Has anyone installed this themselves and if so how did it go? We have a 1969 house with timber flooring and there is no insulation at all and no vapour barrier on the ground. Price to install the vapour barrier seems to be around $1000 but the actual diy kit is only @170. Also, what would be the best insulation to put under the floor boards?
flier3,
Jun 21, 1:53pm
If I may - what is a vapour barrier? Thanks.
axelvonduisberg,
Jun 21, 2:02pm
Something that stops the damp rising from the ground.
amasser,
Jun 21, 5:38pm
Like polythene. Why buy a 'kit' when you can buy it off a roll and install it yourself? Does the ground under your house appear damp? Expol would probably be the easiest to install under floorboards.
gabbysnana,
Jun 21, 6:20pm
As long as you have room under the house you unroll the black plastic and cover the whole dirt area, use the metal u pegs to keep the plastic in place. I have even put old carpet under the house for tradesman to get around on. Also used white polyster fluff on a roll to fill between the joists.
golfdiver,
Jun 21, 6:32pm
This^^^.
clangie,
Jun 21, 6:40pm
x1
not exactly as simple as you put it, needs to be cut and taped around piles/pipes etc which is the shitty bit
tweake,
Jun 21, 7:57pm
x1
i have done my own. i recommend getting some of the pre-perforated polythene sheet because going around after and poking drainage holes in it is a pain.
firstly clean all the rubbish out of there and try to fill in any holes. even if you have to drag some dirt in. smoother ground makes things much nicer later on and reuses risk of having puddles under the sheet. i didn't and wish i did.
use stainless or plastic pegs. makes sure its pegged down well around the outside edge as wind will get under it and blow it around.
overlap it well and tape it down.
taping around piles is recommended but not a huge loss if you don't. the main aim is to cover as much aera as possible. if you only cover 90% thats still a reduction of 90% of the moisture. i went up the outside wall a bit. helps stop dirt being blown in so much and also rain blowing in.
cut it to length and drag it in. cutting it under there is a major pain.
insulation, i like polyester. polystrene is good but very hard to get good fit on older homes and it needs a really good fit. batts avoid. worse stuff ever to use under the floor. polyester is easier to install. just staple it on. easy to get a good fit. while it doesn't handle getting wet like polystrene does, its not quite as bad as batts.
then you need to work out what method to use. between joist or under the joists.
catdog68,
Jun 22, 4:23pm
Thanks tweake, great advice.
cagivachick1,
Jun 22, 4:41pm
not a good idea rotting carpet under the house will stink.
aprilguy,
Jun 22, 5:15pm
Are you sure you need a ground cover? I put underfloor insulation in years ago without any ground cover and it has been fine. My floor is well above the ground though.
all nz dirt evaporates moisture at a fairly similar rate. ventilation under the house typically removes a minor amount of it. that moisture migrates its way up through the floor. either through gaps or simply soaking into the timber and evaporating on the other side in the house. not all insulation will stop moisture and most insulation is not installed in a way that stops all of it. also insulation without a ground barrier runs the risk of moisture condensation on the insulation and getting it wet.
so all nz houses need a ground barrier.
the other thing is a ground barrier makes it so much easier to install the insulation. much nicer to slide around on clean plastic than the crawl over dirt.
ewanjs,
Jun 22, 10:14pm
the other thing is a ground barrier makes it so much easier to install the insulation. much nicer to slide around on clean plastic than the crawl over dirt
cannot agree more just finished doing this myself hell a job 10 inches of clearance under most of the floor but after going away for a weekend and not coming back to a musty smell was the payback
masturbidder,
Jun 22, 10:51pm
I got hold of the white plastic used by leaky-building contractors for shrink-wrapping buildings, and installed it for a vapour barrier. It is better than the usual black polythene because it makes the under-floor lighter and better to work in. And the used plastic might be in odd shapes that need taping together, but it is free!
pdh,
Jun 22, 11:10pm
I think $1000 sounds a good price. I paid $1200 for our last house and it was $1200 well spent. The installer warned me that our nice polyurethane rimu floor will shrink once installed as the floor boards will dry out. Well was he correct, but it showed should how much it dried out under the floor and what a huge difference it make in the house (drier and warmer).
tweake,
Oct 27, 6:19pm
wow, thats a tough job. those low houses are the ones that will benefit by a massive amount as there is no ventilation under them. in some cases it may be well worth digging it out (assuming you do not screw up the drainage) or depending on how the plumbing etc is done, jack the house up.
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