Wooden floor, insulation or not?

[Slottsfrun]

Attefall house built three years ago. Building module, including insulation package.

I know the walls/roof are insulated. But I'm starting to wonder how the builder handled the floor...

I know that underneath, i.e., at the very bottom of the floor, there are some form of thin boards, because I can see that when I peek under the house. The house stands on a gravel bed, on top of "stones."

From a construction standpoint. Is it normal to have cold floors (wood) even if the floor is insulated as it should be? If it's really cold outside (it's -18 here now) and even though I have a heat pump set to +18 degrees?

I know that warm air rises, so maybe it's normal for the floors to be quite a few degrees colder than the indoor air as such? Despite insulated floors.

Grateful for your views!

 

[Himmelsfararen]

Attefallshus built three years ago.
Building module, including insulation package.

I know the walls/roof are insulated.
But, I'm starting to wonder how the carpenter did with the floor...

I know that at the bottom, i.e., at the very bottom of the floor, there are some thin panels, because I see that if I peek under the house. The house is on a gravel bed, on top of "stones."

Purely from a construction perspective.
Is it normal to have cold floors (wood) even if the floor is insulated as it should be?
If it's really cold outside (it's -18 here now) and even if I have an air source heat pump set to + 18 degrees?

I know that warm air rises, so maybe it's normal that the floors are quite a few degrees colder than the indoor air as such? Despite insulated floors.

Grateful for your opinions!

Most likely, you have a "trossbotten," did you take any pictures, or has the carpenter (you, someone else) specified the floor in a building application-order? I had a bottom with 45x220 and a 30 mm wooden floor that was ok. My current "friggebod" has 195 mm of insulation, a 25 mm floor, and is ok.

 

[Himmelsfararen]

Most likely, you have a trossbotten, did you take any pictures, or has the carpenter (you, someone else) specified the floor in a construction notice-order. I had a foundation with 45x220 and 30 mm wooden floor which was ok. My current friggebod has 195 mm insulation, 25 mm floor and is ok.

Do you have a construction that looks like this?

 

[Slottsfrun]

Most likely you have a subfloor, did you take any pictures or has the carpenter (you, someone else) specified the floor in a building application-order. I had a base with 45x220 and 30 mm wooden floor that was okay. My current shed has 195 mm insulation, 25 mm floor and is okay.

Stupidly enough, I didn't take any pictures of the floor itself when it was built. And the carpenter seems to be unreachable.

Attached is a picture before the bathroom was built, in case it can provide any clues.
As I said, when I look under the house I see some form of "panel" as the base.

What do you mean when you say your floors are OK? Do you mean they are not cold at all when it's really cold outside? That is, they maintain the same temperature as the indoor air?

Building application? I only have start/completion certificates approved by the municipality.

 

[Himmelsfararen]

Stupidly enough, I didn't take any pictures of the floor when it was being built. And the carpenter seems to be unreachable.

Here is a picture from before the bathroom was built, in case it could give any clues.
As mentioned, when I look under the house I see some kind of "board" as the base.

What do you mean when you say your floors are OK? Do you mean they aren't cold at all when it's really cold outside? In other words, they maintain the same temperature as the indoor air?

Building notification? Only have a start/final notification that's been approved by the municipality.

You have a typical subfloor, the boards you see underneath are on the bottom of your joists. I guess you have 145-170 mm joists and the taller they are, the better the insulation. By OK, I mean that if my new house with underfloor heating, concrete slab, and 30 cm insulation is 100%, then 220 mm insulation in a subfloor is about 60% of that, you may have 40% comfort. More rugs and wool socks on! Can you direct the airflow of the heat pump downwards? Do you have a wooden floor or chipboard and laminate flooring? Solid wood flooring I consider to be warmer.

 

[Slottsfrun]

You have a typical crawl space, the boards you see underneath are on the planks at the bottom of your joists. I guess you have 145-170 mm joists, and the higher they are, the better the insulation. By "ok," I mean that my new house with underfloor heating, concrete slab, and 30 cm insulation is 100% insulated, while 220 mm insulation in a crawl space is about 60% of that, so you might have 40% comfort. More rugs and wool socks on! Can you direct the LLVP's flow downward? Do you have wooden floors or chipboard and laminate flooring? I consider solid wood flooring to be warmer.

I have wooden floors. No underfloor heating.

But, do you think the carpenter could be so "bad" that he's laid the boards at the bottom of the crawl space and then put the wooden floor on top, without insulation in between? Or is the whole point of boards/crawl space to have insulation on top of the boards? So it's obvious for the carpenter to put in insulation?

And, is it normal to have cold floors even if there's insulation underneath?
It's about -20 outside now.
I have the air source heat pump set to +18.
But the floors are only +10.

 

[Himmelsfararen]

I have wooden floors. No underfloor heating.

But, do you think the carpenter could be so "bad" that he placed the boards at the bottom of the crawl space and then put the wooden floor on top, without insulation in between? Or is the whole point of boards/crawl space that there should be insulation above the boards? I mean, is it obvious to the carpenter to put insulation there?

