Insulating Suspended Timber Ground Floors

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Insulating suspended timber ground floors.

While knauf insulation offer various insulation products into suspended ground floor applications we would emphasise that site specific conditions should always be considered on a case by case basis and any generic product recommendations must always be subject to an onsite evaluation. Interior wood framed floor insulation. All ground floor constructions unless very large commercial floors will require some insulation to be included within the floor zone to comply with building regulation requirements. Insulating floors is often trickier than insulating other areas of your home.

Care must be taken however not to harm the character and significance of the building or impede subfloor ventilation for example by blocking air vents so promoting timber decay. At the turn of the 18th century when construction techniques moved from boarded floors installed directly on the ground to suspended timber floors over a ventilated chamber the innovation solved a significant problem. If you ve got a suspended timber floor which is not insulated it can contribute to as much as 20 of heat loss during winter. From a thermal comfort perspective it does appear that feet are particularly sensitive to colder temperatures so addressing floor draughts can help improve comfort levels.

I can t get a definitive idea of the best way to do it. Insulating a suspended timber floor can eliminate floor draughts and reduce heat loss through the fabric of the floor at the same time. Previously floor timbers had been prone to damp and rot thanks to their direct contact with the moist ground. Insulating and draught proofing an old suspended timber floor at ground or upper storey level above unheated spaces can save considerable energy.

Rockwool offers stone wool insulation products to meet and exceed thermal regulations in floor constructions as well as solutions for separating floors to prevent heat transfer between the upper and lower floors. Floors are constructed in two ways either suspended or solid. The ground floor beneath a house is generally warmer than the air around it and so it would perhaps be third on your list of priorities behind walls and roofs. Whilst many homes in australia now have insulation in their roofs and walls if your home is built suspended off the ground this could be the unknown area where heat is leaking out of your home in winter and entering it.

Suspended timber floors consist of floorboards nailed to joists often carried on sleeper walls of brick. However it makes sense to consider retrofitting particularly if you have a suspended timber floor. It is important that the underside of a suspended floor is ventilated to avoid the build up of moisture.