My parents live in a bungalow with wooden floorboards. Five or so years ago they replaced the (probably expensive though quite old by that time) carpet in the living room with an engineered maple floor.
This floor was installed with whatever the standard offered underlay was at the time.
The living room is now (and has been since installation) significantly colder than it was with carpet.
They are now at the point of replacing the carpet along the corridor (the house is C-Shaped with the corridor the length of the house & so is quite a large though narrow area).
They want to lay another engineered floor but are worried that if they do so heating bills are going to sky rocket.
If it generally the case that carpets insulate better than wooden flooring or is it likely that the floor in the living room is badly laid (visibly it looks fine)?
Assuming that carpets are better can this be offset by the choice of underlay or the type & thickness of the flooring?
Thanks in advance for any pointers.