Insulating Barn Floors from Underneath in New Marlborough, MA

The owners of a beautiful barn that came with their property contacted us to help make it usable and comfortable all year long. The outside air has access to the floors from underneath, so Fogarty's Home Services was happy to help protect that space and make the rooms above more comfortable. Since the floor is the surface of the room we are in contact with most, it's very important to fix, in order to be comfortable. There are two issues - air leakage through the floor, because heat moves from more to less through solid materials. Even if there is fiberglass batt insulation in the floor, because it sags down away from the sub floor, the same outside air gets over it ("thermal bypass") rendering it useless. Fogarty's Home Services installed SilverGlo™ foam insulation board is installed across the bottom of the floor joists with special long screws and 3" washers. SilverGlo™ is expanded polystyrene foam with graphite infused into the foam, which bumps up the insulation ("R") value by 24% over standard EPS foam. Further, SilverGlo™ has a radiant barrier to reflect heat, so the insulation isn't doing all the work by itself. All seams were then sealed. This family will now have the joy of using this barn year round as they now have much warmer floors, less drafts, more comfortable rooms, and lower fuel costs.