Insulate btwn Floor/ceiling - vermiculite?

the best way if you want sound insulation, heat insulating, fire proofing and noise reduction all in one go, is take up the old floor boards upstairs and chop them up for firewood. Put in a good layer of Rockwool between the joists. you can buy it in four inch sheets and it cuts easily with a stanley knife to get two pieces to go between the joists. Then lay a 12mm 8 X4 silver foil backed plaster slab on next without screws or nails and then put a 12 mm 8 X 4 sheet of MDF wood ( thats not chipboard but a smooth finish composition board) and finally a carpet underlay and carpet preferably replacing the skirting boards in the bedroom to finish the job. total cost about 4 or 5 hundred quid to include carpets if you do it yourself. 3 or 4 grand if you ask a builder. you would probably do it in a day. I did it recently for a friend and she was very pleased with the result, especially the noise reduction. Forget about that vermiculite and stick to the tried and trusted stuff.

The message from "Egremont" contains these words:

Ever thought of putting on a jumper?

(obviously, if you're elderly or disabled then you may need extra warmth, but really 25°C is really hot)

I didn't think 25C [estimate] was hot for a living room? Anyway as it is jumpers are needed much of the time...

I don't fancy ripping up my newly finished original pine flooring. A bigger temptation is lower the downstairs ceiling and nsulate, but this would box in the original coving, and is not really an option (...yet, though losing the coving one day would allow me to insulate the walls too). For now I'm back to insulating the voids as best I can without unduly disturbing the upstairs flooring or downstairs ceiling.

Looks like I'll have to investigate further off-line.

Egremont.

Is this nailed down?

The energy lost through the ceiling is significant but not huge, at current prices I sincirely doubt the above would be ecomomic - even DIY.

.> Forget about that vermiculite and stick to the tried and trusted stuff.

I thought vermiculite was a tried & tested insulation material?, though I'm not sure about this application.

Egremont

If it bl**dy hot if you're paying to heat it.

In fact 25C is about the temp I start thinking longingly of air-con.

Oh come on, I'm sitting without a shirt on in a comfortable 22.9C.

In winter "cold" is 16C and below (unless I've just got out of the bath).

If you insulate the ceiling upstairs will be colder...

Owain

The message from "Egremont" contains these words:

Our thermostat is usually set to 19°C, though on really cold days we up it a bit 'cos we don't have a boiler with "comfort control" to measure the outside temperature.

In a humd summer 25C is hot, 22C is pleasnt amd 20C is cool.

In the dry winter 20C is woolly time, and 22C is shirtsleeves..and 25C is gorgeous!

(and costs about 50% more than 20C)

The message from Guy King contains these words:

It is very very hot and suitable only for aged invalids in almost total immobility. :-)

I have mine set at 19C morning and evening as well. 17C during the day and longstop 13C overnight (as I am not as young as I used to be). 40 years ago the recommended temperature for living rooms was 65F (18.3C) and there is no real reason why that should have changed other than that the modern spoonfed generations seem to have turned into a bunch of wimps.

The message from Roger contains these words:

Oi! I didn't say that! I was the one who thought 25°C was too hot.

The message from Roger contains these words:

Ours it 19°C during the day and falls back to 9°C at night - we have thick duvets.

I really well insulated room doesn't need heating to such a high temp to fell comfortable whereas if you've got a draughty room or it's poorly insulated then you need a few extra on the thermostat to achieve the same result.

.=2E.but even I rarely go up to 25! I guess it depends on the accuracy of your 'stat.

The message from Guy King contains these words:

Sorry if I confused you but I thought I actually supporting your line.