Floor sheathing insulation
ethan_TFGStudio
| Posted in Green Building Techniques on
I’m working on a home that has a shoddy plywood floor on joists (some sleepers too). There is no real crawlspace, and no budget to dig one. I am interested in improving the thermal performance of the floor…
Is there any precedent for an insulated sheathing? I Can’t figure out how else to improve the thermal performance of the floor. Perhaps just a thin foam underlay and cork flooring and call it a day?
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Replies
E.T.,
If there is dirt under the plywood subfloor and the joists (or the plywood subfloor and the sleepers), then the right way to proceed is to demolish the subfloor, joists, and sleepers, and install the following layers: a layer of crushed stone, a layer of rigid foam, a layer of polyethylene, and a concrete slab.
Of course, the dirt should be leveled before this work is performed. The thickness of the crushed stone layer and the rigid foam layer can be adjusted as necessary to make sure that the 4-inch-thick slab is at the right height.