Flooring Advice

[o1marc]

I think I just answered my question before I typed it. I was thinking of laying 2" foam board insulation on top of the metal floor and then using a not particle board laminate floating floor right on top of the rigid foam. Will this work okay?Any issues with securing cabinets to it or can they use wall hardware alone and not be secured to the floor? Just learning as I go here. Any thoughts on any of this are greatly appreciated.

 

[Twigg-SKO]

I think I just answered my question before I typed it. I was thinking of laying 2" foam board insulation on top of the metal floor and then using a not particle board laminate floating floor right on top of the rigid foam. Will this work okay?Any issues with securing cabinets to it or can they use wall hardware alone and not be secured to the floor? Just learning as I go here. Any thoughts on any of this are greatly appreciated.

Opinions vary on this. Foam board has a decent compression strength ... around 25 psi for the easily available types.

Personally, I'd want at least 1/2" of ply on top, under the laminate flooring.

Others feel the laminate on the foam is good enough.

 

[o1marc]

Opinions vary on this. Foam board has a decent compression strength ... around 25 psi for the easily available types.

Personally, I'd want at least 1/2" of ply on top, under the laminate flooring.

Others feel the laminate on the foam is good enough.

I'm not that tall so ceiling height isn't critical for me, but I might not be the last owner or user of it so to build with the most headroom is important. What do you guys feel is adequate insulation thickness for the floor? I can go 1" foam and then 1/2" ply, or just go with 2" foam and laminate. I like the idea of the foam right under the laminate as it eases Pex installation right under the laminate.

 

[Robin97396]

I was under the impression that some of those laminate floorings warp with temperature changes.

 

[o1marc]

I was under the impression that some of those laminate floorings warp with temperature changes.

I'm steering away from the particle board laminates. As I understand the floor heaters don't get them hot, just comfortable.

 

[Robin97396]

You are making an excellent argument to my feet right now. A hydronic system is about the only practical way to get warm floors. So if I just happened to have a diesel coolant heater... At the same time I don't want to be totally dependent on one fuel source. If I couldn't get diesel for any reason I would also loose my heat. Diesel is one of the more expensive ways of heating but the off grid convenience is hard to beat.
Yeah at first I'd be warming up my block a couple hours before I wanted to go to town. I'd end up using it more frequently for heat because of the convenience.
Also being a vertically challenged individual I'm thinking of 1" of rigid foam insulation with 1/2 to 3/4" ply over the top. Gotta keep my industrial vibe going on in here. If I was thinking about heading north I'd go with that 2" insulation. No more alaskan winters for me.