Insulating House Addition Floors

Dollar for dollar upgrading your attic insulation is one of the best energy investments you can make.

Insulating house addition floors.

Insulating a slab in an existing home can be expensive and disruptive but if the slab in your home is cold it is possible to dig around the perimeter of the house and install insulation usually foam board. When we choose to insulate a roof assembly it s even more important that we get the details right. There are good reasons why we put more of our air sealing and insulating time and money into attics and walls than we do floors. An uninsulated floor allows heat to escape making the house less energy efficient.

I am considering two methods of insulation he. Jim wright s house in western arkansas has a pier foundation that elevates floor framing about 40 inches off the ground. An uninsulated floor allows unwanted cold air to enter your home from underground. Inspect and measure the thickness inches of any insulation in unfinished basement ceilings and walls or above crawlspaces.

Adding insulation mitigates the problem but there are some considerations to keep in mind. How to insulate existing floors. Just because you find insulation in one wall doesn t mean that it s everywhere in the house. Unlike a house with a basement crawl space or slab foundation there is no enclosure at the bottom of the house so the floor is more or less like another exterior wall.

How wright wonders should this be insulated. A pier and beam home built on top of sturdy supports typically has an open crawl space between the floor of the house and the earth. In most parts of the united states insulating the exterior edge of a slab can reduce heating bills by 10 to 20.