It can be quite thick and is better at providing insulation and deadening sound. they are very flexible, accommodating to any movement in the. Starting from the bottom, the floating floor insulation is laid over the concrete slab and screed and damp proof membrane (if necessary). glued or nailed to the subfloor substrate, but is instead “floating” over it. •    To comply with NHBC recommendations, preservative treated softwood timber battens should be positioned at doorways, access panels and to support partitions. This is supported with plastic garden netting tacked into place. A polished timber floor looks warm and inviting – but looks can be deceiving. •    A thin layer of cement / sand mortar, a levelling screed, or a proprietary levelling compound can be used to achieve a level surface, and prevent the boards of Kingspan Thermafloor TF70 from slipping under the timber floor boards, if required. A floating floor is one that is not screwed or nail or fixed to the sub floor, instead the floor covering (usually chipboard, gypsum or cement fibre boards) floats on top of the insulation layer. Underslab Floor Insulation. Well aware of that fact, we herewith offer some floating floor insulation tips. Ensure the polythene sheet has 150 mm overlaps, taped at the joints, and is turned up 100 mm at the walls. This means that a thinner layer of insulation can be used when compared to a floor constructed with timber battens, which will lead to a lower floor height when installed, which is useful if you need to match existing floors levels. Beam and block floors should be level and grouted. The U.S. Department of Energy recommends R-11 (3½”) insulation under floors in warm climates and an R-25 (6” to 8”) in cold climates. The underlayment helps the laminate planks lay smoother, connect better, and for the flooring to feel slightly softer underfoot. To provide additional insulation, tongue-and-groove wood-fibre board can be fixed to the undersides of the joists. In accordance with BRE Good Building Guide 28 Part 1 (Domestic floors: construction insulation and damp –proofing), irregularities should not exceed 5 mm when measured with a 3 metre straight edge. This is why we believe your best choice would be rigid insulation boards, which are among the most efficient insulation materials. Here are the installation methods from lowest to highest average R-value per inch: Blown-in (or loose-fill) insulation. Thanks a lot. Insulation Traps Heat. If You’re Set On Having Insulation Under Your Floor… If you are set on having the warmth and insulation under your flooring, we would suggest switching to laminate flooring. If you have opted for this type of construction, the only question remaining is how to insulate your floating floor. Many builders will baulk at this figure — it was not … Transfer each measurement to a 4-by-8-foot sheet of rigid foam insulation. Another major advantage of a floating floor is the speed of installation; it is lightweight and does not involved wet trades and therefore no drying out time is required. There are many types of floating floor constructions, mainly differing in materials they consist of. An example of what layers you need in a floating floor can be seen below from top down. ROCKWOOL SAFE 'n' SOUND R-59.7-sq ft Unfaced Stone Wool Batt Insulation (15.25-in W x 47-in L). A range of high performance insulation products for a variety of floors including underfloor, concrete and timber floors technicalsupport@saint-gobain.com 01473 822093 Insulate Under Floor: Fiberglass insulation batts or rolls are the most economical and easiest DIY choice for insulating between the floor joist in a crawl space. Laminate flooring has to have underlayment in order to float the flooring. •    Once the wedges are removed, they are replaced with strips of cork or polyethylene foam to act as a compressible filler and to help prevent cold bridging. Basically, since floating floors are lifted above the substrate, they basically create a cavity that should somehow be filled in, and what is better than attaching the floor to some highly efficient insulation material. For example, wooden floating floors can be either made of real wood (soft or hard wood) or laminate. The basement walls and floors of older homes are generally uninsulated. Similarly, where there is heavier point loadings such as in door thresholds or at the bottom of stairs, then again you would use a timber batten. Well aware of that fact, we herewith offer some, Floating floors, as the name states, is a type of flooring (or more precisely, a type of floor construction) that is not anyhow directly attached i.e. Note that the material the insulation is made from will change the R-value as well. This is because they are quick, lightweight and easy to install, thinner than screed options, with no wet trades and no drying-out time. •    If there is no damp proof membrane in the concrete floor, one (minimum 300 micron / 1200 gauge polythene) should be laid with joints well lapped and folded, to prevent the passage of ground water, over the concrete floor slab, or beam and block floor, prior to installing the insulation boards. For example, wooden floating floors can be either made of real wood (soft or hard wood) or laminate. •    An expansion gap of 2 mm per metre run of floor, or a minimum of 10 mm overall, whichever is the greater, should be provided between the floor boards and the perimeter walls. 1. Basic advantages of floating floor include: they are lightweight and easy to install; they are less expensive than the alternatives; they are very flexible, accommodating to any movement in the floor, expending and contracting so that there are no gaps in the flooring. Namely, in situations where moisture can present a problem, it is important to create a barrier between the subfloor and the floating floor. Drafts are also minimized. Energy loss from air ducts is reduced, and first-level floors become warmer in winter. For queries relating to insulation boards, cavity closers or membranes. Since there are many alternative materials in construction, thus there are many different materials and different methods of insulation. For example, you could opt for Kingspan Thermafloor TF70 PIR Insulation Board which comes in many thicknesses, from 20 to 120mm, meaning that you can choose a thicker board for improved soundness. Starting from the bottom, the. In this scenario, a rigid foam insulation is usual, and as you’d want the same U value in the roof, we need the same thickness of insulation (180mm). These are very easy to attach to almost any flat surface and will provide just the level of protection and insulation you need. That is why we advise you choose carefully, since if you end up with