This floor insulation could save us HUNDREDS
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- Опубликовано: 6 окт 2022
- This week I experimented with fitting Airtec Double aluminium foil bubble insulation to try and reduce our energy costs. In this video I show you how to install it under a carpet, and provide some answers based on my own testing.
*Note: I ran a short test in my own home in the UK. Results may vary. Refer to the manufacturer's guidance for more info.
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Hi, I'm Pete. Northern Works is all about DIY furniture and home improvement projects that help us to consume less, and create more. I've got an ever-growing list of projects, and I'm excited to build things that I want to use, and that we'd love to see around our home.
If you value great design, but want to consume less of the fast furniture, then I'd love for you to join our community here on RUclips where we can learn together and share ideas.
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What I used in this video:
Airtec Double foil insulation: amzn.to/3WPsr4p
Aluminium tape: amzn.to/3MkR2KE
That's literally everything. 
Хобби
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I was really impressed with how easy it was to fit this insulation, and happy with the results!
Let me know if you’ve got more ideas for how we could improve the energy efficiency of our home. I’m interested in off-grid solar for specific uses, for example.
Great video dude, thanks a lot!
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it
If you do off grid solar, would be really interesting to try integrate a small wind turbine into it, seems all off grid solar installs are always done by people with ample sun year around
What about putting it under the upstairs carpets as well.
We just covered our leaky windows with plastic that we tape around and use a blow dryer to tighten. Just in time for the bomb cyclone to hit the US. I’m in central Pennsylvania, US. The other night it felt like -20F due to wind chill when the actual temp was -1F.
If you're putting wooden flooring down then try Cork roll as it won't compress and achieves very high insulation. It comes in various thicknesses from 2-10mm, 4mm should make a significant difference plus it's completely sustainable, safe and fire proof. I've put 4mm Cork straight onto an uninsulated concrete slab and it works very well.
depending on the aesthetics, it could also look very nice, too
Hi, Where can I get cork roll in UK please?
Yes based solely on your comment about draughty floors. So I suspect the change will be more to do with preventing the draughts than the actual insulation.
3:44
That barrier you put down, is a moisture barrier. Any humidity that moves into that space isnt going to be able to climb back up and out. humidity might be trying to move upward, but you have it trapped next to a nice cool condensing surface.
I highly recommend looking at your local building codes and the vapor pressure conditions for your home.
You may have just created the perfect enviroment to rot your floors out in a handful of years at worst, or just provided a nice moist place with plenty of sugar for mold to eat and grow big and strong.
This is correct. Water will dew on the underside of the foil. Causing rot.
How is this any different from laying lineoleum or vinyl plank flooring, or laminate with an underlayment? All of those would be a moisture barrier.
Tldr; Situations are largely variable across the globe so check your local building codes for clear restrictions in actions.
I know just enough to know I don't know enough.
A moisture barrier isn't a barrier.
I know it depends on the moisture drive direction for your home.
what material you a using, next to what other material.
Depending on climate zone you may;
Need an exterior moisture barrier,
Need an interior barrier,
Not Need but one or the other is allowable, or may not be recommended.
You probably don't want a barrier on the outside and inside. Moisture will drive through it. Then what?
To be a barrier is a misnomer a better term is vapor retarder, because they actually increase the difficulty of water movement. This is called a Perm rating.
[[[[ Tangent industries including building are filled with these misnomers. Like the R rating for insulation is commonly accepted to be the gold standard for thermal control, but it is a
thermal (R)esistance Rating and says nothing about thermal conduction, thermal convention, thermal equilibrium. So you can have an extremely low R rating with way better thermal control than a high R rating. ]]]]]
In any case two sets of barrier usually just results in water getting pressed past one and not having enough pressure to move though the other and too much to go back the other way.
All depends temperatures and the vapor pressure difference between inside and outside.
Or the two sides of anything built, over and underside of a floor maybe.
Then with that determination made you can assess which material works or at least doesn't cause issue with that system. Which for brevity I'll leave at that.
The principle remains the same what/where-ever you are building.
Only the size of the problem it might be and the amount of damage that is reasonable to let remain as acceptable risk.
If I do this wrong how much am I willing to risk over what kind of time horizon. How long will it take me find out how to do correctly and execute those actions.
@@ianfromnyc I accidentally wrote you a book of a response. But it's a good question.
Try installing a ceiling fan. Set on low and turning counter clockwise will push warmer air from ceiling back down toward the floor.
When summer comes, reverse it to help cool you.
Pete - Your honest, no-nonsense approach is very refreshing and makes for an enjoyable watch. Keep up the great work. 👍
Years ago I wrapped my water heater with what I think was the same stuff and added a layer of it to the ceiling of the shed on the back of my house to covering the fiberglass insulation. I have no real way of knowing how well it works but I am taking it on faith that it does. I have also covered windows in an unused room with it. Its really handy stuff to have around.
