Replacing wood shavings with glass wool in intermediate floor between GF/FF. Plastic film or not?
Previously had sawdust on asphalt-smelling wind paper in an intermediate floor between basement and ground floor, which I have removed. All of it was on a subfloor/blind floor (why, I do not know, since it is a basement/slope floor under the house).
It looked as follows, from top to bottom:
Ground floor
-----------------
Plastic flooring
Masonite nailed to the plank floor
28mm grooved plank floor
Sawdust
Some sort of black wind paper-like material that smelled strong, like asphalt
22-28 mm boards as subfloor/blind floor
approx. 45 mm air
Sparse
Gypsum
-----------------
Basement/Slope floor
Now, plan to fill it in two different ways in the different rooms.
In the kitchen:
Ground floor
-----------------
Plastic flooring
22mm flooring chipboard
95mm glass wool
11 mm OSB as subfloor/blind floor
45mm glass wool
Sparse
Gypsum
-----------------
Basement/Slope floor
That is, no vapor barrier/moisture barrier/diffusion barrier, and also replace 45mm air with 45mm glass wool as shown in the list above.
In the other rooms, I am thinking as follows:
Ground floor
-----------------
22 solid wood flooring
Sawdust (refill with the old that was there before)
Wind fabric to keep the sawdust in place and not penetrate through the layers
11 mm OSB as subfloor/blind floor
45mm glass wool
Sparse
Gypsum
-----------------
Basement/Slope floor
That is, no vapor barrier/moisture barrier/diffusion barrier, and also replace 45mm air with 45mm glass wool as mentioned above.
Is this a good or bad idea?
The basement/slope floor is used as a normal floor and is thus also heated during the winter.
Would the answers differ on whether my plans are good or bad if the basement/slope floor were to be left unheated even during the winter?
It's difficult to know what is correct with old houses from the 1920s. And yes, I know that cellulose insulation would have been the best, but I neither have the time nor the budget to pursue that right now. Just want to get the joist done as soon as possible. But of course, if my methods are disastrous for the house construction, then I will have to reconsider.
It looked as follows, from top to bottom:
Ground floor
-----------------
Plastic flooring
Masonite nailed to the plank floor
28mm grooved plank floor
Sawdust
Some sort of black wind paper-like material that smelled strong, like asphalt
22-28 mm boards as subfloor/blind floor
approx. 45 mm air
Sparse
Gypsum
-----------------
Basement/Slope floor
Now, plan to fill it in two different ways in the different rooms.
In the kitchen:
Ground floor
-----------------
Plastic flooring
22mm flooring chipboard
95mm glass wool
11 mm OSB as subfloor/blind floor
45mm glass wool
Sparse
Gypsum
-----------------
Basement/Slope floor
That is, no vapor barrier/moisture barrier/diffusion barrier, and also replace 45mm air with 45mm glass wool as shown in the list above.
In the other rooms, I am thinking as follows:
Ground floor
-----------------
22 solid wood flooring
Sawdust (refill with the old that was there before)
Wind fabric to keep the sawdust in place and not penetrate through the layers
11 mm OSB as subfloor/blind floor
45mm glass wool
Sparse
Gypsum
-----------------
Basement/Slope floor
That is, no vapor barrier/moisture barrier/diffusion barrier, and also replace 45mm air with 45mm glass wool as mentioned above.
Is this a good or bad idea?
The basement/slope floor is used as a normal floor and is thus also heated during the winter.
Would the answers differ on whether my plans are good or bad if the basement/slope floor were to be left unheated even during the winter?
It's difficult to know what is correct with old houses from the 1920s. And yes, I know that cellulose insulation would have been the best, but I neither have the time nor the budget to pursue that right now. Just want to get the joist done as soon as possible. But of course, if my methods are disastrous for the house construction, then I will have to reconsider.
It shouldn't be harder to get hold of cellulose insulation than fiberglass and it's better to keep the same type of material that is already in the house. If it has worked for almost 100 years, it's probably foolish to take a chance? 😊
We have just added sawdust to our floors and just doing that made a big difference.
We have just added sawdust to our floors and just doing that made a big difference.
Of course, it depends on where you live, and here there are no places that have cellulose insulation in stock (special order). I also want it in sheets.Sophie said:
Then there's the price, of course. It's so insanely much more expensive.
Now I do have cellulose insulation at home that you need a machine to distribute and spray out, but I don't have a machine for that.
Mineral wool is so incredibly convenient when you buy it in sheets and it's cheap too.
But, again. If my proposal is bad for the house, then I have to do something different.
If you have loose fill insulation at home, you can rake it out with certain tools and won't need a machine.
There are alternatives in sheet form, but it's true that they are often much more expensive. Kutterspån or sawdust, on the other hand, is not that expensive. 😊
There are alternatives in sheet form, but it's true that they are often much more expensive. Kutterspån or sawdust, on the other hand, is not that expensive. 😊
Answer A: No plastic wrap is needed between the different floors.
Answer B: The type of insulation does not matter. For soundproofing, it is probably true that heavier = better.
Answer B: The type of insulation does not matter. For soundproofing, it is probably true that heavier = better.
The "loose fill" I have at home is tightly compressed in bales. I bought it from someone who had a lot left over after a renovation. He said you need a machine for it that has a blade that spins and chops it up, sort of. I asked if it could be distributed by hand, but he said he had tried and it didn't work. It unfortunately needs to be done with a machine.Sophie said:
Yes, wood shavings/sawdust would have been fairly cheap. I could return part of the insulation and go with sawdust instead for the 95 insulation, the one that will lie on top of the floor joists. And then let the 45 glass wool remain under the floor joists.
The reason I kept the floor base, or even replaced it with OSB for simplicity's sake, is to create two "chambers," which should dampen sound a little more. Plus, the OSB itself is heavier and dampens better than just mineral wool.
Great! Then I can go with either option, i.e., leave the 95-glass wool as planned in the kitchen, under the plastic flooring. Then I can pour back the sawdust in the other rooms where I will have solid 2-strip parquet; the sawdust will help to buffer moisture so the parquet boards won't shrink/swell so insanely. The sawdust should even out the shrinking/swelling a bit so that the mechanism is a bit slower. And under the sawdust will be OSB, and under that, a 45-glass wool panel directly against the framing/drywall in the basement level.KnockOnWood said:
KnockOnWood, do you know how it should be above a bathroom with a shower and sauna? That is, in cases where there are bathrooms with a shower and sauna in the basement. How can one handle the joists above? Plastic or not, mineral wool or not?
I don't know what it looks like in that part of the joist yet because I haven't opened it up. But if there is no plastic there already directly above the plaster/strapping, then it becomes tricky, of course, because you can't get plastic there from above without removing the entire ceiling in the basement.
I don't know what it looks like in that part of the joist yet because I haven't opened it up. But if there is no plastic there already directly above the plaster/strapping, then it becomes tricky, of course, because you can't get plastic there from above without removing the entire ceiling in the basement.