I am going to change the ceramic kitchen floor tiles and would like to have included some form of insulation. The gap is only really deep enough to fit the tile cement so does anyone know of a type of insulation I might be able to use? I was wondering about a foil roll or something similar if it exists.
Many thanks.
You don't really want to have anything loose under the adhesive, it will cause the tiles to move over time and eventually all come loose.
What is limiting the "Gap"?
Dave Jones
The original tiles were laid onto a concrete base which I am assuming I will have to go back to otherwise it means digging it up :0( What about a foil with holes in to allow adhesion to the concrete base? Would that make sense?
A. Aluminium foil is a very good conductor of heat, and in no way an insulator.
B. Holes???
I think the short answer is "no".
You can't have insulation without separation. If it is a new concrete base, it should already be insulated (2-3" below the surface) with polystyrene slab, which may help.
If you are desparately concerned about the cold, use vinyl cushion floor that looks like tiles and replace it every few years. (Yes, I know it's not as nice, but you seem desperate to avoid the cold :o) )
Pointless unless you can get a couple of inches of polystyrene in there.
Foil is not insulative., Its conductive. Al is the most conductive metal for its weight there is pretty much.
Or lay UFH under the tiles (currently doing this in the kitchen).
This is not intended to be contentious, just a question. If putting foil behind a radiator then papering over reflects heat back would not the same beneath a floor have the same effect?
Yes, if it were true, which it isn't.
foil behind radiators is almost useless, and when papered over, completely so, apart from being a good vapour barrier.
Nitpick: Sodium and a couple of other of the alkali metals beat it.
"Proper" radiator stuff for the walls is actually thin foam sheet with foil on it. There will be a tiny amount of radiated heat reflected by the foil (if it's not papered over) but the main effect is that the insulating foam stops a very cold wall from cooling the air that has been warmed by the radiator. The effect is pretty minimal, I suspect, but if you have solid walls and have the radiators off and are redecorating it's worth putting the silvered foam sheet ON TOP of the wall paper. Foil on its own would be almost completely useless on top of the paper and completely so underneath.
Umm. Yes. I'll give you that one :-)
They use liquid sodium in reactors don't they?
Pewrhaps it alos acts as a vapour barrier stopping damp walls behind the radiator losing heat by evaporaation?
If such an effect was even noticeable, you would have a far bigger problem than marginally less effective heating!
But you don't often see these metals used so much in the construction industry though
(ueber pedant)
Some of them, yes. It's actually quite hard to get to go on fire if it's not exposed to water. It doesn't vapourise well, and the oxide skim tends to inhibit things.
Hehe... Reminds me of a foolish incident we once had.
I had a couple of pounds of sodium to dispose of. There are many safe ways to dispose of sodium; this isn't one of them.
I filled a bucket with water, put it at the bottom of the garden, then dropped a half pound chunk into it and retired to a safe distance.
A minute or two later there was a loud pop and the place was showered with molten sodium. It didn't matter too much, because it was mostly grass and trees. But the shed took some of the fallout. Later that day it started to rain, and patches of the lawn (and the shed) caught fire.
eee you mad b*st*rd!
Did you ever see the George Goble web page with video clips of him lighting barbecues with a gallon of liquid oxygen? Respec! Sadly his page has been shut down (fears of litigation I assume) but there's still an article with piccies available:
Just in case, I feel I should mention that you put the oxygen on after the thing is partially lit. Otherwise, well, charcoal soaked in liquid oxygen is quite a good explosive, and things tend to go a bit wrong.
No, missed those - sounds like fun. I've burnt a lot of things after dipping in liquid oxygen, including an old cotton shirt. That was Be-uuu-tiful. Womfff.
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