Hi, You just need to check for moisture now between the planks and the bubble insulation because it act as a vapor barrier. a lots of wooden flooring have been destroy in the past in my area but similar product.
Yep!
My first thought.
If this is suspended floor, with appropriate cross ventilation (air bricks, etc) that I don’t think it’ll be an issue. But I agree there can be lots of mistakes with insulation/ventilation that cause damp.
Once an insulation expert said: Insulate always from the cold side! This keeps the moisture and mold outside. Maybe an insulation on the roof and outside walls would be more effective, but even much more expensive.
Did the same on mine and you could hear it squelching underfoot within 6 months
I actually did this to my Victorian wood floor. Very quickly the bubbles compress in the walked on areas, but the floor was certainly warmer underfoot and less drafty.
Hi, love what you are doing. just to give you a quick tip - I do a Lot of underfloor insulation to benchmark standards. The bubble wrap style insulation is best for radiant heat, so a gap is necessary for maximum efficiency. You will have gained the most from sealing the floorboards from droughts with the material. What you have done is very good - it’s great to do anything - but to get maximum efficiency is a whole other thing.
yeah but once you put the floor on top, your weight is spread evenly. the popping is possible but likely.
This is what I came here to say. It's meant to go under the decking of the floor, or roof or whatever with an air gap. It is not meant to be walked on, it will pop just like bubble wrap. A layer of 6 mil plastic (visqueen, poly etc...) With a thick carpet pad would do a much better job.
Also, 2°C of 15°C is nowhere close to15%. You have to use Kelvin. So you have 2°/ (273+15)° or 2/288=0.0069 or 0.69%
But then again you are really just trying to compare to outdoor ambient, so.... Yeah, there's that.
would hardboard be a good (or bad) option with tape over the edges? On top of planks and under carpet? We just got the wiring done upstairs and it was big+thick loft board type material before that couldn't be put back down so I replaced with planks. Was thinking hardboard could even out the carpet and spread the load better, maybe not great thermal wise but still an improvement over gappy planks like our man in the video here??
My ceiling was not insulted 3 years ago. I had little money and did not want to remove sheetrock to put insulation in. I took mylar emergency blankets taped together. The blanked was screwed to ceiling after sandwiched blanket with water bottle caps. This was great improvement. Got tired of looking at mylar so added foam poster boards taped together and using sandwich screw technique. Later could feel cold penetrating thought walls. Used a layer of mylar, cardboard, mylar and cardboard covered in contact paper put on walls and taped to ceiling.
A year or two later added ceiling layer again. This year seeing the electric bill difference. There was window insulation also added and bubble rap flaps over door. There are big cracks in floor hope to fix them this year. Only have a little room done. live in one room. Bubbled taped around water closet with second space heater set at 60°F. Room 70° to 75°F
very helpful video. I did my loft rafters with this stuff years ago. Our bills were lower the following winter. I'm not sure how it will last under carpet unless you have a lot of thick underlay to prevent it from being crushed over time.
Cheers, I am gonna do this in our new old concrete floored home.
Great video, we put secondary glazing on our windows and put a draft excluder on the doors and it made an amazing difference, no more drafts!!
Great tip!
I'm from Canada and I liked your video. I owned an old house, and it was drafty. Suggestion... take your electrical plates off and fit a piece of (non-metallic) floor underlayment around the plugs themselves. It's usually very thin so the plate screws still fit back on. And it has a plastic side and a 'foam' side. Cut out the shape of the plug part and fit it snug, overhanging the wall so that when you put the plate back on it seals the whole thing. You can then use a blade to 'trim' around the plate. This is no where near as good as a new house... but every little bit helps. Kelly
I used a similar product under my engineered wood floors in my old house. I brought the temp up by 10 degrees. It was a concrete slab that would get insanely cold during our Iowa winters.
The 2 degree drop between thermostats doesn't necessarily indicate heat loss. Heat rises so the higher one will always be hotter. It's called stratification.
Having said that, warmer floors will make for a much more comfortable room. Especially if you walk around barefoot. So worth doing I think.
Do those bubble wrap type insulations still perform well when compressed though?
Warmer floors is exactly what I was hoping for - there's still a stratification, for sure, especially on windy days. But overall the room is a much nicer place to sit and walk around in
@@northernworks If there's extra stratification on windy days you have bigger problems than the floor.
The physics dictate that in order for reflective insulation to be effective it has to be installed free from any other surface touching it. It needs to be in a cavity surrounded by still air. It reflects radiant heat and convected heat and is all but useless in insulating against conducted heat as is the case in your floor touching the floor boards and the carpet. You’d be better using bubble wrap.
In the case of trying to insulate between the joists under the floorboards, would you suggest a layer of egg boxes, then plywood, then bubble wrap? We can get under our floor through a trapdoor into an earthen dugout. Our street was built in the middle of the Wall St crash, so our half of the street had unfinished cellars whilst the houses opposite have proper cellars.