And, is it normal to have cold floors even if there is insulation underneath?
It's about -20 outside now.
Have the heat pump set to +18.
But the floors are only +10.

I would be very surprised if there is no insulation, it's an established construction method. Is there photographic documentation from the construction? Unfortunately, percentage-wise, it probably won't be better comfort with higher insulation 220 mm it would have been better. In the picture, you see the board and the insulation in the construction 220 mm, yours should be similar...

 

[Slottsfrun]

I would be very surprised if there is no insulation in it, it is a well-established construction. Is there any photo documentation from the build? In terms of percentage, unfortunately, it won't become more comfortable, with higher insulation of 220 mm it would have been better. In the picture, you see the board and insulation in the construction of 220 mm, yours should be similar.

Unfortunately, I can't find any pictures of the floor itself... and the carpenter seems to have "disappeared."

When you say "in terms of percentage, it won't become more comfortable," do you mean that the temperature I indicate on the floor can be considered normal given the circumstances? So, this floor temperature is normal even if there IS insulation underneath as it should be? Would the floors have been even colder if there was no insulation underneath? It's about -20 degrees outside here now...

 

[Himmelsfararen]

Unfortunately, I can't find any pictures of the floor...and the carpenter seems to have "disappeared."

Do you mean by "percentage-wise it probably won't improve comfort" that the temperature I specify for the floor can be considered normal given the circumstances? So, this floor temperature is normal even if there IS insulation underneath as it should be? Would the floors have been even colder if there was no insulation underneath? It's about -20 degrees outside here now...

Yes, yes, and yes! Can you try to see if there really is insulation in the floor space, do you think? Can the municipality have any photo documentation from the carpenter? It's usually submitted at final inspection/completion for the final certificate. A control plan usually exists, can you google your kit to see what you should expect?

 

[kenth gustafsson]

Hello, I have an AMU cabin with a tongue-and-groove wooden floor. Since I bought it, I've started keeping it warm all year round... the floorboards have bent as they swelled and some gaps are visible. 14+ on the floor, 20+ in the middle of the wall. Can I lay insulating boards and a click floor on top without problems?... I've been hinted that moisture can form on the original floor.

 

[Slottsfrun]

Yes, yes, and yes! Do you think you can check if there is really insulation in the crawl space? Could the municipality have any photo documentation from the carpenter? Usually, this is submitted at final inspection/completion for the final certificate. A control plan is usually available, can you google your building kit to see what you should expect?

I have submitted all documents to the municipality, a control plan where I checked off various things they asked for. But, no photos were required. I checked it based on everything being done according to the building kit's description. I had asked the builder to follow this and maybe took for granted that he insulated as he should under the floor. Since I specifically asked him to follow the description, to start from this. But, he made some other "own solutions" so when the floors are cold, I worry if he did something different here too...

How can you check if there is insulation in the crawl space? In that case, I would probably have to take up the floor…

 

[Himmelsfararen]

Hello, I have an AMU cabin with tongue and groove wooden flooring.
Since I bought it, I've started keeping it warm year-round...the floorboards have warped as they've swelled, and some gaps are visible. 14+ on the floor, 20+ in the middle of the wall.
Can I lay insulating panels and a click-floor on top without problems? ... I've been hinted that moisture might form on the original floor.

What is an AMU cabin?

 

[Slottsfrun]

Hello, I have an AMU cabin with a tongue-and-groove wooden floor. Since I bought it, I've started keeping it warm year-round... the floorboards have warped as they swelled, and some gaps are visible. 14+ on the floor, 20+ in the middle of the wall. Can I lay insulation boards and a click-lock floor on top without problems?... I've been hinted that moisture can form on the original floor.

What is an AMU cabin?

Is there insulation under the floorboards?
I'm a bit curious since I also have a problem with a cold floor and am worried whether there is insulation in the crawl space or not.

 

[Himmelsfararen]

I have submitted all documents to the municipality, a control plan where I have checked off various things they ask for. But, no photos were required. I clicked based on everything being done according to the kit's instructions. I had asked the builder to follow this and perhaps took it for granted that he insulated as he should under the floor. Because I really asked him to follow the description, start from this. But, he made some other "own solutions" so when the floors are cold, I am worried if he did something own also here...

How can you see if there is insulation in the trossbotten? If so, I must probably take up the floor...

You only need to be able to take up part of a plank along a wall, remove a floor list in a place where you have a shorter piece of floorboard, hopefully, you can unscrew the screws, remove the board and peek down. Do you have someone who can help you?

 

[Slottsfrun]

It's enough if you can lift up a section of a plank along a wall, remove a floor molding in a place where you have a shorter piece of floor plank, hopefully you can unscrew the screws, remove the board, and peek down. Do you have someone who can help you?

Unfortunately, I don't have anyone who can help me... not anyone I can think of immediately anyway.