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Hi
I have a 1850 stone cottage. The downstairs room has been concreted and covered with 70's style blue stick-on tiles. I have some softwood tongue and groove floorboards to install onto battens. At the moment the concrete floor is freezing cold. I'm thinking about putting in underfloor insulation but am getting very confused as to what sort and whether it needs a damp proof membrane or not. QUestions:
1. Do i need insulation if I'm putting a solid wood floor down?
2. If insulation would help then what sort should I use?
3. Would it need to include a DPM or it there something I should be painting on the floor instead?
4. There are no air bricks in the house at all. I am aware that wood floors need to be well ventilated to prevent rot but i) Will the insulation hinder ventilation to the point that it's detrimental to the floor? and ii) Should I put an airbrick in? (Not that simple in a solid stone house with half metre thick wall!)
As you can tell I'm getting quite bewildered. Any advice that can be offered would be very gratefully receieved.
One last thing.. can anyone recommend a finish for the floor which will be hardwearing, have as few nasties in as possible and not change the colour of the wood too much?
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As a finish I can recommend OSMO wax which gives a beautiful silky finish. It's very slow drying though so it's a good idea to put one or two coats on before you lay the boards. The wood will still darken slowly with age though - I dont think you can stop this.
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1) I would recommend insulation.
2) Extruded polyurathane sheets with foil on them will give best result for thinnest layer put between the battens.
3) There should already be a dpm in the floor and the blue tiles are one too: if worried lay a sheet of polyethene under your work.
4) With this type of floor, battens on concrete, you dont need air bricks or underfloor ventilation.
You could use acrylic varvish on the boards it is hard as nails and will keep the boards the lightest colour possible.
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For a floor finish that is relatively "green" and is the most hardwearing available, you should consider Bona Traffic. It is a water-based polyurethane system that is essentially fume-free and is also extremely hard wearing and won't inadvertantly darken your wood.
I'm a satisfied customer and I would imagine it's available in the UK.
http://www.bona.com/templates_bona/product.asp?id=2067
Paul in Montreal.
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I'm no expert but from my limited experience I absolutely wouldn't assume there's a dpm in place already. 70s tiles doesn't mean anything under them is 70s also. Indeed adding a dpm now may create its own problems as the floor wouldn't be able to breathe and force damp/ condensation outwards and into your walls. I'd be inclined to investigate the existing floor thoroughly before making any decisions.
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On the other hand of course, if you've got no damp problems now then you've probably got nothing to worry about as long as you don't add anything that will trap moisture beneath it.
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