Do you have a room in your house that never seems to be warm? Do you have a room or a basement with a concrete slab for a floor? When the temperatures dip well below freezing, the ground gets cold, which transfers coldness to the concrete slab. Without the right flooring choice in place, that coldness continues to seep into your room, making the entire environment chilly at best.

Concrete floors are a rather common problem here across the Front Range, and there are several approaches you can take to warm them up.

In some cases, your best choice may be to insulate the concrete slab before a flooring is installed. Depending on your budget, you can install panels of foam insulation along the perimeter of the slab. This will help protect the concrete from the elements, preventing the cold from seeping into your room.

A second choice is to install radiant heat. Radiant heat coils can be added under flooring choices like hardwood and tile, then used on cold mornings to heat the area before you use it. It will not only heat the flooring and make it more comfortable to walk on, it can also make your room more energy efficient by not requiring the furnace to run as hard.

Finally, you can also choose a thick, plush carpet and high quality pad to help insulate the concrete and protect your room from the cold. Remember, padding is equally important to the overall comfort and quality of the carpet. Talk with a flooring consultant about your needs, and have them point you to a carpet choice with insulating qualities, one that will add protection during winter evenings.