Best R-Value Flooring for Off Grid Independence?

Mr. Bluejeans floored me yesterday. Oh stop. I heard that snicker.

Not. That.  This is a respectable blog sometimes. We’re not going there ever   today   in this post.

Let me start again. We were talking about our cabin. If you’re not aware, Mr. Bluejeans and I have decided to start small. 24’x40′ small. Might I also use the adjective affordable. Yes, I will. AFFORDABLE. Rolls right off the tongue or fingers. Whatever.

Most people think of a homes insulation in terms of walls, windows, roof and doors. Flooring impacts off grid efficiency in a BIG way.

 

While this is not the “dream house” I envisioned in my youth I’ve come along way on my life’s path. My realization that the “American Dream” is little more than a ball and chain disguised as ‘that thing you must have’  (IMHO) has led me to being wholly alright with an affordable choice in homes. How grown up of me, no? Well, I do still wish it could have dormer windows.

Whoa… how’d this get so serious? ICK… back to the fun –  Flooring!

So we decided on our little cabin with a loft and the promise that in a few years we would add on a downstairs master bedroom, an office for my man and a sewing room for me – natch! Time is teaching me that it’s OK to do things in stages and not break the bank.

Now that you have the picture let’s get down to it shall we?

See what I did there?! Flooring.….. down to it??

Like I was saying, we were discussing flooring and Mr. Bluejeans said:

“You really need to find the nicest flooring possible for the cabin. It has to be a WOW factor because we will be living with it for quite sometime. Don’t pinch pennies on this purchase, it’s too important”.

I’m giving you a moment to let that sink in. Carte Blanche. Don’t penny pinch.

How much do I love this man?

We are taking this purchase seriously and agree it’s an important component of our soon to be abode. This flooring needs to be:

• gorgeous
• energy efficient
• a WOW factor. ya, that’s kinda like gorgeous

Annnnnd in that order. I may be willing to live off grid but I’m keeping my girl card! Having owned conventional homes all my life made flooring purchases a breeze. As far as breezes go ~ this is more of a hurricane. This is difficult. This is hurricane difficult. Let’s board this thing up. I’m going home. Whoops, can’t do that.

My biggest concern is efficiency. Cool in the summer – Warm in the winter. Too much to ask? Is there such a thing or am I looking for fairy tale flooring? I don’t know.

I know what you’re thinking…

Don’t use the C word with me. Don’t go there. No to carpet. Yes, carpet adds R-Value. It also adds dust, dog hair, vacuuming and an icky feeling under my feet.  Here’s how I really feel about carpet.

Hate it. Outta here. Nada. Nyet.

However I’m not a TOTAL carpet hater. Just say yes to area rugs!

According to the US Department of energy “the average household spends about $2200 on energy bills yearly”. This is not energy efficiency in my book!

By being off grid and striving for energy independence, the bill aspect won’t apply to us too much. We will have a wood cookstove for heat and cooking. Using timber from the property does make me feel protective over our tree population. I’m a tree hugger – – who knew?

Seriously though, when you think about it growing trees takes quite a while. Like that darned money tree I planted years ago. It just never grew! Logically, we can’t burn our firewood willy-nilly and must manage our woodlot properly. Agh! Back to flooring…

Doing some Pinterest snooping research on flooring apparently the BESTIEST BEST flooring for thermal mass is concrete. Hmmmmm. I DO want concrete… countertops.

DO. I. WANT. A. CONCRETE. FLOOR? I’m not sure.

Pros:

• cost effective (penny pinching)
• can be dyed any color
• great thermal mass both hot and cold

Cons:

• not the beautiful wood plank flooring I yearn for
• not sure if concrete can provide a WOW factor
• we are building on post and beam – would it be too heavy?

The jury is out. My heart says WOW factor is wood looking floors. My head says “Stay cool in summer and warm in winter”. Maybe the answer is the new fan-dangled ceramic wood look tile?

I can see why Mr. Bluejeans has put this project into my hands. Tough call. I found this handy website that makes me *believe* I can have my cake and eat it too. {what does that really mean?} I’m guessing – OH am I guessing – that if we use 3/4″ plywood or OSB as our sub-floor we are starting out with a good R-Value. Then MAYBE we can have wood or ceramic tile flooring?!

Way to get my hopes R-Values up! Needless to say, I have much to learn. Thanks Mr. Bluejeans… now I’m floored.

What type of floor do you have? If you were seeking energy savings, what type of floor would you install?