100,000 retrofit quote


any reason you couldn't put the membrane on top of the existing boards, then a floating floor on top with an insulated underlay? Assuming you can manage the increased floor height. The room I work in has suspended floor and is super draughty, this is my plan for it, as ripping up the boards is a much bigger job and I'd probably want to put laminate down anyway.

EDIT - actually I see that's what you meant by "lift the floor covering"
 
Do not spend that kind of money, you'll never recoup it.

A heatpump likely will not make sense for a 1930s house and will add significantly to the cost and disruption of the works.

Windows, external and attic insulation and some air tightness works to include addressing the suspended timber floors and see how you get on. What is the existing heating system?
 
Air tightnes can be as culpable as poor insulation for heat loss, particularly with draughty suspended timber floors. Heat pump just isn't appropriate for most houses of that vintage, they have to work too hard and therefore are too expensive to run.
 
Ask Micks'r to make a detailed, full day survey including thermal and ventilation draught testing. Money well spent
 
shweeney said:
any reason you couldn't put the membrane on top of the existing boards, then a floating floor on top with an insulated underlay?
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FWIW most wooden floor underlays act as a moisture barrier and are airtight. You just need to use a decent air tightness tape to join the sheets and attach them to the walls, ideally behind the skirting to keep it all in-place.
 
Montbretia said:
That's what I thought Mick'r. By the way, do you know if there are any effective above-timber floor insulation methods. Read about Floor foam but not sure of it's efectiveness.
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Spec we got was to do weather tight membrane, stapled to joists, then insulation, then airtight membrane. I don't believe that anything above floor would have the same impact.
 
Leo said:
You might be able to achieve air-tightness as they were suggesting, but those underlays have negligible insulation value.
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How much does it really matter though - I think draughts are the biggest problem. Wood has reasonable insulation properties. I've used an infrared thermometer in my draughty office with a bare suspended floor - the floor itself is slightly colder than the (somewhat insulated) walls, but the area around the skirting is much colder due to air leaking in around the edges. I've noticed the window frames are also several degrees colder (double glazed but probably 20 years old).
 
It matters around 10-20%, as that's the typical range of heat loss through an uninsulated floor but you're right that draughts are often a bigger concern. I was really pointing it out as some try to oversell underlay or similar membranes as having significant insulation properties.
 
As part of our recent refurb we ripped up all the ground floor suspended flooring and poured concrete, laid insulation and wet underfloor heating route. I think it's worth the extra spend. The alternative is labour intensive and can be done lazily and to poor effect.
 
"Ask Micks'r to make a detailed, full day survey including thermal and ventilation draught testing. Money well spent"

I've seen his name mentioned a bit - what is his trading name please
 
Weird, I see it in Chrome on my laptop and on Android in desktop mode, but not in Firefox or Edge....
 
I can't see it either. In case it helps, I'm using Chrome on Windows 10. I tried disabling my Adblock Plus but that didn't change anything.
 
Leo said:
Weird, I see it in Chrome on my laptop and on Android in desktop mode, but not in Firefox or Edge....
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Sorry if it's going off topic but, could it be cached? If you force a page refresh (Ctrl + F5 in most or all browsers) does it still appear?
 
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