Harwood floor cold air drafts?
by
Jon
+8
Hello I live in a house built in 1900 that has original 121 year old hardwood floors they are in great shape for the most part but have pretty big gaps between planks and I can feel cold air coming threw the cracks, it was installed directly on the joists, what is the best way to deal with this fiberglass, rockwool, or reflectix from underneath? Iv read that insulation between the joists causes a moisture pocket and causes the joists the rot and mold, we cant afford the spray foam the whole underneath, we are considering covering in with carpet for now or vinyl planks with underlayment and maybe in 10 years we can afford the spray foam underneath
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I would recommend Rockwool between the joists underneath. It's a product designed not to hold moisture.
Hi Jon, I agree with the rockwool a previous commenter mentioned. I think that would work great between the joists :)
Insulting underneath between the joists is the best remedy. I owned a home that was bult in 1898 and had hardwood floors. They were one of the "wow" factors when I put the home up for sale. Think long and hard before replacing them.
Insulation under the planks is the way to go. Do not replace hardwoods that are in good condition.
We had the same issue (1880's build) and went with reflectix. We did the double method where you put the first layer against the back side of the wood floors and the second layer on the floor joists. This creates a pocket of about a foot. I was amazed at the difference. I can walk around with no shoes without cold feet now.
Before we did it, I could see the light from the crawlspace while my husband was installing it. I was shocked at how well it works.
We bought a hybrid tool, it's a hammer with a stapler in it. It worked better in the limited space we had than an electric stapler.
Hi Jon
Found this info for you
https://carpetlandusaflooringcenter.com/2018/08/20/hardwood-flooring-gaps/
found this info for you
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3lWwyKWp0k
I think the best answer is to insulate it from beneath, until then, carpet would likely be the best answer.
I agree with Chloe, I would insulate below with rigid foam board 4'x8' sheets or reflextix on a roll. https://www.lowes.com/search?searchTerm=rigid%20foam%20insulation%20board
https://www.lowes.com/search?searchTerm=reflex%20insulation
I remembered this old house episode of filling the gaps in old floors.... https://www.thisoldhouse.com/21016795/how-to-fill-gaps-in-a-wide-plank-wood-floor. You can buy jute on giant spools, best price I've gotten was on Ebay or Etsy, and some hardware stores carry also.
Insulation between the floor joists is fine. Just DO NOT put plastic vapor barrier over. If you are serious about doing it right, I would carefully remove the wood. Install a sub-floor on top of joists, and re install the hard wood. Then finish the hard wood...
I would remove the wood, install a proper subfloor and install new hardwood floor.