Re: Here's one for all you fixer uppers!

Gntry wrote:

> This is lengthy, so be forwarned.
> I have an addition on my house(I've only been here 3 yrs) I found out that
> the addition was put on in 1983. From what we can tell, it is on some kind
> of poured cement walls, like you'd find in a basement, but we don't know how
> far down they went or if they are on footers.. They bumped out half of the
> back wall(the family room wall and the kitchen wall)they added on a room
> apprx. 14' x 24', a vaulted ceiling and a corner fireplace...the problem is,
> they left no access to the underneath...this room is freezing...we know that
> the only insulation underneath was a single roll of paper backed yellow
> batting(insulation) that at one time was stapled to the undersides of the
> beams, that has since fallen to the ground, that is only about 12" below(not
> enough room to crawl around under there even if we had a way in)we need to
> get this room better insulated and some heat to it. There is one heat vent
> on the outside wall, and the tube runs underneath the floor, above the
> ground, so by the time the air gets to the vent, it's already cold...thats a
> span of 14', no wonder its cold.
> We were thinking about ripping up the carpet and flooring to expose the
> beams and add some kind of a vapor barrier(which we know, there isn't
> any)and use furring strips to hold up some insulation close to the floor
> along with putting in radiant heat flooring. Any other ideas on how to make
> this room livable? or any advice on what we're thinking about doing

Can you insulate the floor - yes.

Will insulating the floor change the temperature much in the room - I
doubt it.

Insulating the floor won't change the performance of your central
heating (which you say is blowing cold air).

You haven't described the ceiling, but that's the first place to look
for heat loss.  The walls are probably next.  Not much heat gets out of
the floor.  Insulating the floor will help keep heat in - but you won't
notice the difference if most of the heat is going through the ceiling.

.

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