Insulate under floating floor below grade?

[Kiwanda]

Hi-

I'm thinking about installing a floating laminate floor in part of our basement, over existing vinyl tile/concrete. The basement is 50+ years old and dry, block walls are properly insulated and finished, but of course the floor is cold because they did not insulate under slabs back then. What's the best way to add a layer of insulation under the laminate? Options might be Reflectix (foil-faced bubble wrap) or rigid foam perhaps, but ideally not more than 1/2" because we're working with

7' ceilings.

We've had laminate flooring in most of the rest of the house for 3-5 years and it's help up well. If I can find a way to install it in the basement so it's comfortable that would be my ideal; it's hard to beat $1/sq ft and one day to finish a room.

-kiwanda

[Paulaner]

Definitely let me know what you go with, I'm planning something similar. Since my office is down in the basement, I'm tired of cold feet all day from the indoor/outdoor carpet over slab flooring.

I'm c>Hi-

[Kiwanda]

I put the new floor down yesterday. We ended up going with a laminate with an attached underlayment and put it down on top of a combined vapor barrier/cushion marketed as "Quiet Walk." After talking to a couple of flooring manufacturers there didn't seem to be many other options for direct placement on concrete. So far so good-- it's much warmer to the touch than the old vinyl-asbestos tile we layed it on, and of course it looks great. The double underlayment also makes it very quiet to walk on. Radiant would have been nice, but we're working with a 50 year old house and a space that won't get used that often so wanted to avoid the expense.

-kiwanda