Mary the best solution for you would be to install either traditional glass wool or Rock wool insulation in the cavities between the floor joists. Use the thickest available that can fit into the space. Don’t use bubble wrap or egg cartons as these will not meet the fire resistance standards required.
Good luck
@@malcolmmcblain3954 thank you for responding, that's really useful. (I might have remembered egg boxes for noise insulation, many years ago, before there was much health and safety awareness) 👍
@@maryhall3722I’d recommend you place a thick mil plastic covering the whole earthen floor (overlapping by a foot the seams and joints)and bring the sides up to the top of the foundation. This will keep moisture in the soil and reduce heat going into the ground.
Sadly so. This type of thing was all the rage on Canal Boats for awhile - until we realise that the data didn’t stack up. Probably stops the drafts effectively in this instance, but claiming that it is equivalent to a thickness of standard insulation really should be challenged under the trade description act.
Will be interesting to see what the summer is like and if the room is too warm or keeps a cool chill
Really helpful - I was going to do this but I was worried the bubbles would pop walking on them! I'm going from Parquet on concrete to this foil plus underlay plus laminate, so it should make a difference!
This is exactly the stage I'm at so a great vid to show your results. I've been doing exactly the same but have thermometers everywhere now, and even one outside to show actual temperature of air coming in through the air bricks.
I'm going to try this foil for this short term fix, but already anticipating that ready for next winter when energy costs are going to be alot higher, I'm going to install rockwool between the floor joists with a suitable membrane support
Thanks! Short term is exactly what I was thinking - for such a low price and effort it seemed a no-brained to get whatever benefits I can from this stuff. I reckon I’ll make the cost back this winter, and do a more thorough job in the spring
Hi you suggested installing rockwool between joists with a membrane support what does that mean? My flat has a massive cellar underneath.
I was thinking of putting some of that just under the floor boards because I thought they do that in lofts and it keeps it warm.
@@princesse5043 Have a look at Roger Bixby's Skill Builder channel on here. He's great.
Even if it doesn't save much money on heating bills, it makes the room more comfortable, and as you say it takes less time to heat up too, sounds like a winner👍
Would like to hear the difference in your bills and how long before you "break even" on the costs.
Suggestion: Mount an under counter pullout on a board. Secure with an adjustable tension rod placed at the back end of the board vertically from board to bottom of counter, hand tighten. Two-tier unit slides in and out. Tension rod keeps it from tipping. Really maximizes under kitchen sink storage. Your wife will love it.
I have to say this stuff works way better than you might think!
We camped outside in the winter in a yurt with this on the floor! Yes!
When we were setting up the yurt the ground was freezing, we were very cold, but just rolling this out on the floor and standing on it as we were adjusting it, getting it into place was mind blowing!
Extreme difference! We placed carpet over it.... It was pretty great! We has a propane heater and it would have been a completely different experience without this under the carpet!
Also later it got wet in the yurt and we had ro dry everything out. This stuff was perfectly unharmed. Wiped dry and rolled it up. Still use that roll of it to this day for various times!
I did use this product in rhe loft under traditional rockwall and the heat retention was extended by several hours and it was cooling during the summer but I agree with the comment about air gaps to prevent condensation.I couldn't understand this in insulated plasterboard installed with dabbed adhesive several mm thick but it isvery important
I just did this in my shed to cabin. Naysayers say what you will...it made a huge difference laying on the floor with rugs in top. There is nothing under my cabin. Its 19 degrees outside with a chill factor of 5, and 60 in my cabin this morning. Thats a 20 degree difference and Im happy. My walls and roof are wrapped in Reflectix and the cabin came with radiant barrior in the ceiling its 14x40 and I love it!!
A lot of heat escapes through windows. You could make some type of cover with that insulation to place over the windows at night. I used a blanket over the one window that faces north to help with insulating it.
I think this is more a radiant heat barrier - and is MUCH more effective when you have a air gap between that barrier and the floor boards. e.g. in the joists. That said, it certainly looks like it should be more effective. The key question is - Does your room feel better to you ... Is is more comfortable ? Also, Air sealing gaps (draughts) is much more important than installing insulation. Air sealing - stops heat escaping, Insulation keeps heat in. Wondering if the material you used did more air sealing than insulation.
I saw similar effects of insulation, with small differences between different temperature zones but an overall ability to retain much more heat plus a better overall distribution of heat.
Thanks for this video
Helpful information, thanks. It's cold, windy weather and my living room isn't cosy either. As a tempororary fix I've just put down masking tape along the edge of the carpet where it meets the skirting board, as that's where I can feel draughts blowing in. Super cheap if it does work.
