Floors

Celotex offers floor insulation solutions for all flooring applications, as listed below and within the individual application pages:

Concrete slab floors
The specification of insulation for ground floors is more complex than that for walls or roofs. This is because the mechanisms for heat flow are affected by the ratio of surface area to perimeter.

Optimum positioning of the insulation within the floor may depend on the positioning of the insulation in the walls. For instance, when insulating dry lining is specified for the walls, over-slab insulation enables continuity of the insulation to be achieved.

In over-slab installations, such as solid oversite slabs and, more particularly, exposed solid slabs, use a vapour control membrane over the insulation to eliminate any risk of condensation forming on the cold slab surface.

Beam & block floor insulation
With a beam and block floor, there is little choice but to install the insulation over the floor before screeding. The ventilated air space beneath any suspended timber floor can be very cold, so Celotex recommends the application of a continuous vapour control membrane over the top of the insulation to reduce the risk of condensation forming at the insulation/slab interface. This also prevents screed migration between the board joints, thus avoiding cold bridges.

Suspended timber floor insulation 
With a suspended timber floor the insulation is generally installed between the joists, but the thermal bridges created by the joists have to be considered.

Continuity of the insulation must be ensured by packing the spaces between the external walls and the joists with insulation.

The void below an insulated timber floor must be well ventilated and the insulation must also be cut to fit tightly between the joists to prevent heat loss.

Floor insulation with underfloor heating
Underfloor heating is now recognised as one of the most efficient and cost-effective forms of domestic heating. For maximum efficiency it requires effective insulation beneath the heating elements to minimise heat loss downwards in to the structure, and to reflect the heat upwards in to the room. Celotex insulation is the ideal solution.

Underfloor heating systems are used in approximately 50% of all self-build homes and increasingly in extension and conservatory projects. Many underfloor heating companies already make use of the high performance characteristics of Celotex insulation.

When extending a building, adding underfloor heating to the existing heating design can bring major benefits, especially in applications such as conservatories where it is difficult to position standard radiators and an underfloor heating system is possibly the only acceptable form of heating.

Concrete Soffit Floors
In residential apartment blocks and commercial offices, it is common to have an undercroft that is used for car parking. Remedial work on these types of building can include bringing the floor of the occupied space above up to current standards of insulation.

The most effective way of insulating the floor can be to the concrete soffit of the floor. Celotex PIR insulation boards can be fixed directly to this structural ceiling and, depending on the application, the boards can either be left exposed, or a suitable soffit lining board can be fixed under the Celotex.

Due to the insulation being fixed to the exterior of the building, thermal bridging through internally insulated walls can be a problem with this method. Careful attention should be given to insulating the junctions of the floor with external walls.

For further information about flooring applications, please refer to the specific application or product page of interest.