the entire insulation process for you.
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