Laying a carpet on a screed floor - Which type of underlay should we use ?
Question:Our new house has a screed floor on the ground floor. The lounge will be getting carpeted and the remaining rooms will be getting tiled.
Which type of underlay should we use for under the carpet ? Should I be concerned about coldness underfoot ? If so, can you buy thermal underlay ?
What about the floor tiles ? Are they likely to be cold underfoot ? Is there anything you can do under floor tiles to make them warmer (other than under tile heating) ?
Thanks, Gav.
Answers:
Any good quality underlay will be ok on the screeded floor, whether fibre or foam. . The combination of underlay and carpet gives good insulation. Other than under tile heating I know of nothing you could add under tiles to make tiles warmer. On both issues though I would expect, in newly built properties,that the floors are likely to have insulation under the concrete/screeded floors and would not be bare to the ground below. This in itself will give a less cold floor than older uninsulated properties. I have 150yr old cottage, solid floors. Tiled floor in kitchen is indeed cold in winter, but other ground floor carpeted rooms are fine. Yours, with the insulation I would expect of new build, should be even better.
A dense pad is extremely important to the wear and comfort of your carpet. Also it will help with insulation. Usually a good 8lb rebind padding would be ideal. No thicker than a 1/2 inch. They have recently came out with mats theat can heat the carpet they are pretty new and I personally would wait a few years for them to iron out the bugs. No way really to heat up a tile floor after its been installed. Area rugs where you frequently walk would be the best bet. Radiant heating in floors needs to be put in prior to the tile to have a warm floor. They also are very costly.
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