No crawl space?
A concrete subfloor? Then you can only insulate ‘from above’ with, for example, OSB plates or underlayment on which you lay carpet, parquet, a wooden floor or tiles.
Please note: do not insulate a wooden subfloor from above if there is no crawl space, due to the risk of moisture problems.
Crawl space lower than 35 cm?
Then you can opt for ’excavation’, so that there is a crawl space and you can insulate the underside of the floor, or you can opt for soil insulation (spraying) with shells, polystyrene (tempex) chips or soil beads, for example.
A crawl space higher than 35 cm that is not accessible?
Do you need new floor coverings? You may be able to remove a piece of the wooden subfloor to gain access to the crawl space or opt for ground insulation. Insulating ‘from above’ is also possible, provided there is a dry, well-ventilated crawl space.
An accessible crawl space?
Insulating material against the underside of the floor provides very good insulation values. For example, thermos cushions, plates of cork, wood fiber, flax, EPS, foam, glass or rock wool.
With ground insulation, the insulation material is applied to the bottom of the crawl space. Ground insulation provides less insulation, but can be a solution if the crawl space is not high enough or if there are moisture problems in the crawl space.
There are different ways to insulate your floor. The approach depends on whether or not there is an accessible crawl space, the type of subfloor and whether or not you are ready for new floor coverings.
