Replacing floors/insulation

AstraMonti

If all goes well, we ll be replacing carpets/floors/tiles across a whole house, an 80s built bungalow.
Since we dont have the time or budget to dig out the slab and properly insulate it, is there any other alternative that can be used to help retaining the heat, like an insulating underlay that's taped around maybe? I assume putting underfloor heating in a non insulated floor is going to be a waste of money.

I am getting an engineer to advise, but I still want to hear suggestions.

Thank you

BryanF

AstraMonti wrote: »

If all goes well, we ll be replacing carpets/floors/tiles across a whole house, an 80s built bungalow.
Since we dont have the time or budget to dig out the slab and properly insulate it, is there any other alternative that can be used to help retaining the heat, like an insulating underlay that's taped around maybe? I assume putting underfloor heating in a non insulated floor is going to be a waste of money.

I am getting an engineer to advise, but I still want to hear suggestions.

Thank you

Hi, are you living in the house?
Are you raising all the doors/skirtings/architraves/kitchen/fittings etc? Is ufh sitting on existing concrete? If you do not want to dig out concrete floors, perhaps ufh isn’t for you

Or can you discribe the floor build-up (with dimensions)

Markcheese

You'd have to dig out the floor to put in underfloor heating anyway.... as in the pipes are buried In the concrete... And it's not just a well insulated floor you'd need...
You can get electric underfloor heating which is laid on top of the concrete, suitable for bathrooms éct, it would be the cheapest to run but mightnt be too big an issue in a small space...

listermint

Can I ask why your are looking at the slab right now. What other insulation features does the house have ?

AstraMonti

Thanks for the replies.

BryanF wrote: »

Hi, are you living in the house?
Are you raising all the doors/skirtings/architraves/kitchen/fittings etc? Is ufh sitting on existing concrete? If you do not want to dig out concrete floors, perhaps ufh isn’t for you

Or can you discribe the floor build-up (with dimensions)

No we are not living in the house, we are trying to put the works in an order as budget is very tight. One of the works is to replace the whole flooring with new including skirting board, door and frames, as the existing wood/tiles/carpets are in a bad shape.

Yes probably UFH is not for us at the moment, I just brought it up just in case it's feasible without digging out the floors.

Unfortunately I am not aware of the build-up, the engineer from a quick look said it's just the slab and nothing else, but I am still waiting for the full report.

Markcheese wrote: »

You'd have to dig out the floor to put in underfloor heating anyway.... as in the pipes are buried In the concrete... And it's not just a well insulated floor you'd need...
You can get electric underfloor heating which is laid on top of the concrete, suitable for bathrooms éct, it would be the cheapest to run but mightnt be too big an issue in a small space...

Thanks, I only brought UFH as a possibility, digging out the floors is simply way out of budget now.

listermint wrote: »

Can I ask why your are looking at the slab right now. What other insulation features does the house have ?

We 're looking at the slab at the moment as the flooring is one of the first thing we 'll be replacing. So anything I can do now, to avoid redoing something in the future would be very valuable, even if that's just a simple insulating underlay taped to the wall (if that's a thing?).
As for the rest of the house, I 'd say the appropriate description is "feck-all". I am waiting for 2019 to maybe get in the deep-retrofit scheme.

gooner99

If your planning on going for a deep retrofit next year would it be a better idea to paint the existing skirting, doors, walls, etc and then put down cheap flooring for now, as it's likely you might gut the place to do a full renovation.

AstraMonti

gooner99 wrote: »

If your planning on going for a deep retrofit next year would it be a better idea to paint the existing skirting, doors, walls, etc and then put down cheap flooring for now, as it's likely you might gut the place to do a full renovation.

Sorry only noticed your reply now. Thanks for your suggestion but I think whatever happens on the deep retrofit would stay around walls/attic/windows/solar panels and heating system.
We 're going to be changing the kitchen too, throwing a wall and raising another, so it's a lot of things that rely on the floor to be ready.

Calahonda52

Markcheese wrote: »

You'd have to dig out the floor to put in underfloor heating anyway.... as in the pipes are buried In the concrete... And it's not just a well insulated floor you'd need...
You can get electric underfloor heating which is laid on top of the concrete, suitable for bathrooms éct, it would be the cheapest to run but mightnt be too big an issue in a small space...

Elec underfloor heating is NOT the cheapest to run.
OP: without some invasive works no engineer will be able to tell u if the slab is insulated so don't pay for something you can get from a visual survey

AstraMonti

Thanks guys.
If we assume the most likely scenario that no insulation is present, is there any suggestion for a combination of products that will help?

MicktheMan

AstraMonti wrote: »

Thanks guys.
If we assume the most likely scenario that no insulation is present, is there any suggestion for a combination of products that will help?

Leave your floor slab alone. When you do your deep retrofit externally insulate* you external walls down to the footings.

*proper detailing is vital here

Also, don't get too hung up on underfloor heating at this early stage (or any other heating type for that matter) until your deep retrofit is fully spec'ed out because a proper "deep" retrofit will significantly reduce the heat demand / load and supplying said demand / load becomes much simpler.