Concrete Floor Insulation Materials

Live In A Warm, Balanced And Comfortable Environment With Concrete Floor Insulation In Your Home

Concrete floor insulation is like any other insulation and used for similar purposes, i.e. to maintain the balance of temperature in your home, improve soundproofing, fireproofing and more. Many companies manufacture and sell quality insulation for affordable prices, but one has to be specific about what you are looking for and what part of the house you are planning to insulate. Insulation acts as a guard protecting your home and creating an environment that is suitable for you and your family to live in; even office and industrial buildings use all different types of insulation.

Concrete floor insulation is among the most popular, installed beneath the floor of a house. These are specialised materials as they prevent the cold air travelling from beneath the sub floor into your concrete floor. Have you ever walked on a cold concrete floor first thing in the morning in winter. It can get very very cold and this in turn will cool down the ambient temperature of your room. When you install a good PIR or Phenolic insulation underneath the concrete the floor will no longer feel like it is in the arctic and your room temperature will remain more consistent. reducing the need to turn on your heating. Condensation is a one major issue in residential buildings for a number of reasons;

1. Vapour from cooking in the evenings
2. Vapour from using hot water like showers or baths
3. Cold walls or windows caused by poor glazing or cold bridging
4. A lack of fresh air circulating the home.
5. hot spots and cold spots meeting for example a cold floor and a warm wall. this can cause damp low down on the wall.

Does concrete floors need insulation?

Concrete has its own insulation values, however it is not enough to keep your floor warm during the cold winter months and in some cases here in the UK our summers are not a whole lot better. So installing floor insulation such as Kingspan Kooltherm K-range K103, Thermafloor TF70, Celotex TB4000, Celotex GA4000, Celotex XR4000, Ecother Eco-versal or Quinntherm QF range just to name a few will go a long way to solving your cold floor issue.

Another good option is to then install underfloor heating in the floor if possible. This will give your floor that lovely warm feeling when you walk on it and is very pleasing. It is also a good idea to install insulation on the first floor joists to prevent the heat from leaving the downstairs room and going upstairs.

Its also important to install a good perimeter insulation strip along with a good dpm to keep the moisture away from the concrete and insulation.

Temperature maintenance

Just like other insulators, these concrete floor insulators trap heat within the building, preventing chances of condensation build-up and damp occurrences. They can be installed easily under the floor of the house during construction, and once that is done, there will be little chance of cold air getting in. When a house is very well insulated its important to also have the house very well ventilated and a good way of doing this is to install a good ventilation system that will heat the fresh air that it is drawing into your home. There is no point in spending all that money on insulation and then pump in cold air into your home. Defeats the purpose.

Cost effective

By installing concrete floor insulation, you will be saving a lot of money in the long run. It is win-win for you because these insulation products are available at affordable prices and they help you save money. Its important to do your research also on what type of insulation do you want to use and what is the U-value you want to achieve.

Kingspan Phenolic type insulation boards will give you some of the best U-values you can achieve but at a price. If you are on a budget then a standard PIR insulation such as Celotex GA4000 or similar will do the job. PIR insulation will provide an excellent U-value at an affordable price point. All of these insulation boards are 2.4m x 1.2m and come in a variety of thicknesses to suit any job, so choosing the correct thickness of insulation you need is important.

Easy to handle

You can cut the floor insulation material according to the required widths, as they are easy to maneuver. Once these are installed under the floors of your house, they perform immediatly and you will feel the difference straightaway. You may need to call a professional to fix these during construction.

Things to keep in mind before installing the floors insulators

1. Polyisocyanurate boards, manufactured by Celotex, Kingspan, Ecotherm. Recticel, Quinntherm etc are the most commonly available insulation materials in the UK. These are lightweight, and they can insulate large spaces with ease.
2. A DPM (Damp Proof Membrane) separation layer is laid below the floor insulation followed by a polythene 500g protection layer above the floor insulation to protect the insulation from corrosion caused by the concrete, followed by the concrete slab .
3. The slab and the DPM can be installed alternatively, and the subfloor is prepared using a layer of hardcore compacted and then sand binding to prevent any sharp stones puncturing your DPM layer.

Thermal insulation is very useful, and they have other uses as well

Concrete floor insulation can work in resisting sound and noise from the floor under your room if installed correctly. Their airtight features can block out noise and other sorts of sound penetration. They would not be considered to be the best forms of sound prevention especially if you use PIR or Phenolic type insulation. For the best results in Acoustic Floor Insulation it is best to use a Minerwool Insulation like Rockwool or Knauf Rock Silk insulation.

The materials that are used to insulate your floors are bad conductors of heat; therefore, they can resist fire and reduce its intensity. Most cases of fire are due to overheated environmental conditions and short circuits. These Insulation products are very useful in the prevention of the spread of fire and therefore a must in all homes. Again if you really need to use a highly efficient fire barrier then Rockwool insulation is one of the best products on the market today.

If you are looking for the best quality insulators with efficient productivity, durability and longevity then check a wide range of them out exclusively at Insulation4less. We have been in the insulation business for many years now and we provide the best insulation brands at the best prices to our customers. We believe in quality coupled with exceptional customer service to provide our customers with the best possible experience. Make the best of your home environment with affordable insulation from Insulation4less.