How to insulate the floor with linoleum

Proper floor insulation is essential for keeping your house warm and energy-efficient. Using linoleum is one of the easiest and most economical ways to insulate your floor. This material gives your floors a long-lasting and stylish finish in addition to adding a layer of warmth.

Whether you’re building a new home or remodeling an old one, understanding how to insulate your floor with linoleum can significantly improve comfort and reduce energy use. We’ll walk you through the process of making sure your linoleum floor is adequately insulated in this guide, along with helpful hints and techniques for the greatest outcomes.

Is linoleum insulation is so necessary

On a wooden floor, linoleum insulation is acceptable to leave out. similar to concrete. Only at the owners’ request is this carried out. Thanks to the continuous technological advancements made by floor covering manufacturers, linoleum, which our parents could not have imagined, can now be found in construction stores. We provide unique protective and insulating layers, exotic colors and patterns, and enhanced strength and wear resistance.

Builders and decorators claim that insulation is necessary even for premium natural and multi-layer synthetic linoleum.

  1. Firstly, the insulation acts as an additional sound insulator.
  2. Secondly, the thermal insulation of the coating is not sufficient to prevent feet from freezing in winter on a floor covered only with linoleum.
  3. Thirdly, it will save on heating – there are types of insulation used as the main way to heat a house, they allow you to feel cozy indoors even in winter without warm socks.

In particular, if you are installing insulation using heating elements, it makes sense to take care of this during the renovation stage and create a new floor from scratch.

However, not all owners have the same foresight, so the question of whether insulation can be placed beneath linoleum once the flooring has been installed and finishing work has been finished emerges. It is feasible for both a brand-new renovation and years later. It is imperative to insulate the floor immediately rather than waiting for repairs if the floor was installed in a long-standing manner, there are wooden boards at the base that have lost their original shape, and the thickness of the coating does not inspire confidence.

Material selection

We won’t go into great detail about how water and electric heated floors are installed. Installing the required components entails raising the floor level significantly in the second instance, where insulating cables are installed in place of pipes acting as insulation beneath the linoleum. This is a major loss for residential properties, as it includes trouble opening and shutting interior doors. Let’s concentrate on linoleum-underfloor insulation techniques that won’t cause these kinds of problems. Consider the insulation method when selecting the appropriate material. The sections that follow will cover this.

Briefly about linoleum itself

Linoleum is chosen by those who want to get a presentable and reliable floor covering without paying too much. Linoleum is classified by material (natural and artificial) and by area of ​​application (household, semi-commercial, commercial and special). Natural is a mixture of wood flour, resins and oils, and the main material of artificial (synthetic) is polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Artificial linoleum is divided into homogeneous (single-layer) and heterogeneous (in which layers of different purposes are combined – including the bottom one is designed to retain heat). Traditionally, household and semi-commercial linoleum is used in residential premises, from natural raw materials or synthetic – depends on the needs and budget of the owners. As mentioned earlier, all of the listed types need to be insulated, but when choosing insulation under linoleum, we will take into account the type of coating.

What types of insulating underlays are there for linoleum

In the narrow sense, rigid structures supplied as slabs and soft materials produced in rolls are examples of insulating underlays. For the sake of completeness, let’s also discuss liquid insulation and infrared film, which also serve as substrates in a manner (though creating a "warm floor" system is more appropriate in this case).

Under linoleum, natural floor insulation consists of jute and cork fabric, a flax substrate or flax mixed with wool and jute. Nature and the chemical industry both provided solutions for how to insulate a floor with linoleum, providing a variety of polymers such as polystyrene (penoplex), isolon (penofol), and penoizol.

Substrates made from natural raw materials are more expensive, but are environmentally friendly and soft and pleasant to walk on. This is relevant for families with small children who often fall, but over time, the cork and fabric will accumulate dust and may become a habitat for insects. When choosing such insulation under linoleum on a wooden floor or concrete base, also remember that their environmental friendliness will not lose its meaning only in combination with natural linoleum. Artificial linoleum will negate this advantage. In addition, resistance to burning, rotting and mold of natural fibers is in any case achieved by impregnation with certain synthetic compounds. Fiberboard is made from wooden fibers, so it is also classified as natural insulation for linoleum floors. Installation feature in case of use – mandatory waterproofing.

