Best Floor Insulation: Which Is Best For Your Floor?

Did you know that without proper underfloor insulation, you can lose as much as 10% of the heat in your home during the winter months? So, to avoid wasting energy and your hard-earned money, it’s worth looking into what the best floor insulation options are for your home. 

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the best types of floor insulation. These include: 

Once installed, you can save up to £110 on your yearly energy bills with these underfloor insulation solutions. However, it’s important to note that the costs of installing adequate floor insulation can be up to £4,700 for an average-sized home. So, to avoid breaking the bank, you’ll need to compare multiple quotes from certified installers. 

Instead of wasting hours of your precious time looking up prices on your own, just fill in our 30-second form and we’ll send you quotes from up to 3 installers from our network. It’s quick, easy and completely free - so click below to get started! 

Adding insulation to your floors has several benefits, such as increased energy efficiency, soundproofing, and reduced dampness in your home. As floor insulation prevents cold air from entering your home or warm air from escaping, you’ll also end up saving on your heating bills in winter with the right underfloor insulation.

To help you make an informed decision when picking the right insulation option for you, we’ll walk you through the best insulation for floors below:

One of the best underfloor insulation options you can choose is multi-foil insulation. It consists of layers of aluminium foil and synthetic insulation also known as wadding. This thin and lightweight insulation is easy to install and can be used for floors, but also for roofs and walls. 

Unlike other forms of insulation, which are designed to reduce conductive heat transfer, multi-foil insulation also reduces radiant heat transfer. This is possible because of the reflective properties of the aluminium foil, which prevents radiant heat from escaping your home. 

In terms of how much multi-foil insulation costs, prices range from around £7 to £15 per m². 

Another one of the best flooring insulation materials you can opt for is blanket insulation. It’s typically made of fibreglass, but it’s also available in the form of mineral wool, plastic fibres, or even natural fibres such as cotton if you’re looking for an environmentally-friendly underfloor insulation option. 

In terms of how it’s installed, the blanket material is laid as insulation between floor joists in suspended timber floors. Because it comes in rolls or batts that can easily be cut to adjust to the right size, this type of insulation is particularly easy to install whether you’re looking for a DIY solution or the expertise of a professional installer. 

In terms of price, blanket insulation currently costs between £5 and £10 per m².

A form of floor insulation that may sometimes get overlooked is the addition of rugs or carpets to your home. They are a great solution if you have draughty floors, as they help reduce heat loss while also making your space more comfortable and aesthetically pleasing. 

Some of the best options if you want to use carpets or rugs for insulation purposes are thick rugs made of materials such as wool or synthetic fibres like polypropylene. However, it’s important to note that carpets and rugs aren’t as effective as the other underfloor insulation options listed in this guide. 

So, before investing in rugs or carpets, be sure to consider how well you need your floors to be insulated. This is especially important because they are more expensive than other floor insulation options, as they can cost anywhere from £6 to £70 or more per m².

Insulating screed is a mixture of cement, sand, and insulating materials like expanded polystyrene (EPS) beads. Because of its texture, it can be used not only for underfloor heating, but also as a leveller for your floors. 

What makes insulating screed one of the best types of floor insulation is the fact that it’s compatible with underfloor heating systems. The insulation layer it provides ensures that the heat your system produces doesn’t escape. While it’s effective on its own, it may need to be paired with additional floor insulation in some cases. 

When it comes to the cost of insulating screed, it ranges from £10 to £15 per m² on average. 

This form of underfloor insulation is known for its energy efficiency, as well as for the structural support it can offer to floors. Structural insulated panels consist of an insulating foam board made of polystyrene or polyisocyanurate placed between two sheets of oriented-strand board (OSB).

What makes structural insulated panels an exceptional choice for underfloor insulation is their strength and durability. Not only can they bear heavy loads, making them a great option for your floors, but they can also withstand high winds and even earthquakes. However, one of the drawbacks of this form of insulation is its high cost, which ranges from £50 to £155 per m².

As the name suggests, draught proofing refers to sealing any gaps or cracks in your floor that may let cold air enter your home or let warm air escape. The gaps are generally sealed with materials such as silicon or acrylic caulk. 

It’s important to note that draught proofing can be an easy fix, but it’s not exactly a long-term solution. So, to maximise energy efficiency, it’s worth also installing underfloor insulation alongside your draught proofing efforts. 

While draught proofing can be a cheap solution if you tend to it yourself, the costs are higher if you require the services of a professional. As a DIY project, you can expect to spend between £5 and £10 on the sealant of your choice. However, hiring a professional for the job can cost around £80 - £200. 

This type of floor insulation is made from materials such as polystyrene, polyisocyanurate (PIR), or polyurethane (PUR) and comes in the form of rigid sheets of varying thickness or even in spray form. Rigid foam insulation has several applications, as it can be used on concrete floors, between floor joists, or under slabs. 

Rigid foam is one of the best kinds of insulation for floors because of its impressive durability. The materials used to create it are resistant to degradation and various environmental conditions. When properly installed, it can last up to 100 years, providing your home with long-term energy efficiency. 

Rigid foam insulation is also a cost-effective solution, as prices range from £5 to £15 per m².

Spray foam insulation is a material commonly made of polyurethane that is applied in liquid form and expands into foam as it dries up. There are two types of spray foam insulation: open-cell and closed-cell. The former has a softer texture and is less efficient, whereas the latter is more rigid and dense, offering both structural support and increased energy efficiency. 

What makes spray foam insulation one of the best insulation solutions for floors is the fact that they are highly resistant to water. They act as a moisture barrier that can ensure that your home isn’t affected by mould or mildew. 

However, it’s important to bear in mind that the costs of spray foam insulation are higher than those of other insulation materials, as they range from £30 to £70 per m². 

When creating our list of the best floor insulation solutions on the market today, we considered multiple factors, such as: 

You might not expect it, but floors account for around 10% of energy loss during the colder months if they’re not adequately insulated. So, to avoid overspending on your heating bills, especially as energy prices in the UK continue to fluctuate, it’s worth upgrading your floor insulation. 

Additionally, adding underfloor insulation can increase the overall comfort of your home by regulating indoor temperatures and reducing noise transmission. 

At the same time, if you’re not losing energy via your floors, you also won’t need to make use of extra energy. This can help you reduce your carbon footprint, as you’re limiting your reliance on fossil fuels to warm up your home. 

If you’re looking to make your living space more inviting in a way that your bank account and the planet will thank you for, underfloor insulation might just be the right choice for you!

While floor insulation comes with multiple impressive advantages, one of its main drawbacks is the fact that it can be quite expensive to install. Finding the best floor insulation prices on your own can be a tedious process involving endless googling and reaching out to installers yourself. Who knows how long that might take?

Thankfully, we can help you get started in just 30 seconds. Simply fill in our short form and we’ll send you up to 3 quotes from local floor insulation installers. Then, you can easily compare information to secure the best deal for your home. Click below to get started now!