Suspended Timber Floor Insulation

Nowadays people are only beginning to learn about the true value in investing in the installation of high-quality insulation. Insulating your home allows you to gain more control over the temperature of your home all while saving loads on your energy bills. Draughts and condensation build-up are the most common issues one may encounter in terms of home maintenance. Fed up of cold feet when roaming your house at night? Suspended timber floor insulations are a great way to save the fabric of your building and balance the indoor climate.

How To Install Insulation Above Joist In A Suspended Timber Floor

How To Install Insulation Below Joist In A Suspended Timber Floor

Why insulate a Suspended Timber Floor?

There are several benefits of installing Suspended Timber Floor insulation. Let’s cover a few of the main benefits now!

During its lifetime a building endures extreme fluctuations in weather. Over the years this can damage the building causing condensation build-up/damping. Suspended Timber Floor Insulation can trap the heat and prevent the water from turning into moisture to result in Condensation. 

Suspended timber floor insulation will help you keep the desired temperature in your house all year round, saving it against cold in the winter season and excess heat in the summer season.  A well-insulated house is very energy efficient and it will require very little additional heating and cooling according to requirement.

These insulators can preserve the heat between the upper and lower joists which prevents heat loss from occurring between the gaps. Therefore, these insulators prevent cold bridging by trapping the heat. This will soon become prominent in your energy bills.

Even new Timber floors can suffer from cold air and interstitial condensation. Keep your timber floors healthy for longer with high-quality insulation.

Suspended Timber floor insulations are great acoustic insulation in homes. Once you have installed them you can totally get rid of noises and sounds. You just have to make sure that they are installed correctly between the joists of the floors so that there is no penetration of any kind of sound and no escape as well. They are crucially effective for sound absorption and make a positive impact on the environment of your homes. If people are walking on the floor there can be sounds that go through to affect the floor downstairs and people can certainly. External sound can be very disturbing and that is the reason one must insulate their ceilings, floors, windows and walls. Acoustic insulation is highly recommended for those who live in houses and apartments across the street or on the main road. There can be disturbances and sounds from the traffic and sounds from the business in the external environment. 

Fireproofing is one of the major benefits that come with the Suspend timber floor insulation. There is always a chance of fire, more commonly from the short circuit due to the wiring behind the walls and under the floors. One can simply face many risks regarding fire when they are going to build a new project or renovate a house. Fireproofing is extremely necessary for your homes no matter where you have it because it can simply protect the fabric of the house and save you from Fire threats.

Other reasons to Insulate Suspended Timber floor

These timber floorboards are fixed either from below or from the top. Permeable insulation materials such as hemp fibre, sheep’s wool, wood fibre boards are used for the buildings. The gaps between joists have to be airtight so that there is no way that air can pass through.  Cross ventilation is necessary before you start with the process of insulation and draught-proofing. Insulators are mainly used to protect your houses from any external calamities; one can reduce risks and prevent overheating with the temperature balancing capability of these insulators. There is a wide range of Insulators that are available at Insulation4less. You can find affordable option and services and the store covers all kinds of insulations.

To achieve a U value of 0.25, you would need 90mm of rigid foam or 150mm of mineral wool. You are better off using A semi-rigid material as it can be cut oversized and squeezed between the floor joists, this ensures there are gaps. The insulation needs to be pushed tight to the underside of the floorboards. At least 25mm of the joist must be left exposed to ensure air circulation. This is to prevent the joist from becoming damp and encouraging dry rot. For the same reason, the flow from any airbricks must be left clear to ensure good air circulation.

Suspended flooring can also be insulated by using expanding foam, which is generally a much cheaper and quicker means of applying underfloor insulation. However, this has to be installed by a flooring professional.

Planning permission and Building Regulations

The amount of energy and money you will save by implementing suspended timber insulation will also depend on how old your property is and the size of your house. The installation of insulation in your floor must meet the minimum energy efficiency values set out in the Approved Documents.

However, if such an upgrade is not technically or functionally feasible, the element should be upgraded to the best standard which can be achieved within a simple payback of no greater than 15 years.

Renovation of more than 25 per cent of a solid or suspended floor involving the replacement of screed or a timber floor deck would have to meet the standards required by the building regulations Approved Documents.

Suspended floor insulators go into cellars, crawlspaces and external passageways. Heat flow in the building is mainly observed in the places where they can be trapped to preserve the temperature of the room. The most important thing about these Timber floor insulators is that they are lightweight and easy to fix. You can simply get to do it by yourself, and there are easy methods on the internet to help you out as well. 

NOTE: Always take great care of any water pipes, cables or wiring going through the floor, when insulating, since electricity cables, should not be covered with insulation that can make them overheat and cause fire, so they must be removed if possible or otherwise well-positioned.