If you live in an old or unrenovated house with suspended floors, your home insulation is likely either non-existent or extremely deteriorated.
Most people focus on installing wall insulation and ceiling insulation. They tend to forget about underfloor insulation for existing timber floors, which is responsible for approx. 20% of heat loss in all areas of your home.
Without high-quality subfloor insulation materials, Australian homes can develop temperature and moisture issues that can have serious physical and financial impacts in the long term.
In this blog, we’ll identify the six key signs that indicate your home would benefit from retrofit underfloor insulation from Expol…
1. High Energy Bills
If your thermal insulation is poor, you’ll see that your energy costs are starting to creep up.
While it’s normal to notice a bit of a spike in summer and winter when you’re running your appliances a lot more, your bills should not rise exponentially during this time.
Review your quarterly energy costs over the past few years. Have they been steadily rising? The culprit could be your under timber floor insulation. Over time, its thermal performance may have deteriorated, making it less effective at maintaining a stable indoor temperature. As a result, your heating and cooling systems have to work harder, driving up your energy bills.
2. Fluctuating Temperatures
On the topic of temperature regulation, uneven indoor temperatures can be another clear sign that your home’s overall comfort and energy efficiency are lacking.
If your floor insulation is underperforming, you’ll likely experience temperature variations throughout the home, with some rooms feeling noticeably warmer or cooler than others.
These fluctuations often become most evident during extreme weather events. These include a heatwave or a series of cold, rainy days when external conditions put added strain on your home’s internal climate control.
3. Draughts
If your home is underinsulated, you’ll start getting pesky draughts around the home.
Draughts can come in through gaps and cracks, especially in timber floors, and they’ll impact the indoor climate and comfort of your home.
If you know where to look, you’ll be able to feel the air coming in with your hands or hear a whistling sound or rattle, particularly on wild and windy days. If the draughts are fairly decent in size, you might even see curtains and blinds flutter or sway.
4. Cold Floors
This sign can be a tricky one to determine, as your floor is always going to be one of the coldest parts of your home. This is because heat travels upwards.
However, it can be a problem if certain sections of your floor are consistently colder than surrounding areas and your feet feel cold when you walk on them. This a common indication that you need some new foam underfloor insulation put in between the floor joists.
This is especially the case if the room is warm and dry because the weather outside is good, but your floors are still chilly to the touch.
5. Moisture Problems
Old or absent insulation beneath floorboards can lead to moisture issues. In the colder months, warm indoor air meets the cold surface of unbuffered boards, leading to condensation. This moisture buildup can then seep into the timber, promoting dampness, mould growth, and mildew if left untreated.
Uninsulated floorboards also leave the ground beneath your home exposed, creating a moist and stagnant space. Rising dampness from the soil can elevate humidity levels under your floor, and this can affect indoor air quality and airflow.
6. Pests
An increase in the number of insects and/or rodents coming into your home is another sign of poor or missing insulation under floorboards.
The most common types of pests you might notice are rats and mice, ants, spiders, termites, cockroaches, silverfish, and even fleas.
Without insulation, gaps, cracks, and holes are more accessible, allowing pests to enter more easily from the ground into your home. An uninsulated or deteriorating underfloor space creates a dark and sheltered environment, attracting pests that thrive in humid conditions.
Install Expol Subfloor Insulation Panels for a Healthy Home
From increased costs and internal climate changes to moisture problems and pests, there are many reasons to invest in proper insulation for your subfloor.
Installing underfloor insulation in an existing house – like Expol’s foam subfloor insulation products – is one of the best ways of draught-proofing your home. It will protect it from temperature variations, condensation and infestation. Our polystyrene panels are non-allergenic, contain a flame retardant, and their thermal performance is not affected by ageing.
Expol insulation is available at leading hardware stores and other selected outlets nationwide.
Please contact us directly at 1300 AU FOAM if you would like more information.
