Is your basement or garage exceptionally chilly? An uninsulated concrete floor can be a big component on the problem. Insulating a concrete floor can save you money on your heating bill, generating your garage or basement warmer and, by extension, the sleep of your house.
In addition to offering insulation and energy savings, the plywood subfloor described here can offer the perfect foundation for finish flooring just like carpeting, adding warmth in glimpse along with in feel.
To prepare for insulating the concrete floor, first evaluate the condition on the concrete. If you know you have problems with moisture, have a tendency to those people difficulties previous to installing the insulation. Also, examine the floor for smoothness and level; you would like to grind down much high spots to make certain an even surface.
Measure the distance in between the slab as well as the ceiling; you ought to leave approximately 7 feet, 6 inches of clearance between the ceiling and also the surface on the finished concrete slab to comply with building codes. The subfloor will consume up about 2 inches, and any floor covering will also reduce your clearance, so plan accordingly. Finally, clean the surface from the slab thoroughly.
Next, unfurl 6-mil polyethylene sheeting more than the floor to supply moisture protection. After laying the next row of sheeting, be sure to overlap the existing row by 6 inches, and then tape the seams. Adhere the edges in the polyethylene to the slab with caulking to prevent slippage.
Lay out pressure-treated 2-by-4 sleepers at the edges on the room. Abut their ends and fasten them towards slab with A couple of 1/4-inch masonry nails. Mark these perimeter sleepers for far more sleepers, that will be centered every 16 inches and laid out in one direction across the room.
Affix these far more sleepers towards the slab, nailing at the end of each board and approximately every 4 feet thereafter. Check for level generally as you go. Shims can also be added exactly where required to make certain a level surface.
Fit 1 1/2-inch-thick rigid foam insulation among the sleepers; strips should be about 12 1/2 inches wide. Usually measure for an certain fit so as not to compress the insulation, which can compromise its performance.
Place 3/4-inch plywood sheets across (not parallel to) the sleepers. Begin alternate rows with half sheets to stagger the joints. Drive in 6d nails each 6 inches exactly where the ends in the panels meet the sleeper supports and each 12 inches into sleepers under the panel centers.
Once the plywood surface is laid out, finish with the concrete floor material of the choice.
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