[gta]

I have one room in the house near the garage and it is on a concrete slab. In the winter it is extremely cold and in the summer, the temperature is just right.


Is there any way I can warm up the slab without spending too much? I read somewhere about digging a trench around the slab and putting a type of foam barrier around the perimeter, but that sounds extreme.

Any thoughts?

 

[brockmiera]

A few;

Questions first.

What is "too much" to spend?
What flooring is on the concrete slab or is it just the slab?
Are you looking to put different flooring down?

 

[gta]

There is carpet currently over the slab.


What I meant by too much was not having the cost skyrocket into the thousands. The room isn't really big, but it can be a nice study room.

 

[brockmiera]

Well my first suggestion would be to lay down some in floor heat and then tile over that. That would be fairly inexpensive and you could still throw a rug down over the top of that.

I'm sure a thermal break around the perimeter of the foundation would help but you'd still have a lot of cold soil below the foundation that you wouldn't be able to get to. You could possibly put down a thermal break on top of your slab then lay subfloor over that. I've never done it and I'm sure there are some moisture issues to consider but theoretically it should work.

 

[gta]

Which type of radiant floor heating do you think is more efficient?

Electric or the type that uses hot water circulation?

 

[CharmainPhilips]

Try covering the floor with a carpet that radiates heat and give you warmth...