inadequate insulation product, you will only lose a vast amount of money in the process and end with unsatisfactory results. It consists of a number of pieces that are connected to each other, but not to the subfloor. Also, proper floating floor insulation can also serve as a great noise barrier, which can come in handy. Foam board insulation. ... TOM: Yep. The insulation reduces heat loss by 79% and cold draughts across the entire house by 30%. •    Timber floor boards e.g. Well, in terms of making the floor stronger, insulation foam or fiberglass is not going to make it stronger. If it fits properly with no space in-between on either side of the board, pick it up and put a thin layer of glue on. It will quiet it down. tongue–and–groove 18 mm thick plywood, should then be laid over the insulation and battens with staggered cross–joints in accordance with DD ENV 12872 : 2000. Now, when choosing the best floating floor insulation, you need a material that will not only control the heat movement, but that will also strengthen the entire construction. According to the experts at This Old House, underfloor insulation will help … There will be a damp-proof membrane under the insulation and possibly a second membrane on top, depending on the type of screed. If there’s no way to avoid installing ductwork in the floor, specify deep floor joists, such as trusses, that provide plenty of room under the ducts for insulation, and be sure to include a continuous layer of rigid foam under the joists. •    Insulation boards should be overlaid with a polythene sheet (not less than 250 micron / 1000 gauge), to act as a slip layer, and a vapour control layer. This should be allowed to set, harden and dry (approximately 1 day per mm) before proceeding further. Ideally, the floor assembly won’t include any ducts. It can be made from many different materials such as gypsum or concrete boards or chipboards, soft and hardwood and accordingly laid over existing flooring (which makes it perfect for refurbishment and retrofit domestic projects) made out of tiles, plywood, concrete, timer floorboards, but in most cases over some floating floor insulation, such as rigid insulation panels. •    Concrete slabs should be allowed to dry out fully prior to the installation of Kingspan Thermafloor TF70 (average 1 day per mm of slab thickness). Working from the crawlspace, measure the distance between the floor joists with a tape measure. That is why we advise you choose carefully, since if you end up with inadequate insulation product, you will only lose a vast amount of money in the process and end with unsatisfactory results. Heat Loss Prevention. As upper mentioned, the floating floor construction includes a number of layers, carefully stacked up on top of each other. These are very easy to attach to almost any flat surface and will provide just the level of protection and insulation you need. Spray Foam Insulation Under Floors. •    Before the timber floor boards are interlocked, apply a continuous bead of waterproof wood grade PVA adhesive to the top and bottom of the tongue and groove joints. Underlayment is either pre-attached to the bottom of the laminate flooring by the manufacturer or it is installed separately by the user. It Will Prevent Heat Loss. Contact Insulation London via email at info@insulationlondon.co. For solid concrete floors, make sure that if they need to be replaced, your builder puts in insulation – you have to insulate a floor when it is replaced in order to comply with building regulations. Next, you will need to place the foam board insulation between each joist as a test. Putting a soft product under vinyl plank will result in an unstable floor that is much more inclined to being damaged and even punctured or torn over time. The thickness of the insulation required is normally determined by the height of the floor joists, so if the height of the floor joist is 160mm, then we would recommend using 160mm of Thermo Jute insulation to fully-fill the void. Installing under floor insulation can address both these problems. The flooring is separated from the insulation board with usually polythene and covered with the floor finish, such as carpet or laminate floor, for example. This method will raise the floor level, so skirting boards and, potentially, some electrical sockets will need to be refitted and doors will need to be trimmed. This is why we believe your best choice would be rigid insulation boards, which are among the most efficient insulation materials. The flooring is separated from the insulation board with usually polythene and covered with the floor finish, such as carpet or laminate floor, for example. They want the pipework concealed under the floor, the builder has advised me that on top of the concrete slab there will be 75mm insulation and a 75mm screed. Or, as demonstrated here, you can cover the slab with rigid-foam insulation, add two layers of plywood, and then add the finish flooring. they can look quite stylish, depending on the chosen material. We also have insulation boards suitable for more specialist flooring applications, for example heavy duty floor insulation and insulation for cellar and basement floors. Skirtings may then be fixed. It can easily be installed on top of an existing concrete slab. Hi all, I've been asked to extend the plumbing into a small extension (utility room and toilet/basin). This article is really helped me a lot. The size of the battens selected should ensure that, when installed, the top surface of the insulation boards are flush with the top of the battens. , expending and contracting so that there are no gaps in the flooring, If you have opted for this type of construction, the only question remaining is, Now, when choosing the best floating floor insulation, you need a material that will not only control the heat movement, but that will also strengthen the entire construction. What about for heavier items? In order of making sure that the installed insulation will do its job, it is very important that it is adjusted to the type of construction of your walls, , ceilings etc. An uninsulated or under-insulated basement floor is a major source of heat loss in the home. Install an air and vapor barrier over the floor and tape it to the insulation. Real wood timber floating floors are usually more resilient than the alternative, but are somewhat harder to maintain since they can be sanded over a limited number of times, unlike laminate floors which are basically maintenance-free. Insulation blankets (batts and rolls) Spray foam insulation. The flooring is separated from the insulation board with usually polythene and covered with the floor finish, such as carpet or laminate floor, for example.