Freezing Concrete Floor

[Hadventurous]

I have removed the fugly laminate from the downstairs in my 1990's build house and whilst the concrete floor is dry - its freezing cold.

What is the best insulation I can put down, onto the solid concrete floor, and float my engineered wood floor on top of?

I know the thicker the insulation the better, but I don't have it in me to dig it out and start again. I have worked out that I have max 12mm to play with (unless I want it to be a hobbit house with low ceilings).

I've been looking at things like Marmox 10mm insulation board (R value 0.03) and Timbermate excel 3.6mm with a Tog value (its not a duvet???) of 0.55.

Any advice would be appreciated - thanks.

 

[oldbutnotdead]

Check what load Marmox will take- I think you can put a floor straight on top of it but worth verifying. No idea how to convert TOG to U or R value.
Insulation is mostly physics- the thicker it is the better it works. There's plenty of snake oil out there (superthin with carefully worded claims) so be wary.
How long are you planning on staying in the house & how many square metres are you talking (and is it solid concrete or block and beam)- only you can decide whether you'll get payback on the effort and cost of digging out and relaying the floors. I suspect that it might take 10 years or more for the energy savings to exceed the cost...

 

[Diver Fred]

... or how much you value your hearing!

I'm just in the throws of putting a heated floor into a bathroom to keep 'a little woman' happy. Apparently she doesn't like the cold floor in winters - concrete raft with vinyl tiles covered with laminate floor and dedicated insulation/underlay topped off with cushion floor. The annual complaints reduction is the reason for the underfloor heating. Will the cost ever be recovered? doubt it but the pressure off the ears has to be worthwhile.

 

[endecotp]

12mm is not enough to do anything useful.
If you are super-rich:
https://www.proctorgroup.com/images...erm/Spacetherm_Multi_for_Floors_Datasheet.pdf
That is 5mm of aerogel insulation (equivalent to about 10mm of polystyrene, so really not very much insulation but better than nothing) bonded to a 6mm magnesium oxide board, which is supposed to be strong enough for “all floor coverings”.
There might be a similar product using vacuum panels.

In my experience, the best way to make a floor feel warmer is to choose a covering that’s not just wood. Carpet is one obvious choice. Where that’s not appropriate, cork is good.

 

[John D v2.0]

In my experience, the best way to make a floor feel warmer is to choose a covering that’s not just wood. Carpet is one obvious choice. Where that’s not appropriate, cork is good.

What sense! Agree that has a big difference on how cold it feels.
If the floor is well insulated, a tile or wood will make it feel cold to walk on regardless. If the floor is badly insulated, you'll still get cold feet even with carpet but you won't have the cold shock.

 

[Hadventurous]

Thanks for all the replies...

I've understand that the deeper the better... We'll be here about 4-5 years so I'll probably just put something 10mm thick down. Were talking about 37 square meters. It wasn't super cold last winter - but I'm certain a little additional layer can't do harm...

That space floor thing has a U value of 0.49. WTAF - why do all sites selling these products quote different measurements of insulation??? R value, U value, TOG. You need a PhD in physics just to be able to compare! I'll likely just go with the cheapest at this rate!

I'm now looking at wood fibre at SF or something simple like that. I might also get a winter rug or use my savings from not excavating to but all some nice slippers...

 

[endecotp]

why do all sites selling these products quote different measurements of insulation??? R value, U value, TOG. You need a PhD in physics just to be able to compare!

I’d say O-level grade C should be good enough, but you need to have not forgotten it all the morning after the last exam.

 

[mikeey84]

That space floor thing has a U value of 0.49. WTAF - why do all sites selling these products quote different measurements of insulation??? R value, U value, TOG. You need a PhD in physics just to be able to compare! I'll likely just go with the cheapest at this rate!

1 tog=0.1 R
R = 1/U
Hope this helps!