Suspended timber flooring

pampootie

I'm currently renovating a 50 year old bungalow, which has suspended timber floors throughout. I was initially planning on replacing all the floors with concrete flooring but have gotten some quotes back and price seems to be ranging from 25-30k, which is miles out of budget. Is this an average price for this type of work and if so, would there be any cheaper options available?

Calahonda52

whats the overall plan for the reno?
Air tightness targets, insulation levels, heating & ventilation options?
Its not really good to approach it in a piecemeal ill thought out way, which I know is not the case here

pampootie

Calahonda52 wrote: »

whats the overall plan for the reno?
Air tightness targets, insulation levels, heating & ventilation options?
Its not really good to approach it in a piecemeal ill thought out way, which I know is not the case here

To be honest that might describe our approach so far quite well! It's the first time we've done anything like this so a steep learning curve ahead.

Our main goal for the renovation is to improve the insulation and energy efficiency of the house overall. Our engineers report recommended a concrete floor over the suspended timber which is why we started investigating that route. It's mostly the cold, draughty nature of a suspended floor that has us wanting a replacement-so I'm now wondering about insulation options instead but I know next to nothing about them.

Lumen

Insulation between joists, membrane under and over, taped. You'll still have cold bridging in the joists but wood isn't that bad an insulator. 100mm of well fitted insulation plus air tightness ought to make a big difference. Check your under floor ventilation while you're at it.

Calahonda52

Lumen wrote: »

Insulation between joists, membrane under and over, taped. You'll still have cold bridging in the joists but wood isn't that bad an insulator. 100mm of well fitted insulation plus air tightness ought to make a big difference. Check your under floor ventilation while you're at it.

https://www.nsai.ie/about/news/publication-of-sr-542014-code-of-practice

Lumen

Calahonda52 wrote: »

https://www.nsai.ie/about/news/publication-of-sr-542014-code-of-practice

My experience of following the approach in 9.2.2.4 was that the windtight membrane does not follow the square profile illustrated, but instead forms a curve which results in uneven insulation density. I'm not sure this would be noticed by an installer unless they had an underfloor camera.

The document does mention rigid board as an alternative which I might try next time, maybe something lightweight and breathable like woodfibre (but rodents would like that), or just breathable and stiff like mgo board. Would simple plasterboard work? Maybe an adhesive sealant to attach strips of board slid through the joist gap? Or maybe just tie a sheet of weldmesh to the joists using long zip ties. Thoughts?

Howzit17

Renovating 100+ year old stone house and considering used scaffolding boards to keep costs down.
https://www.theenglishwoodworker.com/workshop-floor-scaffold-boards/