How to insulate wooden house floor

Every inhabitant of their own house wants to ensure the most cozy and economical home microclimate. Proper wall and roof insulation has always been the focus, but more and more homeowners are noticing gaps in the thermal insulation of their homes and are attacking to insulate their home floors. Floor insulation brings more comfort, coziness to the house and, most importantly, helps to save.

We can name the cold floor as one of the main problems of wooden houses, which is rarely solved by carpets laid on the floor. 

The most frequently used and inexpensive heaters are stone wool or polystyrene foam. 

Insulating the floor helps to maintain the ideal indoor climate and serves as a guarantee against unwanted problems:

• dampness;
• the appearance and growth of mold;
• the presence of microorganisms and fungi that harmfully affect the health of people living in the house;
• high consumption of heat energy for heating the house;

Insulation of Polyurethane Foam

Polyurethane foam is a particularly innovative and increasingly used material for insulations. It is not only characterized by the fact that it combines thermal, waterproofing and sound insulation functions, but is also homogeneous, so it does not need additional sealing. The material has excellent adhesion to the insulating layer, and its density ensures resistance to loads. It is also important to note that, compared to the same amount of other materials used in insulation, polyurethane will achieve much higher thermal insulation. When you decide to use polyurethane, the floor is quite often sprayed directly from above, thus stopping the penetration of cold air through the floor if it is not completely airtight. 

However, if we are not talking about a completely new house, the floor of which is covered with wooden boards or other old covering, we recommend demolishing it before spraying polyurethane. When using this material for floor insulation, it is especially important to pay attention to the fact that the insulation layer on the walls rests on them at least 10 - 15 cm, thus avoiding the "cold bridges" often formed during floor insulation.

Insulation of Stone Wool

Another option for floor insulation is stone wool. The insulators of stone wool have excellent thermal isolation characteristics, low thermal conductivity and record low hygroscopicity. 

Stone wool absorbs very little moisture from the air. For example, at 90% relative humidity, stone wool absorbs only 0.004% of the volume of the material. In practice, this is absolutely insignificant. It is also classified mainly in class A1 (flammability classification) because it does not burn, does not form thick smoke and flammable particles.

Insulation of the floor with stone wool must be carried out on a relatively smooth and dry base. Stone wool boards will adapt perfectly and fill surface irregularities.

The stone wool boards are folded so that they are glued very tightly and the long edges do not overlap. Waterproofing is applied to the entire surface, leaving the sides on the edges. After applying the waterproofing layer, you can apply a leveling layer at least 40 millimeters thick and finally install a floor covering.

Insulation materials are used not only to maintain the optimum temperature, but also for noise insulation. A well-insulated wooden house will give its owners a wonderful atmosphere in which cosiness and comfort will reign.

More guides on house insulation:

Insulation of walls.

How to insulate a roof.