Do I need to insulate a shed floor?

[Philly]

Quick question, I've just built a small shed in our yard on a concrete slab. My question is do I need to insulate the floor. I'm doing the walls/roof with 25mm polystyrene, DPM then chipboard(got it dirt cheap). The shed is waterproof all round. Its only 8' x 8' but I need to save cash where I can. For the floor I was going to build a frame and use polystyrene there too but I don't want to lose anymore height so I'm thinking of putting down carpet tiles with maybe some of that thin under laminate floor stuff straight onto the slab :)

How does it sound? I know it's not going to be super insulated but as long as I can comfortably work in there with a small heater I'll be happy.

Cheers, Phil

[Web Goblin]

You can do if you want to it will make it a bit warmer and more comfortable to work on for long periods. Put down a layer of DPM first to keep the moisture out.

[wilfy]

i used cheap play mats from tesco on my floor, it certainly makes a difference not only on warmth when your doing low level stuff such as painting the bottom of a cabinet, but also it's something to kneel on and it makes standing around on there a hell of a lot more comfortable.. i could easily spend all day in there with no worries. i know they are not on offer at the moment but there are some deals to be had on ebay if you look.

[Philly]

Cheers, you're not the first to recommend those tiles so I think its time to go bargain hunting :)

Thanks guys.

[joshuaseigel]

Not all sheds are suitable to be insulated. If you have a small plastic or metal shed then their initial construction does not really suit the process that I am about to discuss. If you have a shed like this you would be better off changing the shed for a more robust type of shed that can more easily accept the additional insulating materials. But if you have a fairly standard type of timber shed, using a minimum of 3x2 timbers there is a fair amount that you can do to help it retain the heat better in the colder months.