Workshop under floor insulation

Nov 01, 2005 2 Replies

Been reading plenty on insulation and vapor barriers, totally confused, here is my senario, anyone see potential problems with this?



Trying to turn an existing storage building into a heated and cooled workshop/office. The floor is too close to the ground to crawl under completely, but it is open all the way around. I can only get my head and an arm underneath. There no problems of standing water underneath stays dry.



So I was thinking of cutting and glueing 2" styrofoam insulation to the underside of the 3/4" plywood flooring between the floor joists. Then putting rubber backed indoor/outdoor carpet on top of the flooring inside. I have no way of getting a vapor barrier up next to the flooring first. I live in North Carolina so climate is moderate just humid at times. My main concern is I don't want to create a situation that might rot the floor. It is still just a detached building so not like I'm trying to insulate my house or anything but still want to avoid any future problems if I can.



Thanks for any input


What is under the floor? If it is dirt, lay out some plastic sheeting to keep the ground moisture out.

Sounds good to me.

I think that would be fine as long as you mean the blue colored ridged insulation. IIRC it does not need a separate vapor barrior. I Do not think you need rubber backed indoor/outdoor carpet. Use whatever floor covering will suit the use and asthetics of the room. If you skirt the outside, below the sill, use a lattice or something that will allow good vebtalation. Make sure you keep the area underneath dry. Gutters and downspouts may be worth it in the future.

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