There are various types of synthetic material insulation for floors covered with linoleum. Polystyrene is a porous plate (not to be confused with its penoplex subtype, which has a different brand by one letter and is also produced by other companies). Because of the potential for hazardous fumes, indoor use is not advised. Isolon, also known as penofol, is a closed-cellular polyethylene foam, while penoizol is a specialized foam that is non-flammable and emits no hazardous fumes. Polymers serve as a soundproof layer, are reasonably priced, and are dependable insulators.

Applying a 1 mm layer of a composition is known as liquid insulation, which also includes insulating paint. However, this method cannot be considered economical because a large amount of the composition is required to achieve such a layer thickness, and it is not inexpensive. If it is absolutely necessary to avoid raising the floor level, then it is appropriate. An additional choice in this situation is to use infrared film, which is characterized by a comparatively thin thickness, to insulate the floor beneath the linoleum.

It’s crucial to realize that choosing the appropriate underlayment is crucial to properly insulating your linoleum floor. This improves the linoleum’s resilience and comfort in addition to adding a layer of insulation. A warm, cozy, long-lasting floor that feels better underfoot can be achieved by carefully selecting materials like foam or cork underlayment.

Subtleties of installing different types of insulation

If you choose to install a warm floor as part of your insulation strategy, you will most likely require professional assistance. However, roll or tile insulation is much easier to install, and owners frequently lay it themselves. A different set of tools will be useful depending on the insulation’s shape.

Method 1: installation of a soft covering

A soft covering is usually chosen as insulation under linoleum on a wooden floor. It is extremely easy to install, for this you will need scissors and adhesive mastic or tape. In some cases, sheets of thick plywood are also used – if the difference in floor height per square meter is more than half a centimeter. Plywood is attached to the floor using a hammer drill and dowels, recessing the caps into the sheets. Joints and screws are puttied and sanded. Chipboard is not suitable for this purpose due to its strong moisture permeability and carcinogen content. After inspecting the integrity of the original surface and thoroughly cleaning it, spread the cut pieces of the substrate end-to-end, without overlapping.

Smooth types of substrates (cork or polymers) are fastened together with adhesive tape; adhesive mastic will fix fibrous and fleecy ones – from jute, linen and wool. Moreover, it is not necessary to cover the floor surface under the substrate with a continuous layer of adhesive mastic; it is enough to glue the areas along the joints a centimeter in each direction. This is enough for reliable fastening, significantly saves on glue consumption and simplifies dismantling if it is needed one day. If you bought such insulation under linoleum on a concrete floor, and there is a basement or other source of dampness below, it is worth applying waterproofing. Also remember: if one of the insulation layers is foil-coated, it will look inside the room to reflect heat.

Method 2: installing rigid insulation

Here plywood will be required in any case, regardless of the differences in floor height. The fact is that penoplex or polystyrene foam, traditionally used as rigid insulation on a wooden floor or on a concrete one, despite its strength, will inevitably be pressed through by strong pressure at one point. Each leg of furniture will create such a point. To prevent this from happening, a lathing is installed on the insulation boards, the thickness of the bars corresponds to the thickness of the main insulation on the floor under linoleum. We fasten the bars to the base with dowels, insert the insulation sheets between them without gaps, tightly. All that remains is to cover it with plywood on top.

Step Description
1. Clean the floor Thoroughly remove dust and debris to ensure a smooth surface.
2. Apply insulation Place foam or underlay over the floor to add a layer of warmth.
3. Install linoleum Lay the linoleum evenly, ensuring no air bubbles.
4. Secure edges Fix the linoleum edges with adhesive or double-sided tape.

Linoleum insulation is a useful method for raising your home’s comfort and energy efficiency. You can make your living area cozier and more welcoming by selecting the appropriate insulation materials and carrying out the installation procedures correctly.

Prior to applying the linoleum, make sure the surface is completely level, clean, and dry. This will improve the efficiency of the insulation and facilitate a smoother installation process.

Linoleum insulation provides an easy-to-implement yet efficient solution for lowering heating costs or just improving floor comfort. You can get outstanding results that last for years if you plan carefully and pay close attention to detail.

Video on the topic

Foil backing 4mm

How to reliably, simply and inexpensively insulate the floor in your home

How to lay LINOLEUM on an old wooden floor. How to prepare a surface for laying linoleum.

Is it possible or not to use a backing under linoleum Krasnoyarsk

Is a backing under linoleum necessary? What kind of insulation can be laid on the floor under linoleum with a base?

What interior style do you like the most?
Share to friends
Veronica Gerasimova

Interior designer, author of books on the design of residential premises. I will help you make your home not only functional, but also beautiful.

Rate author
Vash-Variant.com
Add a comment