Freezing Your Socks Off? Let Your Feet Meet The Heat With Pyramid Carpets
If your feet are feeling the freeze this winter, don’t suffer in silence: savvy carpeting can keep you (and your guests) warm & cosy from head to toe!
If thick socks and fluffy slippers are a must on your floor, discover the ways you can upgrade your carpet to avoid the cold. Friends, relatives & neighbours might compliment your carols and praise your presents, but if their toes are turning blue their Christmas spirit might be more of a humbug!
Cold floors aren’t uncommon, especially in large, old buildings, but knowing what’s making yours icy means finding the best solution- not just breaking out the winter socks and turning up the thermostat.
Cold Basements
Even if your home doesn’t have a cellar per se, a poorly insulated or damp basement or crawl space can contribute to heat loss and the turn even a well-insulated floor chilly. During winter weather your basement will be surrounded by cold, even freezing soil, permeating (or at least trying to) any porous materials (concrete and brick, for instance) with icy groundwater. There’s a reason cellars were used to store perishables before electric fridges became available: however warm your home, the cellar will remain colder. This isn’t a problem for most of the year, however in winter it can mean a cold floor above.
As you might expect, though, the larger the space, the more heat the cellar will absorb, but it doesn’t stop there. As almost all underground spaces are prone to damp, they have to be ventilated, even at times of year when home ventilation isn’t a priority (i.e., winter) and this is usually built into their construction.
The bigger the space being ventilated, the more heat you could lose: if your basement has windows (for example, egress cellar windows) that lack double glazing or sturdy frames, you could find they sap heat from your basement, in turn turning the floor above cold. You should do everything you can to reduce draughts (for example, from old coal chutes) while ensuring as much insulation as possible can be added to the basement ceiling- and securely attached. Managing air flow & moisture is always a consideration in cellars, but so is temperature: cold air below means a cold floor above!
No Underlay
We’ve written before about the advantages of using quality carpet underlay, but it’s perhaps in winter most of all that it becomes needed. The insulation properties of underlay can stop a lot of heat escaping, and if you have a cold stone floor beneath your carpet, you’ll really feel the difference both in the temperature and the comfort underfoot. However any type of floor can benefit from underlay, which is available either as an additional layer or sometimes integrated into the panels of flooring itself. It can also help remove draughts by adding additional support to the flooring around doors. Underlay can also help preserve your flooring by cushioning it against the damaging foot traffic that, over time, might leave an unsupported carpet threadbare and even less insulating.
Linoleum, Karndean Or Similar
There are some floor surfaces that, regrettably, don’t favour heat retention. Sure, they look fabulous, provide cutting edge durability, are easy to clean, are 100% moisture-resistant and great value, but unfortunately that clean, crisp wood or stone effect doesn’t lend itself to keeping the warmth in. We get that you love your floor, so what do you do when you need to warm up your feet? Rugs make a great temporary (or not so temporary!) floor cover that add a big insulation boost. Just remember to get the right one for your floor- a rubber backed rug won’t slip or slide about on your flooring.
If you think it’s time to upgrade your floor, why not check out the Pyramid Carpets showroom, where you can find a wide range of carpets for all floors and budgets.