How to insulate your floors

When the weather starts to get colder, many of you will be looking for ways to make your home feel lovely and cosy. You might find yourself turning on your heating, but with energy costs rising, perhaps there are other things you can try before cranking up the thermostat.

We’re always looking for tips and tricks to help you save money and lower your heating bills. Did you know a well-insulated floor can save up to 20% heat loss? In addition to helping you feel snugglier, insulation can also help to increase energy savings and reduce carbon emissions. The right insulation can also make your home quieter by reducing ambient noise.

In this guide, we’re going to talk you through some of the best floor insulation options and explain how to insulate a floor.

Only got a couple of minutes to spare? Watch our floor insulation video below:

What is insulation?

Insulation can refer to both the material and the process used to help to keep heat in and also reduce noise in your home. This can be done via wall, loft, and floor insulation, and it’s best to do all three to get the maximum energy efficiency. Depending on the type of subfloor you have, there are different ways to go about installing floor insulation.

What type of subfloor do I have?

Most homes in the UK have one of these three subfloors:

Wooden floorboards

Suspended timber floors are usually found in older houses and have a ventilation gap underneath to prevent moisture from forming on the timber joists that the subfloor sits on. They can often feel draughty due to the gaps in between the wooden planks where cold air from below the house seeps in.

Adding insulation under your floor involves taking up your floorboards and filling the cavity with either foil-backed foam boards and expanding foam or mineral wool insulation. A time-consuming job, but definitely worth it in the long run!

Tapi Top Tip: If you can spot ventilation bricks below floor level on the outside wall of your home then it’s highly likely that you have a suspended timber floor.

Concrete

A solid and durable subfloor option, concrete is porous and therefore requires a damp-proof membrane underneath so that no water or moisture can get through. You can lay rigid foam or plywood on top to add insulation and a smooth, flat surface for your flooring installation.

Screed

Made from a mixture of cement, water, and sand, a thin layer of screed is poured on top of a concrete subfloor to help level out the concrete. This creates a smooth surface for floor adhesives, so your flooring can be laid directly on top. Screed is a fantastic insulator and a great option for your subfloor if you have underfloor heating, as it can help retain warmth.

How to insulate a floor

How you insulate your floor can depend on whether you’re replacing or repairing the subfloor, or only changing the decorative flooring. If you’re insulating the subfloor, you’ll often need to call in a professional and allocate a portion of your flooring budget to this task.

It might take a bit longer and cost a little more, but the insulation will be more energy-efficient in the long run. It can also help increase your Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating, which indicates how energy-efficient your property is.

Adding flooring insulation such as underlay, carpets, and rugs can also help to reduce heat loss, save energy and make your home feel even cosier.

At Tapi, we can help you choose the best flooring and underlay to insulate your home. Just pop in-store for a chat with one of our floorologists or book a home visit and we’ll bring all the options to you.

What are the different types of floor insulation?

Let’s focus on two types of floor insulation: thermal and acoustic.

Thermal

How well your flooring retains heat in the room (or what we call thermal insulation) is measured using a tog rating – just like a duvet. The higher the tog rating, the more insulating the flooring is.

Generally, carpets have the highest tog rating (around 1.5 and above), so it’s the best type of flooring for insulation, which will help to reduce your energy costs. The tog rating for a carpet is calculated by the material, pile density and thickness. These factors all affect how well a carpet retains heat.

Acoustic

Sometimes the noise of everyday life can feel a bit too loud. From voices echoing to footsteps stomping, it’s nice to turn the volume down!

Acoustic flooring insulation is important for dampening ambient sounds like people talking, or impact sounds like someone walking around in heels. It’s especially important if you live in a flat or a terrace house where you might hear footsteps or voices from your neighbours.

Sound insulation is measured in decibels (dB). The higher the number, the more sound is absorbed by the flooring. So, make sure to look out for the dB rating on all our product pages.

What are the benefits of insulating your floor?

There are numerous benefits to insulating your floor, such as:

preventing dampness and mould, creating a healthier home environment
increased comfort due to less noise
reduced heat loss, helping to control a pleasant room temperature
saving money on your energy bills
floor insulation is environmentally friendly, helping you use less energy to heat your home

Should I insulate between floors?