Your skirting will have a gap underneath where it meets the floor, that's why you are getting a draught! I know this because I've just renovated my living room and I ripped old skirting off and there were a 10mm gap all the way round the room, so I filled the gap with expanding foam , trimmed back and then fitted new skirting on top
I have bought some large bubble bubblewrap and have covered 98% of our outside windows and all of our internal paned doors. This idea is used by gardeners to put extra insulation on their greenhouses. The larger the bubble the more insulation and soundproofing the effect is. My wife ( she who must be obeyed)( and the one who always feels cold) is very happy. It is so easy to do, just cut to size and spray water all over the window getting a good mist all over and using the smooth side of the bubble wrap just stick it to the window and it stays there. Clear bubble wrap lets all the light in and is very good at sound proofing.£17 for a large roll, find the largest width, ie patio doors and buy at least that width. Using a thin permanent marker write on the bubble wrap which window it's from and store it until the next winter. If the bubble wrap comes loose ,just spray more water and smooth it to the corners and re stick using the smooth side.
This is a great idea! I’d never thought of that. Our French doors are an AWFUL heat transfer - I might give this a go
in some cases, wont even need to spray water cos the window will already have condensation on it 🙈
@@tan90 I agree but I used window vac to dry and clean window first and then used fine plant sprayer especially in all corners and edges. Have lasted 4 months with problems
You sir, are a diamond.
That is fabulous idea!
Thanks mate fir the great vid.
I've just added 100mm loft rolls to my 1878 property. The temp gain was about 1c. Then I added a second level of 170mm loft rolls. Another 1c gain 🤩 in overall room temp...
Doesn't seem a lot, bit my boiler needs much less gas.
So if you gain between 1c and 2.5c, it is really good 👍 I suppose for the little price to pay.
I'm going to try your system 😉
Just one thing I would worry about is condensation... Our old British property needs breathing, not sure if this aluminium stuff will have negative consequences on condensation and mould...🧐
Perhaps something you should check out after 1 year 🤔
It will help I am looking at doing this only with a non bubble form of foil insulation and flooring underlayment . I will be using carpet tape to hold it in place
i used to import and sell a product exactly the same as this which was also non flamable, if you did set fire to it, the flames just self extinguished which was a regulation for it to be used in public buildings in france.
I'd get a far infrared heater panel fitted on the ceiling, the after heating affect will be much better... I'd also get some thermal wallpaper (or thermal under paper) then thermal paint over the top, or if thermal under paper, whatever wallpaper over the top...
Make sure you insulate under your window sill(s) you can use that silver stuff, you used on your floor...
I did this and it makes a lot of difference!
My room holds & gives off the heat, from the far infrared panel heater, much better than having the rad on!
👍
In my opinion a problem with that insulation is that over time the stress on the air bubbles from walking/ impacting on the floor means its likely that the air bubbles will become less efficient i.e. the bubble wrap will pop or puncture. Lleaving you with just a reflective surface under your carpet acting just as a draught excluder which is better than nothing but hardly and insulation layer.
Most of the performance of that insulation comes from the reflective surface. It's reflecting radiant heat back into the room (or carpet, in this case, which is fine). The bubbles are only there to prevent heat loss via direct conduction, which would defeat the purpose of trying to reflect the heat back into the room.
So bursting a few of the bubbles is no big deal, so long as the reflective material doesn't become permanently flattened against the flooring.
@@jeffwells641ya. But the reflection only works with an air gap.
@@gwaaiedenshaw8310 radiation works without air
@@gwaaiedenshaw8310 No, it's not that the reflection doesn't work without an air gap, it's that conduction - heat loss due to contact - overpowers the reflection. So it reflects 90% of the radiant heat no matter what, but contact causes the heat to sink away through the material much much faster. It's a small but important difference.
So ANY air gap - 1mm to 100mm - works just as well. It also doesn't have to be air, just putting a material with poor thermal conductivity between will do the job (though air is generally the most readily available such material).
This is contrary to the way normal insulation (like down, fiberglass, or foam board) works, which is by increasing the air gap and obstructing air movement. They generally don't care much about contact, because there are layers of material after the point of contact that prevent heat transfer.
i’m in oregon, us, and use a similar insulation (bubble layer covered on both sides by mylar vs aluminium) on the insides of our windows to reduce heat loss in the winter. it makes the house much more comfortable!
Nice, one cannot compare temperature with a height difference as warm air rises up. Besides that, you should first calibrate the thermometers to be sure they actually measure the same temperature in the same conditions.
Heat rises, and cold air drops, so that's part of the colder floor test. But good job. I'm going to try something similar but first get access to the floor joists from underneath and put in blocking and rigid insulation to exterior side. It can be had aluminum faced on both edges. Then bubblewrap and foil on underside of floor between the joists.
For decades Hands down hempcrete one of the best natural insulation and fire proofing solutions there ever has been baa wool 😆👍🏼🇬🇬
Nice simple idea, well done lad.
