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Any ideas on how to best insulate floor in front room of Ladder house?

As a lot of you probably know, Ladder houses can get cold. Especially if you don't have a carpet in the front room. Which I don't want, for various reasons. Have a rug though, but does not seem to make a difference.
Any idea how to best stop the cold draft that creeps up between the floorboards from the cellar?
My idea was to get carpet underlay and tack it on underneath, but not sure if that's a good one as I am not the queen of DIY. Any ideas gratefully received!

Tags for Forum Posts: cellar, draft, insulation

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Slinging roof insulation under the floor between the joists is a recognised way - easy with some type of string and a few nails - if you have a cellar or decent crawlspace.
I'm in the process of doing my floorboards with Gapseal
It's really easy to use, no glue or nails needed. It's certainly cut down on drafts.
Gapseal sounds interesting! How does it look though? is it as invisible as it seems on the web-site? I think this might just save the day - thank you!!

Hugh, we have crawlspace. But it's not pleasant, and there's tons of pipes, wires etc. under the floor. This is why him indoors is not too keen on that idea I think.

Now, all I need are good ideas on how to draft-proof old sash windows effectively, and how to get my hands on some round, victorian damper flap for the fireplaces. Phew!
It's invisible. If your floorboards are the usual thickness, say 3/4 inch or whatever, then the Gapseal stuff sits well below the level of the floor and you can't see it. The only bit of the operation that has been at all difficult is scraping all the dirt etc. out of the gaps.
Sold - I'm Gapsealing very soon! Thanks a million.
I really doubt that 3/4 an inch of wood is going to insulate you sufficiently and, personally, I need a bit of "wind" down there to keep stuff dry. Consider leaving somewhere for moisture to escape. You may have noticed that our houses have no foundations and our cellars have dirt (wet) floors.
John, I am so trying not to say what I want to say right now...:D
Anyway, what do you suggest then? Gapseal or underfloor insulation? Go on, which one is it? I have thought about the moisture thing too, but is that not why we have airbricks?
cold air should circulate beneath the floorboards to the outside via airbricks. If the air above the floorboards is warmer than the air beneath them, then there will be little or no transfer of heat as long as there are no gaps in the boards which would allow drafts through, thereby cooling the warmer air. Hence the use of carpets, or the sealing of gaps. It's not rocket surgery John.
I am about to have a go with hemp insulation bats fixed up underneath the floor between the joists - should be easier to work with than standard loft insulation - no nasty fibres. But you do need access to the underside of the floor. And when I last looked the delivery charge was extreme so I am borrowing a van...
Well I'm not going to disagree with you. Well put.

I wish I was a rocket surgeon though.
On draft-proofing sash windows. You can get strips of plastic casement holding brush filaments to pin on to the inside window frames. These are very neat and don't obstruct the windows (they just catch the draft). The council used to fit these as part of their offer of home insulation advice to retired people. To see examples, do a websearch of draftproofing for sash windows.
Thanks Helen, good advice, will do!

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