Bottom Level Floor Has No Insulation

Most modern homes have a solid floor for example.

Bottom level floor has no insulation. Doing so can even cause problems. Also insulate 4a any portion of the floor in a room that is cantilevered beyond the exterior wall below. This is usually accomplished through grilles or ducts in the floor. Insulation is laid on the concrete and covered with a screed.

Sticking your vapor barriers and thermal resistance into places besides the exterior building shell can create odd interior dynamics. Whether you need floor insulation or not depends on your home and what kind of floors it has. Insulating a solid floor. Installing rigid board insulation such as extruded polystyrene or polyisocyanurate is the most common.

There simply won t be the same gap that is unprotected with the introduction of insulation. Unless you have an extra 10 000 and a big hearted desire to create jobs in the insulation industry it makes no sense to insulate between floors. While i agree you do not need to insulate between the floors you do need to have an air barrier and insulation at the end of the joists rim board to prevent air flow between the 2 floors. But it is necessary to air seal and insulate the perimeter walls.

Mcyr marcel cyr cmi september 19 2010 3 02pm. Because the crawl space is part of the conditioned space there is no need to insulate the floor above it. The inside of the rim joist is sprayed from the sub floor to the bottom of the rim joist to drop the building envelope to the bottom of the joists. Older houses with suspended floors which are in effect above a void are likely to lose more heat.

Department of energy recommends r 11 3 insulation under floors in warm climates and an r 25 6 to 8 in cold climates. A contractor i hired to insulate under my 3 season porch floor has used regular pink insulation r 27 but it has fallen out four times so far now half of it is on the ground. Floor insulation is rated with an r type. The insulation will ensure that that is no longer the case.

There will be a damp proof membrane under the insulation and possibly a second membrane on top depending on the type of screed. Fiberglass insulation batts or rolls are the most economical and easiest diy choice for insulating between the floor joist in a crawl space. Encapsulating the floor system including duct work with thermo cloth and closed cell spray foam insulation creates a perfect wood framed floor system. 4b slab floors built directly on the ground.

Check the r type rating.