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Should there be thermal insulation between floors in residential construction?

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Should there be thermal insulation between floors in residential construction? maurice 02-18-2007
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Posted by maurice on February 18, 2007, 12:42 pm


Hi.

I live in a 40 year old bungalow in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, up
north where the winters are very cold. I've got three forced air
furnaces in my house, one that heats the basement, one the main floor,
and one the addition. All of the furnaces seem to work just fine.
I've been in the attic, which is insulated uniformly with wood chips.
I will blow in some more insulation once I've finished some potlights
and wiring, but the insulation is likley adequate up there (the snow
on the roof doesn't melt any faster than the neighbours, and actually
a bit slower than most, which is generally a good sign).

The heat in the addition and the basement are just fine. However,
parts of the main floor are always cold, especially the living room,
which has some pretty big windows and, though it has three heating
vents, is the farthest room from the furnace. I figure it will always
be a battle to heat it.

Anyway, I am doing some work in the basement, and the ceiling is
mostly open during the reno. The previous owners insulated every
interior wall cavity in the basement, as well as the entire ceiling,
with fibreglass batts. They were musicians / music teachers, and I
assume they insulated everywhere more for sound than anything else. I
haven't removed the insulation, but it occurs to me that perhaps with
a warm basement, removing all of this insulation would make for a
warmer main floor?

Just wondering if anybody out there has any experience on this, or an
informed opinion? thanks in advance for your help.

Maurice


Posted by Sev on February 18, 2007, 1:05 pm


> Hi.
>
> I live in a 40 year old bungalow in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, up
> north where the winters are very cold. =A0I've got three forced air
> furnaces in my house, one that heats the basement, one the main floor,
> and one the addition. =A0All of the furnaces seem to work just fine.
> I've been in the attic, which is insulated uniformly with wood chips.
> I will blow in some more insulation once I've finished some potlights
> and wiring, but the insulation is likley adequate up there (the snow
> on the roof doesn't melt any faster than the neighbours, and actually
> a bit slower than most, which is generally a good sign).
>
> The heat in the addition and the basement are just fine. =A0However,
> parts of the main floor are always cold, especially the living room,
> which has some pretty big windows and, though it has three heating
> vents, is the farthest room from the furnace. =A0I figure it will always
> be a battle to heat it.
>
> Anyway, I am doing some work in the basement, and the ceiling is
> mostly open during the reno. =A0The previous owners insulated every
> interior wall cavity in the basement, as well as the entire ceiling,
> with fibreglass batts. =A0They were musicians / music teachers, and I
> assume they insulated everywhere more for sound than anything else. =A0I
> haven't removed the insulation, but it occurs to me that perhaps with
> a warm basement, removing all of this insulation would make for a
> warmer main floor?
>
> Just wondering if anybody out there has any experience on this, or an
> informed opinion? =A0thanks in advance for your help.
>
> Maurice

How is air flow through those vents in living room? Ducts may need
cleaning. Since basement ceiling is open, can you see any problems/
leaks in ducting? Blower may need checking. I'd also see what you can
do to improve insulation/airtightness on those windows. Just covering
them for winter with those window film kits to create extra air layer
may help.


Posted by Joseph Meehan on February 18, 2007, 1:15 pm


maurice wrote:
..

>
> Anyway, I am doing some work in the basement, and the ceiling is
> mostly open during the reno. The previous owners insulated every
> interior wall cavity in the basement, as well as the entire ceiling,
> with fibreglass batts. They were musicians / music teachers, and I
> assume they insulated everywhere more for sound than anything else. I
> haven't removed the insulation, but it occurs to me that perhaps with
> a warm basement, removing all of this insulation would make for a
> warmer main floor?

Well if the basement is warmer than the first floor then removing the
insulation would help. If it is less warm, it would hurt.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia 's Muire duit




Posted by maurice on February 18, 2007, 1:34 pm


Basement is definitely warmer than the main floor.

As for the ducts, I had them cleaned very recently, which didn't
help. No obvious leaks, but there is pretty weak airflow through
them. I actually partially close vents in other rooms to try and
boost the air flow in the living room, but it doesn't seem to do much.


Posted by Joseph Meehan on February 18, 2007, 4:20 pm


maurice wrote:
> Basement is definitely warmer than the main floor.
>
> As for the ducts, I had them cleaned very recently, which didn't
> help. No obvious leaks, but there is pretty weak airflow through
> them. I actually partially close vents in other rooms to try and
> boost the air flow in the living room, but it doesn't seem to do much.

That sounds like maybe there is some sort of flow problem How are the
filters, clean free flowing? Does the fan offer more than one speed?

It may require an on site inspection by a pro to find the real issues.
It can pay for itself.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia 's Muire duit




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