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brandynz

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#268269 9-Mar-2020 15:28
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Hi there,


 


Looking to get underfloor insulation completed in my home.


 


I have had a couple of quotes to complete our house (mostly wooden floors)


 


Is there much difference between Terra Lana and Insulpro (both R1.8 rating)


 


Terra Lana is slightly more expensive. – Is it worth the extra cost?


 


Do you have any other recommendations?


 


Thanks


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Tracer
343 posts

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  #2435226 9-Mar-2020 17:19
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See if you can get the EECA subsidy. If you're eligible the government pays 66%.




Tracer
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  #2435227 9-Mar-2020 17:20
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https://www.energywise.govt.nz/funding-and-support/funding-for-heaters-and-insulation/


sqishy
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  #2435230 9-Mar-2020 17:24
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I got the R something rated pink batts. Been fantastic and got the ceiling done with subsidy may years ago.

 

Got various quotes but Ended up using Carters.




neb

neb
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  #2435241 9-Mar-2020 18:02
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brandynz:

Looking to get underfloor insulation completed in my home.

 

 

More information would help, is the under-floor area open or enclosed, in other words is there air flow there, can you use press-fit or will you need to strap it in, etc.

jonherries
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  #2435352 9-Mar-2020 19:44
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I have done expol and now polyester.

Would say polyester hands down in terms of install speed and install quality, except for the face full of polyester you get when doing it.

Polyester was especially useful in irregular spaces, and for small bits as it is easy to cut and press and will expand. Also easy to gun staple into place.

Appears to offer similar R values to expol, so if price was similar I would choose the polyester one again.

Jon

andrewNZ
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  #2435369 9-Mar-2020 20:43
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The immediate difference I see is that one is wool and one is polyester.
I'd be looking at what the warranty is on the wool, and if it's reasonable, I'd seriously consider it.

I work with someone who had Expol installed in a house. At some point there was a small fire in the basement caused by a battery charger, the Expol caused the fire to be uncontrollable and resulted in the home being unlivable for a very long time. He tells me the speed and ferocity of the fire under the floor was frightening.

I think these products have to be self extinguishing, and so they won't sustain a fire themselves. That doesn't mean they don't burn. If you keep an ignition source on them, they burn very well.

timmmay
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  #2435433 10-Mar-2020 07:44
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I found under floor insulation to be of limited value - we got subsidised polyester. We have a wooden floor, with underlay and carpet, so it's already got a bit of insulation, but the insulation made no noticable difference to the temperature. We already had ceiling and wall though. What did make a big difference was a plastic ground sheet, which stopped any rising damp coming up - it made the house much drier and smell much nicer.


 
 
 

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evilengineer
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  #2435453 10-Mar-2020 08:53
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I've never quite understood what the actual differences are between "underfloor", "wall" and "ceiling" insulation in any given company's product range.

 

Apart from the available thicknesses and what's written on the wrapper.

 

 

 

Is there any reason if you've got 140mm deep floor joists why you couldn't go with a thicker "ceiling" product, providing its well strapped/stapled into place to get a higher R-value?


timmmay
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  #2435455 10-Mar-2020 08:57
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evilengineer:

 

 Is there any reason if you've got 140mm deep floor joists why you couldn't go with a thicker "ceiling" product, providing its well strapped/stapled into place to get a higher R-value?

 

 

The underfloor polyester insulation I have is rigid and stays in place between the floor joists itself. You could use floppy ceiling insulation and strap it in, but that's more work. Same thing in a wall, if you use floppy ceiling insulation it will slump and not provide any insulation, so you need to use something that will fill the space and stay there for decades.


neb

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  #2435456 10-Mar-2020 09:01
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If it's standard insulation like batts then I assume it's the same thing. If it's press-fit or similar, e.g. semi-rigid polyester, then you're giving up a chunk of insulation quality in exchange for the rigidity that allows it to be pressed into place. Also if you've got an open basement then you need wind protection on the insulation, either from it being fairly impermeable or via some sort of barrier material on one side.

 

 

Walls and ceiling I would guess are identical, just thinner for walls.

  #2435831 10-Mar-2020 17:16
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timmmay:

 

I found under floor insulation to be of limited value - we got subsidised polyester. We have a wooden floor, with underlay and carpet, so it's already got a bit of insulation, but the insulation made no noticable difference to the temperature. We already had ceiling and wall though.

 

 

you only loose about 10% of the heat through the floor, so not gonna notice much but any little bit helps.


bfginger
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  #2439655 16-Mar-2020 23:39
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brandynz:

 

Hi there,

 

Looking to get underfloor insulation completed in my home.

 

I have had a couple of quotes to complete our house (mostly wooden floors)

 

Is there much difference between Terra Lana and Insulpro (both R1.8 rating)

 

Terra Lana is slightly more expensive. – Is it worth the extra cost?

 

Do you have any other recommendations?

 

Thanks

 

 

 

 

I thought the price difference was more than slight. Wool-polyester like terra lana can absorb and release humidity which is supposed to be positive. If you have an unventilated underfloor you should put down a vapour barrier as soil releases huge amounts of humidity during winter.

 

 

 

Jase2985:

 

you only loose about 10% of the heat through the floor, so not gonna notice much but any little bit helps.

 

 

The value of the underfloor insulation is less about the total amount but the fact heat rises in a room so the floor is the worst place to lose it as it leads to temperature layers or the hot-head-cold-feet phenomenon. The feet are big losers of body heat too. 


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