Insulating the ground floor is essential, as this is where cold air can enter your home. Heat rises, meaning your upper floors are likely to be warmer. So, it’s not usually necessary to insulate between floors, aside from any rooms that sit above unheated spaces like garages. However, it’s often a good idea to install sound insulation between floors as this can help to reduce noise.

Tapi Top Tip: Fill any gaps in your flooring where draughts can get in, for example, around skirting boards, floorboards, fireplaces, and radiator pipes.

What’s the best floor insulation?

Carpet

Carpet is one of the best floor insulation materials. It provides insulation by trapping air just above the surface, helping to reduce draughts and retain heat. Rooms with carpets tend to be around one or two degrees warmer than rooms with hard flooring, and the more carpet in your home, the more you’ll feel the benefit!

If you’re looking at how to insulate floors in an old house, wool and wool-blend carpets are the best for thermal insulation. Wool is a natural insulator, plus it keeps its pile height and feels much warmer and comfier underfoot.

Carpet is also great for soundproofing as it’s thicker and softer, so the soundwaves snuggle between the carpet fibres. Learn more about how carpet can help soundproof your home in our guide.

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Laminate and vinyl

For smooth flooring, laminate or felt-backed vinyl is best for insulation. Smooth flooring like laminate, luxury vinyl, vinyl, and engineered wood are all made up of layers, and each layer helps to decrease the transmission of sound. They’re ideal for mimicking the look of wood and stone while offering better sound absorption than the real thing.

With smooth flooring like laminate, you can also add underlay to help quieten any noise in the room. Meanwhile, luxury vinyl comes with inbuilt underlay so it already has that extra cushioning. What’s more, it adds another layer of thermal insulation too.

Another way to reduce noise in your home – and make it cosier at the same time – is by adding a rug. At Tapi, we can turn any of our carpets into a rug that’s totally bespoke to you using our carpet whipping service. Just ask one of our floorologists in-store to find out more!

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Does underlay make the room warmer?

Underlay is the unsung hero of your home flooring. As well as delivering comfort and support underfoot, underlay can reduce heat loss by up to 20%, which will save you money on your heating bills. It’s a bit like putting an extra jumper on under your coat!

Insulating with underlay is a cost-efficient way to reduce noise and heat loss. Underlay has its own decibel and tog rating. When you add these to your flooring rating, you’ll get even better insulation. For smooth flooring like laminate, underlay can make a huge difference in helping your home feel nice and toasty. It can also help to keep moisture from your subfloor so your laminate stays dry.

Underlay is available in various thicknesses and densities, so if you’re wondering how thick your floor insulation should be, a thicker and denser underlay will be the best at reducing noise and keeping in heat.

Here at Tapi, we’ve got lots of different underlay options, from foam and traditional rubber crumb, to underlay made from recycled scrap materials – even old tyres. You can read more about the benefits of underlay and the best underlay for carpet in our helpful guides.

Do you need floor insulation if you have underfloor heating?

Yes, it’s important to choose the right flooring and insulation when installing underfloor heating. Underfloor heating works by installing heated pipes or wires directly underneath the top layer of your flooring, allowing heat to radiate through and warm up your home. There’s nothing better than stepping onto a smooth floor on a chilly morning and feeling a warm sensation under your feet!

The best flooring options for underfloor heating are those with a low tog rating, so heat can easily flow into the room and warm it up. Laminate, vinyl and LVT are all great heat conductors, making them suitable for use with underfloor heating.

If you’re adding underlay on top of underfloor heating, you might also want to consider one with a low tog rating. Any flooring and underlay combination that’s higher than 2.5 will block heat from flowing into the room.

Tapi Top Tip: Make sure you tell your Tapi floorologist if you have underfloor heating, including whether it’s water-based or electric. That way, they can recommend the right flooring for your home.

As you can see, there are many reasons why insulating your floors is a good idea. Aside from reducing your energy bills, it can help make your home feel more inviting too.

If you’ve got any more questions about insulation, talk to one of our helpful floorologists in-store or explore our tips on how to keep your home warm in winter.

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Published: 07-11-2024