Thanks 👍
Great video mate, first thing I did when I moved into my new place was to stack up insulation where I could. Got about 400mm rockwool added to the loft alone just before the energy prices went mental in the winter of 2022.
Never thought about doing the floors though, but I am thinking about ripping the beams out and putting in concrete at some point.
If you rip out the timbers then you can end up with damp issues and change the whole way the building behaves in regards to movement on the substrate, depending on the age of the property and foundations. It would be better to lift the timber flooring and create hammocks between the joists and fill with insulation, then thin flooring ply if you have floorboards good enough for finish or chipboard tongue and groove flooring panels. There's quite a few companies offering specific products to do this.
My house is built onto a concrete slab. The concrete and the foot of airspace above is cold all year round.
What you have to be careful about now is after you have switched the heating off the warm air will start to drop as the cold air from the floor pulls it down. This is why you’ve noticed that little bit of difference. The potential issue you need to keep you’re eye on now is the dew point of condensation. The draft coming from the floor will have dried any moisture. Putting a foil layer may cause dampness between the floor boards and foil and the carpet and foil because air is not able to flow over the surfaces. I’m not saying it will. But all foil insulation should have a breather space between it and the surface in front of it.
Thanks, that was my worry too. Coming from tropical Queensland, it's beyond my ken. However, living in a damp, cold, sub alpine part of Europe, I need these clues. Mold is a killer.
they don't care...
Yes, that is another problem, don't know how to tackle this. Saw this on another utube channel, on your roll of foil insulation, mark out holes evenly, hole size, amount, distance apart, I don't know, drill with probably a 1 or 2 mm drill bit, now you have air flow to stop condensation and mould. I have seen perforated foil available for this problem. Again I'm not sure of how many and how big the holes are but if you utube perforated foil insulation it will give you an idea, good luck and again thanks to everyone for your information.
Unlikely to be an issue with the thin insulation used here. Look up the Gläser diagram. There is a method to calculate the dew point and condensation risk. The foil tape and closed cell product also acts as a vapour barrier to prevent moisture moving from the room to the floor.
@@hadesbearer even with a 150mm Kingspan type insulation installation instructions are to put a vapour control layer between the floor and insulation. The vapour control layer should be in the type similar to roofing felt where air can flow through it. It doesn’t cause suction as if it does it rips the face off the insulation making the insulation less efficient.
@northernworks, it's about time and money. Always about time and money.
Hey Bloke, An excellent video. Here in the USA, some scientist have concluded the 1-2 inches of dead air will improve the reflectivity of foils. So, you might have had better results by putting the foil in the channels between your floor joists. Of course, leaving 2 inches clear headspace between the foil and the floorboards. This idea was derive from rocket and space research. In short, cold reflects down and heat reflects up. In summertime cooling mode the reverse will happen. I am doing this process in my attic renovation.
I can't understand how cool reflects or what is meant by that. There is no cool, it's not a thing, cool is just the absence of heat. That's why there is an absolute minimum temperature (it's what you get when ALL the heat is removed)
(I understand it's a figure of speech, I just can't get my head around it)
@@shyft09 Wrap your head around this fact. I-2 inches of dead air between the foil and the occupancy location makes heating and cooling BOTH much more efficent.
Have just finished laying wood fibre underlay flooring in bedroom and partly on the stairs. Made massive difference to bedroom. Have done half the stairs and it's made a massive difference. Bought from b and q. You can also put it on walls to o. I visited someone's flat and they had thermoboarded the entire place it was soooo warm in there. Since hot air rises I think it would be a good idea to put it on the ceiling at least. What do you think?
Thanks for posting your experience with foil bubble insulation. I wonder if thermal bridging is holding you back from greater gains.
I'm being held against my will in a basement in Minnesota -- jk...well, I'm 60 and it's either be homeless or live in my Mom's cellar.... Anyway, I've enjoyed Matt Rissinger's channel, "The Build Show," which spot-lights, "high performance," home building and wall science. However, he's open about the fact he lives in and builds homes in Texas. He HAS done a number of videos where he visits homes being built in Canada, and, well, they're pretty serious about keeping tight building envelopes and having enough insulation (top, bottom and sides) to keep their citizens from dying in the dead o'winter AND saving on heating costs. If YOU CAN FIND videos about such things in Canada and apply them you'll prolly increase your savings.
We had an energy audit. I wondered about insulation under the floor, but was told to insulate the crawl space walls instead. It was cheaper to have the foam spraying company do the job than for me to do it the traditional way. I was shocked at the cost of buying everything.
And they did the job much faster than what it would have taken me. Also, less banging on my head.
I actually saved over a thousand dollars paying the company. Bit of a shock, and very glad I decided to price check.
The next year you could really tell the difference. From double pairs of heavy socks to one light pair.
Nice!
