Building question

Looked at a unit yesterday for a friend and came away asking one big question. Why was the floor like ice - both under the carpet and the linoleum?

The unit was perfect in very other way so thus the question. The front of the unit was at ground level but the back was about a metre+ high concrete block wall. Didn't see any insulation grids in the block work. Not knowing what was under the actual floor i.e. concrete slab or wood, could it be caused by not being properly insulated from the earth? My barn floor with the black paper under it that gets no direct sun is warmer!

The sun was pouring into the front and thus the question because it was freezing under foot even on the sun lit floor. Obviously, I know nothing about building so any thoughts gratefully appreciated and even advise on how to find out?

Sounds like a concrete slab with little or no insulation under it. If the ground below was wet (and where in NZ isn't wet at the moment?) then that water will be sucking heat out of the slab, and thus the house.

Our slab has the legally obliged black plastic, then a thick layer of polystyrene then the concrete. We had underfloor heating pipes put into the concrete, so we could hook it up through a heat exchanger to our hot water / solar / wetback system, but have found so far that the woodburner (or the sun, when there is one) keeps the house warm, and that includes the floor, so we haven't needed to hook up the pipes yet. And we are still living on bare concrete - haven't put carpet or tiles down yet.

I'd be checking drainage around the slab, and also what's under the section that's a metre high - air gap or fill? Was the concrete damp at all, in which case you could have major problems down the track. Personally I wouldn't touch the place until I had an engineers report.

OakhengeFarm;320064 wrote:
Our slab has the legally obliged black plastic, then a thick layer of polystyrene then the concrete. We had underfloor heating pipes put into the concrete, so we could hook it up through a heat exchanger to our hot water / solar / wetback system, but have found so far that the woodburner (or the sun, when there is one) keeps the house warm, and that includes the floor, so we haven't needed to hook up the pipes yet. And we are still living on bare concrete - haven't put carpet or tiles down yet.

Your insulated concrete will be acting as a heat sink Oakhenge. You might find you need to hook up the pipes when you cover it with carpet. Uninsulated concrete - even with a good waterproof membrane under it - would be absolutely freezing to live on!

hilldweller;320072 wrote: Uninsulated concrete - even with a good waterproof membrane under it - would be absolutely freezing to live on!

I can only imagine. Ours is well insulated and this is our second winter on bare concrete slab...absolutely fine []