Hello.
I am planning to insulate the floor and outer wall (one outer wall for now) in an old summer cottage from the 50s while I'm renovating a small bedroom.
The summer cottage is generally poorly insulated, and we only have the water connected in the summer, with the heating turned off in the winter.
So to the questions...
1. Insulating the floor. The plan is to remove the floorboards and install a sub-floor panel, insulate, and lay down chipboard. There is a theoretical possibility to insulate from underneath the crawl space, but then the floorboards would remain as the sub-floor in the cottage...
How would you do it?
2. Insulating the wall from the inside. I suspect it's plank/tongue-and-groove and then a Treetex board.
Here I'm thinking OSB/plywood and drywall.
The question is whether I should install a vapor barrier or if it will destroy the construction in the long run, given that I won't be able to make it airtight since the other walls currently won't have a vapor barrier...or is it just as well to think ahead, that it's better to install it while I'm at it...?
What do you think?
Best regards
/Frippe
I am planning to insulate the floor and outer wall (one outer wall for now) in an old summer cottage from the 50s while I'm renovating a small bedroom.
The summer cottage is generally poorly insulated, and we only have the water connected in the summer, with the heating turned off in the winter.
So to the questions...
1. Insulating the floor. The plan is to remove the floorboards and install a sub-floor panel, insulate, and lay down chipboard. There is a theoretical possibility to insulate from underneath the crawl space, but then the floorboards would remain as the sub-floor in the cottage...
How would you do it?
2. Insulating the wall from the inside. I suspect it's plank/tongue-and-groove and then a Treetex board.
Here I'm thinking OSB/plywood and drywall.
The question is whether I should install a vapor barrier or if it will destroy the construction in the long run, given that I won't be able to make it airtight since the other walls currently won't have a vapor barrier...or is it just as well to think ahead, that it's better to install it while I'm at it...?
What do you think?
Best regards
/Frippe
That's the simplest and probably best way. That's how I would do it, minus the chipboard I wouldn’t use in a cabin that’s left cold during winters. Simple type 24mm spruce flooring is a better choice. I’m not up-to-date with current prices, but previously it was also the cheapest, possibly except for the cheap laminate from Rusta as the top layer over the chipboard.F FrippeFlyer said:
Regarding simplicity... It’s difficult to get a good result when insulating from underneath. If you do it yourself, it might turn out well. If you hire someone, the working conditions will be so dreadful that they’re likely to slack on execution, resulting in drafts over the new insulation, which basically makes the job worthless.
A good choice to insulate from the inside.F FrippeFlyer said:
You preserve the appearance of the house.
By being careful and doing a good job, you get the tightest seal where it matters most, on the inside.
At the same time, you avoid the cardinal mistake when adding insulation of making it tightest on the outside, where one might assume the condensation point is.
Regarding the vapor barrier...
It's a hornet's nest that brings out the worst myth-makers in the forum. After a few months of debate, you won't be able to extract anything sensible. Sending a PM.
Best regards, Findus