Brilliant
Nice one bud. Might do this myself
Thanks for your video - good stuff. Do the bubbles sometimes pop when you walk around on it or plate leys of furniture on it?
Well presented, every little helps. I have realised that during the winter the ground under house slowly cools and the floor follows this decline in temperature, this means heat loss to the floor increases day to day throughout the winter. Whereas the air outside changes day to day. I would like to insulate my concrete floor and lay flooring grade chipboard over it. But that means lifting the parquet floor, which could be done and refitting it, I installed it twenty plus years ago.. That would mean cutting or raising the doors or having a step where the insulation ends. Crazily It can also be a legal problem if this lift in height means the bottom step of the stairs isn't the same height as all the others.
Wow! It’s really not simple to try and make our home perform better, is it? In lots of ways, I know these little changes are just a drop in the ocean compared with better glazing and wall insulation, but it’s so expensive to retrofit old houses to bring them up to a good standard. I’m starting to see it’s worth it though-and if I can make a simple change that has even a small impact, then it’s been worth it. It certainly feels a bit warmer now!
Nice video. I’m sure others have pointed out that a 2 degree temperature shift from 20 to 18 isn’t 10% in the same way a 2 degree shift from 4 degrees to 2 degrees isn’t a 50% reduction. It’s much more complicated than that. Nevertheless I do agree all homes in uk should have better insulation. We have some of the most under insulated homes in Europe.
It should work. Also look at using that window plastic heat shrink stuff to insulate your glass windows. In the winter it cuts down on drafts and radiant cold from the outside through the glass.
The one extra factor that ultimately needs to be accounted for is moisture, humidity, condensation, and all its variants. There's a fine balance between creating a boil in the bag suit (over sealed) and a breathable cozy, economical living space. Dr Joe Lstiburek's discussions are a great overview, though most UK housing is still [old &] far from ideal.
Cut draughts, insulate, and ventilate residual moisture.
Excellent video..Good approach easy explanation 👍
Glad you liked it
I reckon insulation foam that they use to fill cavities in walls is better for floorboards . Or you could simply buy used or reclaimed insulation (asbestos free) .
For concrete floors /linoleum;bubble wrap is ideal
Reflective heat does works behind radiators . I felt an instant gain in room temperature after fitting #Radflek to my rooms . A ten radiator packet is enough for 3 bed house .
Heat rises, so it would be weird if you didn't have a degree or so difference in the temp between the floor and the thermostat height.
Also, the cold air return is at the floor level as well, so your heat should be venting up from your furnace and rising up through the room, then the cold settles at the bottom and returns to the furnace, instead of drawing the hot air and pumping more hot without dealing with the cool air in the room.
Anyway, you are correct, it's an air flow situation and supposed to be like that.
It's still a great idea IMO to put that insulation down to keep the cold from coming in as much as possible, as your room should retain/hold the heat in better, but that also depends on what's below the floor too probably.
If it's an apartment and you have a living area below you, it might be better to allow their heat to rise up, but if it's just a basement or ground below your place, it would probably be best to insulate it as best you could.
I should also point out that this is all just my basic understanding of all of this, from what I was told and used to design my basement with, and seems to be pretty bang on.
But it is probably all situational...
We had wooden floors(proper wood), but ripped it all up for two reasons, acoustic sound problems and cold floor, we now have foil , then 10mm underlay and then carpet
And how did that improved the cold floor situation? What foil have you used?
@@MrGiedriokas we used Wickes Thermal Foil Insulation Roll 600mm x 8m, much nicer to walk upon but carpet is
Pete! I used to love watching you musings on RUclips and I was sad you stopped uploading. So great that I stumbled across this channel! Look forward to watching some slightly less philosophical content!
Welcome back Glenn! Well who knows, maybe there'll be a return of some more philosophical '2nd Channel' videos down the road :D
Nice video. The bubble wrap reflective insulation will work better if there is an air gap of atleast 1 inch between the aluminium surface and any other surface so heat can be reflected away.
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Im my experience tempetures in a space always come in gradations.
I bet if you put the same themometer near the roof ( asuuming your thermostat is at about the mid point ) it would read about 2 degrees higher that your thermostat.
And if you put it at the same hight, but a little bit down the hall or a few feet away by a doorway, you would yet another set of results.
The first step to properly conditioned home is 1) air sealing, make sure no drafts are present and entire buildings envelope is air sealed, use caulking, tape, whatever works to seal any and all drafts, major contributors are windows. 2) water control, make sure no water is penetrating obviously 3) vapor, condensation. make sure you walls layers are in their proper order with air cavity to reduce vapor penetration 4) thermalyl: insulate everything ..lastly) ultimately what you should do is move out into a properly built energy efficient building with an ERV.
