"AJScott" wrote in message
...
Hi, guys. My eyes kinda glazed over a little while back, so perhaps an
interested party can translate for me: Is this merely a case of someone
wanting a cold floor to be less cold when they put in a new, laminate
flooring if I recall right, or is the problem/desired result a bit
deeper than that?

AJS


In article ,
Dan Hartung wrote:

Joseph Meehan wrote:
First step would be to find what is under there. Find some skinny
local
teenager to take a look. You may even be able to get him to do the
job.

Heh. I have a skinny nephew, but he's an ADHD kid, not too dependable on
the project front.

You will want to find out not only about the insulation that is not
there,
but also the condition of the wood that is there. If it is damp due
to poor
ventilation, you may have a bigger problem than you think.

I suppose. We've never had a major moisture problem in the basement. In
this 19th century house there are of course all sorts of wood elements
that might give one pause and short of a major obvious problem like
sponginess (which we don't have) I'm not sure what I'd consider worth
doing.

At the end of this crawlspace, that used to be the outside cellar door
we sealed up, you can see what may be a clue to the technique used in
the inaccessible area. There's a minor furring-type strip tacked to the
bottom of the joists, vaguely supporting fiberglass batts with raggedy
reflective barriers. (The one section between the outermost joist and
the wall has some sort of firm foam rather than a batt for no obvious
reason.)

I would not want to work in that limited space. Another option,
and NOW
is the time to do it before you put down a new floor. is to take up
the
subfloor, inspect, repair as needed and insulate properly.

That's basically my thinking. Vapor barrier, new insulation, perhaps a
vent? I should probably look up the code.

I did wonder about digging out a trench to extend under the cabinet area
but I'm not sure how well filling it in and installing the vapor barrier
would go. Another option, I suppose, is to just take out as much dirt
overall as is needed to allow crawling underneath. (Yech either way, of
course, and it would have to come out through the kitchen, double yech.
On the positive side I could live out my Great Escape fantasies.)

The idea of using sleepers to gain room for insulation is not
going to
wear well in the future. I think you will be sorry you did not do it
right.

True, I'd rather do it right, but doing it really right might be next to
impossible. There's so much with this restoration that could still be
"redone right".

Having been through this any number of times, anytime you look for trouble
in an old house, you will find it.
If in fact there are no problems suspected or known, and all you want is a
warm floor, then go with an under floor heating system if you have forced
hot water. With forced air, it's another thing entirely.

Dave