Underfloor Insulation

What is Floor Insulation?

Insulating under your suspended timber floor is a cheap and effective way to keep your heat in, cold draughts out and to make your floors feel noticeably warmer. If your home has a crawl space under the suspended wooden floors, it is possible we can insulate the floors from below. We require 400mm space between the bottom of the Joist and the ground below. We can easily create access if needed.

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The fitters work from below your floor to fit insulation between the floor joists, fixing it to the underside of your floorboards and installing a netting to make sure it doesn't fall down. The image here shows a before and after picture, that will give you an idea of how it will look.

The benefits of installing Floor Insulation.

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A common question we are asked is "What is the best Underfloor Insulation" to install. Unfortunately there is no one simple answer. Several factors affect what materials can be used , mostly if it is going to be possible to get the materials installed and which  materials are actually suitable for your property. One thing is for certain, the answer is never Spray Foam.. The installation of Floor Insulation doesn't have to be difficult of cause problems in the future as long as the correct materials are used and the installation installed correctly.

Older properties where Floor Insulation is being installed from underneath.

When working on an old property, especially from below the floor, then options on what materials can be used are fairly limited. The timbers wont be treated so the insulation needs to allow the timber to breathe, the access is going to be restrictive for getting the insulation into position, the joists wont be evenly spaced and there will likely be a lot of wires and pipes we need to work around. Where breathability, flexibility for access and malleability to fit irregular spaces are required that rules out PIR board insulation due to its rigidity and inflexibility, rules out reflective foil insulation due to airflow restriction and more or less rules out semi rigid batts due to increased labour costs. The best insulation for underfloor insulation could be judged one of two ways;

Knauf Mineral Wool offers good thermal insulation for the cost of the materials, it doesn't burn, doesn't smell, doesn't itch or release VOC gasses. As the wool can be easily moved around and installed easily there is certainly an argument for saying Knauf Mineral Wool is the best product for Underfloor Insulation.

Thermafleece Cozywool Sheep Wool insulation offers around 12% better insulation value than Mineral Wool, is sustainable and supports UK farmers, its natural and has the added benefit of helping to purify the air by removing toxins whilst regulating humidity to preserve the life of the timbers. There is an argument for saying the Sheep Wool is the best product, but it costs 3 times as much to have installed, a cost which will take a long time to pay itself back.

Properties where the floor is being lifted before insulation is installed.

If the floor is coming up on a property either just to install insulation or for Underfloor heating to be installed then the accessibility and flexibility no longer have a value. PIR board offers around 80% more insulation value that the equivalent thickness of Mineral Wool. It is more work to install than installing Mineral Wool from above and is more expensive to buy, but 80% is a lot of additional insulation. If you were to install Underfloor heating with a biscuit mix screed then PIR board is an essential part of that. If your installing a Heat Pump then you will likely want to ensure as much heat as physically possible stays in your home. If your looking to future proof your home and your floors are coming up then PIR board should be your choice. However, if you are on a budget and just need to achieve minimum standard for building regulations then that can be achieved using the much cheaper Mineral Wool. So again, what is best really depends on what restrictions are faced and whether you are looking for maximum insulation or have a set target in mind and cost is the driving factor.

Insulation products we tend to use:

 We have used just about every product imaginable; Hemp, Cork, Sheep Wool, Wood based, Polystyrene, PIR board, Mineral Wool, Glass Wool, Space Blanket and Aluminium Foils. If a customer or Architect wishes to use a specific material we are more than happy to quote using your specification. We usually find Knauf Mineral Wool is the best insulation for the majority of jobs we fit, balancing price / performance and easy of installation. We often use Hemp or Sheep Wool semi-rigid batts in older properties rather than PIR, but we do use a lot of PIR every week.

So there is no simple answer, but we can discuss your property and specification during the survey. We always start from the viewpoint of giving the best solution at the most cost effective price and can tailor things if you need. Most used insulation materials:

• Knauf Mineral Wool (100mm, 150mm, 170mm or 200mm)
• Rigid PIR Board Insulation (50mm to 200mm)
• Thermafleece Sheep's Wool (50mm to 150mm)
• Aluminium Airtec double Foil (7mm)
  

What does Underfloor Insulation Cost?