Fantastic video style! Really enjoyed the watch. New subscriber gained :)
Thanks! Appreciate the feedback, and glad you enjoyed the video
Boss of the Swamp has been using reflectix for years with fantastic results. He lives in the upper north east of the US, and has brutal winters up on the mountain. Against all the naysayers, it's his insulation of choice.
Basic physics states that heat rises and cold sinks, which means that even if you insulate your floors, walls, and ceilings, the heat is still going to rise towards the ceiling and the cold sink towards the floor, and that's why your floor thermometer registers 2 degrees less warmth than where the thermostat is located. Most thermostats are located approximately where people's heads are at and not at floor level. Even in my very well insulated house in NE Tennessee, USA, there is still a temperature difference between where the thermostat is located (approximately head height) and the floor. However, because my house is so well insulated, it costs me less to heat and cool my house precisely because of all that insulation. So, putting as much insulation as is possible in one's house will help to cut down on energy costs.
BTW, on December 23rd the outside thermometer registered -2 Degrees F (-18 C). Even if I turned off the heat, the thermometer still registered 55 F (12C). I did, however, put a blanket over the windows on the north side of the house to help with insulation.
I suspect that folks who own their own house will start thinking about ways to insulate their homes.
I layer up rugs to get warmer floors. This foil idea sounds good but I think like my rug thing,and in any insulated or not home, still watch out for mould and damp I take the rugs away in warmer weather then the floor will air.
Warm air rises, Cold air drops. Thats why the Floor level will be colder than the rest of the room. Its also why sometimes we think there is a 'Draft' from the windows, as heat escapes through the Glass the air (that has lost its energy) will fall down towards the floor, prompting the illusion of a draft.
I did mine in 6mm ply. Breathes well too. I fear you’ve created a vapour barrier where condensation will form.
As soon as you place weight on it, walking for example, the air will just leak out of the bubbles and its the trapped air that does all the work in the insulation. It'll probably work in places like under the furniture which dont get any direct weight. Its like putting stuff on top of loft insulation which closes the airgaps up and makes it useless.
The foil backing will add some infra-red reflection but the effect will be tiny. The silver bubble wrap would be much more efficient under the floorboards where they are not compressed and it would stop draughts. Bigger job though!
Aye, much bigger job. For a trial run of the product before doing a bigger job I’m pleased with the results. I’ll pop an update in the comments when I take up the floor and see how well the bubbles stand up to walking.
If you have underlay then carpet it should be ok, and certainly will be under laminate
Two things:
1. You mentioned that the floorboards were draughty. While the underlay and carpet will have dampened it down, the foil insulation will increase that dampening, which in turn will be the main reason for the increase in early morning temperatures (less cold air coming up thru the boards, foil, underlay and carpet. Your next step, seal the gaps in the floorboards, and arounds the edges of the room. Then replace the foil, underlay, carpet, and see how you go. I’ll bet your overnight loss of heat will decrease even further. Result !
2. Most LVT flooring come with integrated insulation on the individual planks, and the 25year guarantee is voided if any additional insulation is used. I’ve used acres of the stuff, and it is fantastic. But. If using it on a suspended (ground) floor, You must seal the floor around the edges of the room, and any gaps in the floorboards, to prevent the air which must circulate under the floor, from leaking into the room, and robbing your heat.
Finally, like the vid. And the style. Funny too. Also. You were wearing a t-shirt and cap before laying the foil, but a knitted cap and jersey-thye-thing, afterwards. 🤔🤔🤔😂😂😂
Great advice, thanks. Glad you enjoyed the vid (and yes, filmed over several days and evenings 😅)
Yes, air sealing is just as important as insulating. This sort of underlayment is primarily acting as an air sealer. If there's a basement, insulation should be added there between the floor joists.
Seal gaps in floor boards--how? Maybe spray foam.
How do you seal them? Will tape work? And does it need to have room for some air to flow?
FYI Wesley Treat made a heat shield for his shop and ran some tests on different types of insulation.
Great video, thanks for sharing. Do you hear the foil crackling when walking on the floor now?
Thanks Jonny, glad you enjoyed it. Actually not at all! My youngest lad tried popping it like bubble wrap, but it’s pretty hardy. Plus there’s the underlay and carpet too
We all like popping bubble-wrap 😁
The thermometer on the floor is still measuring air temperature, not the floor materiel. A laser thermometer would be a more accurate reading.
The air in the room rises where it is heated forcing cooler air down to the floor level, just natural convection. Humidity management is another concern. I do not know what the floor is made of, if it is wood, any moisture between the vapor barrier and the wood will promote rot.
I am renovating a house with a crawl space about 2 feet below the floor joists. I plan to apply the aluminized "bubble wrap" (vapor barrier) under the floor joists and fill the void between the joists with fiberglass "wool". This will prevent moisture build up and prevent wood rot. This is the intended use of the product you covered your floor with. Good luck.
Considered a ceiling fan to recirculate warm air resting against the ceiling? Cold air naturally pools at lowest level so it may also be coming in from halllway/other rooms.
