Insulate Old House Floors Without Subfloor

4c as an alternative to floor insulation foundation walls of unvented crawl spaces.

Insulate old house floors without subfloor.

Make sure rain drains away from the house on all sides. Floors above cold spaces such as vented crawl spaces and unheated garages. If you want to insulate a floor assembly by leaving the joist bays empty and installing rigid foam on the underside of the joists here are a few things to keep in mind. There are two types of crawl spaces ventilated and unventilated and each requires its own form of insulation.

4b slab floors built directly on the ground. If the batts aren t thick enough to fill the joist bays they may fall away from the subfloor and rest on the osb below. Without insulation heat and cool air are easily lost through the floor. A pier and beam home built on top of sturdy supports typically has an open crawl space between the floor of the house and the earth.

According to the 2012 irc the minimum r value for floor assemblies is r 13 in zones 1 and 2 r 19 in zones 3 and 4 r 30 in zones 5 and 6 and r 38 in zones 7 and 9. Unfortunately in old homes this is a common place for heat to escape so it s worth thinking about how insulation can make them more thermally efficient hold heat for longer and protect your home from damp. To enclose the space in a thermal envelope. Adding insulation mitigates the problem but there are some considerations to keep in mind.

The goal however is the same. It has concrete floors not covered with carpet or anything other flooring it s 22 degrees outside and the hardwood floors upstairs are pretty cool. But keep an eye out for damage in case you need to replace a subfloor sooner. Insulation can actually make the problem worse by keeping the subfloor cool.

In the quest to make our homes warmer and more efficient floor insulation is often overlooked. Insulation also helps to preserve the air quality and reduce energy costs. Before the floors in the living space were warmer because i was heating with baseboard heaters in each room but this year the electric company raised the price 2 cents a kwh and i got a 300 00. Also insulate 4a any portion of the floor in a room that is cantilevered beyond the exterior wall below.

Original floors represent a precious link with the past their wonderful undulations. In many cases these floors are casually insulated with fiberglass batts and covered with osb or plywood. Under normal conditions a subfloor can last as long as the house itself. Although research is needed there are several possible approaches to reduce condensation on the subflooring.