Insulation and underfloor heating in Victorian terrace

[Rojak]

I'm considering buying a Victorian terrace (never lived in one before).

I was going to put in underfloor heating to the ground floor (wet system) - tiles on top,

Was just wondering if anyone else has done this in a Victorian terrace.

What sort of insulation did you put in? How much approx would I need to budget for something like this?

What about insulating the upper floors or would they not get as cold (given heat travels up?)

Thanks

Has it got a concrete floor? Unusual in Victorian home except in scullery.

Tiling wooden floors is troublesome.

No, I think it has traditional floorboards so I would expect to lift floorboards, insulate below and then lay a concrete layer for the wet system pipes

You mean you are thinking of laying concrete on top of floorboards? {shock horror}

I would just insulate under the floorboards, either in the cavity or from underneath (if there's a cellar). And between ground and first floor to stop heat escaping up.

Also worth considering (depending on property) is solid wall insulation for the external walls (a messy job, mind). And obviously insulating any loft space.

In all this make sure don't mess too much with the fabric of the building, old houses need to breathe.

I think I would need to put internal insulation on walls as it would spoil look of the building with external insulation.

No idea how else to install a wet underfloor system without a layer of some sort of concrete / cement for the pipes?

Bumping for the evening crowd

Do you mean you are thinking of laying concrete on top of floorboards?

I've been doing further reading and it seems one of the options is ripping up floorboards and laying concrete floor - something about floorboards possibly warping with underfloor heating.

Am thinking I should just move to a new build in suburbia instead

keep your original wooden floors. Most of the cold from the floor will not be due to poor insulation, but due to draughts. Stuff the spaces between the joists with mineral wool, paying special attention to the edges of the room. It will block draughts as well as providing ample insulation. Clear away all rubbish from under the floor and ensure that all the airbricks are clear of cobwebs and dust so there is a cool fresh airflow from one side of the house to the other. Do any subfloor plumbing or wiring while the floor is up, and consider providing access hatches. Insulate all subfloor water pipes especially heating or radiator pipes. You may as well lay a new water supply pipe while the floors are up because the old one will be much too small, and probably leaking by now.

If you have more money than you know what to do with, you can put wet heating with spreader plates under the floorboards.

A typical terraced Victorian house has very little external wall. Concentrate on insulating the loft and draughtproofing the windows.

I walked round the street where the house is and saw some builders finishing another property on the same street.

Curiosity got the better of me and I went in to have a look.

Someone has done a massive refurbish on this property. It had underfloor heating with large tiles to the ground floor and 1st floor bathroom on the return.

Wow - it looked really good and the builders said there were no floorboards on the ground floor, concrete (and I suspect quite a fair bit) and underfloor system followed by tiles.

So I guess the answer to my question is do-able but no one can tell me what the cost would be.

We were quoted £4k for underfloor heating in large kitchen. Even the electrician said it was a waste of money, and advised us to get better insulation around doors and windows.

Was this for a wet system?

I think with all heating systems, you need to first ensure the property is well insulated otherwise all the heat generated just dissipates through walls, doors, windows etc.