If that is relative humidity showing on that thermometer, that room is incredibly damp. There are 11.46 grams of water per cubic meter, a comfortable number would be about 9 grams.
Damp air feels colder and also takes more energy to heat. Try running a dehumidifier in there and get the relative humidity down to 50%.
I think it will help a little, partly by stopped the draughts. A thick layer of foam would do more.
Sounds good but I think I am going to do the old fashion method and lift up the boards and put insulation in , there is a lot of draught under the boards and cold air just comes up an makes the carpet cold. I maybe wrong but even as you have it sealed I feel cold air will still permeate into the room with this method.
Another good one to try is to put up that plastic window film even over your double glazing
I'd drop some behind your radiators & add a far infrared heater panel to the wall or better still the ceiling 👍👍
I think you need to change the bubblewrap to a more solid insulator when you put in the solid flooring ... you don't want squishy floors. Fine for carpeting though.
Interesting video. I have used some aluminium bubble wrap to insulate my garage doors and also use it at night to cover up the glass doors in my kitchen and garage. I'm not sure how effective it is but it makes me think I have been doing some good. I've even made some inner soles for my mtb shoes to try to keep my toes warm and it does make a slight difference. However I think that putting this under the carpet/underlay is never going to be the best solution simply because you are compressing the air layer and this is one of the factors in how this material acheives it's thermal efficiency, if it is completely flattened then all you are left with is two sheets of aluminium foil. I think that it would be much better under the floorboards which for me is easy as I have a cellar. Anyway, if you are happy with how it went then who am I to pontificate? Maybe I will try putting the foil wrap on top of my feet instead of under them - time for an experiment when the weather turns colder again.
The foil-bubble mtb shoe insulation is a genius idea! I’ve wrapped my whole toe box in aluminium foil before in road bike shoes and I’m sure it’s saved my toes.
I think you’re right about the insulation under carpet being sub-optimal. My eventual plan is to lay a wooden floor so just wanted to test the product really. Its pretty sturdy, to be fair, and I followed the manufacturer guidance, so you’d hope it lasts more than a few weeks before popping. Maybe I’ll check back at the end of winter with an update.
Still air or even with radiators, tends to laminate. So the floor will always be cooler. With insulation and a ceiling fan the room might have a stable temperature.
older houses just a 6mm ply lining, sealed up, on the floor makes a huge difference and lasts forever, then spend a bit extra on underlay.
Niccceee!!! I have an outside wall in my apartment that’s ice 🧊 cold. Any suggestions? Thanks for the video.
It is actually advised to put two layers, with a couple of inches of space between them between the rafters in the basement. Multiple vids on google. Me, I just put it on some old windows and it is much more comfortable in here than before.
Here in eastern Canada, I insulated my '76 VW bus with it. Works a charm to reflect heat and cold but does have its limits.
Does the bubble wrap (air pockets) pop during installation, ie pressure from knees? Do they deflate under heavy traffic ie hallway flooring?
We use this stuff in van conversions, and it doesn’t make a stellar change. But a valiant effort.
Heat rises so you will always have a temperature gradient in a room, with it being cooler at the floor and warmer at the ceiling (don't measure at a heat source though).
I watched another video where the guy does this but installed under subfloor, preferably between subfloor and joists.
The reasoning was the bubble wrap will pop and break over time and you’ll lose the insulating properties.
In a really cold windy storm you will notice the difference more.
@northernworks 2 years on - is this still working well? Any sign of any damp or mould anywhere?
It should work. Cause the hollow door worked better. Then I added some more on the walls, and again there was an improvement. Now if I had something to cover the floor over the type of insulation you are talking about. A rug for instance.
Hi there! Thanks for the video. After one year of living with this insulation would you say it still works for you or you would better find another option? Thanks in advance ❤
it works even better if you can provide a larger air gap - this stuff works better in attics and basement subfloors where you can install right on the rafters and beams (typically with air between - even within any kind of fiber insulation). the less direct surface area contact it can have, the better it'll prevent the emission/conduction of heat (hence, the bubbles)
I was going to get some to line my shed and keep it dry and warm for the winter, so if it works for you then it will work for me?
My downstairs had carpet on concrete. I installed cork flooring as a thermal barrier, for my feet, because it radiated coldness. Now I walk on the cork flooring and never get cold feet! There's no going back, and it's green.
I’ve always wondered… why don’t insulation companies make a vacuum insulation. Boards etc that are airtight and have all the air sucked out of them. Heat can’t transfer through a vacuum as well as air filled cavities. Surely it’d make sense to seal up cavity walls so they’re dry and airtight. Then vacuum seal them? Rather than using conventional insulation techniques?
Beautiful wood under that carpet. Insulate under the floors in the crawlspace and sand and refinish that wood. To nice to just replace