Dear forum members,
My father-in-law has screed as the subfloor in his apartment, with a PVC layer on top that serves as thermal insulation.
The apartment is on the ground floor, with cellar rooms beneath it. He wants to install a vinyl floor over the PVC layer and is asking which material would be best to place between the PVC and the vinyl floor for insulation against the cold coming from the cellar. Would you recommend vinyl flooring with or without an acoustic underlay?
Thank you very much for your help!
Best regards,
M
My father-in-law has screed as the subfloor in his apartment, with a PVC layer on top that serves as thermal insulation.
The apartment is on the ground floor, with cellar rooms beneath it. He wants to install a vinyl floor over the PVC layer and is asking which material would be best to place between the PVC and the vinyl floor for insulation against the cold coming from the cellar. Would you recommend vinyl flooring with or without an acoustic underlay?
Thank you very much for your help!
Best regards,
M
N
Nice-Nofret22 Feb 2021 10:24Vinyl is also PVC – just a fancier name...
If you want the floor to be warm underfoot and insulated, I would prefer cork flooring over any type of plastic.
If you want the floor to be warm underfoot and insulated, I would prefer cork flooring over any type of plastic.
Hello "Muck1956".
If you want to avoid self-deception, please keep in mind that for insulating a floor over an unheated space, you certainly need an insulation layer several centimeters thick. Providing exact figures requires a calculation of the entire system, which includes the materials involved (such as the concrete slab, screed, etc.), their thicknesses, and the surrounding temperature.
Underlays beneath resilient floor coverings, as long as they are factory-bonded, serve to reduce impact sound, not to provide thermal insulation. Thermal insulation is always installed below the screed or under the basement ceiling if insulating within the room itself would prove problematic.
If thermal insulation is to fulfill its purpose, it must have a minimum installation thickness sufficient to perform its function. With only a few millimeters in thickness, you don’t need a calculator to realize it’s an exercise in futility. This will only lead to numerous unsightly impressions appearing on the (new) flooring surface, which nobody wants!
If you fear cold feet in the situation you described, thick socks are the only recommendation. Under no circumstances should the new floor covering be sacrificed in a pointless experiment!
Best regards,
KlaRa
If you want to avoid self-deception, please keep in mind that for insulating a floor over an unheated space, you certainly need an insulation layer several centimeters thick. Providing exact figures requires a calculation of the entire system, which includes the materials involved (such as the concrete slab, screed, etc.), their thicknesses, and the surrounding temperature.
Underlays beneath resilient floor coverings, as long as they are factory-bonded, serve to reduce impact sound, not to provide thermal insulation. Thermal insulation is always installed below the screed or under the basement ceiling if insulating within the room itself would prove problematic.
If thermal insulation is to fulfill its purpose, it must have a minimum installation thickness sufficient to perform its function. With only a few millimeters in thickness, you don’t need a calculator to realize it’s an exercise in futility. This will only lead to numerous unsightly impressions appearing on the (new) flooring surface, which nobody wants!
If you fear cold feet in the situation you described, thick socks are the only recommendation. Under no circumstances should the new floor covering be sacrificed in a pointless experiment!
Best regards,
KlaRa
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