balllytherm on beam and block flooring

[steve prendergastt]

has anyone had a problem in using Ballytherm as floor insulation 150mm thick and then it sinking to 130 mm after 6 months

[RJH]

I was watching a solid floor being filled the other day - they laid what looked to be 150mm Kingspan board, and then dumped about 6 inches of concrete on top. So I'd guess (or hope) that it doesn't compress.

[David]

AFAIK that is the standard way of laying an insulated floor.

[Andy Burns]

It's pretty rigid stuff

But not a beam/block one; under some circumstances the manufacturer does recommend battens to prevent sagging, but it looks as though that's only where it's covered by a timber floor, rather than a screed

[The Natural Philosopher]

extruded polystyrene is cheaper than kingspan, and almost as good an insulator and doesn't catch fire in a screed.

[Venturer500]

replying to steve prendergastt, Venturer500 wrote: My floor was installed in July '15 with Ballytherm in the floor. Has already sank 20-30mm. Can see the gap under skirting board and grout line where floor tiles were before and after sinking. Any redress for this by the way or advice on how to deal with it?

[Noc32]

replying to Venturer500, Noc32 wrote: We have the exact same situation. Floor installed November 2015. Moved in Jan

2016 and floor has sunk by 10-23mm to date in places and no sign of it stopping. We have taken up samples for testing and are currently waiting on results. Insulation supplier has visited to inspect.

[Noc32]

replying to steve prendergastt, Noc32 wrote: We have the exact same situation. Floor installed November 2015. Moved in Jan

2016 and floor has sunk by 10-23mm to date in places and no sign of it stopping. We have taken up samples for testing and are currently waiting on results. Insulation supplier has visited to inspect. I can't find many similar stories online. What was outcome in your case?

[EMC]

replying to steve prendergastt, EMC wrote: Any advice? We have the same problem with this product. Just took up test sites for samples today.

[cccsuite402]

Any advice? We have the same problem with this product

[harry]

Underfloor(concrete) insulation is special foam, less compressible than the normal stuff. They have used the wrong foam. Mine hasn't moved at all.

[conor]

replying to EMC, conor wrote: any update on the samples as we have hd the same issue

[Ceetee]

replying to conor, Ceetee wrote: Has anyone had fia issue resolved. We are having the same problem in our new build. Floor had sunk 10-15mm in places and lots of cracked tiles.

[Tim Watts]

I could be bothered to reply, if you could be bothered to quote some context...

[Andrew]

Sounds like the builders laid insulation right on top of the beam and block surface, which they hadn't bothered to overscreed (so that the insulation lies on a dead flat surface). The tops of the beams would be a bit proud of the blocks and the whole floor structure has sagged between the beams. either that or they used cheap expanded polystyrene slabs which don't like getting wet (and did get wet during construction), or high traffic areas like doorways, or the bit in front of the sink.

Sue the builders is the only solution, except this sounds like Ireland, where dodgy builders are commonplace, in which case go round with some mates and kick shit out of him.

[Andy Burns]

Which the Ballytherm website says is an acceptable installation method.

[Andrew]

Every time I see a house being built near me (SE England) using beam and block, they *always* pour/brush screed over the structure for some reason, and it makes no sense to have rigid insulation effectively supported on the high spots, i.e. the slightly proud ridge along the tops of the beams.

If the upper surface of the blocks is flush with the tops of the beams then no screeding would be necessary, but we don't know what happened to the OPs property during construction. All we do know is that the subfloor is flexing and/or sagging making his floor tiles crack.

BAllythem sounds like Ireland and dodgy builders are commonplace. I worked with a guy from Southern Ireland and the stories he told me about builders and planning violations were hair-raising.

[scamall]

replying to Noc32, scamall wrote: This article my be of interest , seemingly a lot of builds affected by this product.

[gormleyronnie21]

Hi Steven The same thing has happened in my house , how did you resolve yours?

[John Rumm]

Who is Steven?

What thing?

Resolve what?

Perhaps just a hint as to what you are talking about?