Insulating Existing Concrete Slab Floors

Depending on the use of the building the slab can then be finished ready for use or receive a screed suitable for a floor finish.

Insulating existing concrete slab floors.

Insulating a concrete floor can save you money on your heating bill making an attached garage or basement warmer and by extension the rest of your house. Overlap the seams of the vapor barrier by 6 inches and secure the seams with. That s not always possible especially in existing. Once the basement is prepped choose an insulation to reduce heat loss and moisture transfer from the slab.

In addition to offering insulation and energy savings the plywood subfloor described here can provide the perfect foundation for finish flooring such as carpeting adding warmth in look as. Run the polyethylene up the sides of the walls 3 to 4 inches and secure to the walls with construction tape. Less common is a third method. If however you are insulating on top of an existing slab then you will need to consider things such as whether you need to replace or remove skirting boards door jamb heights ceiling heights etc.

If the insulation is going below the slab the damp proof membrane dpm is laid next followed by the insulation a polythene separating layer and the concrete slab. However even a newer slab insulated with r 20 may not be adequate depending on a few factors including the type of. Insofast eps foam panels provides a one step solution to finishing a floor with embedded studs built in to the panel. Such spaces typically have a sound level concrete slab floor but lack sufficient floor insulation to achieve the thermal performance targets for new habitable rooms.

Insulating concrete garage floors begins with covering the entire floor with 6 mil polyethylene which will serve as a vapor barrier. The best way to insulate a slab is to isolate it from the ground and the air around it by insulating under the slab and around its edges. In climate zones 4 through 8 the most common locations for insulation are at the perimeter of the slab installed vertically and under the slab installed horizontally. Although building codes differ by region builders typically use r5 and r10 insulation under the concrete slab but floors insulated with r20 contain the heat in your basement far better than those insulated with lower r values.

The average residential load bearing code requirement for floor system is 40psf. If headroom is tight then the only option may be to break up the existing slab dig further down and build up an entirely new floor. Once again a thinner insulation such as vacuum insulation may be a more cost effective or more practical option in the long run.