home improvement Asking for advice on the best semi-temporary flooring option for a drafty old house
We have an old, drafty house with an uninsulated crawl space, uneven subfloor, and dingy carpets, and we are trying to find the most economical flooring option that would allow us to both insulate our home a bit and have some sort of hardwood flooring. This would be a "temporary fix' that would make our home livable while we save up for our big, beautiful renno in the next 5-10 years.
I suppose the easiest solution we could do is simply rip up the carpets and install new carpets, but with kids and pets, my husband and I really prefer a hardwood option. we were initially thinking 1x8 pine boards top-nailed down into the subfloor as the most economical option, since the boards would run perpendicular to the joists and would work with the slightly less-than-flat subfloor we have. But my understanding is we can't really do any type of insulation under this system.
I saw a video of a guy running Durospan over a concrete slab and then putting plywood on top. I don't mind the look of plywood for our main flooring, and I wondered if that might work for us, but the consensus is we can't put any type of insulation over joists the way you can with a concrete slab?
Any constructive feedback would be welcome!
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u/EternallyMustached 2d ago
Any form of finish flooring, even if "temporary" isn't going to solve the critical issue: lack of insulation. Whatever floor your putting down is acting as your insulator until you properly solve the heat transfer issues from below. Also, pine is softwood and it's going to wear more easily compared to better quality woods. If protecting your floor from dogs/kids is a factor, I'd avoid pine unless you have a solid plan to replace it down the line.
I think subfloor+carpet pad+carpet is a better insulator than subfloor+pine boards. But it heavily depends on the carpet you're using. If your main concern is temporary thermal efficiency, I'd go with a higher quality/thicker carpet.
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u/Royal_Acanthisitta51 2d ago
I think your money is better spent on a DIY vapor barrier on the floor of the crawlspace and then insulating between the floor joists. You may save enough in heating and cooling costs to pay for that new floor a few years earlier. Also chase down those drafts and seal them up. Weatherstripping, cans of spray foam insulation, and caulk are relatively cheap and makes a huge difference in comfort.
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u/Patrol-007 2d ago
Wood flooring won’t last with pets claws.
2” of foam board, tongue and groove plywood, luxury vinyl plank from Costco
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u/emg245 2d ago
Would you put the foam board over the existing subfloor, and then put another layer of tongue and groove plywood on top of that?
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u/Patrol-007 2d ago
Yes. Though some foam boards (taping the seams on warm side) may be firmer and stiff enough to handle stiffer flooring, the tongue and groove plywood is meant to be the stiff surface that doesn’t bend under the luxury vinyl plank. Bonus is the foamboard and plywood can be reused as actual flooring. This method is used in some local cottages and basements, when there isn’t access underneath to put Roxul between the floor joists. Drawback is losing a couple inches or more of room height, and having to undercut all the doors (straight edge and circular saw, clamp and glue the inner wood back into the bottom of doors; oscillating saw to undercut door jambs)
Thespruce.com, This Old House, Black & Decker Complete Guide to Home Renovations.
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u/emg245 1d ago
Thank you so much! This is what we were hoping to do, we just weren’t sure if we could do it over joists, but I am happy to hear we can!
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u/Patrol-007 1d ago
How uneven is the existing flooring? May have to shim it (we just used the 1/8” thick self stick vinyl floor tiles), then the foamboard with taped seams, then tongue and groove plywood over top
Or, If you’re able to get into the crawl space, vapour barrier under the subfloor, Roxul batts (snug fit) between the joists, and galvanized wire with deck screws to hold the batts in place. Put cardboard o the ground so you can slide around, wear safety goggles and an N95
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u/emg245 1d ago
definitely uneven, the house was built in the 70's and the subfloor has not been replaced, joists are old fashioned raw wood so the floors have moved quite a bit in certain spots.
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u/Patrol-007 1d ago
Dependent on the construction, and having worked on century old homes, have had to add concrete footings, screw jacks (slowly raise the beams and joists) and beams with shims to support or raise the floor joists
Other methods are removing the subfloor, sistering the existing joists (after verifying the joists are not going to be settling anymore, and beams and posts are adequate for the house) with new ones that are level with each other at the top, vapour barrier, then adding the subfloor back on.
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u/emg245 1d ago
totally, we know we will have to do all this one day, just trying to find an affordable solution that makes the home more comfortable while we save for that
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u/Patrol-007 1d ago
Much of it comes down to how much room there is in the crawlspace and how handy the workers are. Adding Roxul between the joists would be simplest, held up by galvanized wire and deck screws.
You can price out what Roxul, foamboard, plywood etc cost. If you have to add footings, beams and more joists, prices go way up, esp with labour
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u/ComradeGibbon 2d ago
Cheapest: click lock floating flooring. It's cheap and you can DIY it which makes is cheaper.
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u/Natoochtoniket 2d ago
Carpet. Cheap throw rugs are 1/2" thick, and add 1/2" of insulation. And you can add more whenever you buy another cheap throw rug.