Cold flooring in winter?

[lacey]

I am sure this is a complaint of many in the winter. Cold floors. I was thinking of replacing the carpet in the living room with laminate but am scared that it will be too cold in winter. Has anyone else had this problem and how did you remedy it? My trailer is skirted with vinyl vented skirting and it gets very cold here in the winter.

Any suggestions as to how to make the floor warmer?

thanks

[kashton]

First, you need to go under your mobile to make sure you are not missing your floor insulation and buffalo board.

Then check around windows, and baseboards to find any drafts coming in.

If you have certain spots that are always cold, usually means insulation missing.

[Mark]

Unfortunately, somewhat cold floors come with the territory of owning a mobile home. Mine are cold and I have insulated skirting and perfect underbelly. In fact, my skirting is so insulated that it don't even freeze underneath my home in the winter. But my floors still feel cool.

I've tried different ideas of warming up the floor (including blowing solar heat into the underbelly), but none worked to my satisfaction.

Mark

[Maureen]

Hi Lacey,

This is a real problem area for those of us that live with cold temps during the Winter! Most of us know that hitting those vinyl bathroom floors in the morning are a real wake up call! Better that a cup of coffee to wake ya up! Yeah, slipper would help, but I'm a bare foot sort of old girl lol!

I'm facing the same problem. My belly is sealed up really well, insulation is perfect, but when it gets down to high temps of 35 in the Winter, my vinyl floors are cold!

I have a large area that I would love to get rid of carpet and lay down laminate or the Novalis. Personally, I'm leaning toward the Novalis, cheaper and looks better in my opinion. Being a pet owner, and older laminate is just too slippery for my taste.

One good thing about taking things real slow, is that you get to know your home and your needs really well! I've decided to cut down the area that I wanted to be a hard surface floor and opt for more carpet in the family room area and the dining room. This will add to the insulation and at the same time cut down on heating bills!

Sure wish they would develop radiant floor heat for our homes!

Maureen

[PennylessZ28]

You can actually install a mat radiant heat flooring system underneath laminate. (You need to check with the manufacturer of the laminate, as its not recommend on certain types) They sell low voltage systems at Lowes and Home Depot. Work nicely.

Here: http://www.hoskinghardwood.com/radiant-heat/default.asp

[lacey]

My insulation and underbelly is very sound and in tact. I was afraid that its just something we mobile home owners have to deal with, I was just hoping maybe someone would have thought of something that I haven't. Radiant heat would be nice but don't they cost big $$$$???

Thanks for the replies

[Yanita]

Hi,

Another place to check for drafts is the outlets. This can be remedied to some extent by using outlet and switch insulators that can be purchased at any home improvement store.

Yanita

[lacey]

good point Yanita.

I got those last winter and you are right, they do help!

thanks!

[Busybee1952]

This might sound kinda odd but I have a double layer of carpet in the bedroom and that floor is never cold. I had access to carpet but would have had to buy padding so instead, I just put in 2 layers of carpet.

Large area rugs help in the winter and you can always take them up in the summer when there is more traffic.

The ultimate floor warmer though is an outdoor wood furnace that is piped into the regular heating ducts. When my home was set up that way, I didn't worry about pipes freezing or cold floors but it's not practical if you have to buy wood or if you are in a park.

[lacey]

Two layers of carpet? Did you do that yourself busybee? Has anyone else seen or done this?

[Busybee1952]

Yes, I did it myself but it's only a 7 x 9 bedroom and all I did was lay the carpet out and nail it down along the edges and put the trim board back on. Nothing fancy but like I said, that floor is never cold.